Culture

Richard's on Richards: Vancouver Nightclub to Close July 20, 2009

by Jarrett Martineau | July 7, 2009 at 03:36 pm

934 views | 2 Recommendations | 5 comments

Richard's on Richards, one of Vancouver's longest-running nightclubs and much-loved music venues, will close its doors forever on July 20, 2009.

The fate of Richard's (which some dubbed "Vancouver's CBGB") had long been up in the air, as rumours abounded that the club might remain open in spite of threats that the club would be summarily demolished to make way for further condo developments in its prime downtown Vancouver location.

Unfortunately for music lovers, real estate interests have won out — and the wrecking ball will begin destroying the club's hallowed halls on July 21st.

The club's website indicates that all scheduled upcoming concerts, including buzz band shows with A-Trak, Bat for Lashes, Blitzen Trapper, and local heroes Japandroids, have been moved to other venues.

Richard's on Richards will hold its final concert ever on Sunday, July 19th — with local 12-piece, afro-funk band Five Alarm Funk.

But fear not: the club intends to move to the old A&B Sound building at 556 Seymour Street and open a new club in the space by mid-October.

Maybe it's just us but, somehow, Seymour's on Seymour doesn't have quite the same ring of rock credibility and indie authenticity.

What were your favourite shows and memories of Richard's on Richards? Share your comments, photos, and videos below.

The release reads "Aquilini Investments have given notice to Richard’s on Richards to vacate the premises on July 21, 2009. The building will be demolished late July." In its place, Aquilini will construct a new condominium development.

As for the club, its liquor license has been transferred to 556 Seymour Street (former home of A&B Sound), where a new club will open in mid October. The new establishment promises four lounges, a 5,000-square-foot dance floor, and two art galleries, and will feature dance nights on weekends, with live music relegated to Sunday through Thursday.

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stevesmys

at 15:43 on July 7th, 2009

Watching the Pink Mountaintops in 2007. I had a treacherous cold, so I was drinking Dayquil all day so I could go to the show.

Then I drank two or three beers, y'know, to be normal. The venue was was completely hot-boxed and packed with all these sweaty hippie types. Through the haze, the walls started shifting and swirling. My friends face was bending and it was then that I discovered that: a) Dick's on Dicks is (was) the best venue in town and b) Dayquil can be very bad news.

BC_Robyn

at 16:24 on July 7th, 2009

I went to so many amazing shows at Richards, it's truly going to be a sad day when it goes.

Remember when Friendster was all the rage, right before Facebook and Myspace? There was almost an unofficial mini-meetup of Friendster people all interconnected through their love of mutual music - I believe that was during the Walkmen show in 2004, and everyone awkwardly introduced one another.

And then there's the first Franz Ferdinand show which was all hype at the time, as nobody knew who they were. Everyone just stood there, arms crossed, looking jaded, while a few of us danced like lunatics at the front of the stage.

Then there were the more ethereal and magical moments, like Iron & Wine, Stars, or Final Fantasy. Or the group love moments like the Easy Star All-Stars performing reggae versions of Radiohead and Pink Floyd songs.

And then there were the debaucherous times like the Ima Robot show after one too many Heinekens and Jaegar shots. I remember (vaguely) drunkenly boasting to them how much Vancouver loved them because everyone was dancing... and NOBODY in Vancouver danced.

Then there were the "did that really happen?!" moments, like when Peaches climbed the soundsystem on the stage up to the bannister and crawled along the bar over people's drinks.

At least that's how I think I remember it. It's how I'd like to remember Richards.

R.I.P. Richards on Richards, I'll miss you!

jordan

at 07:16 on July 9th, 2009

Richard's is a great place to see a show: a city like Vancouver should have far more live venues than it does- the ethos of "oh, another place will open and all will be as it was" never quite bears itself out, does it?