Another One Bites the Dust: Vancouver’s Richard’s on Richards Nightclub to Finally Close Its Doors for Good
7/3/2009 By Jason Schreurs

Looks like Canada just lost another one of its great music venues, as Vancouver’s long-running Richard’s on Richards plans to close its doors forever on July 21. As suspected for quite some time, the building’s owner will demolish the popular live music spot in late July to make way for a new condo development.

It may not be all bad news, however. The club’s liquor licence has been transferred from the current 1036 Richards location to 556 Seymour Street (the former home of A&B Sound), where a new club is expected to open in mid-October. According to the Georgia Straight, the new establishment will have four lounges, a 5,000-square-foot dance floor, two art galleries and will feature dance nights on weekends, with live music Sunday through Thursday.

It’s unknown what the new club will be called (Richard’s on Seymour? Seymour’s on Seymour?) and what style of live music it will host.

All shows after the planned close date of July 21, such as Blitzen Trapper, Three Mile Pilot and Maximo Park, have been or are in the process of being moved from Richard’s to other locations in Vancouver.

As any music-loving Vancouverite knows, Richard’s on Richards has been the site of many amazing shows over the years, be it indie, dance, metal, punk or rock’n’roll. Also, most likely know that the owner of the current Richard’s location is none other than Aquilini Investments, the company helmed by Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini.

Meanwhile, local writer Aaron Chapman is working on a story about the history of the venue. “If anybody has any anecdotes they'd like to pass along of shows they saw there, played there, if you worked there, had bad night there or a great night, feel free to drop me a line via aaron@aaronchapman.net,” says Chapman.

For a chance to check out a piece of Vancouver live venue history before it closes, here are the final shows at Richard’s on Richards:

7/10 Roots Reggae Tour featuring The Abbyssinians
7/19 Five Alarm Funk
7/20 Bonobo
More News: << Previous Story | Next Story >>
Do you have a news tip for us? Did anything crazy happen at a show? Got any inside info on a band? Click here to let us know!
• Twilighters Rejoice: New Moon Hits the Big Screen and Exclaim! Has the Review, Along with Write-Ups on Fantastic Mr. Fox, Bad Lieutenant and More
• Billy Bragg Appears Before Canadian Parliament to Discuss Copyright Laws and Defend Downloaders, Performs Free Picket-Line Concert in Quebec
• Members of Supergrass Team Up with Nigel Godrich for Hot Rats, Cover Velvet Underground, Beastie Boys and Sex Pistols on Debut Album
• Sunset Rubdown/Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug Readies Debut As Moonface
• John K. Samson Announces Ontario Tour
• Winnipeg’s KEN Mode Get in Spat with MySpace and Warner Music Group Over Mistaken Copyright Infringement
• The XX Announce Free Vancouver In-Store at Zulu Records
• Stoner Metal Legends Sleep Confirm Reunion Tour for 2010
• Grand Hustle Discovers Molotov Cocktails in Office Parking Lot, Points to “Idiot” Suspect
• Beta Band’s Steve Mason Teams Up with Richard X for Solo Album
Grizzly Bear - Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC October 14
Before the release of 2009's Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear stood at a career watershed of sorts. Critical darlings without much mainstream success, they could very well have continued in the direction set with 2007's Friend EP and become perennial indie overachievers, in the vein of the Li... Full Review
Hostage Life - Centre Of The Universe
It's unfortunate the words "maturity" and "growth" are stigmas in the world of punk rock. They would be the perfect descriptors for Toronto, ON-based Hostage Life's tertiary release. Maintaining the adage that a band never realize their true potential until their third album, the quintet prove thems... Full Review
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant Dir. by Paul Weitz
In an interesting twist of Hollywood fate, Chris and Paul Weitz have entered the final stretch of 2009 each in control of a major vampire franchise built from the pages of popular young adult fiction.

From one half of the brotherly team who brought us American Pie and About ... Full Review
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
• Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the July 2009 Issue: • Contents Page • News • Click Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Front Five  •  Points  •  Questionnaire  •  Release Dates  •  Timeline  •  Videogames  •  Conversations • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews  •  NXNE Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  Short Film Fest  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Need to Know  •  Where I play • Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio • Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue • Browse Issues