Pleasure Club

Pleasure Club is a 120-capacity basement music bar in Sydney’s Newtown, operated by Odd Culture Group. Its defining practical advantage is a 4am licence, described at launch as the first approval for a Newtown bar in over a century; small bills can stretch into proper late-night sets. The room occupies a former X-rated video shop, a past that suits the purple-lit descent below Wilson Street.

A new room built for the late shift

Odd Culture Group announced Pleasure Club in late 2022, initially targeting a mid-2023 debut for its cocktail-bar and live-performance concept. The project arrived on Friday, February 23, 2024, converting the subterranean former video-shop space into a 120-seat venue with a dedicated performance program and late trading. That opening date matters because it gives the room a compact, clearly documented origin story: this is a recent addition to Newtown’s live circuit, built around a licence secured before the doors opened. Its first Friday bill placed blues musician Frank Sultana and Golden Scissor Puppets on the program, followed after 11pm by Dane Blacklock & The Preacher’s Daughter and DJ Ciara. The next night paired Capocci’s Kings of Rhythm with Large Mirage and DJ Baschoe, establishing the mixed live-band-and-DJ format that still shapes the venue’s nights.

How the room works now

The booking approach favours emerging local acts, DJs, recurring takeovers and genre-crossing bills, with electronic music, alternative rock and psychedelic-leaning bands sharing late slots. Many calendar nights use free entry, while occasional special events carry tickets. Official gig guides have paired early live sets with DJs running through 2am or 4am, so arrival time changes the experience. Inside, expect booths and small tables around the performance area, a pool table, a 1950s jukebox and a cocktail-focused bar; around 11pm, the jukebox yields to the night’s live act.