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| stonedinaustralia |
i just noticed you are on line
i just wanted to say thanks so much again for the tip off re enmore
as you may appreciate, that is the single most important thread i have read on this (or any other) board and perhaps one of the single most important things i have ever read in my life
so we will have to catch up in feb. so i can buy you a beer - that's the least i could do (but don't ask what the most is)
btw/ what is the theatre like - is it a funky old one?? - i lived in sydney for a couple of years about twenty years ago - i don't recall ever going there
[Edited by stonedinaustralia] |
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| fmk438j |
No worries.
I'm so happy that I was able to get tickets, and even more pleased to see everyone else did too.
As you said, I won't be comfortable until the wrist band is on.
Sounds like a YOTI oz-style is in the works. There's a few from NZ who are organising one, which should be cool.
70 days or there abouts. All roads lead to Glebe.
There's a couple of articles below, both from Sydney papers. The first goes into a fair bit of detail about the Enmore. I've never been there, but my parents say that it's really steep, so that (if you're in a seat) you really look down at the stage. The second is a more general one and is interesting, despite the various errors (the stones are currently playing in India right now, according to the article).
Why Jagger will play the Enmore
By PAUL POTTINGER
08dec02
ALMOST a century after two brothers built the Enmore Theatre, the Glimmer Twins (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards) will provide its finest hour on February 18 when the former vaudeville palace hosts the almost as venerable Rolling Stones.
"There is something essentially terrific about being in a theatre where there's 1600 or 2000 seats as opposed to a big, black bunker," said Greg Khoury, The Enmore's business development manager.
"They don't have the same relationship between the audience and the stage. You have intimacy and spectacle at the same time."
The very survival of the Enmore in a town which has at various times been hell bent on destroying its built heritage, is a feat in itself.
And it will remain as it is on Enmore Rd – as much as developers might dream of a cluster of yuppie townhouses on the site.
There was simply nowhere else in Sydney than the city's oldest continuously-operating performing arts venue that the "greatest rock and roll band in the world" could carry off such an intimate gig.
The Enmore embodies a legion of contradictions, depending on whether you talk to a fan or foe.
The former group maintains that the theatre is a depository of art deco grandeur; the latter dismiss it as shabby. The pro lobby say that it resonates with old world charm, the cons reckon it merely uncomfortable and just too old to satisfy contemporary requirements for creature comforts. But even if they do not celebrate The Enmore, critics are prepared to tolerate it.
"It's invaluable, though not because its heritage per se," said Shane Danielsen, a former Sydney critic.
"It's cramped and uncomfortable and the acoustics are certainly not the best for performance. The Stones are suited to a venue of that size, but I can't help but wish they were playing somewhere really great."
Veteran promoter Michael Chugg, however, is an unabashed fan. "I love it," he said.
"It's been interesting to see it grow. Bill Eliades took it over (in 1991) when it was a real dump and they've continually upgraded it.
"Once you could only put in a certain genre of act because of the state of the venue, but now it plays a crucial role in the live scene. Chris Isaak loves it there because people can get off and have a good time.
"It works, it really works."
Certainly The Enmore is nothing if not versatile. Look at the list of the almost 50 acts to have played The Enmore this year alone: you could not reasonably expect to find a more diverse bunch.
There's been big name pop and rock (including Oasis); alternative music (Nick Cave and Luka Bloom); comedy (Wog Story); nostalgia (Joe Cocker); ethnic acts and dance.
And where else could you expect to see torch singer Marianne Faithfull? She plays on February 4, a fortnight before her former lover Mick Jagger, with whom she first visited Australian in 1969 (he to shoot the film Ned Kelly, she to spend six days in a coma after overdosing on sleeping pills).
When The Sunday Telegraph visited on Thursday, the staff were preparing for that night's student's Gothic fashion show.
The following night they would have to be ready for Isaak.
"In one week here we could have a
Megadeath concert, a children's pantomine and a Fenech fight night," said event manager Dioni Meliss, 25, who began her career in The Enmore's cafe.
As a child she slept on her mother's lap while Greek films played at the theatre. Since then, The Enmore has nurtured the careers of equally diverse acts.
That this remains so is due to the Eliades family, who have run The Enmore since 1991, but who are related to the dynasty who have owned it for half a century.
"The Enmore is really still here because of the owners and operators," said Greg Khoury. "It's an independent family-run business of second generation theatre practitioners."
The Eliades are "totally not into" the trappings of showbiz, said Khoury. "They are down to earth hands-on people."
Indeed, Bill, the youthful looking 60-something patriarch wanders by dressed in working clothes, looking for someone to help move some heavy object.
Today's owners are a contrast to the flamboyant impressarios who built The Enmore in 1908. For 20 years, William and George Szarka hosted vaudeville, recital, revues and photo plays at The Enmore until it was renovated in 1920 with a palladium facade. Seven years on, Hoyts closed the theatre for 16 month and it was reborn as an art deco showpiece.
Although concealed by regrettable lime green paint during the '70s and purple in the '80s, The Enmore of today is essentially the 1920s model.
Some of the ornate original 1908 ceiling can also be seen in the foyer as can elements of art nouveau, Edwardian, art moderne and various deco style – it's an art student's day trip.
All of this would have been lost if the Elizabethan Theatre Trust did not begin improvements on what was by then a dump. Then the Eliades began massive and ongoing restorations not only to the building, but its reputation.
The good news, Meliss said, is that the Enmore will remain a fixture in a community it has served for just shy of a century.
"There's a strong commitment to this theatre," she said.
"It's personal."
Enmore an intimate setting for 2000 fans
By Christine Sams, Entertainment Reporter
December 9 2002
The Sun-Herald
One of Sydney's smallest theatre venues will host the world's biggest rock band when the Rolling Stones arrive in Australia in February.
Mick Jagger has happily agreed to strut his stuff across the stage of the Enmore Theatre in Newtown, a venue which has a capacity audience of about 2,000 people.
It is a far cry from the Rolling Stones' stadium shows in the US and Europe which commanded upwards of 100,000 people, but the band have chosen to perform at the tiny theatre to relive their early days in rock 'n' roll.
"After all these years, they still love getting close to the people, they get a kick out of it," Jake Berry, production director for the Rolling Stones, said.
Speaking to The Sun-Herald from India, where the Stones are currently performing, Mr Berry said the Enmore Theatre sounded like an ideal venue for one of the band's most intimate performances.
"There will be 2,000 very lucky people inside those doors," he said.
"When you get to the level of the Stones, there is a certain mentality needed to adjust to a smaller venue. But they started their careers in clubs and theatres, they can still do it better than anyone."
The Rolling Stones will also perform an arena show in Sydney at the Sydney SuperDome. But their first show in Sydney will be at the Enmore Theatre on February 18. They play at the SuperDome two nights later.
"There's a real buzz because it's the very first date of their tour and it's just something different," Paul Dainty, promoter of the Australian tour, said.
"The Rolling Stones have never played indoors in Australia before. It is even exciting to have them inside the SuperDome, because it will only be 12,000 or 15,000 people, as opposed to 50,000."
Dainty said he believes sections of Enmore Road will have to be closed when the Stones roll into town
- because thousands of people are expected to flock to the Enmore, even if they don't have tickets.
"I reckon there'll be 2,000 people standing outside just trying to get in," Dainty said. "When the Rolling Stones turn up at the Enmore Theatre, it's going to be pretty wild."
Enmore Theatre is an art deco building that sits at the centre of Enmore Road in Sydney's inner west, slightly removed from the busy cafe strip on Newtown's King Street.
The theatre was first built as a vaudeville venue in 1908, but it was revamped in 1920 to incorporate "moving pictures". Over the past few years, the theatre has played host to big-name artists including Oasis and Joe Cocker, but it was long known as the home of Wogs Out Of Work, and of various pantomimes during school holidays.
At the original suggestion of Jagger, the Stones decided to include small club dates on their tours of the US, Europe and Australia, alongside massive stadium and arena shows.
The three styles of performances
- theatre, arena and stadium - boast different sets and separate song lists. For the show at the Enmore Theatre, the Stones will rely on simple lighting and a plain background to add to the intimate feel of the event.
A similar performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, with a capacity crowd of 3,000 people, was one of the hottest concerts in the US this year. Scalpers were selling tickets out the front for up to $6,000.
Official ticket prices for the Australian shows range from $69.95 to $149.95 and a similar frenzy is expected from Sydney fans. A number of hardcore Rolling Stones fans are expected to bid for tickets from overseas.
Tickets for the Enmore Theatre show are limited to two per person, and are available only by phone. They go on sale on Wednesday morning, through Ticketek on 0292664800.
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| gypsymofo60 |
Forgive me, but did that first journo refer to The Stones as being "almost as venerable" as The Enmore theatre? Typical antipodean claptrap! All over the world they sing the praises of The Enmore Theatre, while people ask, "The Rolling Stones, who might they be?" Apologies for my fasciciousness, but these smalltown journos really do need the odd reality check. |
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| fmk438j |
Get this gypsymo, this qoute about the prices:
"Official ticket prices for the Australian shows range from $69.95 to $149.95 and a similar frenzy is expected from Sydney fans."
This has been in about three articles so far. Any journalist who has bothered to do 1/2 a second research would see that $350.00 is the higher price range.
Maybe a Dainty ploy.
[Edited by fmk438j] |
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| exile |
the enmore is going to rock
Its a great old theatre I used to live in Newtown for a while saw quite a few bands there including Powderfinger and comedian Eddie Izzard
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