The Arena

First up, let’s get this straight, this is a review on The Arena, NOT Mystique.
As an avid supporter of the music scene in Brisbane and the Valley I was devastated when an r’n’b nite club took over The Arena. Gone were the Saturday night sweaty mosh pits and maximum volume gig nights.
But praise to the lord (quiet reference to the fact Mystique used to be in a church…) The Arena is BACK! Well, some nights at least…
The venue that best fits in with the dark underbelly of the music scene in the Valley (read: Metal/​Punk/​Rock) is back for live music. Recently Children Of Bodom packed the place and it doesnt seem to have changed much from before it became Mystique.
Dark and loud, hot and sweaty and full of that old Arena charm, if your fave band is playing at The Arena, definitely get along and see them.

The Arena’s dark, grungy and great fun. It’s the right size! Like the Tiv, you can get up close any number of ways (although the pillars at the sides of the stage can be a pain if you get pushed behind them by the schmoozers weasling their way to the front).
I was pretty devastated when I realised a lot of Big Day Out and Soundwave side gigs were going to what/​where!!! Eaton’s Hill? Bet the Northies are rejoicing but what about everyone else? Bring these bands back to the Valley, please!
I want to make a quick note about All Ages gigs. The Arena gets it. There are security dudes to ensure over 18’s with wristbands can go upstairs if they want a drink at the bar, or stay down if they want to mosh, while the under 18’s without wristbands get to stay downstairs mosh and buy non-​alcoholic drinks from the lower bar. This is great if you’re out with a group containing under and over ages. Eaton’s Hill, however, relegates the under 18’s to an upstairs balcony… where the hell is the fun in that?

When Mystique moved out of their much smaller previous home, an old church in the Valley, to move into The Arena I was pretty excited. Finally an R’n’B superclub in Brisbane to compete with the house and techno clubs! Sadly, it wasn’t to be and after one visit to the new venue I quickly decided never to go back. I liked the old Mystique; it managed to be a little classy despite the thumping sounds of ‘there’s sweat dripping down my balls’ or perhaps ‘she had dumps like a truck’ pouring from the massive speakers on the dancefloor. The old church it was in, with its intimate lounge areas and balconies, saved the place, I think. At The Arena, however, they haven’t bothered with prettying the place up or trying to give it a bit of class, perhaps why the place is so dimly lit in the hopes no one will notice. If you like to wear Ed Hardy or Apple Bottom Jeans, enjoy grinding girls, guys or even just poles, like to have creeps leering at you from balconies and love to dance to bad rap music though, this could be the club for you!

This is a review not of Mystic the R n B club, but of the music venue which sometimes permeates on the days where Mystic isn’t on. The Arena is technically speaking, bigger than the Tivoli. It holds upto 1500 people and is situated upon two levels (both of which can see the stage).
It’s quite dark, but it suits the space. It’s a dank, dark music club and it’s a pretty great venue if it isn’t at complete capacity. I saw a bunch of great bands, like Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkies, Modest Mouse and a few others. The sound was great but it DID get extremely hot — which you always expect at a high-​energy gig that’s packed. The drinks are very expensive, but we’ve come to expect that from the bigger music venues.
As with all music venues, it largely depends on the act you see, but the sound is relatively good and it can make for seeing a pretty excellent band.

I came to The Arena (Mystique) for the full club experience, i.e. grinding on the d-​floor, drinking with friends, hailing a cab with heels in hand, and that’s exactly what I got. And I don’t mean that in a bad way at all! Mystique is Australia’s biggest RNB club, an idea that I was very much into because I’d just tried my hand at a few beginners hip hop classes.
Inside, the DJ was laying down some price beats — Beyonce featured heavily, not a problem for me at all — and the dancers on stage (trained hip hop dancers, or good hip hop dancers pulled from the audience) were really talented. I hid my coat under one of the dancing tables and it didn’t get stolen, which made for a nice thought — people were too busy dancing and having a good time than scouring the place for other people’s goods.
The only dampeners on the night were the glasses, layout, and entrance fee. Mystique uses plastic tumblers because of the real potential for drunkards to smash glass everywhere and injure themselves and others. I don’t know if it’s because the tumblers were washed in a dishwasher and had been damaged, or if they’d done a rough job by hand, but the glasses didn’t look or feel very clean. As for the layout, there are two levels and because most of the women are dancing, and most of the men are drinking upstairs and watching the women, it feels as if you’re putting on a show. Also the $ 10 entrance fee seems like an exorbitant price to pay, but that’s just me personally.
In any case, this is a club. And you should come here expecting exactly that, as well as seeing people getting fresh with each other!
Entry fees:
Friday nights before 10pm: Free
Friday nights after 10pm: $ 10
Saturdays: $ 15