There was a time when every Friday and Saturday night crowds would pack venues to watch local bands play their hearts out.
However, according to the general manager of Haymarket's Palace Hotel, Marcus Van Vogt, that time of rock 'n' roll in the city is over and without public support it will die out completely.
In an effort to bring mainstream live music back to the CBD. Mr Van Vogt oversees The Square, a live-music performance space with the capacity to cater for approximately 200 people.
"The problem is I don't think there are a lot of venues that are doing proper live music anymore," Mr Van Vogt said.
“There are a few live-music joints in the city but most of them aren't doing so well and I think live music gigs could disappear from the city if effort is not made to boost their appeal. I think the emergence of these big festivals really hurts the smaller bands because a lot of people save all their money up for them and don’t come out during the year to see the great local talent we have in the city.”
Mr Van Vogt said effort was being made to try and entice more patrons to the venue while live bands were playing. "It is really important for musicians to have an audience there to hear them play,"
There is some other rear-guard action occurring. Newtown's Sandringham Hotel was recently sold to new owners who intend to run it as a live-music venue. The move followed a Save the Sando demonstration in the city on September 18, led by former Angels frontman Doc Neeson.
The City of Sydney recently announced a Live Music task force that will work with venue operators to negotiate the approvals process manage the impact of noise and support groups to stage live events in unused spaces.
