My last post was about my most recent Friday Night Drinks Venues. I have been thinking about this great institution in earlier years.
The Jamo and the Uni Bars and Refectories
My first experience of Friday Night drinks was just after I let school in Canberra. Our favourite watering hole was the Jamison Inn (the Jamo). On reflection, the reason we probably like it was that be knew nothing else. The Jamo was a really basic pub, in the then newly developed suburb of Macquarie. Put simply it had what we wanted, beer and pool tables.
In the 70’s, Australia had fairly restrictive liquor laws. Pubs and other venues serving alcohol had to close at 10.00 p.m. The only way that venues could stay open was to provide musical entertainment and food. A consequence of this policy was that that venues, including pubs , clubs and university refectories had incentive to stage concerts and dances with live music. The Canberra venues were no exception.
During the mid to late 70’s we be treated to a feast of great live music at the university refectories , the various clubs (e.g. the Finnish Club, West Rugby Union) and the pubs like the Jamo. These and other venues around the country, provide bands with a full-time living. These bands included: Sherbert, Skyhooks, Mental As Anything, Dragon, Spectrum, Daddy Cool, Spit Enz and ACDC. In later years you could add bands like Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil. It was a great period of Australian music. At the time I don’t think we realised how lucky we were.
Some of the more notable concerts I can remember of that era included seeing Split Enz at the Finnish Club which was opposite the Jamo. I think Neil Finn must have been well and truly under the legal drinking age. They were very different to say the least, but even that early age it was clear that they would go a long way. Another great night was seeing Daddy Cool at the Jamo.
Getting back the Friday Night thing, the drinking crowd was essentially old primary and high school friends and their partners. Then as, now the subjects of conversation included: sport, politics, and the personal lives of all in sundry. How little things change.
The National Press Club
On this day of great turmoil in Canberra, leads me to recall another Friday Night Drinking Venue. That venue was the National Press Club. The reason we drank at the Club was that one of your group was a member. This bloke has started his journalistic career as a cameraman with Channel 7. He quickly moved on to move into radio and TV. He had a long and distinguished career in ‘free to air’ and pay TV. On this day he is the media advisor to a senior politician. I was planning to travel with him to Sydney this evening. As a result of the events of the day this has not occurred. I will be taking the mid-day train to Sydney tomorrow.
billrider2013 