In a tiny inner city pub

The amps were getting stacked

Leads were getting wound up

It was full of pissed Anzacs

‘Got no more gigs for Tuesday nights’ said the barman to the star,

‘We're putting pokies in the lounge and strippers in the bar’

The star, he raised his fingers and said ‘fuck this fucking hole’

But to his roadie said ‘it's the death of rock and roll’

‘There ain't no single place left to play amplified guitar

Every place is servin' long blacks if they're not already tapas bars

(TISM (This Is Serious Mum), ‘The Last Australian Guitar Hero’, 1998)

Introduction: local music-making

A number of recent studies have focused upon the places and spaces of popular music performance. In particular, analyses of British live music contexts have examined the role of urban landscapes in facilitating production/consumption environments. Building upon Simon Frith's (1983) initial exploration of the synthesis of leisure/work ideologies and popular music, Ruth Finnegan's detailed examination of amateur music practices in Milton Keynes (1989) and Sara Cohen's account of the Liverpool scene (1991) reveal the benefits of engaging in detailed micro-studies of the local. Paul Chevigny's history of the governance of New York City jazz venues (1991) similarly provides a rich insight into performance contexts and the importance of hitherto unnoticed city ordinances in influencing the production of live music.