Imperial open Sept 4

Imperial open Sept 4

Erskineville’s iconic Imperial Hotel will open its doors to the public on Saturday, September 4 following a gala night for industry guests the night before.

Owner Shadd Danesi said patrons could expect everything they loved about the old Imperial, only bigger and better.

“We’ll have the normal drag queens and the shows people have come to expect from the Imperial,” Danesi said. “And it will be run pretty much along the same format as it’s ever been run.

“But the quality of the new sound and building works are superior to what they have ever been in the past.”

Danesi said the public bar would open as normal and, when things settle, he’ll open the cabaret bar at 10pm, and cellar bar at 11pm Fridays and Saturdays.

“But when it comes to closing times, a lot of that will be up to the public,” Danesi said. “We’re licensed 24 hours, so as long as there’s a good atmosphere where people are enjoying themselves, we’ll continue trading.

“I think there’s a lot of anticipation about the re-opening. The feedback we’ve been getting has been terrific, so I’m anticipating we’ll be well patronised.”

The Imperial has been closed for more than three years while undergoing a multi-million dollar refurbishment.

It has been the subject of multiple Land and Environment court appeals and ongoing negotiations with the City of Sydney. Danesi has racked up more than $500,000 in legal expenses in getting the building to a firm opening date.

For a taste of something a bit different, from September 10 to 26 the Imperial will host events as part of the inaugural Sydney Fringe festival.

Sydney Fringe events will be held in the hotel’s cabaret bar on weeknights and Sundays, with the public bar being open and normal on those days.

Acts include Hobo Bordeaux, who are described as having a ‘Cuban swamp blues spaghetti soul western tango’ sound, and Sydney dance outfit YEN, who will launch a new EP. In an event called Sonic Canvas, the Imperial’s interior will be transformed into a thee-dimensional canvas of projected words, images and light to music from some of Australia’s most progressive composers.

info: Visit www.theimperialhotel.com.au

CAPT
Mini Cooper, Tora Hymen and Charisma Belle star in the Going GaGa show playing at the Imperial Hotel as part of this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival. Photo: Ann-Marie Calilhanna

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22 responses to “Imperial open Sept 4”

  1. Nice to see how an article about the reopening of the Imperial has people are referring to drag queens as “some fairy dressed up as a fake woman.” and “performing dragqueens resemble Transexuals to me,sorry.”

    Drag queens are fucking fierce! If there was no demand for them then why the hell has drag survived for so long? Sure – some maybe be not that great, but at least they are having a go at expressing themselves. Sure – some is boring and repetitive, but some is amazing and revolutionary. The “gay” community would be NOWHERE without drag queens, trans women and other fierce trannies.

    Guess who threw the first bottle at the Stonewall riots? It sure as hell wasn’t a cis gay man!!!

    PS for those who don’t know, cis is the opposite of trans. Google “cisgender”.

  2. Stop the complaining (some of you) people! Why be so negative about a venue that hasn’t even opened yet. And if your (negative) comments really reflect the way you feel, then guess what – just don’t go! Don’t bring the venue and everyone else down with your negative, non-productive attitude.

    Good luck Imperial with the opening and all the best for your on-going business.

  3. Chris I Believe you have hit the nail on the head with a Mallet.
    When I first went to a “Gay Pub” it was the Albury and believe you me I had never seen a drag show let alone Dragqueen before,it was scary.
    As a gay man I would prefer to see real people singing,entertaining,and the cutier the better.A real man singing/Entertaining is alot more appealing then seeing a man in a frock going on like a screaming fag miming lyrics.
    Also I was taught that a dragqueen was a man with a 5 O’Clock shadow in a dress,bad make-up and maybe a wig.These performing dragqueens resemble Transexuals to me,sorry.

  4. ‘Sydney needs a venue like Circuit or the Laird in Melbourne.’
    couldn’t agree more Paul

    You draghags seem quite excited by the ‘cocks in frocks’
    As a gay man i’m attracted to other men -not some fairy dressed up as a fake woman.

    its 2010 not the 1950’s !

  5. Sydney needs a venue like Sircuit or the Laird in Melbourne. Oh why do I care, I’d rather get pissed at home.

  6. Put your claws away – I was not being bitter or bitching!

    The Imperial and Newtown Hotel were the places I went to when I first came out and I am as excited as the rest of you that the Impy is finally reopening.
    As everyone knows drag was a big part of the entertainment at both of these places and since they have closed it’s been missing in the inner west.
    Going out and seeing a drag show on a weekend was normal, so the comment from Shadd regarding having the normal drag queens was amusing to me but seems to have been lost in translation.
    So take a deep breath, count to 10 and everything will return to “normal”
    See you on the 04th

  7. The Imperial will be fucking fabulous and if you are an internet troll who has already prejudged the venue without being there. Stay home so there is more room for those that want to enjoy themselves!!! We don’t need fucking bitter queens that only go to a venue once every 5 years and then have a bad night carping about how it used to be. Get over it. I for one will go at least several times before I pass opinion and even then I won’t fill internet forums with opinions.

    We should be glad that we have the venues we do and that business people are prepared to invest their time and money in providing venues for us. Don’t like it – then open your own venue.

    Kudos to you jack for your attitude.

  8. Hopefully the bitching, whinging, tired old things won’t go there – and the rest of us can enjoy ourselves.

  9. Asquith – they are usually there from day one. Bitter old queens love nothing better then to bitch & whinge how clubs today are crap.

    I agree with Jack that our so called community is quick to attack without any knowledge of the facts of the matter, too often I want to distance myself from it.

    I will be there on day one & I will return to see how it goes. No judging before I experience it

  10. Good on u Jack for expressing such a positive out look and totally agree with your last comments ,,,Hey & as for those negative comments ,,Do us all a huge Favour don’t even show your Faces their as we will need the Room when the place is packed out and every one else but u Bitter Queens are having Fun ,,,Yes it took a while for the Imperial to re open but a big thanks is due even if it’s for the simple fact that we now will have a place to go to in Newtown that we can call our own … Thanks Again Imperial and thanks Jack …Same here bring on 4th Sept!!

  11. It bothers me how people always bag places for our community out, the stupid thing is that they claim they dont care about our clubs etc, but in reality they do.. otherwise they wouldnt feel the need to post a comment about it.

    So please just shut up and keep your negative comments to yourselves in the long run your curiosity will get the better of you and you will find yourself going to the imperial to check it out (again this is another bizzar behaviour of our bitter queens, they bitch moan and complain but yet they find themselves in the same venue week after week)

    I cant wait for this place to open!!

  12. Here ye Jack. It’s bad enough that we’ve so few gay venues then a decade ago but how do you foster a vibrant gay scene with so much negativity about?

  13. Bloody hell – the place isn’t even open and you are all judging it …

    Why don’t you wait until you get in there, have a look around, take in the atmosphere and then try and form some kind of objective opinion.

    I reckon – given how long the innerwest has been without a decent gay bar – since the closure of the Imperial and the Newtown Hotel – that it is going to be one of the best places in Sydney to have a gay old time …. at least that is that attitude I will be taking when i walk in the door …

    Sometimes my community sickens me to the core when it jumps to assumptions and conclusions about things it doesn’t understand … GROW UP PEOPLE!

  14. “And it will be run pretty much along the same format as it’s ever been run.”

    So basically the same old boring drag, the same old indifferent staff, the same old over-priced drinks, and the same old “why did we bother”?