Great jazz jam and board game night on Monday nights. They have good pizza available and make good…read moremixed drinks. My only complaint was the audience was talking fairly loudly during the performance but the band was fantastic. I'll definitely come back next time I'm in Sydney.

Perhaps I've always wandered by on the wrong nights, but it wasn't until last week that I finally…read morewitnessed one of Venue 505's free-jazz Fridays! At around 21:30 this place was packed and the fantastic band was finishing up their first of many sets to come. The underground location and vibe really sucked me in and makes me feel like I was witnessing some great big secret. The ceilings are high, the walls are covered in murals and there are couches and seats everywhere. While the couches give it a "relaxed feeling," we had a bit of difficulty finding a spot and unfortunately there isn't any area dedicated to dancing. And we're in a music venue. Hmmm ... There's an extensive bar and food menu, and considering that you're also being treated to fantastic free music, it's really, really well priced! A house wine only sets you back $6 and the food mains were around $12. There are also a few share platters and cheese boards, too! During the week that are a ton of free events - such as Swing Tuesday - that I'm super keen to check out! Definitely, definitely one of the best music venues of this kind in Sydney.

The Vanguard is a delightful high-ceilinged theatre with balcony and a 1920's feel perfectly suited…read moreto the fantastic acts they always have on here. They mainly book great Aussie blues, roots & jazz-type bands but mix it up with some cult cinema and the like. I have never ever seen a not-great gig on the Vanguard stage or even in their calender- true story! They do dinner & show packages and the dinner seating varies depending on the type of act that are playing, booking numbers etc - sometimes it's in front of the stage and sometimes up on the balcony. The sound here is really good no matter where you end up sitting, tickets are reasonably priced and I can't comment on the food because I've never tasted it. You're on your own there sorry! Drinks prices are a little on the high side but the service is good - we were unintentionally in the way of the bar & the woman we were bothering, instead of getting annoyed, graciously found us a table. The only reason I dropped a star was the drink prices. I would go here for the music every night if I could afford to! Oh and check their listings for business hours as they're not open every night - it varies.

I haven't seen my mate from school in a while and he happens to be playing at the Vanguard. I've…read morenever been to the Vanguard and so take this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. (A violent yet skill involved metaphor.) The night goes as follows; I get to the Vanguard early and take a seat in one of the booths, only to discover that behind me in the near booth is my friend, looking quite different, but still recognisable and I join their table for a chat and to meet his band. They play their set and I watch on from the rear of the club standing with the family at the CD sales stand. A few CD's are bought and I drink of the wine. Next comes some Cabaret, a few strips and a lot of singing. The MC is tres hilarious and the music is great. I get my phone out and track down a few of the numbers for later listening activity. The night ends in further beers, additional chats and the purchase of a CD for my good self. Good shows, tasty wine and a food option. The view from upstairs is glorious, but interrupted briefly by a pair of lesbians ripping each others hair out and getting escorted by the security. The view from downstairs is great as well, but lacks lesbian lovers quarrelling.

Attended a Burlesque night. The venue was small and over crowded, to a point where the dancers…read morecould barely dance. The wait for drinks was much too long and even after all the talk about decent cocktails, of the three we had, none impressed - even less the house wine - HORRIBLE. Perhaps it is less crowded for the Jazz or Motown... Perhaps Ill find out. I was so disappointed with the Burlesque.

Mowtown Mondays are amazing, the cocktails are even better. Have to say it was my first time there…read morereally excited for burlesque fridays!

We were very disappointed with the band as our requests for the band to play on the balcony and to…read moreplay certain songs (like the song for our first dance) fell on deaf ears. Our purpose of hiring Sydney Jazz Collective was to provide jazz music out on the balcony where most of the guests were. Moreover, we had repeatedly made this request to Tom and Matt but instead, the band spent the entire night playing inside the function room. If we had wanted music inside the function room, we would have used our iTunes playlist and used the indoor PA system to play the music we wanted. Their reluctance to play outdoors initially was due to overcast weather but when the sky cleared up, they still did not make the effort to play outside. Furthermore, following them up to provide feedback also fell on deaf ears as they never returned any of our calls or emails.

Quality of music is good but i think they were a bit self-indulgent. There were a few songs that…read morewent for much longer than what I would have expected, like more than 4-5 minutes because they played a lot of improvisation. Also, they had to be asked to start and didn't take the initiative to fill the time. So much so I was tired asking them that I played music from itunes. For 5 hours, I think they played about 15 songs which is about $300 per song. Also, we asked them to accompany the father of the bride on a song dedication. They made a mistake with the chord in one place. If they were amateurs I could understand. But they are supposed to be professional so no mistake is tolerable. And the attitude! My gosh. The leader was arrogant.

Larsen Music is an overpriced, music store that attempts to obtain high quality gear from young…read moremusicians at a knowingly unfair price. It's sad to think that local music stores have drifted far enough away from being somewhere a local musician can go to and count on being treated with respect, to just as disrespectful and greedy as their chain store counterparts would not recommend anyone to this storeHowever the floor workers there are awesome and do whatever they can to help.

This is a new venue up where the old "Five O's" was, across from Coogee beach and conveniently near…read morethe car park at the oval. If you don't know the area, you'll have to look a bit for the entrance, because it's on the side street just behind the back edge of Maccas, up a flight of stairs. It's a licensed pizza place with an area containing tables (including a balcony facing the beach across the road) and a back lounge area with comfy seating on which groups can hang out and listen to music. Their claim to fame is live music multiple nights a week (seems like 5-6 to me), with what I think is the most eclectic mix of bands/performers in Coogee. Certainly more so than Coogee Bay Hotel or Little Jack Horner's. On any given night, you might find 90's-style synth jazz, pub rock, blues, world music such as Brasilian, or a singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar performing their own works. If you're walking along that area of Arden Street and hear music and it's not from Little Jack Horner's, it's from Old Dave's Soul. I live nearby and today had a chance to try their pizza in takeaway form. The proprietor knows me as a local, so when I sent him an email lamenting that tonight's music sounded quite good and that I wished I could come over for some pizza and wine, but I had to stay away because I was sick, he offered to bring a pizza over to me! (I didn't even know they did takeaway.) For those of you who've eaten enough pizza to know that there are different styles (I am one such person; I'm from the Bronx), they do New York style pizza, with a generous amount of crust around the edge, and crust that's dry on the bottom and bubbly and chewy on top. If this is your idea of pizza crust, they do it well enough to transport me back to the neighbourhood pizza places of my youth. Pro tip: Another point to note is that they cook their pizzas for a minute or two longer than many places in Sydney of the just-until-the-cheese-is-slightly-melty variety; to me, this is a feature. However, it's a matter of personal taste that people seem to be 50/50 on, so if you like your pizza a little less "done", you might want to let them know. Word of warning is that changing the cooking time could change the crust, though, so experiment at your own risk! The amount of topping is just right, neither too little or so overloaded that you're full in a piece or two. Unlike many Sydney pizza places, they don't go overboard on the cheese, and you can fold and eat the slices without liquid awkwardly running off them, so they're night-out-friendly. One pizza is probably sufficient for a couple. Food at the Eastern Beaches is rarely cheap unless you're eating fast food, and this is no exception. Old Dave's Soul prices their pizzas in the same range as other local non-fast-food venues, and offers a bit of a view and live music along with food and drink, for the money. The restaurant is kind of shadowy, as night spots normally are, so I took advantage of the magically appearing pizza to get a photo in good light. He even wrote a get well message on the box! This is the Hawaiian pizza (ham, pineapple and cheese). [ Hmm, well, I am the first reviewer and have an Add Business option, but not a photos option. Maybe later! ]

After a 6km walk from Bondi to Coogee beach we decided on neapolitan pizza. Old Dave's Soul…read morepopped out from the list and it was only a few steps from the beach. Sad to say the pizza is greasy AF. I ordered the margarita pizza and got cheese pizza. Skipping breakfast and was hungry so I ate half the pizza and caught myself thinking WTF. If you like greasy AF pizza then this is the place.