Founded Back In 1965...

[Flash@TMB]

...and still flying the flag of alt.rock

The Moorings was (arguably - because someone will probably argue) Aberdeen's original alternative rock bar/venue, catering for those with a slightly heavier taste in music. Times, tastes, and what is meant by 'heavier' have all changed, but we're still here.

The old place has survived four jukeboxes, three refits and two changes of caretaker.

It's lived through the beatles, heavy metal, glam, prog, disco, punk, NWOBHM, new romantics, new wave, hair metal, thrash, death, grunge, emo... I lose track at this point... It even survived for a few dull years without any live music.

All over the world other places have been born, lived, and died within that time frame including my personal favorite the amazing and illustrious CBGB's. Scary isn't it!

Here on our far flung patch of turf in the past 15 years decent and credible alt.rock ventures like The Venue, Caeser's Palace, The Palace/Fusion/Ritzy/Bonkers/Palace, The Satelite Bar, Doctor Drakes, even the Aberdeen Union, and others I can't recall have all sadly been wiped from the map. More recently even Moshulu appears to have been partially retargeted at a more lucrative market.

On a brighter note, during the same period we've seen the birth of The Tunnels.

But there have been some ghastly and lonely periods where only The Moorings stood in the way of a temporary alt.rock oblivion.

So what is the point to this little rant?

I very much hope that both The Tunnels and The Moorings are both still around up until 2049 and beyond (by which time my job will almost certainly have been readvertised at least once). But whether they are is up to each and all of you alt.rock fans out there...

This section has been deleted as it appeared to be distorting the message. Some readers appeared to be focusing on decoding the chain bar names, whilst others felt that my onslaught on the poor defensless billionaire chains was uncalled for. In Britian there used to be a tradition of supporting the underdog, but this is slowly being replaced with the American concept of backing the WINNER and sticking it to the loser. I blame imported television.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK VENUES. We're that little light of uniqueness shining in a dark world of conformity and replication.

LVX


Flash (current caretaker and self-appointed protector)
The Moorings Bar 2002-?

PS - In the meantime the Stewart Milne bulldozers may only pass over my dead body

[Tam o' Shantie]

Originally Posted by Flash@TMB

E*****

Hey hey, c'mon now!

[Flash@TMB]

Originally Posted by Tam o' Shantie

Hey hey, c'mon now!

Baaa.

[Chris]

What's more sheeplike? Going somewhere you've enjoyed for ages, regardless of who owns the place. Or not going to those places because Flash tells us to?



As much as I enjoy my occassional visits to the Moorings I'm still going to keep drinking in Ma's.

[Lucky Rathen]

Originally Posted by Flash@TMB

...just contemplate that next time you consider wasting £100 drinking overpriced pish in T** P******** B** or B** B** or L***** or M* C******* or A******* S******* or S*** B** or E***** or T***** K**** or T** J****** M***, just because the clueless sheep you call friends feel compelled to obey the will of the corporate establishment.

Well I'm afraid I can't heed your advice and avoid those places because I can't crack your code. The Pregnancy Bar? Boo Boo? London? My Chlymidia?

[TheFuzzBox]

Originally Posted by Flash@TMB

...and still flying the flag of alt.rock

The Moorings was (arguably - because someone will probably argue) Aberdeen's original alternative rock bar/venue, catering for those with a slightly heavier taste in music. Times, tastes, and what is meant by 'heavier' have all changed, but we're still here.

The old place has survived four jukeboxes, three refits and two changes of caretaker.

It's lived through the beatles, heavy metal, glam, prog, disco, punk, NWOBHM, new romantics, new wave, hair metal, thrash, death, grunge, emo... I lose track at this point... It even survived for a few dull years without any live music.

All over the world other places have been born, lived, and died within that time frame including my personal favorite the amazing and illustrious CBGB's. Scary isn't it!

Here on our far flung patch of turf in the past 15 years decent and credible alt.rock ventures like The Venue, Caeser's Palace, The Palace/Fusion/Ritzy/Bonkers/Palace, The Satelite Bar, Doctor Drakes, even the Aberdeen Union, and others I can't recall have all sadly been wiped from the map. More recently even Moshulu appears to have been partially retargeted at a more lucrative market.

On a brighter note, during the same period we've seen the birth of The Tunnels.

But there have been some ghastly and lonely periods where only The Moorings stood in the way of a temporary alt.rock oblivion.

So what is the point to this little rant?

I very much hope that both The Tunnels and The Moorings are both still around up until 2049 and beyond (by which time my job will almost certainly have been readvertised at least once). But whether they are is up to each and all of you alt.rock fans out there...

...just contemplate that next time you consider wasting £100 drinking overpriced pish in T** P******** B** or B** B** or L***** or M* C******* or A******* S******* or S*** B** or E***** or T***** K**** or T** J****** M***, just because the clueless sheep you call friends feel compelled to obey the will of the corporate establishment.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK VENUES. We're that little light of uniqueness shining in a dark world of conformity and replication.

LVX


Flash (current caretaker and self-appointed protector)
The Moorings Bar 2002-?

PS - In the meantime the Stewart Milne bulldozers may only pass over my dead body

Thats some great marketing right there. Along the same lines as Geldof's "Give us yer fokkin money"

[Lucky Rathen]

Originally Posted by Chris

As much as I enjoy my occassional visits to the Moorings I'm still going to keep drinking in Ma's.

Like Chris, I do enjoy an occasional visit to the Moorings when I'm out and about (Moosehead lager rocks my world). However there are a number of other bars I frequent, like the Tilted Wig, Number 5, Slains, Wild Boar, The Old Schoolhouse, The Bassment, Morgans, The Globe, Foundry, The Chi Bar, The Filling Station.... I'm not going to stop going to those places, I like a bit of variety in atmosphere, in music, in decor... I'd get bored as fuck sitting in one bar all night, and I like to try out new places. Calling me a 'clueless sheep' for choosing to do so is, if anything, less likely to make me go back to the Moorings...

[Flash@TMB]

Originally Posted by Chris

What's more sheeplike? Going somewhere you've enjoyed for ages, regardless of who owns the place. Or not going to those places because Flash tells us to?

As much as I enjoy my occassional visits to the Moorings I'm still going to keep drinking in Ma's.

This is about voting with your feet not following orders.

Niche markets are not a good source of income. Which is why the chains pursue the far more lucrative mainstream. Grassroots music and live entertainment are a niche market. Chain bars rarely support original music. The chain venues tend to pursue more established acts. The places that provide facilities for smaller original bands are mostly independent.

Some people only 'occasionally' visit an independent place when they play a gig, or when their mate is playing a gig... which is a touch one-sided. As independent venues dissappear those gigs become fewer. This is especially true of the alt.rock community which The Moorings inhabits.

There is always a smattering of short-lived excitement when a new venture opens, usually to fail within a few years. Perhaps it's also worth get excited about that which has been retained.

It makes me sad that so many good places are gone forever, converted into flats, or cloned into some souless shit hole selling BIG STEAKS to people watching BIG SCREEN SPORT.

[Tam o' Shantie]

How is Exodus a bad food serving sports bar? It's a nightclub that plays good rock/indie/alternative music, with dirt cheap booze, good looking girls, and usually very few neds.

[Flash@TMB]

Originally Posted by TheFuzzBox

Thats some great marketing right there. Along the same lines as Geldof's "Give us yer fokkin money"

There's no such thing as bad publicity.

Seriously... we get a sales spike after every single flame war. And best of all there's no regional manager to sack me for starting one