King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Dead-Beat @ Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne (5th July 2012)

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• published: 05 Jul 2012
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DING DONG IS BACK!!! At a industry only event, the newly refurbished Ding Dong Lounge, reopened it doors with those completely fried theremin wielding psychopaths, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard performing a scorching set on the new stage. Back in 1998, a young Billy Walsh (the former drummer of Melbourne rockers Cosmic Psychos) conceived a bar idea after one-too-many margaritas at CBGB's. A bar where musicians came to hang out and hoped that the DJs might play their record. A place where the DJs had very large record collections (duh) and it was always all about the music. Liam Gallagher demanded that they sell the bar to him. Billy's mum Janet Walsh was introduced into the mix as a secret weapon. Thom Yorke described her homemade sausage rolls as heavenly at a Radiohead end of world tour party. Dan Auerbach helped out behind the bar on a particularly busy Saturday night. The Melvins played two shows in one day and ripped the bar another arsehole. J Mascis and Mike Watt played Stooges covers. Watt got the Stooges to reform the following year, with him on bass. Chris Cester wrote Rollover DJ about the bar. Billy played the bar several times and was so proud to have been a part of it: 'it' is Cherry Bar. Fast forward to 2012 and a more grown up Billy Walsh is doing it all over again as the sole owner with the long awaited return of Dingers, The Dong, Ding Dong Lounge, which was previously known as Melbourne's underground & alternative rock'n roll bar that delivered live eclectic local, national & international rock, hip-hop & electro. Nestled in the heart of Chinatown, Melbourne. The Ding Dong Lounge is the sister bar to New York City's very own Ding Dong Lounge. Ding Dong has already hosted the likes of The Melvins, Silversun Pickups, The White Stripes, Plan B, The Kills, Peaches, Mike Patton, Ariel Pink, Death From Above 1979, Supersuckers, The Ting Tings and locals Wolfmother, The Living End, Rowland S Howard, Children Collide, Shihad, Phrase, Little Red, The Grates just to name a few. Ding Dong re-opens its doors Friday 6 July having received some major cosmetic surgery after the German Restaurant downstairs caught on fire late last year forcing the venue to close its doors. The new Ding Dong has been completely reinvented from top to bottom but has stayed true to its underground roots. The throbbing red neon sign will draw Melbourne's musically-enlightened like moths to a flame, down our dark alleyway, and up those stairs. But the physical similarities will end there. Inside you'll be presented with Marc Bolan's bedroom with booths, the playground for Melbourne's music community that it has begging for for all these years. The first thing you'll probably notice is that the venue is now split up into multiple rooms - a saloon bar modelled after the ladies lounges of Aussie pubs from yesteryear, a lux 70's studio 54 bandroom and disco complete with sunken dancefloor, and our private den for when special guests are in town. For those of you packing rollies or taylors, we've even built a luscious garden balcony, designed by Dutch born vertical garden artist Joost, which promises to be an oasis of its own and is destined to be a favourite spot for afterwork drinks. Our lounge features an array of booths and tables, with our high ceiling and mood lighting enticing you to take a look at our brand new cocktail menu, featuring a range of margaritas and old American classics designed by our in-house mixologist, while you sit and watch the world go by. At Ding Dong the beer is always cold and the cider crisp, and behind the bar we'll also feature a large selection of international and local beers and cider, including craft beer, so there's something for everyone. Open from late-afternoon each day and free until midnight on weekends, the lounge will fast become your favourite spot to meet up with friends after work, before and after an gig, or take you new date out for when you really want to impress. While you're sitting there you may also notice that we've taken off the cloak of darkness that used to envelope the venue by opening it up all the way along with huge windows overlooking Chinatown. Sunlight beams into the room wrapping you in its warm glow during the day, and at night when the sun goes down the electric twilight atmosphere of Chinatown helps transform the venue into an all-night party. Moving through the big theatre-style double doors you're suddenly transported back to New York in the 70s as you enter the bandroom and disco, with booths lining the sunken dancefloor, a second bar, and a huge stage built to host some of the world's finest bands. Being a musician himself, Billy understands the importance of keeping live music venues alive in an age where live music venues are being closed down for new developments, and despite changes to the layout the room will hold 300 patrons. The new and improved room boasts a brand new PA and lighting system supplied from Johnson's Audio,