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 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...