Behind the scenes at Canberra's first gig held in a kebab shop
Written by Brad McIntosh and photography by Georgia Arndell
If you’ve ever caught a gig out in Civic, chances are you know getting a bite to eat at the end of the night can be a struggle. For many, the scent of hot chips and various grilled meats and spices travels down East Row, leading punters to the doors of the Kebaba in the Sydney building, one of the few places with their doors open past 10pm.
The pilgrimage to the Kebaba has become a ritual for many, especially those who attended gigs at the now closed Sideway as it was right next door, but what if there was no need for that pilgrimage…
What if there was a gig held inside the Kebaba?
With nothing seemingly too impossible for DIY powerhouse Gutwrench Records, that’s exactly what they did.
For one night only, Gutwrench Records held a gig inside the Sydney building Kebaba.
Following their successful run of DIY Summer shows, in which they took public places like Dairy Road and a storm drain and transformed them into venues, Daan from the Gutwrench team says the decision to hold a gig in a kebab shop seemed like an appropriate follow-up.
“We had been wanting to do a show in a weird spot for a while, like we looked at a boxing gym” he says.
“I’d often go into Kebaba and I always noticed there were stairs leading upwards and I’d sometimes see people coming up and down and thought ‘what is this mysterious place?’”
“I think I was stalking Kebaba’s Facebook page and saw photos of a function space upstairs, and I don’t really know, we just came in and chatted to one of the guys and he was like ‘yeah, that should be fine, let me talk to my boss’”.
“We ended up talking to his boss and he said ‘yeah, sure, that sounds good’. We expected we’d have to give them a big pitch, but it’s been confusingly easy”.
When asked about why Kebaba instead of the other proposed locations, Daan says the familiarity of its location sealed the deal.
“Kebaba certainly wasn’t a second choice or anything above anywhere else. We thought it would be great because it’s a spot everybody knows”.
“It’s on East Row, and two doors down from Sideway, so many people were already going there after a show, and we just liked the novelty of being at a place that you go to all the time that you wouldn’t consider that you could have a show at”.
With buzz generating from the announcement of the gig to the lead up of the night on Gutwrench’s socials, it was clear that Gutwrench’s ideas resonated with the scene.
The opening time for doors was set for 7pm, and by 6:30pm there was already a queue from the top of the stairwell spilling out of the shop onto East Row.
As doors opened and the room filled up, not even a sold-out announcement deterred punters away, with many listening to the first band from the stairs, waiting for some space to be made.
Gutwrench prides itself on its safety culture it’s created at its events, and it’s become one of their hallmark features. When asked about how safety will be enacted, Daan says it’s no different to other events they’ve held.
“We’re doing the usual stuff like our team wearing lanyards and the policies posted outside the bathrooms, and we’ll play the (safety) announcement before the first band starts”.
“There’s something nice about going to a spot that’s not a venue because you can just create it from the ground up, as opposed to trying to enforce (our policies) in a place that maybe won’t enforce it for you, which can be a struggle”.
Dogbox by Georgia ArndellThe bill for the night featured new band on the block Dogbox, and shoegaze group Body Shirt.
While the night was memorable for all those involved, it was especially memorable for the members of Dogbox, as this was their very first time playing a gig in the Canberra music scene.
Bassist and vocalist Lucy says the band felt welcomed.
“It was so fun! I didn’t feel like we weren’t meant to be there. I was getting kind of sad towards the end” she says.
When asked about how it felt to play a gig at a kebab shop, lead vocalist and guitarist Hunter simply had one response.
“It was sick!” he says.
“Name a better spot, like a kebab shop that’s mad. Like, finish your gig and then get a HSP, that’s so good.”
“It’s pretty unique but yeah, the line out the door proves that people want to come and watch”.
With questions surrounding the state of the music industry nationwide, grassroots scenes are only growing stronger.
Follow Gutwrench Records on Instagram for future events and releases.
Words by Brad McIntosh for Mustard Flats
