My folk club is famous for it's superb acoustic hall, & famous singing audience but this month we went electric. We advertise as being fully acoustic! no mikes! no amplification!

Last year the Council spent 6 months fixing the leaks & water damage, renovating & restoring the historical character of our hall & totally stuffed the acoustic. We've struggled with it for months, & moved the "stage" around but still couldn't hear properly. Last month our singer/songwriter/comedian wondered why those of us sitting in the 3rd row weren't laughing at his jokes.

I asked a friend who is a musician & soundman if he could help & he worked out what was what & where's where & we could all hear! It looked odd to see 2 huge speakers beside the old Victorian fireplace & 3 rather odd-looking mikes on the floor. But we could hear. Ralph is a folkie who makes his living from folk music & we were lucky he was free that night, but he will be working on 3rd Saturdays the rest of the year, but another member has a small sound system & we can probably cope if necessary.

We weren't the only group affected - the Council has lost bookings for a choir, a group of classical musicians & at least 3 other groups so have asked an acoustic expert to check it & sort it out.

If it's not done by our next booking we can use the other, modern hall which we used while it was being restored.

One day soon we'll be back to being fully acoustic in the best acoustic space in Sydney!

sandra