Attracting top names but not punters forces MOJO to call time on gigs.
MOJO chiefs have blamed poor ticket sales and an unsuitable gigging environment for axing their live music programme.
Getintothis broke the news last Sunday, that the popular bar and home of Liverpool Music Week was calling time on gigs at the venue to concentrate on winning back regulars.
A MOJO spokesman said: ‘As of mid January 2012, we can confirm that all pre-arranged live music events at MOJO have been cancelled. Ticket holders will be refunded and, wherever possible, the gigs will be moved to another Liverpool based music venue.’
The only gig thus far cancelled has been Rough Trade‘s US hype stars Howler which was arranged for Sunday January 29.
Harvest Sun‘s gig featuring avant-rockers High Places on February 14 has been moved to The Shipping Forecast while Lazy Genius will host it’s nights at Bumper on Hardman Street.
The spokesman added: ‘This tricky decision, made with lament and disappointment stemmed quite simply from a lack of ticket sales.
‘With such well-known names taking to their stage, sufficient ticket sales were required in order to cover costs, and sadly this prerequisite was often not met. MOJO managers and directors also felt that the transformation of MOJO into a live music venue had sadly ‘put off’ many of their regular and loyal clientele who simply enjoyed sitting at the bar and chatting to MOJO’s notoriously sociable staff.
MOJO’s manager Mal Evans added: ‘We’re sorry about pulling the live music but frankly it wasn’t working for us. Our core ethos is about great drinks served by friendly staff accompanied by our own in house kickin’ soundtrack.
‘Somehow this has been getting lost and we want it back. Not all the gigs were that well attended and we’ve heard several people say they waited until the gigs were finished before coming in.
‘This doesn’t mean we’ll never have live music again or be involved in the city’s music scene but we need to make sure we can offer something special. There are some changes coming so watch this space and thank you for being such great customers.‘
