Max Watt's in Brisbane will host its last gig later this month before permanently closing its doors.
The live music room in West End cited an inability to find terms with the landlord and competition as the two factors behind the decision.
Max Watt's originally traded as The HiFi Bar before the parent company was placed in to administration in 2015. The venue boasted a diverse roll call of acts over its years covering all genres in the music spectrum – perhaps its pinnacle was a boutique appearance from The Purple one. Who would have thought Prince's appearance in 2012 would see the untimely ends of both perfomer and venue within five years?
The final gig will be The Dillinger Escape Plan – who by coincidence themselves are bringing down their own curtain – on 22nd October. The Sydney and Melbourne venues will continue to operate.
The statement from Max Watts reads:
It is with great sadness that Max Watt’s has announced their decision to close the Brisbane venue following the Dillinger gig on October 22nd. Regretfully MW were unable to reach ongoing terms with the landlord making it unfeasible to continue to invest in the venue.
Booker, Jesse Barbera, has worked closely with promoters and agents of forward bookings and will continue to support all bookings and holds into other venues without any need to change dates.
All tickets will be honoured at the new venues and Oztix will advise ticket holders in this smooth process of change. We will ensure that any other ticketing agencies provide the same service to their ticket holders.
Although this has been a very difficult decision, MW has acted to strengthen the integrity and sound operations of the Melbourne and Sydney venues. Brisbane is a smaller market with aggressive competition and higher costs. Max Watt’s is redirecting focus to invest in the success of iconic Melbourne and progressive Sydney Max Watt’s venues.
We celebrate the fantastic times over the past few years and thank all staff, performers and patrons who have loved the Brisbane venue!
Booker, Jesse Barbera, has worked closely with promoters and agents of forward bookings and will continue to support all bookings and holds into other venues without any need to change dates.
All tickets will be honoured at the new venues and Oztix will advise ticket holders in this smooth process of change. We will ensure that any other ticketing agencies provide the same service to their ticket holders.
Although this has been a very difficult decision, MW has acted to strengthen the integrity and sound operations of the Melbourne and Sydney venues. Brisbane is a smaller market with aggressive competition and higher costs. Max Watt’s is redirecting focus to invest in the success of iconic Melbourne and progressive Sydney Max Watt’s venues.
We celebrate the fantastic times over the past few years and thank all staff, performers and patrons who have loved the Brisbane venue!
Prince @ The HiFi, 20132. © Annabel Taylor. 
