DANCE music and international DJs are no longer the top draws in nightspots. Drum roll please, for homegrown bands which are now stealing the spotlight.

For instance, crowds have been flocking to Rouge in Orchard Road to watch veteran John Molina & Krueger.

The cover band became the two-year-old club's first-ever resident band on Sept 5, after Krueger's three-year stint ended at China Bar at Central Mall in June.

Krueger's arrival at Rouge saw an increase in patronage of 200 per cent, 'if not more', says Mr Yung Ong. He is director of the Peranakan Place Complex which runs Rouge, Rouge Outdoors, Acid Bar and Alley Bar, all situated along the stretch.

'We were trying to look at our cluster of outlets as a complex rather than individual places so that all of them can co-exist and be beneficial to the group,' he says.

Krueger was brought on board to cater to a market of patrons who wanted live music.

The 6,000 sq ft Rouge which opened in December 2003 previously employed DJs who would spin house music nightly to a half-filled dancefloor.

These days, weekends are the busiest with over 700 working professionals in their 20s to mid-30s packing the place to watch the sexy Molina, 35, and his band dish out covers of artistes from Coldplay to Guns 'N' Roses and The Killers

Rouge is not the only nightspot reaping the rewards of a live band.