Was going to post here, but I'm too long winded. Ive sent you an email. Emails always seem shorter, right? At least you've been warned, I guess..... :-)
I think my first Spark/Vector Arena show was Linkin Park/Chris Cornell in like 2007 and the sound was awful. But when I went back to see Crowded House/Supergroove it was good. But it is hit and miss. Best sound I’ve heard there was Portishead - they halved the room so it was like an amphitheatre. Great show.
I cannot for the life of me remember if I saw that Portishead show! I remember interviewing the group about it, but I can’t remember a single second of it!
The problem now is that ticket prices are so high (like SZA) that if the sound is off (like SZA) then you’ve made a very expensive mistake…
Not being from (or able to tolerate) Auckland, I have honestly never heard of the Due Drop Centre. It looks like a great venue, I'd love to hear it, but if Live Nation doesn't want to use them no one else will either. The Spark Arena is truly the worst of the worst, I refuse to attend any show there because I like music to sound good, and the owners continue to abdicate responsibility meaning the music will invariably sound bad at best. Touring acts can't bring enough sound deflection to fit out a tin can like that.
It’s crazy how random it seems to be eh? I have a story coming about the powerstation sound - there’s a 1m x 1m sweet spot. I agree it’s not as crisp as it could be there, but I never walk away from a Powerstation show saying ‘well the sound fucking ruined that one’. At Spark, it’s what? 30 or 40% of the time? Terrible odds!
💯 agree. Power Station isn’t great but it’s got the sound you’d kinda expect at that type of venue. The intimacy you get there also makes up for it. Spark Arena saying it’s up to the individual artists is such a cop out too.
Travis Barker is an excellent drummer and by far the highlight but I felt like I was being blasted out of my seat by the loudness of it. Overall, Blink-182 is probably for an audience that’s not me at the end of the day.
No … I’m a fan of Finn, McCartney, sting, pink etc. Taylor Swift.. and now Alice cooper and many others. I have never really needed ear plugs even when introduced to disturbed. I mean I go way back as a massive attack fan in Spark in 2010 no ear plugs needed. Maybe blink 182 are just too loud cos they are a punk band?
Really I just didn’t gel with that sound though I liked green day years ago in same venue. Green day are good though and don’t do teenage loo humour like blink
Was going to post here, but I'm too long winded. Ive sent you an email. Emails always seem shorter, right? At least you've been warned, I guess..... :-)
Got it Sarah, will reply in a bit :)
Honestly, Chris. No need. Just blah blahing 🎶 Enjoyed your Substack as per.... :-)
I think my first Spark/Vector Arena show was Linkin Park/Chris Cornell in like 2007 and the sound was awful. But when I went back to see Crowded House/Supergroove it was good. But it is hit and miss. Best sound I’ve heard there was Portishead - they halved the room so it was like an amphitheatre. Great show.
I cannot for the life of me remember if I saw that Portishead show! I remember interviewing the group about it, but I can’t remember a single second of it!
The problem now is that ticket prices are so high (like SZA) that if the sound is off (like SZA) then you’ve made a very expensive mistake…
Not being from (or able to tolerate) Auckland, I have honestly never heard of the Due Drop Centre. It looks like a great venue, I'd love to hear it, but if Live Nation doesn't want to use them no one else will either. The Spark Arena is truly the worst of the worst, I refuse to attend any show there because I like music to sound good, and the owners continue to abdicate responsibility meaning the music will invariably sound bad at best. Touring acts can't bring enough sound deflection to fit out a tin can like that.
You’d NEVER go to a show there? Even if your favourite artist was playing?!?
Leonard Cohen - perfect sound
Neil Young and Crazy Horse - painfully inaudible to a "worst gig ever" level.
I've never enjoyed the sound at the Power Station, but at least it's consistent.
It’s crazy how random it seems to be eh? I have a story coming about the powerstation sound - there’s a 1m x 1m sweet spot. I agree it’s not as crisp as it could be there, but I never walk away from a Powerstation show saying ‘well the sound fucking ruined that one’. At Spark, it’s what? 30 or 40% of the time? Terrible odds!
💯 agree. Power Station isn’t great but it’s got the sound you’d kinda expect at that type of venue. The intimacy you get there also makes up for it. Spark Arena saying it’s up to the individual artists is such a cop out too.
Blink-182 was terrible there. Worse than SZA by far.
I've heard this many times but none of the reviews mentioned it ...
That was an expensive show too!
Travis Barker is an excellent drummer and by far the highlight but I felt like I was being blasted out of my seat by the loudness of it. Overall, Blink-182 is probably for an audience that’s not me at the end of the day.
I wanted to see them out of curiosity but the cheapest tickets were well over $300…
I think turning the volume up is the only way some sound engineers know how to cope with the unique sound issues that building presents them with.
Do you pack ear plugs ever?
No … I’m a fan of Finn, McCartney, sting, pink etc. Taylor Swift.. and now Alice cooper and many others. I have never really needed ear plugs even when introduced to disturbed. I mean I go way back as a massive attack fan in Spark in 2010 no ear plugs needed. Maybe blink 182 are just too loud cos they are a punk band?
Really I just didn’t gel with that sound though I liked green day years ago in same venue. Green day are good though and don’t do teenage loo humour like blink