Last week, I walked past the Imperial Hotel on my way up to King Street, a daily occurrence.
To my shock, the lights were on, the doors were open, there were people inside, and innocuous “We’re Coming” posters stuck to the wall, with “14.12.15” splashed underneath.
Now the time has arrived, and the Imperial has reopened its doors. All of this has happened quicker than a BRAG print cycle. But like Charlie when he first smelled the chocolate from Willy Wonka’s factory again, I was excited for what’s to come.
I’ve written before about the prospects of the Imperial turning into a gastropub – Erskineville’s answer to the Henson, perhaps, or even just the west side of Erskineville Road’s answer to the Erko. But with less than a week between the first tradies showing up and the planned opening, it seems they haven’t built an entire gastro kitchen in that time.
What we can speculate about is how people will react to the bar’s reopening. Will police be doing laps of Erskineville Road this Saturday, waiting for trouble? Will people flock back to the bar in droves, or will the response be more hesitant, or reluctant? And will the pub be dusted off, built up and gentrified, or will it be as tacky as it was in the opening scene of Priscilla?
The hotel’s website seems to indicate that the former Priscilla glory will be retained. But will the gentrified folk of Erskineville allow that? A few weeks ago, friends of mine living close to the Imperial were left a note, telling them they were too loud (for sitting on their porch at 10pm), and that they needed better furniture, because their milk crates didn’t “suit the Erskineville aesthetic” (I’m not even kidding, this actually happened). How are these guys going to react to the late-night noisy antics of the tacky pub at the end of the street – the pub that definitely doesn’t suit their Erskineville aesthetic, but was there long before them?
Erskineville has undeniably changed in the 21 years since Priscilla. In some ways it seems like a hopeless cling to nostalgia to expect the pub to remain emblematic of that time. But, as I’ve written before, it’s more than just nostalgia; it’s a desperate resistance to the gentrification that pushes out a queer community and replaces it with (albeit very cute) puppies, babies, and gastro pubs.
If we want to resist gentrification spreading to the Imperial, we need to fight. If you’re out and about (pun deliberate) this weekend, come to the Imperial. Put some tacky songs on the dukebox, pash wildly, make some noise, make a mess (but not enough to have the police shut it down again). Have a good time, and show the new hoteliers that we’re having a gay old time. It was Reclaim The Streets last weekend; this weekend, let’s reclaim the Imperial.
This Week…
Ho Ho Homosocial is finally here! Featuring Matt Vaughan, Cunningpants, Andy Webb and performances from Tammy Thomas and Aaron Manhattan, this Friday December 18, get down to 90 Liverpool Street.
In keeping with the Christmas spirit, this Saturday December 19 is the Chicks With Picks Christmas edition at the Town Hall Hotel. Featuring “the worst band in Newtown”, Scabz are back with a special reunion show, which promises to be extra fucked up.
Then on Sunday December 20, Super OpenAir is back at theFactory Theatre. Featuring Discodromo, Claire Morgan, Ben Drayton, DJ Kiti, Stereogamous and Magda Bytnerowicz, this will be a big daytime dance party, the ones that always make summer better.
Finally, for the diary: this New Year’s Eve, Thursday December 31, get to Glitterfest at The Shift. DJs Adam Love and Anvi will be on the decks, and there’ll be a tonne of shows from the likes of Thomas Peisley, Ripley Waters, Sia Tequila and Annie Mation. The night is hosted by Ms Summersalt and features a special performance from BP Major, so don’t miss it.
Main image:Imperial Hotel courtesy Newtown Graffiti/Flickr
