COBALT READY TO ROCK AGAIN
The Cobalt was on a roll when the Man came down on the Main Street venue.
With events like the live art showcase Snag, the LGBTQ dance party Man Up, Monday night karaoke, and shows by up-andcoming indie acts, the club was fast becoming a beloved east Van institution, and earning a reputation as a place to see tomorrow's stars today. Three years after her April 2018 Cobalt debut, for example, Phoebe Bridgers was collaborating with Taylor Swift.
“There were a couple of years where outside, bigger promoters weren't putting on many shows there,” said Simon Fallick, speaking as a representative of current Cobalt leaseholder Patryk Drozd.
“But I always thought of it as the best choice for a 200- to 300-person room in the city.”
Then the inspectors showed up. In May of 2018, the City of Vancouver took a look around and didn't like what it saw. The city demanded that the Sahota family, owner of the building that houses the Cobalt, do seismic upgrades on the venue, primarily the floor.
The 250-person capacity venue is on the main floor of a hotel that was built in 1911 as the Royal George Hotel. It did time as a strip club and then a heavy metal/punk rock bar before opening up to a wider variety of acts. The Cobalt shares a wall with The Boxcar, a lounge that has kept its doors open despite the closure of its sister business. Pizzeria Farina, which also occupies the main floor, has also stayed open. The building itself is primarily an SRO hotel.
The renovations weren't completed until recently, following the sale of the building this past summer to RBI Construction Group. The company replaced the floor, which meant taking out the bar and stage — basically, gutting the room, says Fallick. A new PA system, bar and stage have been installed, and the bathrooms — legendary in their own right — have been renovated.
Now, nearly five years later, the room is ready to rock again. It will reopen for business Friday.
The grand reopening features local acts Vicious Cycles, Little Destroyer, and Rempel & the Rousers.
“The Vicious Cycles have probably played there a half-dozen or more times,” Fallick said. “I've always thought of them as being kind of like one of the bands that I most identified with the Cobalt.”
Ownership of the Cobalt itself is still in transition, however. Although details of a new deal have yet to be worked out, with renovations complete Drozd was eager to get the venue up and going again before handing over the keys to the new owners.
“We want to make people aware that the room is up and running again so promoters and local artists can start placing holds on dates,” Fallick said.
Other announced acts include Janky Bungag and Peter Press Lee on Dec. 17, a local Grateful Dead tribute act called GD/BC on Jan. 21, and Montreal band SUUNS Feb. 18. The Cobalt will also throw a New Year's Eve party Dec. 31.
Fallick says the prospective new owners have been talking to promoters about booking more shows at the revitalized space.
“There's such a lack of venues in the city right now,” Fallick said. “People are really excited that there's another alternative out there. For my money, the Cobalt has always been the best spot to do local shows in the city. It's always been the most artist-friendly space. The Fox does a really good job of that, too. But I've always pointed to the Cobalt as the venue that artists like to play because it's set up for artists to be successful.”