Bar, Live Music entertainment in New South Wales
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A
Marble Bar
Built for a staggering £32,000 in 1893 as part of the Adams Hotel on Pitt St, this incredibly ornate underground bar is one of the best places in town for putting on the ritz (even if this is the Hilton). When the Adams was demolished in 1968, every marble slab, wood carving and bronze capital was dismantled, restored, then reassembled here.
Musos play anything from jazz to funk from Wednesday to Saturday.
reviewed
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B
Exchange Hotel
There’s a whole mess of venues here, mashed together under one roof. Q Bar pumps hot house seven nights a week; Spectrum is an alt-indie club with live bands; and sticky, sexy, claustrophobic Phoenix is home to alternative gay clubbers. Sandwiched in between, the Exchange is a regulation beery pub. Down and dirty: if you don’t come out drenched in sweat, you’re not doing it right.
reviewed
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C
Bald Rock Hotel
Surrounded by brick walls and mechanics in Rozelle’s industrial hollows, this blue-collar pub (1876) has only just ripped out the scungy carpets and attempted to spruce itself up. The results (thankfully) are far from convincing – it’s still a pugilistic docklands boozer with heaps of charm. Trivia on Thursday; live bands on Saturday; acoustic stuff on Sunday.
reviewed
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D
Strawberry Hills Hotel
This basic corner pub features the live jazzy jive of the Eclipse Alley 5 (4pm to 7pm Saturday) and Bill Dudley’s New Orleanians (5pm to 8pm Sunday). Plus happy hour is from 2.30pm to 6pm – throw down some $2.50 schooners before the show. ‘Consistency, mate… That’s what we’re about, ’ says the barman.
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E
Bar Me & El Rocco Jazz Cellar
Sydney’s first jazz club. Between 1955 and 1969 this was the city’s premier finger-snappin’, beret-wearing boho dive, hosting performances by Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan. Those heady days are long gone but live jazz is back on the agenda in the legendary rock-hewn basement. There are free fortnightly open-mic nights on Monday.
reviewed
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F
Hopetoun Hotel
Once the uncontested crucible for new Sydney rock bands, the diminutive ‘Hoey’ is still a launch pad for garage bands on the boil. On Sunday afternoon it transforms into a low-key space with DJs and night crawlers knocking the froth off a few cold ones before they hit the sack.
reviewed
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G
Hero of Waterloo
Enter this rough-hewn sandstone pub to meet some locals, chat-up the Irish bar staff and grab an earful of the nightly music (piano, folk, jazz or Celtic). Downstairs is an original dungeon where drinkers would sleep off a heavy night before being shanghaied to the high seas.
reviewed
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H
Oxford Art Factory
Indie kids party against an arty backdrop at this two-room multipurpose venue modelled on Warhol's NYC creative base. There's a gallery, bar and performance space that often hosts international acts and DJs. Check the website for what's on.
reviewed
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I
Empire Hotel
The Empire’s 300-capacity bar gets down ’n’ dirty with Sydney’s best blues and roots. Local bands with loyal followings play free gigs; listen out for international artists and regular metal, ska, rockabilly and country and western nights.
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J
Cat & Fiddle
Around 30 live bands (mainly rock, blues and folk) perform here every week, from Wednesday through Sunday. Low-key reggae competes with big-screen sports in between sets. About as relaxed as Balmain allows itself to be.
reviewed
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K
Macquarie Hotel
The early-opening Mac is a good down-home pub with stuff on every night: pool and poker comps, wine tasting, live music and DJs. It also brews its own beer – the Bavarian Red Lager will put hairs on your chest.
reviewed