Keep Jive Alive: Push to save beloved West End live music venue
Keeping one of Adelaide’s most loved rock institutions alive could be as simple as just drinking a few beers.
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There are few places that embody the spirit of rock ’n’ roll better than Hindley Street venue Jive.
For the past 17 years Jive has played host to everyone from Aussie psych kings King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard to US guitar legend Nile Rogers, and countless local bands.
However it’s this commitment to live music that now sees the iconic venue on the ropes, struggling to stay afloat in a pandemic that saw capacity numbers reduced to a point where it was no longer viable to open the doors.
Unlike some live venues that were able to keep some cashflow coming in through food or drinks, at Jive it was live music or nothing.
After a six-month hiatus Jive is back – albeit at a reduced capacity – and the local industry has rallied around the venue and it’s beloved owner Tam Boakes to make sure those doors never close again. The Keep Jive Alive crowd-funding campaign will launch a Wall of Fame – where punters or corporations will be able to purchase their own tiles – a limited run of T-shirts and even a Jive beer brewed by Big Shed Brewing. There are also rumours of benefit concert in the near future.
Ms Boakes said it was always hard to ask for help, but that she’d been touched by the response so far.
“I just cried after the first time we all met,” she said. “There was no pity, no feelings of sympathy, it was just, ‘Of course, what do you need us to do? ‘It’s been beautiful to see people rally around and to me that’s what Jive has always been about, community.”
West Thebarton guitarist and percussionist Brian Bolado said Jive was an important part of his band’s story.
“We saw band’s that we loved and were inspired by here, and then we got to play here ourself,” Bolado said. “Every band wants to play Jive.”
You can help Jive keep the doors open from Thursday morning at pozible.com/project/keep-jive-alive
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