Australia Blog

The Royal Exchange (RE) pub Brisbane

This after I took a stroll up the hill from Taringa towards Toowong.

The sun was blazing and I was just going out to stretch my legs. Getting to Toowong I passed a pub and gazing at the window I noticed it said 'RE'. Oh my God, its the Royal Exchange Hotel, the place I last visited in 1993 and where my friend Jay met his wife Debbie.

I couldn't resist and stopped in for a pint of Guinness cold. The RE used to be a college bar where crowds gather to listen to live music and socialize. I remember the smell of vomit still being there on sunday mornings ( not mine, the other charachters who used to hang out there ). Looking around I noticed some changes. There is now a 'gaming lounge'...one of those wretched places where banks of slot machines entertain the mindless. There is a wooden deck close to the street which raises drinkers another foot in the air. The bar area seems to have been revamped and still occupies its old location. The good thing is the musician's stage which is a square concrete block complete with roof, power outlets, lights and speakers. This tells me they are serious about live music and that's a good thing. The music scene in pubs over here is being extinguished by greedy landlords filling their places with 'pokey machines' ( slots) and forgoing the music in favour of brain dead consumerism. The Woodford Folk Festival showed me the Australian music scene is alive and kicking and I'd like to see it get more of a helping hand from the drinking scene.

I like the fact that the RE has this large open air area ( who wants to smell like a ash tray?) and that its handy for our part of town. Thev last time I came here I powered a $5 bottle of champagne in the parking lot next door so I wouldn't have to spend to much on beer. Fortunatley I can now afford a couple of beers so those days are over.

The RE has live music 6 nights a week except Monday. Come down and support a musician.