Being dissed in one's home town by treasured Australian musical export Nick Cave - a newly appointed Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia, no less - does not appear to have fazed Lord Mayor Graham Quirk.
Instead, Cr Quirk pivoted Cave's smackdown to point an accusatory finger up George Street to Parliament House, which did not control the venue's curfew, over the lack of CBD alternatives.
During a high-octane set under the stars on Wednesday night, Cave's planned five-song encore was cut down to just two to comply with the Brisbane City Council-run venue's strict 10pm curfew.
"There's some f---ing absurd curfew in this place," Cave told the Riverstage crowd after the encore's first song, Mermaids.
"They fine you. They fine you per minute. Thousands (of dollars) per minute."
Cave encouraged his fans to take action.
"Write to your city council," he implored them, before launching into Stagger Lee, which itself was somewhat abridged.
Cave had to check the clock before he led his band, the Bad Seeds, into a final verse about 9.58pm.
Cave and the Bad Seeds dutifully – and somewhat reluctantly – left the stage two minutes later, much to the chagrin of the thousands present on what was a night before a public holiday.
@CameronAtfield @JorgeBrancoBNE @brisbanetimes We got the abridged encore. pic.twitter.com/61E4seqswS
— Negative Pi I (@Negative_Pi_I) January 25, 2017
As the crowd dispersed, there were many grumbles about the curfew, few of which could be said among polite company.
On Thursday, Cr Quirk stood firm on his council's curfew.
The leading proponent of Brisbane as a "new world city", Cr Quirk said the 10pm noise curfew at Riverstage was in place to balance the impact on nearby residents with the need of a music venue in the CBD.
"The open-air layout and location of Riverstage means noise generated by concerts can travel across the river and to nearby suburban areas," he said.
There has been a dearth of music venues in the CBD since 2003, when Festival Hall was levelled against a backdrop of significant public opposition.
Festival Hall, which during its 44-year history hosted acts such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Ramones and Nirvana, was inexplicably not heritage listed and was allowed to be demolished in 2003 to make way for an uninspiring apartment building.
Since then, as the Riverstage has filled the breach, Brisbane's CBD has lacked an adequate mid-sized indoor music venue.
"Meanwhile, the state government are currently sitting on a $2 billion market-led proposal, which would revitalise one of the most underutilised areas of Brisbane's CBD," Cr Quirk said.
That proposal, by Suncorp Stadium and Brisbane Entertainment Centre operators AEG Ogden, was presented to the state government last year.
"With a 17,000 seat arena, Brisbane Live would help secure signature drawcard events and drive growth in our local entertainment and tourism industries," Cr Quirk said.
"We encourage the state government to expedite negotiations on the Brisbane Live proposal, which will offer a new world city music venue for all Brisbane residents."
Comment was sought from the state government, but it was understood AEG Ogden's proposal was still being examined.
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