SHORING UP A SOUND CLUB:

Source  Venue Magazine

Weathering the elements had nothing to do with the state of The Shore Club in Manly when owner Alex Said and licensee Michael Raft got to it. The three-year-old venue looked a decade old purely because it was so busy. In under a month the three-level venue went under the knife and has re-emerged a real star, designed by Alex’s wife Dee, with all-new furniture, an imported marble bar and a custom built stage that rolls out to cater to bands. “The ground floor now feels like an open air bar in front of a beach, before it felt like you were on the inside of an empty swimming pool,” said Raft. “The middle floor, which is now our Belvedere One-X sponsored bar, feels like a city nightclub, with probably the best views in Sydney, of any nightclub. And the top floor is sponsored by Moet Chandon — the VIP area of our club. Moet has only one other brand home in Sydney, and that’s Ivy Pool. And we’re all the way out in little ol’ Northern Beaches Manly. To be only the second one, other than a premiere place in the city, says a lot.” It’s a bit befuddling as to how The Shore Club managed to accumulate more sponsors than a read-a-thon winner until you find out Raft has managed his fair share of NYC clubs, General Manager Brian Reid was one of the original founders of Home Nightclub, and Guy Roberts was the licensee of the very-popular The Club in Kings Cross. Because the bar is right opposite Manly Beach, Julian Lacey, Lightsounds’ project manager for the job, had to put in place special considerations to make sure the sandy and wet weather conditions didn’t erode the equipment. There are 12 One Systems 208CIM weatherproof speakers throughout the venue, a compact speaker that packs a punch and can handle direct flogging from the elements.

The Shore Club went straight to the top tier for its DJ equipment, snagging a couple of Pioneer DJM2000 mixers , the latest and greatest available, as well as four Pioneer CDJ2000 CD players. Lighting is taken care of by four American DJ Triphase LED FX lights and 20 Light Emotion 60-piece RGB LED tape rolls that are also waterproof. The system is controlled by Nicolaudie STICK architectural lighting control software through eight Liteputer LDX305 DMX LED dimmers. “As a manager, the first things I focus on in my shift if music, sound and lighting,” said Raft. “Since Lightsounds’ amazing fitout, my concerns have been spectacularly reduced. Truly a feast for the senses for any party-going patron and any hospitality professional with an acute perception of club culture.”