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The Cutaways give us a tour of Brisbane’s best venues and bars

You’ve probably noticed a lot of great bands coming out of Brisbane lately. The city has raised some of Australia’s most beloved bands, and of course, these bands all need a great range of local venues to cut their teeth. So, we asked our favourite Brissy alt-punk outfit The Cutaways to guide us through some of their favourite Brisbane locations.

Photos: Matt Walter (check out his work here)

Fresh off the release of their latest single In The Street, Brisbane four-piece The Cutaways give us a tour of their favourite Brisbane pubs, venues, and bars.

There have been some pretty special things happening around Brisbane over recent years, but one of the things we’re most grateful for is the establishment of some gorgeous little venues around the place. We’ll jump at any excuse for a mini pub crawl, so we thought it’d be cool to get our good pal Matt Walter to grab his camera and follow us round to some of our favourite little bars and venues in our charming little city! So in no particular order…

THE BEARDED LADY – Boundary St, West End

This place is a total gem! Located on the other side of the river and away from the hectic-ness of the Valley, it sits just up the road from the decaying shell of what was once Max Watts, and now remains one of the only places for bands to play shows this side of town.

West End is such a cool, quiet little hub, so its great to shift things west side and play here when we get the chance. So much about this venue rules – a whole lotta character and soul and an excellent front bar! Out the back is the band room. It’s small, intimate, hot and loud, and we love it!

FUN FACT: Our last show for 2018 was at The Bearded Lady supporting our friends LOSER from Melbourne. Huge end-of-year vibes and a lot of good friends made for one of our funnest shows of the year.

NETHERWORLD – Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley

If you’re a Brisbane local you will more than likely know about this place. But if you’ve never actually made it through the doors, what the hell are you doing!?

It’s an arcade, it’s a bar, AND they have one of the best vegan menus in town! There’s so much to love about it here and it has become a favourite pre-show hang for us. Any night of the week Netherworld is jumpin’ and for good reason. Games nerds, punks, indie folk, normies and metalheads alike, its a place for all and undeniably one of the best spots in Brisbane! Maybe not so well known for shows, but they do put gigs on from time to time.

FUN FACT: We played our first (and only to date) full band acoustic show here last year. Would do again. How ‘bout it folks?

THE ZOO – Ann St, Fortitude Valley

One of Brisbane’s most iconic venues, and it’s hard for anyone to not have a soft spot for its historic relevance to our music culture here. It came under new management a couple of years ago and recently had a makeover, and they have done a fabulous job at the preserving the precious vibe that show-goers have come to hold so dearly over its many years of existence. The stage rules, the sound is always incredible and we’ve played some amazing shows here. Top of the list and most recently was supporting our fellow Brisbane-ites and total sweethearts WAAX mid last year.

FUN FACT: Unfortunately we couldn’t get inside on the day of shooting, but luckily the back stairs (pictured) are just as iconic to any band thats ever played here, so this’ll do just fine.

KING LEARS THRONE – Ann St, Fortitude Valley

Located almost directly beneath The Zoo is King Lears Throne. Blink and you’ll miss it because there’s no signage and it is quite literally a hole in the wall! You’re almost always guaranteed a welcoming hug or high five from owner/total legend Kenny, who has done such an incredible job building this perfect little boozing space.

There’s local art on the walls, its dark, small and a total dive (in a good way) – everything a bar should be! Always a favourite of ours to get a night started or to hang at for an evening. The vibes are always top notch and there’s killer music playing at all times! Better still is they have a simple but splendid beer and tinnies list. Four XXXX Golds for us, please! Every time.

FUN FACT: Okay, we’ve never actually played a show here and technically it’s not a venue. But they do put on a gig occasionally and solo acts quite regularly. Who knows, maybe a sneaky Cutaways show at King Lears sometime in 2019?

CROWBAR – Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley

Walking through the doors into Crowbar is like coming home. The formidable ‘Home of the Heavy’ is beloved by so many of both our Brisbane and interstate friends. It stands out as a pillar in the Brisbane punk/metal/alternative scene and we’ve played some of our biggest, loudest and most memorable shows here. It will never cease to hold a special place in our sappy little hearts!

Owners Trad and Tyler have built something quite amazing, and they have some of the best people on board to help keep things afloat. Huge shout out to Denis (booker of shows and local legend) and Matt (bar manager) for taking such good care of us each and every time.

Upstairs is ‘Crowbar Black’ – gorgeous layout, sensational vibes at all times and set up for acoustic sets. Downstairs is the main band room, it’s dark and the atmosphere and sound is always impeccable.

FUN FACT: Crowbar Sydney is now a thing! If you live in that part of the country go and check it out asap, and we’ll see you down there for a show sometime real soon!

In The Street is available now.