VENUE REVIEW: The Hammersmith Apollo, London

HAMMERSMITH APOLLO

45 QUEEN CAROLINE STREET, LONDON

PH: Venue 02085 633 800 / Tickets 08448 444 748

www.hammersmithapollo.net

It may be far from the sunny shores from Australia, but I also work here. Yes, I'm that lucky!

LOCATION & ACCESSABILITY

Situated under the Hammersmith fly-over and right next to Hammersmith tube The Apollo is very easy to get to and can be reached by various tube lines. It also has an 11pm curfew so you're guaranteed a tube ride home - unless you go for post-show bevvy's at The Duke around the corner, in which case it's a hell of a long night bus ride for you.

VENUE LAYOUT & BARS

I can't begin to explain the beauty and history of this venue! Opening in 1932 it is now heritage listed and has had various names in the past, beginning with the Gaumont Palace, then The Odeon and finally The Apollo. Most of the interior remains from the early days (besides the odd lick of paint here and there). Upon entering the stalls area you feel an amazing sense of grandeur as the magnificent layered roof opens above you and the huge organ pipes line the walls. That's right - an organ! The Compton Pipe Organ was installed in 1932, but due to disrepair was removed in 1992. However it was then reassembled, cleaned and re-installed in 2007 by the English Heritage Society. I haven't had the chance to see it (yet...), but hear it rises on a hydrolic platform out of the centre of the stage and sounds amazing.

Moving up a level to the Dress Circle keep an eye out for the golden faces of evil that protrude from the walls next to the toilets. For 6 months working at The Apollo I didn't notice them, then all of a sudden they were there - very strange... And I have no doubt there are lost souls floating aorund the place as there's a photo in our break room of the original staff ready for work on the opening day, and apparently the floors used to be all marble and the theatre was used as a morgue during the WW1.

The original fixtures unfortunately reach all the way down to the plumbing, so the toilets can leave a little to be desired. But these are the sacrifices you make when branding a buildig as listed as any minor repair can cost a fortune, so this will affect the state of things like plumbing and air conditioning. And do take heed, as that is one thing The Apollo doesn't have so it's bone-numbingly freezing in Winter and suffocatingly hot in Summer.

With 2 stalls bars (rock nights only), 4 foyer bars and one large circle bar there are ample places to get a drink, and you can even get a 'Saucy Hot Dog' should be hungry - and adventurous.

TICKETS & SHOWS

All tickets are sold through Ticketmaster at the number listed above or their website (www.ticketmaster.co.uk). As for entertainment, where do I start?! Historical shows include amazing talent such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds, Johnny Cash, Queen, Neil Young, Springsteen, David Bowie's last ever performance as Ziggy Stardust and so many more! And it is still extremely versatile in it's wealth of entertainment, hosting everything from High School Musical and Spongebob Squarepants to Primal Scream, Mighty Boosh, Scouting For Girls, Mogwai, plus the annual 'No Sleep To Hammersmith' Motorhead show. And let's not forget the famed 'Live At The Apollo' stand up comedy series started by Jack Dee, now featuring hilarious names such as Lenny Henry, Michael McIntyre, Frankie Boyle, Daria O'Brien, Rusell Howard... Phew!

So whether it be a rock show, comedy gig, kids cartoon or musical, The Apollo is a great night out and an amazing piece of London's history. It's been enertaining this city for over 100 years - here's hoping there's many more to come.

VENUE REVIEW: The Gaelic Club, Sydney, Australia

THE GAELIC CLUB

64 DEVONSHIRE STREET, SURRY HILLS, AUSTRALIA

PH: (00 612) 9211 1687

www.thegaelic.com

Despite the name and well-hidden members bar upstairs the only thing Irish about the Gaelic Club is the Celtic script on the toilet doors. There is that weird sculpture of the face above the stage, but I'm not sure that he has any irish ties...

LOCATION & ACCESSABILITY

The club is situated just behind Central Station and about 5 minutes down the hill from Crown Street so access is easy from all angles. There is a members area atop the club but this is more remeniscent of a workers club or RSL and is seperate to the venue itself, but does serve as a great hiring space for parties as it is big and has a balcony - very nice!

VENUE LAYOUT & BARS

As one of the newer venues in Sydney the Gaelic doesn't do too badly. It's a good size and has an excellent viewing balcony on the upper level that I have seen many an idiot launch themselves off. The sound and sight lines are always good (if you're not short), but try to get a spot close to the stage as it can reach scorching temperatures in there when full, so if you're stood further back underneath the upper level the sound can get lost and the heat... well, lets just say you're going to need fluids. But do look out for the various centrally placed pillars, and also try to avoid standing on the left side of the room as you'll inevitably get caught in the cross flow of people heading toward the toilets.

There is only one main bar runnning along the right hand side of the room so getting a drink is always a challenge. However if you can reach the front there is a little space between the end of the bar and front of the stage that tends to remain hidden and relatively roomy, so drinking and dancing can be had.

TICKETS & SHOWS

When I left home (over a year ago) The Gaelic seemed to be nabbing a lot of the great gig's that would normally have been at the Metro or Annandale so there's always a reason to head to the club. The staff are always friendly and fun, the drinks are reasonably priced and the bands are always on form. A host of Australian acts have played there including Regurgitator and Beasts of Bourbon, as well as internationals such as The Datsuns, NOFX, My Morning Jacket, Ben Kweller, Jamie T and many more. It also has a late license so keep an eye out for the odd dance party mash up. All tickets for the club are sold through www.moshtix.com.au which can be a very convenient way of booking, but for goodness sake don't forget your ticket print-out and/or your Moshtix card or you're screwed.

All in all the venue is worth a squiz due to great line up's and atmosphere. And if you can come out the other end of the gig feeling riled up and ready to go (which you hopefully should), beware the mad Madison and Strawberry Hills Hotel on either side, as I have seen them make mice out of many, many men.

VENUE REVIEW: The Hopetoun Hotel, Sydney, Australia

THE HOPETOUN HOTEL

416 BOURKE STREET, SURRY HILLS, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

PH: (00 612) 9361 5257

www.myspace.com/hopetounhotel

I worked here too! But only a few times a week as a door girl. And it wasn't really work as owner Paul and I used to drink all night and laugh at the punters together (sorry guys).

LOCATION & ACCESSABILITY

The above is the kind of friendly, family feel you can expect from The Hoey. Nestled nicely away on the corner of Bourke Street in Surry Hills, and only a stones throw away from uber-cool Crown Street and out-of-control Oxford Street, The Hoey is a singer songwriter's Sydney haven. It's where you can sit back, relax and escape the fashion victimization and angular hair cuts which make up the sad side of Surry Hills.

VENUE LAYOUT & BARS

With a pool table, pokies, amazing Thai from Tong's Kitchen and the world's smallest basement cocktail bar and beer garden (complete with stone wall feature) The Hoey has the true feel of a friendly local, with the added bonus of presenting very reasonably priced quality entertainment. The room is cosy and small making for supremely intimate shows and a chance to get to know your fellow gig-goer's in ways you never thought possible. Less room space however means less hassle getting to the bar, and a visit to the bar here is always a treat as the staff are unreal! But on your return to your spot do look out for the extremely inconveniently placed pillar in the middle of the room, and be sure not to get stuck behind it or you ain't seein' nothin'.

TICKETS & SHOWS

Tickets are always sold at the door and range between $5-15AUSD depending on the act (internationals can cost more). The rock'n'roll family feel is continued through the fact that a lot of the singers and bands that play here do so on a regular basis and in various different formats and line-up's. You can expect nothing but the best of Australian indie rock'n'roll as well as superb solo sets. The Hoey's stage has seen the likes of Tim Rogers, Tex Perkins and Dave McCormack - all mainstays in the Australian music scene - as well as lots of outstanding local acts, and some international acts whos names escape me and who I cannot find listed on their website... And their commitment to Australian music on a local level is unsurpassed, offering the chance for unsigned bands to play at the prestigious Sydney based festival Homebake, and also hosting the ever-changing always-amazing 'Camels By Candelight' Christmas shows.

In a nutshell, The Hoey presents a local insight into the Australian and Sydney music scenes that no one else can. If you like cruisy evening beers coupled with the sweet sounds of Sydney, head on down to The Hoey.

VENUE REVIEW: The Annandale Hotel, Sydney, Australia

THE ANNANDALE HOTEL

17-19 PARRAMATTA ROAD, ANNANDALE, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

PH: (00 612) 9550 1078

www.annandalehotel.com

And here we have yet another biased review from Meredith! As with most of the venues I review, I also worked at The Annandale Hotel for many years, both as a Venue Entertainment Booker and moonlighting as a door and bar girl. If you really want to get down to the rock'n'roll nitty gritty in the city of Sydney, this be the place. It's dark, it's dirty, your shoes stick to the floor and you'll sweat like a pig - but that's the way it should be. Like most venues in Sydney, The Dale has been to hell and back with neighbourhood complaints, noise restrictions, 'unsavoury' clientele and pokie wars, but it's still standing. The pub has been there since the 1930's but did not always feature live music. In fact, the music was silenced as recently as 1998, but current owners Matt and Dan Rule ensured that was short lived and returned it to its former glory in 2000.

LOCATION & ACCESSABILITY

It's location isn't exactly central but the venue is easy to get to nonetheless as it lies on the factory outlet super highway that is Parramatta Road - directly opposite car hoon central, otherwise known as Stanmore McDonalds. This road runs all the way from Parramatta (funnily enough) right into the heart of the city so as far as public transport goes the bus is it, as lots of them run along that road. Stanmore train station is about 20 minutes walk away but the bus is much easier. And don't ever drive as the neighbours always complain about lack of parking when there's a show on, and who are we kidding, you're going to want a drink anyway.

VENUE LAYOUT & BARS

I'm not going to lie - the pub is small. There is a small bar in the main entrance called Raymond J's (named after the owners' Uncle), which hosts various nights showcasing Sydney's unsigned talen, and sometimes serves as a second stage at larger shows. There's also a room off the side of Raymond J's that holds pokies (yuk) and a fabulous feature wall of photo's by local photographer Colin J Lucas (yay).

Then there's the main room bar which has played host to numerous international and Australian bands, and photo's of gig's gone by adorn the walls reminding you just how much rock'n'roll sweat has gone into this place. As far as sight lines go, if you're short, you're screwed. The room is small and there is NO (and I mean NIL) space between stage and crowd. There is a raised mezzanine at the very back of the room and a small row of bench seats in front of the sound desk on the left hand side, so unless you acquire one of these aforementioned spots it's every man for himself. The main room bar is big but runs down one side of the room so getting there and back with a drink can be interesting. But the air conditioning is non-existant, so to some extent getting a complete stranger's drink spilled down your back can come as somewhat of a sweet relief.

There is also a fantastic beer garden and Thai restaurant called Wok'n'Roll (What a great name! I wonder what wonderful creative person thought that one up??...) which is extremely useful should you arrive to the gig feeling hungry, or are partial to reclining comfortably in the sunshine watching sport, schooner in one hand, chicken satay skewer in the other.

TICKETS & SHOWS

The Dale sells all it's own tickets via the website and phone number listed above. It has very much a community feel to it, hosting wild, weird, whacky and wonderful Cult Sinema movie screenings every Monday night (www.mumeson.org), as well as weekend 'Pub Cha' hangover sessions, and annual Birthday Week (June), Christmas Eve and Boxing Day celebrations which are nothing short of a Sydney music scene institution.

It's stage has been graced by everyone from the The Dandy Warhols to Jet, The Dwarves to The Bronx, Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Clutch, International Noise Conspiracy to 5,6,7,8's, and countless amazing Australian bands that are to numerous to mention here. Let's just say The Dale is the place you sell out spectacularly before moving on to national big venue sell-out tours and superstardom. Because of this most shows are literally an explosion of riffs, lights, screams and air-born plastic schooner cups. I'm not sure what happens but artists seem to become possessed at The Dale - climbing stacks, crowd surfing, swinging from the roof - not to mention the fact that the surface of the main room bar is level with and leads straight onto the stage, meaning band members can strut their stuff catwalk-styles to the back of the room, serenade them up close, do a turn, grab a beer and shimmy their way back onto stage.

So if you're in Sydney and want to witness some true blue, no holds barred Australian rock'n'roll look no further than The Dale. The crowd are cool, the staff are fun, and the owners... well, lest you desire an afterlife in the fiery depths of hell, stay far, far away from them...

VENUE REVIEW: The Metro Theatre, Sydney, Australia

THE METRO THEATRE

624 GEORGE ST. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
PH: (00 612) 9550 3666
http://www.metrotheatre.com.au/

I spent the best part of my life working for this venue, so admittedly this review will be bias! I worked as Assistant Venue Booker here from 20-24 years of age so I know the place inside out, and remember almost every amazing show I saw there...?

LOCATION & ACCESSIBILITY

Being smack bang in the centre of George Street in the city (opp. the cinemas) makes this venue very easy to get to. Town Hall train station is just up the road, and every bus you can imagine runs to George Street and Town Hall so you're set. I believe it's curfew is now Midnight, so alas, gone are the heady days of Fuzzy dance parties and Frisky extravaganza's, but it's being owned by the Century Venues group (who also run The Enmore Theatre and The Factory venues in Sydney) means it still pulls good shows.

VENUE LAYOUT & BARS

As for the venue itself, it is my favourite to see gig's at by far. The massive flight of stairs upon entry gives you some much needed exercise before you fill yourself with intoxicants (try climbing those buggers with a hangover!), and the chandelier in the lush, red, theatre-themed foyer (as created by designer Brian Thompson) gives it an air of cabaret; burlesque even (FYI: the chandelier is plastic).

The ill-fated 'Lair' (aka Roma Room) has had more facelift's than Michael Jackson, rendering it hard to get a feel for. But it is now a permanent film set for the MTV Live show of the same name, which is probably for the best, as it's addition to the Metro's main room was akin to sticking a one story fibro house onto the side of Buckingham Palace.

The main room (see photo at top), however, is another story altogether. This room is by far the best place to see live music in Sydney - and I'm not saying that because I always got to stand on the backstage stairs above the dance floor. The stage isn't too big and neither is the dance floor, so if you are standing on the flat you're close and can always see. The remainder of the room is large tiered steps meaning you can always see from wherever you are, providing some vertically-blessed being doesn't stand in front of you. There's even a seated balcony to the left of the room should any of you injured, golden oldies or once-gig-a-year novices need to sit down. There's air conditioning, (usually) clean toilets, space to sit, drink, dance - what more could you ask for?

There are only 2 bars - one at the back of the main room, and a larger in the foyer - but as the venue is not massive in size it's usually quite easy to get liquified. The only thing it doesn't have is food, but it is situated on a fast food freeway, so when stumbling down the stairs post-show I dare you to ignore the neon calls of McDonalds, KFC, Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King), or even Ali Baba's.

TICKETING & SHOWS

All Century venues do their own ticketing, as well as sometimes going through Ticketmaster/Ticketek, so check listings for details. You can always buy tickets from The Metro website (www.metrotheatre.com.au) or over the phone on #9550 3666. But as always, be sure to opt for the 'print tickets at home' or postal option, as the ticket collection queues are always long no matter when you arrive.

As mentioned previously the Metro used to have a 24 hour license which meant all night dance-a-thon's were always on the agenda from the likes of Fuzzy, Jam and Frisky. The license has since been cut (thank you Mr Sartor) which means it's curfew is Midnight. But even before this happened The Metro played host to some of the most amazing acts of our time, especially considering it usually picks up most of the Big Day Out festival side shows. I saw more bands and DJ's at this venue than I could ever begin to remember, but some that spring to mind are:

BILLY BRAGG, COLDPLAY, AT THE DRIVE IN, CRYSTAL METHOD, THE WHITE STRIPES, PERRY FARRELL, FOO FIGHTERS, WILCO, XZIBIT, MIDNIGHT OIL, MUDHONEY, QUEENS OF THE STONEAGE, LOU REED, RONI SIZE, LTJ BUKEM, UGLY DUCKLING, JURASSIC 5, JET, CRAZY PENIS, SHANE McGOWAN, BETH ORTON, THE DONNAS, THE STRANGLERS, and so many more you wouldn't believe..

Needless to say The Metro is not only situated in, but IS the heart of music in the city of Sydney. It has had a rough trot in the past, getting caught up in corporate fumblings, administrators, bad management and clueless contractors. But none of these things will ever change the amazing memories and experiences the people of Sydney have had within it's walls. I guarantee most Sydney-siders have seen a show here, and I guarantee they all had a great time.

I can also guarantee that one day this venue will be taken back by those who truley own it and return it to it's former glory...