For those who don't know, Valve bar in Wellington was shut down for liquor licensing 'breaches' including 'allowing intoxicated persons to remain on the premises' and 'serving liqour after hours' - valve's liqour license is until 3am and they routinely have wicked nights that run until 5am.
That made me really pissy. the police stance was along the lines of 'we're really pleased, this should send a clear message to those establishments promoting violence and drunkenly behaviour'
I've hung out on friday and saturday (and tuesday, wednesday, thursday) nights in town a lot, over several years, and i've seen a few fights. One was outside tatou, several outside sports cafe, heaps outside diva/eva st/fat ladies arms, and exactly zero on cuba st Although I hear there are punch ups at liks occasionally.
I think it's a cowardly and pathetic notion and a clear message that the
police will continue to turn a blind eye to violence and drunkenness on the problem area (courteney place), and pick on the remnants of cuba mall until all the culture has beat beaten out of it with their black shiny
nightsticks.
I urge you all to write to the police and your local minister to voice your
dismay at this ignorance on the part of the wellington constabulary.
- By my friend Be'
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Technorati
word......
word...
it's courtenay place. not worth ...
it's courtenay place. not worth crying over.
Valve is on Vivian ST - In the Cuba ...
Valve is on Vivian ST - In the Cuba Street area... A place where bands can play and make a name for themselves... among other things. Valve is VITAL.
Worth crying over.
ooops, sorry. for some reason i read ...
ooops, sorry. for some reason i read that as vespa. the club on blair or allen st.
yeah, that really does suck indeed.
Yeah, Niceguyeddie (or 'be) I agree ...
Yeah, Niceguyeddie (or 'be)
I agree with you in some respects, i.e. that there is a hell of alot of violence in other parts of the city and that the po-lice concentrate their efforts in the wrong areas and that Valve is vital.
But Valve has turned into an intimidating dive.
Im even scared to type this now.
It certainly isnt the place Dave put together all those years ago, the new management have begun running that place into the ground since they aquired it, intimidating artists and patrons and generally producing a scary un-healthy environment for bands and punters.
I think the police shutting Valve down has not just because of liquor licensing 'breaches' but because of far more serious infringements.
I know bands that just wont play there anymore, because of the certain 'rules' the new Valve places on them.
Im scared to go there anymore.
I dont go there anymore.
Really? What rules are you referring ...
Really? What rules are you referring to?
I haven't got that impression at all. The staff always seem very (very) mellow to me, and I've never been worried by the crowd. My main gripe is that they wouldn't let me have my amp on 10, because the sound dude wanted more control (but my amp sounds best on 10...)
I just can't see anywhere else in the city that supports local punk/hardcore/independent acts. Bodega is too high brow now, and Indigo just can't afford to have small bands playing. A small band can pack out Valve, and the bar will make a decent amount of money. But the same number of people at Indigo just wouldn't cut the mustard.
My gripe is about the management not ...
My gripe is about the management not the patrons or the venue.
Yes it would suck if there was no Valve as it does supply a venue for those smaller bands, a 'stepping stone' if you will.
But what im saying is that the stepping stone used to be a far more enjoyable, friendly environment for those young bands to 'step'.
I guess, in my case, ignorance might be ...
I guess, in my case, ignorance might be bliss.
I haven't had any dealings with management... so no troubles. And its the best we've got...
Power to you Eddie. It seems that once ...
Power to you Eddie. It seems that once the Police get an idea in their heads, they can't let it go. So a venue they consider trouble will be targeted even if the patrons/management/whoever get the message and become a lot more civilised. Or alternately they believe a place is not that bad, not worth policing (is this the case with Courtenay Place?) and ignore it.....
Also, the lack of frontline leadership and overly bureaucratic nature of the management means that even if the coppers realise they aren't where they should be, it takes a while for the HQ to realise and get clearance for the cops to be directed elsewhere. Meantime, they get bored and shut bars down ;)
So how long is it out of action for?
// Power to you Eddie. The argument ...
// Power to you Eddie.
The argument was actually posed by my buddy, and all I did was post it. I agree with him, though.
It is out of action from the 12th of Feb for 2 weeks.
I've always felt that Valve had ...
I've always felt that Valve had excellent potential as a small venue - especially now in light of Bodega's rebirth and Indigo's changearound.
I've had some really excellent nights there, but I must say there was a pretty dark buzz last night at the Clowndog gig....
Fink - I hear you man.
It was the first time I've been to ...
It was the first time I've been to Valve, last night for the AN, ATzm, 1qa and clowndog gig, and I really enjoyed it. It's a great intimate setting, making it excellent for small bands to start off at, the bar staff were all very friendly, things were clean, there were no overly drunk patrons causing any chaos, I really don't see the problem at all. When I left, there were about 3 people on Vivian St, and 2 of them were Liks bouncers, and they're were certainly no drunken yobs causing problems for society anywhere. Well, that was my night at Valve anyway. It was a good night.
[ http://www.jaysbeanbag.cjb.net ]
Valve is a good place and will be back, ...
Valve is a good place and will be back, but I don't see how the fact that because there is crap going down on Courteny Place, Valve is somehow excused from following the rules. I myself have been there when the place has "closed" but anyone inside at the time can continue drinking as long as they can pay. The license says 3:00 - if the Valve wants to continue until later, it should be aware that it puts its license under threat. Licensing inspectors wouldn't be doing their job if places became notorious for opening until whenever.
Yah I kinda agree, it sounds a bit like ...
Yah I kinda agree, it sounds a bit like they brought it on themselves. And as long as the fuzz close down the other bars that are staying open past their licensing hours and are serving intoxicated customers then im guessing there isn't a lot that you can argue with.
what the hell 3am? why so early? why no ...
what the hell 3am? why so early? why no 24hr licences in welli?
The problem I have with it is the ...
The problem I have with it is the indication that the bar was shut down to prevent violence and drunken behaviour... neither of which can be comfortably attributed to Valve.
If they'd said they were shutting it down because it was open for too long, then fine.
The problem I have with it is the ...
The problem I have with it is the indication that the bar was shut down to prevent violence and drunken behaviour... neither of which can be comfortably attributed to Valve.
If they'd said they were shutting it down because it was open for too long, then fine.
The problem I have with it is the ...
The problem I have with it is the indication that the bar was shut down to prevent violence and drunken behaviour... neither of which can be comfortably attributed to Valve.
If they'd said they were shutting it down because it was open for too long, then fine.
I heard you the first time, ...
I heard you the first time, braaahahaha.
I've thought about it some more and now I think I disagree with the closure of the bar.
I heard a rumour that apparantely the officer who was in charge of busting them thought they'd only be closed for a couple of days and apologised to management after they were closed for 2 weeks.
And yeah, perhaps they should get their license extended if people are going to want to be drinking there past 3am.
this is fucking balls. Every time I've ...
this is fucking balls. Every time I've been to valve (10, 15?) there's only been one fight ever (I mean if this is the reason why their license is till 3:00, ie prevention of anything untoward.. but I guess it's simply a tax thing), and that was because of some dumb skinhead (rascist) assholes. Why don't they "make an example" of "The Fats" for their sad, sad lack of any taste whatsoever (not that I've actually been in there..)
when my band played at valve recently, ...
when my band played at valve recently, we had a very difficult time with the management. we are from out of town so we dealt with the dude by phone, and he had very bad people skills (to put it politely). his idea of discussion involved threats and intimidation about trivial matters. he would shout down the phone etc. crazy! he went so far that on the night of the show he threatened one of us with a beating from his gang mates if his cables got mixed up. so we decided not to play at valve again.
then, when we were on the door, at least 20 of his mates let themselves in for free by a mixture of physical intimidation and sneaking in behind people. the agreement was that the bands gat the door take, but the management seemed to be intent on reducing it!
I like the bar, the whole setup has a lot of atmosphere, but we don't recommend the place to out of town bands.
Mental....
Mental.
i don't see them closing down any ...
i don't see them closing down any cricket or rugby games or attempting to control the drinking or after match rampages after games valve is an easy target pity been to some great gigs there
Just thought I'd post my two cents. ...
Just thought I'd post my two cents. Firstly, Valve hasn't been closed down. They just had their liquor licence suspended for 2 weeks (effective 12 Feb). I'm sure people will argue the point that this IS effectively shutting down a place like Valve, but the term "shutting down" implies that it's permanent, which in this case it isn't.
Secondly there were a few other breaches (asside from the "promoting violence" thing) to the liquour licensing act that made the police deem it nessiary to put the stop in, including serving past the licence time. I'm not advocating for the police in any instance, god knows they are power hungry at the worst of times, but I thought we'd better see the full side of the story. Everyone in this topic seems to have focused on the example that the cop used, which was that if "places such as this" continued to opperate outside of their licence then they were encouraging the violence.
To 6string, don't be discouraged, and please do come back down to Wellington again, even if it is to play at Indigo or Bar Bodega! I've heard that the owner-opperator of Valve (can't remember his name) is of Jewish desent, maybe it's the mafia in his blood?
there is a Jewish mafia!?! Damn I ...
there is a Jewish mafia!?!
Damn I thought the Kiwi mafia was too much.
I was looking forward to playing at ...
I was looking forward to playing at Valve, for many years, and when I finally did it was a huge disappointment. In my opinion it sucks ass, but then that my be because my style of music isn't suited for it.
Still, it is a good venue for the right band, and anywhere that gives a band a place to perform is wicked. And If the liquor licence thing hasn't actually closed the venue then I don't see the problem anyway. You don't need to be drunk or drinking to enjoy a rocking band, right?
cher the valve bar......
cher the valve bar...