It was gone, dead, buried, over. As this 2021 news story details, the Logan Campbell Centre was a victim of the liquidation of the ASB Showgrounds. The venue, beloved by some for its mezzanine level, circular views and capacity, maligned by others for dead spots, tin shed vibes and bad sound, has been closed ever since. Visit the Greenlane venue right now and you’ll find padlocked front doors, boarded up ticket booths and grass growing through the concrete. The phone numbers don’t work. “Permanently closed,” says Google Maps. Aside from road cones and a couple of cars in the car park out front, it looks like an abandoned building.
In just a few weeks, all that changes. A punter first alerted me to this huge development in Auckland’s live music scene after finding my name attached to a 2021 story about the venue’s demise. “Time for a follow-up,” he suggested, attaching a link for tickets to an upcoming drum n bass show. I clicked that link and there, as promised, was the name of the long-defunct venue, resurrected from the dead. On September 25, the Logan Campbell Centre will host a performance by rising UK drum n bass star SOTA (ask the kids). Could it be true? Is it really back in action?
“One hundred per cent,” says Mitch Lowe. I called the Tauranga-based promoter after pulling into the venue’s car park for a quick look around. As I described its condition, with the boarded up windows covered by a thick layer of dust, Lowe couldn’t have sounded happier. “That sounds so much cooler than I thought,” he told me. “We’re basically rolling into a deserted venue, then.” Lowe went on to detail all the shows he’s put on there over the years. “I did Matt Corby there. I did Nelly and Lupe Fiasco there. I’ve done Pendulum there. Mate, I did Ja Rule and Ashanti there. I’ve done everything, you name it … 17 years of shows.”
Lowe did this, he says, because of the venue’s capacity. Despite its downsides, the Logan Campbell Centre has one major thing going for it: it can fit more people than most Auckland venues. “It’s always sat in its own little capacity world,” says Lowe. The Studio fits around 800, while Shed 10 is around 2000. Once an artist needs a bigger venue, Lowe says the next step up is Spark Arena, and that’s just too big for some. “The Logan Campbell Centre sits in this perfect world where it’s got a capacity of 3300. It’s got the mezzanine, which people really like. You get that layered effect and the photos look amazing … it’s got an X factor.”
When the Logan Campbell Centre closed, Lowe says he and his team used other venues. But he found they didn’t feel quite right for some of the acts they were bringing here. So they kept firing off emails asking if and when it might be open again. “We just kept the conversation alive. We were like, ‘Hey, is there any way we can actually do a show there, because everyone loves it, and it’s been long enough that everybody misses it.” Finally, they got a yes. Even Lowe’s not sure how. “They're not advertising for bookings. They're not going out to public to get bookings,” he says. “It was just through conversations in the back end.”
If next month’s show goes well, Lowe has plans to host more shows there. But the venue’s been out of action for so long he’s found the people buying tickets to SOTA don’t know where it is. They’re too young to remember. “These kids are like, ‘What’s a Logan Campbell Centre?’” To help explain, Lowe posted a video to social media explaining its “legendary” history. The other change is a huge apartment complex that now neighbours the venue. Is Lowe expecting any issues? “Mate, I haven’t been out there in five years,” he says. “I have no idea ... I’m just hoping the Logan Campbell Centre is something we can use three or four time a year again.”
UPDATE: A spokesperson for the Logan Campbell Centre says the venue, along with ASB Showgrounds, “has been open for business in a limited /selective capacity”. “We have just been focusing on exhibitions and events,” they say.
Hagley Park has barely cleared all the pyro from Dom Dolla’s headlining Electric Avenue set yet the Australian DJ has already announced his return. He’s headlining an Auckland Domain show on February 6, a performance billed as the biggest headlining show by an electronic act in Aotearoa. He’s going up against System of a Down and Faith No More, who play HNRY Stadium (no!) that same weekend. Want tickets? Pre-sales begin on Wednesday.
Who will host summer’s biggest show? Both Dom Dolla and System of a Down are expected to attract 45,000 punters each, but the official numbers aren’t yet in for Olivia Dean, who this week sparked a ticketing frenzy – and, some say, a Ticketek meltdown – for her headlining show on October 17 at the brand new Western Springs Bowl. With Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters and Robbie Williams also here, we have an unprecedented run of stadium shows ahead of us.
The summer announcements keep coming: Rhythm & Alps confirms Benee, Dimension, Shapeshifter and Fat Freddy’s Drop will headline this year’s New Year’s party; The Dandy Warholsreturn for a November 27 show at The Powerstation, with pre-sales beginning today; Shonen Knife will play five shows in November; Kristen Hersch is here for four shows across November and December; The Nomad plays eight dates across November and December; and The Beths will take requests at their September 15 show at The Hollywood.
Does Benee read this newsletter? In a recent interview with Ryan Bridge she claimed to know where Rhythm & Vines will be heading after this year’s final festival in Gisborne. “I guess I can say, because someone – I don’t even remember who told me – maybe Hamilton?” she told Bridge. That’s the exact same conclusion we made right here a few weeks back.
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