I was at that Tool show in 2001 - one of my favourite concert experiences ever. My sister's friend and I bussed down from Whangarei together and met my sis there. I also saw Live there; I was at their 2000 show with Sugar Ray and Tadpole opening.
Like the Mt Smart Big Top, I never returned after terrible experiences- with the sound quality and the…well, the experience.
With Mount Smart it was the gravel car park floor and wooden bleachers for Peter Gabriel- a bucket list show for me. With North Shore Even Centre, as it was then, it was listening to Sting in what sounded like a big wood and concrete box- which it was. A big echoing box. Even the Logan Campbell had better acoustics- in face some of the best concert mixes I’ve enjoyed were there- Ian Dury, Manhattan Transfer, U2.
Also, Eventfinder might have better parking, but like its Southern compatriot terrible PT access. I’d love to have seen Human League, Go West, and Nick Kershaw- that’s a big wedge of my teens right there- but there’s no way I was going into that box again.
Last time I was in it was for an early Breakers game and that felt like what it was designed for. What’s changed?
I guess it depends what kind of experience you want? A big dirty rock show in the Supertop or Eventfinda is going to have a certain vibe, and the gravel or the sweatbox atmosphere is part of that. I think it's probably improved since those early 2000s shows but I haven't seen a show there recently (they invited me to Auckland Sounds but it was the same night as Queens of the Stone Age). I would definitely go to the next one to report on what it's like.
Of course. I doubt I would have been a frequent visitor to HBGBs... But few of the acts I want to see WOULD fit that category, hence my ambivalence about it as a generic mid-size venue. Interested to hear your review of something that's not a dirty rock show :-)
I remember seeing Ben Harper & Jack Johnson there back in the day (shhh I’d rather not talk about it).
I was there earlier this year for a basketball game and compared to Spark it’s definitely…grittier. It was stinking hot, the players kept slipping over on their own sweat on court, there were no handrails on the stairs in the upstairs seating and I saw no less than four people trip up the uneven stairs. But it’s still good to have another venue, even if there’s some kinks to work out.
Yeah and to be fair I think they know this. One of the quotes I didn't use from Brian was about how Spark had incredible air conditioning and to go there if you wanted that experience. "You don't want to be sipping tea or holding a chai latte while you're watching Tool," he said. I think it's about taking it back to its roots.
Ice cube and Cypress Hill '94 was pretty rad .....a hotbox basically
I went to the exact same show last year!
I was at that Tool show in 2001 - one of my favourite concert experiences ever. My sister's friend and I bussed down from Whangarei together and met my sis there. I also saw Live there; I was at their 2000 show with Sugar Ray and Tadpole opening.
PS I'm seeing Live and Incubus in a couple weeks if you want someone to review it so you don't have to go, haha!
That show is so crazy popular!
Live, Sugar Ray and Tadpole is such a 90s vibe.
The last show I saw in that venue was Live and it was very grim. I sat right at the back in a grump. Didn't want to be there. haha!
Like the Mt Smart Big Top, I never returned after terrible experiences- with the sound quality and the…well, the experience.
With Mount Smart it was the gravel car park floor and wooden bleachers for Peter Gabriel- a bucket list show for me. With North Shore Even Centre, as it was then, it was listening to Sting in what sounded like a big wood and concrete box- which it was. A big echoing box. Even the Logan Campbell had better acoustics- in face some of the best concert mixes I’ve enjoyed were there- Ian Dury, Manhattan Transfer, U2.
Also, Eventfinder might have better parking, but like its Southern compatriot terrible PT access. I’d love to have seen Human League, Go West, and Nick Kershaw- that’s a big wedge of my teens right there- but there’s no way I was going into that box again.
Last time I was in it was for an early Breakers game and that felt like what it was designed for. What’s changed?
I guess it depends what kind of experience you want? A big dirty rock show in the Supertop or Eventfinda is going to have a certain vibe, and the gravel or the sweatbox atmosphere is part of that. I think it's probably improved since those early 2000s shows but I haven't seen a show there recently (they invited me to Auckland Sounds but it was the same night as Queens of the Stone Age). I would definitely go to the next one to report on what it's like.
Of course. I doubt I would have been a frequent visitor to HBGBs... But few of the acts I want to see WOULD fit that category, hence my ambivalence about it as a generic mid-size venue. Interested to hear your review of something that's not a dirty rock show :-)
I remember seeing Ben Harper & Jack Johnson there back in the day (shhh I’d rather not talk about it).
I was there earlier this year for a basketball game and compared to Spark it’s definitely…grittier. It was stinking hot, the players kept slipping over on their own sweat on court, there were no handrails on the stairs in the upstairs seating and I saw no less than four people trip up the uneven stairs. But it’s still good to have another venue, even if there’s some kinks to work out.
Yeah and to be fair I think they know this. One of the quotes I didn't use from Brian was about how Spark had incredible air conditioning and to go there if you wanted that experience. "You don't want to be sipping tea or holding a chai latte while you're watching Tool," he said. I think it's about taking it back to its roots.