The Birmingham Hotel supposedly had its last gig on Saturday, February 16, 2008, one featuring the literary talents of a Canadian punk rock author and the musical talents of Napalm Hearts (for whom said author shouts into a microphone). If correct, this presumably means that the owners are selling. Or maybe not. Time will tell. As for the boycott, presuming Gary, the person responsible for booking the neo-Nazis, is no longer involved in the pub, it would appear to have little more purpose…

What impact, if any, did the boycott have on the decision by the pub’s owners to sell? That’s obviously a very difficult question to answer, and until such time as the sale has been confirmed, probably not worth speculating about. For example, it may be that the current owners are not selling but have decided to make other uses of the premises. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that, from September 23, 2006 — the date of the last neo-Nazi gig at the venue — to today, a little over 18 months later, a total of approximately 11 punk gigs have taken place: on October 7, November 11 and 18, 2006; March 2, April 25, July 7, September 29, November 30 and December 1, 2007; and February 9 and 16, 2008. It’s likely that during this period there were one or two other gigs, which to avoid attention remained unpublicised. Of the two dozen or so bands that played, the most loyal have been Slick 46 (4 gigs) and The Worst (5 gigs); most others, with the exception of The Boots, Bulldog Spirit, Charter 77, Marching Orders, Poverty Bay Goon, Sewer Cider and Wot Rot, played just once.

A handful more local bands have scabbed on the boycott. They are:

Long Haul Paul & the Pukes;

Rankwaste;

Scape and;

THC.

The four bands played November 30. On December 1, these four will be joined by Donkey Punch (as well as Sewer Cider, The Boots and Wot Rot, all of whom have previously scabbed on the boycott).

You can now find a myspace page dedicated to promoting the boycott. Please consider joining.

As has been customary for the last 20 years or so, the last Saturday in September is when the Melbourne Punk Pub Crawl takes place. The kick-off point is The Arty, while the final destination has varied. Most recently, it’s been The Birmy.

On Saturday, September 29, 2007, as on Saturday, September 30, 2006, a number of punks crawled to The Birmy to drink and to watch punks perform on- and off- stage. This year, four bands were scheduled to perform:

Sewer Cider; Social Suicide; Suicide Kings; and The Worst.

Sewer Cider and The Worst have played at The Birmy on a number of previous occasions. Both bands were contacted prior to the gig to ascertain their attitude toward the boycott. Sewer Cider did not reply, while The Worst, in the person of Chunga, their lead singer, replied that he wasn’t a racist and that anarchists were faggots.

In 2006, on white supremacist website Stormfront, a local member of the Hammerskins, agreeing with Chunga, recalled the ISD gig the week before the 2006 Melbourne Punk Pub Crawl as follows:

Some tool rang up the owner and said he was some construction union boss and had 200 union members in the city that were going to come and picket outside and alluded to maybe doing more than that.

They also rang the owner all night and hung up and harassed him.

There was even the gig’s address/details/map/location/phone number on ‘the site we aren’t allowed to talk about here’ on the day of the gig.

Well we waited all night to ’say hello’ to these scum and NOT one person turned up.

It’s amazing how these cowardly dirtbags can even stand up without a spine. Gutless fags.

The gig was brilliant: great bands, great people and a good time was had by all.

UP YOURS FAG ANTI-RACIST VERMIN!

GOD FORGIVES, HAMMERS DON’T!

Following the gig, Jason Bastard of Bastard Squad wrote (September 24, 2006):

It’s about time we find out where our friends really stand. This is something that can no longer be ignored. The annual punk pub crawl happens this Saturday (September 30), and it usually finishes at The Birmy. I cannot believe that punks will still go to The Birmy after something as significant as this. Hypocrisy seems no longer an issue in today’s ‘anything goes’ apathetic punk scene. If punks go to The Birmy, even the fundamentals that we all share become null and void. It would be nothing less than ridiculing ourselves.

This is not the case of ‘oh shit, boneheads were at that pub last week, we better not go there’.

This is much more than that. This is something well organised and deliberate. This is blatant support of Blood & Honour because it is providing a venue for their gigs and meetings. To all extents and purposes the Birmy can justifiably be called a Blood & Honour pub.

I will not be going to The Birmy at the end of the pub crawl or at any other time in the future. I will also be reminding others of what happened there and asking them if they are still going. It will be interesting to hear what reasons punks give for still going to The Birmy. If the answer has anything to do with having no heart or no backbone, maybe I will ask myself ‘what is this all about then’.

So what’ll it be, punk?

Sydney band Vae Victis — exponents of the very finest in D-Beat, Fantasy Metal and Disco since time immemorial — have recently voiced their support for a boycott of The Birmy. If you’d like to join them, please comment below…

Cool potatoes and hot bananas. The following bands have declared that they’re not gonna play along to get along:

ABC Weapons : Easy listening.

Final Warning : “…punk, ska and reggae with incisive lyrics, kick ass rhythm, and the passion of youth at the threat of extinction.”

Pisschrist : “Melburn mange!”

Schifosi : “Down-tuned epic melodic crust.”

Speartackle : “Rock City Hardcore.”

The Focus : [ Genres = indie rock, post-punk ] “Play melodic, hook-riddled tunes with a Husker Du feel.”

The Resignators : “Better start skanking or ya gonna start bleeding.”

Vents : Hard to Kill hip-hop.

Yidcore : “The original humus-fuelled punk pranksters!”

A hardcore gig scheduled for Friday, June 22nd at The Birmy was cancelled after the six bands scheduled to play — Crosscheck, Flame the Fire, No Love Lost, Speartackle, Tenth Dan and Violent Abuse — were informed of the boycott and the reasons for it. Many thanks to the bands in question and for displaying solidarity with Melbourne antifa.