New performance venue for rockers

With the closing down of the iconic Coconut Grove bar in Paceville some eight months ago, many rock and metal music lovers found themselves at a loose end. And, although there are already hangouts that focus on this genre of music – such as Kickstart and, to a certain extent, The Drayton and The Mad Hatter – none quite reached the fully-fledged status of both hangout and performance venue that Coconut Grove, and its accompanying upstairs club dubbed Remedy, had achieved. Now, things seem to be looking up again as The Garage, a new rock club that goes by the tagline “from rockers to rockers”, is set to open its doors in Żebbuġ this month. I caught up with Renee ‘Hades’ Farrugia – a familiar name on the scene and pretty much the only one locally focusing not only on rock and metal, but also on the more hardcore industrial, EBM and goth genres. Known in particular for founding Hades Events, the organisation behind the iconic Halloween Massacre parties, Farrugia has now teamed up with Darren Borg in an attempt to give punters what they have been missing. “The idea was born at Kickstart, the rock bar in St Venera. We were talking about how much Malta needed a proper alternative...