REVIEW: Sorta seeking Adriana

EXCLUSIVE where2sing.com KARAOKE GIG REVIEW

Adriana, famous from her previous role in the fabric of a central Sydney karaoke pub that runs four nights a week, listed this new Nerang, Gold Coast venue - and so I wondered whether she had discovered a 'home from home'. Would the Commercial Hotel in Nerang mirror the great hosting skills and supportive crowd of the Covent Garden in Sydney?

There was only one way to find out.

When living and running business in Brisbane, any company with which we did business on the Gold Coast seemed to be sited in Nerang, and indeed as I went in search of the Commercial Hotel, I did seem to be passing endless small factories and commercial areas.

And so it was no surprise to find that the Commercial Hotel looked like an extended working man's pub, with the first bar into which I walked being filled with pokie machines and an eating area. A small sign inside the bar advertised that the karaoke had been moved to the main bar, and so I went back out the door in search of this other bar.

It was to be found only a few metres up the road, and nearer the junction, and this was definitely a working man's bar. In fact, I felt decidedly clean in a shirt that bore no paint, or no plaster, or in fact no particular general grot - and if you come here than you would be well advised to have a quick roll down the hill in advance so that you successfully blend in. This makes no pretence at being a well presented bar, having large tables around at which many can sit, a couple of pool tables, but generally the debris of years having been left in place.

The service was friendly and quick, the price of the beer good. The karaoke was in full swing.

This operator surprises me, because this equipment is old and ordinary, yet his banners proclaim otherwise. 'Where real talent counts' or similar was the message at the top of the large square banner behind the singer which was presenting the 'Talent Show'. And 'More than your normal karaoke show' or something like that was written across the bottom.

However, the boss was not in evidence tonight, the hosting being left to a lady bearing a number 7 on the back of her sweat shirt, and to a young male techie. The sound was quite good, particularly bearing in mind the age of the equipment which has a rather bass sound from the big speakers - in fact, I would say that the volume was just a bit quiet for this venue, but that may have been intentional so that the patrons could hear each others' monosyllabic grunts over the music.

I didn't see Adriana here, and indeed I think she may have found this place a little downmarket even for her tastes, albeit that she would have been interested in the clientele. But it didn't have the friendly feel of Sydney's Covent Garden - perhaps because it was so male dominated. And, indeed, Number 7 presented none of the excellent hosting skills of Jimmy, the renouned Covent Garden host (with his immaculate dress sense, and his constant encouragement of singer).

The songlist was the normal well-presented one from this host, about 12,000 songs including repeats, and with a number of recent songs. If you're looking . . .(full story on where2sing.com)

Read the rest of this exclusive Karaoke Gig Review, and find whether this karaoke gig is still running on Where2sing.com . . .

Where2sing.com