REVIEW
Venue: The Club, Ballarat Road, Caroline Springs, Vic.
Hosts: Vegas Karaoke – Tony & Angela, (competition host).

Before writing this review, I feel it is important to tell of my links with the Owners and Host of the gig, (Vegas Karaoke & Tony).
I learnt how to run karaoke through Dave and am very grateful for what I was taught whilst working for Vegas before venturing out on my own. I have used Tony a few times as a fill-in host and consider Tony to a very good host and Vegas Karaoke one of the best providers of karaoke in Melbourne. Dave and I have had many a long chat about our industry, where it is heading, and working together with new ideas, concepts, and equipment, and although we are in effect competitors have a good working relationship with each other.

On to the Review:
After speaking with Tony, who attended our Wednesday night gig in Williamstown, he suggested that as Thursday night was the start of the Easter break and that he was running an extra Karaoke night at the Club in Caroline Springs that we come over and join in the fun. I decided to take up the invitation and accompanied by my wife, and meeting up with some of our own regulars who also decided to take up the invitation we travelled across to Caroline Springs.

My wife and I had a meal in the bistro beforehand. Reasonable food prices and a good choice of meals were matched with pretty quick and courteous service. Food quality was also quite relevant to price without being spectacular.

At about 9:00pm after eating we ventured into the room where the Karaoke was to be held. The equipment was already setup and ready to go, and patrons starting filling the room for what should have been a 9:30pm start. There was a flurry of additional activity to the norm by the hosts and some of the singers, as tonight would also see the Final of a 3-4 week competition worth $250 to the winner. The karaoke started about 9:45pm.

Drinks and their prices were interesting in this room.
No shots and no energy drinks, e.g. drinks with Red Bull or the like.
As I had a Crown Lager stubbie with my meal in the bistro, I decided to stay on them, but was staggered at the price - $7.20 each. My wife was drinking wine from a bottle we had previously purchased in the Bistro. When she had finished the wine, and as she was driving home later, I asked at the bar for a pot of water, and was given a small, (250ml), bottle of water for $3.20.

My wife and I were joined by a number of friends who had also come across to the Club for the night’s entertainment, mainly from the Williamstown area.
Unfortunately as each one of us got up to sing our first songs, each came back with tales of woe in relation to the sound on stage.
There was a fold-back for the singers in front of the stage, but the majority of sound that was to be heard was in fact the sound from the FOH speakers after it had bounced back off the back wall. This combined with the sound from the fold-back provided a sound reminiscent of being in a cave or a tunnel. To make matters worse, the amount of effects through the microphones was such that the understanding of some words were difficult, and in fact sounded muffled. Admittedly this can help with those that are slightly vocally challenged by making them sound at least reasonable. However it also detracts from the good singers fully displaying their vocal talents.

The competition final was held in the middle of the evening and was a slightly different concept that seemed to go over very well. This was also well hosted by Angela who got everyone involved. Contestants who had won through the previous 3-4 week’s heats had their names put in a barrel and 5 contestants were drawn out to contest the final. The winner of the final was judged purely on crowd cheering at the conclusion of all 5 contestants singing their chosen songs. Terry was the worthy winner on the night. He was not necessarily the best singer, but his stage movements and the fact that he ‘got into’ his song tipped crowd favouritism to him.

There was a very good crowd in and over the night there were a lot of singers, and a number of singers were getting frustrated with the rotations. This was unfortunate as the Final of the Competition also ate into the available time for normal karaoke. Most patrons managed to get in 2 songs, with some who may have arrived later only getting one, and in the case of a couple of the Competition contestants getting three, (which included their competition song).
Despite the sound issues, we all had a pretty good time, with a friendly crowd and friendly hosts.

If you are in the Caroline Springs area on a Friday night, when Karaoke is usually held, I would recommend dropping in and singing a couple of songs and soaking up the friendly vibrant atmosphere of this gig. Just remember, turn up early to maximise your chances of singing a number of songs, and be wary of the inflated drink prices.
Submitted by PeterM on 10-04-2007

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