One of the most enduring music venues in Victoria reopens today with a new name and role in the community.
The former Distrikt nightclub, located in the basement underneath the Strathcona Hotel and Sticky Wicket pub, has been rebranded and will re-open as Wicket Hall. The 572-person multi-purpose venue officially opens tonight, after more than two years of inactivity, with a performance by Los Angeles group Grateful Shred, a tribute to the Grateful Dead. Those familiar with the room will notice radical changes. New plumbing, lighting, electrical, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and sound equipment has been installed, co-owner Grant Olson said.
“It’s a 6,500 square feet of space, and every inch has been altered.”
In a nod to London, England’s Royal Albert Hall and Toronto’s Massey Hall, two iconic venues, Wicket Hall is transitioning from a traditional cabaret/nightclub to multi-purpose venue. It has been re-designed as an extension of the Sticky Wicket, with two new staircases that can bring guests into Wicket Hall from the pub upstairs. That gives the new hall ultimate flexibility, Olson said. The ownership group is still working out the exact details, but Olson wants the room — which has installed a virtual sports simulator for rent during special events — to find its own identity.
“The idea is that it can morph [into anything]. It’s not just a nightclub anymore.”
The renovation started about a year ago, but staffing shortages and construction backlogs delayed several scheduled reopenings. Olson has jumped in to help, from installing speakers to scrubbing drywall mud from the floors. “Everyone thought we were going to be open, including me, about two months ago,” he said. “But it’s been difficult to get the work done.”
A previous renovation, in 2007, did not fully address one of the venue’s longstanding issues — viable sightlines for live performances. Olson said the floor has been dug down a few feet in order to add headroom to the long and narrow space, which operated as a bowling alley until 1967. “Now, when you’re in the back of the room, you can see over people. Everywhere is a good seat. It’s a much nicer room.”
Many in the city remember the club located at 919 Douglas St. as The Forge, which remained a popular hub for live music for several decades and hosted early-career performances by everyone from Nirvana and the Black Crowes to Blue Rodeo and Barenaked Ladies. The room operated as Legends from 1996 until 2007, at which time it was re-branded Element. It was later known as Club 9one9, before transitioning to its most recent incarnation, Distrikt.
The resurrection of a venue with such storied history is good news for the performing arts community in Victoria, which has been struggling to rebuild its live music scene since COVID-related regulations were lifted. Many of the live music venues and nightclubs in the city, who spoke to the Times Colonist on the condition of anonymity, said attendance numbers at live music events are down overall compared to pre-pandemic levels.
A small kitchen, which can produce appetizers but will not be full service, has also been added. That gives Wicket Hall the potential to host food and beverage-centric events, which were not possible in the past, Olson said.
“We’re hoping to do events which combine food and music to create more of an experience. And I hope we can do more live music than we’ve ever done in the past. But we’re taking a complete right-turn and saying, ‘Hey, we’re not a nightclub anymore.’ It’s more of an experiential, comfortable place.”
Grateful Shred officially opens Wicket Hall tonight [Tuesday] at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29.50 from ticketweb.ca.
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