I quickly found Monday nights are a bit of a ghost town for live music.

It seems for many live venues in Sydney, Monday is the night to shut up shop and take a well-earned break from the ruckus of the weekend shift.

Though, if I’m completely honest, tonight scared the crap out of me.

The brash, bold statement of 30 bands in 30 nights was, I feared, going to go down like an Idol contestant on a live stage after the television cameras had switched off – badly.

What else didn’t help was that reasons beyond my control stopped me from being able to head out on the hunt for band number two until 9.30pm.

Alas I pushed on, scouring the gig guides I took a punt on a late night start at The Observer Hotel in Sydney’s Rocks.

The Observer Hotel is pretty much what you would want from a bar in the Rocks.

Its décor could easily be classified as an “old man’s pub” – with the charm and grace of a drunken sailor post World War II, without the lost souls.

Bernie Segedin is not just a one-man cover band.

Segedin is master of his musical soapbox.

The singer from Wiseman’s Ferry had two things I wasn’t expecting: a sensational voice, and the ability to sing MatchBox20 songs while still keeping a straight face.

It was clear from the outset he wasn’t a fellow that “digged” Rob Thomas after quitting time.

While you may think the shoulder length hair is what gave Segedin away, it was his passion and precision in tackling tracks from

Led Zepplin and anything south of 90s grunge music that betrayed him.

Covers of Guns and Roses, Led Zeplin, Oasis, and of course, MatchBox20, were a walk in the park for Segedin.

With a choice of two acoustic guitars by his side, Segedin battled dinging sounds of the pokies, passing street sounds and widescreen televisions flashing music clips for the crowd’s attention.

His humble approach, friendly banter and killer guitar work were instant winners.

The only issue I would perhaps raise on Segedin’s behalf is that in fact there is such a thing as too much MatchBox20.

Though I was hardly going to argue with a bloke who was two sheets to the wind, shouting to anyone that he had been waiting an hour and a half for one of MatchBox20’s songs.

While it was very tempting to leave at this point I persisted long enough to hear Segedin’s own request to play a Paul Kelly song smacked down by a lout calling out for some “U2, no Oasis, no Sting’.

Prices:
The Observer Hotel
Door charge: Free
Spirits: $7.50

Tags | 30 bands in 30 days, Bernie Segedin