Sydney’s Civic Hotel has opened a new venue – Civic Underground, an intimate and trendy nightclub that has gone back to the basics: top DJs, a strong door policy and stunning décor along with state-of-the-art sound and lighting.
The club, formerly known as the Civic Theatre, an original cabaret and live rock venue, has been refurbished, upgrading its sound system and adding a range of cool installments including white plush seating. This innovative interior design has now created a relaxed and sophisticated atmosphere.
The Civic Hotel has always had a deep passion for music and it is thus no surprise that the hotel’s adoration of house music and late night disco has been the party gateway for thousands of people. The Underground will occasionally host a number of live acts, including several Australian acts such as Ajax, Potbelleyz and the Presets.
Luke Everingham from Everingham Audio has a solid reputation for supplying and installing audio into venues and when he was contracted to do Civic Underground he knew he’d have to also have top quality lighting. Straight away he turned to Show Technology for quality lighting, quality advice and quality pricing.
The venue already had a variety of Martin lighting including MiniMACs and CX4 which they were keen to retain as they had given the venue years of reliable service. However the par cans on the stage just had to go as, with a low ceiling, they were frying the artists! Show Technology had a simple answer in the form of LED strips fifteen of which are used to light the stage. As well as running cool, their low profile gives the audience better sightlines.
“The LED strips are about one and a half metres from centre stage with a continuous row across the front of the stage as well as a row stage left and right to provide a side wash,” explained Mark McInnes from Show Technology. “It’s great because they don’t need to change gels or run them off dimmer channels – they can just run it all off their control system via DMX. The back of the stage is dressed in white vinyl to match the rest of the décor and the reflective qualities of the vinyl from the LED strips are fabulous.”
The trusty MiniMACs and CX4’s had been installed at the venue for eight years and so were given a bit of a makeover in the form of a thorough cleaning and new lamps to ensure they lasted several more years.
The mood lighting in the venue provides a euphoric experience. LED strips stream across the dance floor and the white walls of the club, creating a vibrant interplay of subdued light and shadows. The colours are reflected by several disco balls hanging above the dance floor and cast hypnotic flashes of light onto the dancers.
A strip of red LED Neon Flex light lining the bar casts red hues onto a row of spacious white booths. The ceiling, illuminated by 28 Pro Shop LED square panels which continuously change colour, further enhances the club’s already sensual and seductive surroundings.
www.showtech.com.au
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