Joe’s Pub is a music venue on Lafayette Street in SoHo, New York. It’s sizeable yet intimate, with a mixture of tables and standing room. The former requires you to stuff yourself with bland Cabaret-quality mains in order to reach the necessary food minimum, while the latter means being squashed up against the bar for two hours while you try to catch a glimpse of the band through huge columns.

Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes modeled his new venue Upstairs at the Beresford on this NYC establishment, but made two notable adjustments. The name is actually illustrative of the venue, and access to the seated area only necessitates that you purchase alcohol. Granted, you have to purchase rather a lot of alcohol — ie a bottle of Grey Goose vodka — but considering the opening event had glassies resorting to lugging around milk crates to clear the tables, shelves and floors of empties this won’t be a hard mark to hit. The end result is an indie music venue with all New York’s grit and none of its overpriced tackiness. It’s just what Surry Hills’ live music scene, deficient since Raval fell victim to the growing obsession with craft beers, ordered.

The Beresford’s new extension is decked out with industrial overhead vents, art deco timber paneling, sleek stone floors and theatre-lit unisex washrooms. It exudes just the right amount of exclusivity without being devoid of intimacy —towards the back is a cosy cocktail lounge replete with plush sofas to recline on if the front area is getting too intense, and adorning the walls are old family photographs of the Hemmes family themselves. The place doesn’t seem to have suffered a scratch despite a fire and a subsequent flood from the sprinkler system only a few days before it was due to open. But then, small stumbling blocks seem to be a theme that runs throughout Hemmes work — only a few weeks earlier he was held at gunpoint as the victim of an armed robbery at the recently acquired Excelsior Hotel.

Last week’s vibe was far less hostile, with Hemmes playing proper host to Sydney’s glitterati with plenty of shots and even more schmoozing. Say what you will about the speedboat-flipping, WRX-crashing, burglar-chasing nightclub mogul, but don’t try to deny that everything he touches turns to platinum gold. And, with his brand new gig venue-night club hybrid, it seems he’s done it again.

What more can we say about a venue with grit, charm and bartenders who pour beer in pints unless you specify a schooner? Oh yeah — Zowie and The Vines were there. Hemmes isn’t exactly out to create “best kept secrets”, so get to Upstairs well before show time unless you want to be left squashed up against Mrs Merivale Hemmes herself. Her photograph, that is.