EXCLUSIVE: First Look At Newtown Social Club Band Room

After 18 long months live music is coming to Sydney's Newtown Social Club, and theMusic.com.au are the first ones to have seen it.

Run by the team behind Corner Presents (who book Northcote Social, Corner Hotel, Shebeen and 170 Russell in Melbourne), the venue has undergone major renovations to install its band-room, which will host its first gig next Monday 12 May when The Perch Street Family Jug Band christen it.

Standing on the site of the old Sandringham Hotel, the band room is completely unrecognisable in comparison with the one previously housed on the same spot.

A new staircase has been installed on the left hand side of the venue to lead up to the band room, which will initially have a 270 capacity (300 with guests). With the 'door' located at the top of the stairs, punters turn right to face a bar from where you can see the stage in the corner of the venue on King St. Essentially, you never have to turn your back on the stage when at the bar.

You can't miss 'em.

Having knocked out a wall to install the bar and entry point, the whole orientation of the space has changed and risen platforms around the perimeter give excellent vantage points.

The room has its own backline – as you can see in photos below – to allow bands to 'rock up and play'. Located on King St Newtown, parking and access has always been an issue for the area and the venue's General Manager Jack Martin told theMusic.com.au that purchasing their own backline was a way around it.

We took three members of Little Bastard, who will play there Friday 13 June to support their self-titled debut album (out this Friday on FOUR|FOUR), down to check out the venue. The band's Johnny Took, who's played in most venues in Sydney, said, “Let's name one other venue from here to the top of Missenden Road that has this capacity and this sound system.

“Put in a good sound system and the bands are going to want to play there,” he said.

The PA was hung by veteran engineer Henry Brister, who'll also do the house sound.

With seven members, Took, alongside brother Matt Took and Trevor Davies, said they'd fit on the stage fine come mid-June (they've certainly played on smaller ones) and would likely utilise much of the provided backline.

The venue – booked out of Melbourne through the Corner Presents team – is hoping to have shows three or four times a week. Shows will finish at midnight, with the existing downstairs bar trading until 2am. Acoustic and sound tests have been carried out, with the venue passing with “flying colours” so far, according to staff.

Looking at an empty space in the final stages of completion, it's hard to see that they'll have any issues with bottlenecking or crowd flow – but the real test will come next week when the venue begins to host shows.

All pictures below by Peter Sharp.

The view from the entry, facing King St. Once you reach the top of the stairs to pay the door person and turn right.

There was enough room for some impressed Bastards, who'll fit fine with six standing at the front on mics, they said.

The stage and house backline, available to anyone who plays there. You are welcome to lug gear up the stairs if you want, though.

Bastards getting acquainted.

The backline may be the biggest enticement for bands.

As it stands without any action – what this photo doesn't capture is the 'new carpet' smell.

All pics by Peter Sharp.