Brisbane’s famed local, the Waterloo Hotel, will toss out regulars and welcome in renovators next month when its doors close until October 2009. The new-look Waterloo will surrender its rustic value for a veneer more fitting of this era: but will lose a live music venue along the way. Steeped in musical history, the venue has acted as a launching pad for some of the city’s best-known talents, and its last hoorah has even called for the reunion of local rockers THE TENANTS. After three years of watching every wanderer, musician and drunk to breeze (or stumble) through the hotel’s doors, JESSICA POOLE steps out from behind the bar to pass her memories onto AINSLEY DOBSON.

Ainsley Dobson: What is changing?

Jessica Poole: The hotel is getting renovated and the owners are doing a whole refurbishment. The new venue will have a U-bar and a bistro type of pub, offices and underground car parks… That’ll all be really cool, but the live gig venue is going forever, which is really sad. That whole section will be replaced by a liquor supermarket. We’re having a final celebration to say goodbye to it in July. The renovation has been on the cards for quite a while now, but it’s finally happening. I’ve been told so many times, “It’s closing down, it’s closing down.” They’ve been saying it ever since I started. I think the last renovation on this place was in the 1960s…

AB: What is staying?

JP: They’re gutting the whole place, but it’ll have virtually the same shape because so much of the hotel is Heritage Listed. It’s been standing for well over 50 years. I always have regulars coming in saying, “Oh, this is different, and that looks different,” but I never really know what they’re talking about. We’ll be keeping the façade and the fireplace and stairs, and a few other things in the public bar have to stay, so the builders will have to work around all of that. I’m glad the Heritage Listing is protecting those parts; I like the way it is.

AB: The regulars...

JP: I have so many regulars that come in and they are all really upset about what’s going to happen, but what can you do? It’s changing… I’ll really miss all the familiar faces. I’ve met so many people in here, and then sometimes when I go out, I see them around and have to wonder how I know them. I saw one of the boys from Butterfingers out clubbing the other night. I was thinking, “Hey, I know him!” until I realised, I can’t say hi because I don’t actually know him… I’ve heard so many stories from everyone; mainly old peoples’ stories when they don’t have anyone to talk to. Even I ended up spilling my guts to a customer the other day! I ended up thinking, “Hang on, this isn’t how it usually goes…” It’s easy to do. It’s like a big family here.

AB: The drunks...

JP: You need to have a good memory. The names, the faces, the ones you don’t serve… Surprisingly, our drunks don’t usually get too bad. Sometime they’re out of control – like when they’re trying to kick the front door down. There have been a few funny ones though. We were trying to get this man into a cab one time, and he kept trying to touch me on the bum. That’s the funniest drunk I’ve ever seen in here. Really though, the customers aren’t that bad. They’ll do anything for you.

AB: Chopper Reid...?

JP: I actually remember having Chopper in here once. It was one of my first nights and I was on the door, and he’d been ringing up our manager saying, “If you don’t sell all my tickets, I’m going to fucking kill you!” It was pretty funny; he was the real deal. Every second word that came out of his mouth was just like you’d expect. It was interesting to hear some of his stories…

AB: The music...

JP: Our typical crowd is pretty varied and it usually depends on who’s playing. We have an annual blues festival and that’s always hugely popular, and it draws an older crowd. When Butterfingers played here we had a massive line up all the way out the door, and they were mainly young people, but some bands draw a mixed crowd. The Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels, even The Screaming Jets – they’ve all been pretty mixed. We’ve had a few bands from overseas, but the Waterloo has always been more about showing off local artists. We’ve had bands like Spiderbait, people like Xavier Rudd, Alex Lloyd, Mia Dyson. Like – the Waterloo is where these bands were before they got famous. Even bands like Shihad and Kisschasy have played here. It’s a good thing to tell these local bands: play at the Waterloo and you’ll get big. That’s how I see it, anyway.

To join in the Waterloo Hotel’s July 5 farewell party and see THE TENANTS, SHIFTER, MARTINI 66, DIANA ANAID, MERCY DOLLS and more, book tickets on (07) 3852 1101.

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