Juxtapose experiments

The juxtaposed images below are an attempt to emphasis what has changed (and what has stayed the same) in the musical culture of our cities. In each case, a historic photo has been overlaid with a more recent photo taken at the same location. Some locations have been surprisingly resilient in continuing to be a hive of musical activity for decades on end, while others have left little sign of their existence (if not being wiped off the map entirely).

Wellington Town Hall

The Wellington Town Hall officially opened on 7 December 1904 and hosted music events right from its earliest days. In 1980, it was scheduled for demolition with the Michael Fowler centre constructed right next door as its replacement, but the NZ Historic Places Trust managed to argue for it to be saved. Probably the most historic concerts held at the venue were visits in the 1960s from The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, though it continues to have musical performances and has even seen headlining shows from local acts in recent years.
On the left: The Rolling Stones play Wellington Town Hall in 1966 (Photo by Morrie Hill. National Library of New Zealand Ref: 35mm-18183-9-F.).
On the right: Shapeshifter play a soldout show at the same venue in 2013 (photo: Pat Shepherd).

Captain Cook Hotel

The Captain Cook was first built in 1860. It's biggest place in local music history was probably during the late 70s and early 80s, when it was a regular haunt for the city's most well-known Flying Nun bands. The Enemy played there in 1979, before morphing into Toy Love who played their last Dunedin show at the venue in 1980. It also saw gigs by The Clean, The Chills, The Verlaines, and Look Blue Go Purple.
On the left: The Captain Cook Hotel in 1875.
On the right:  This shot taken in 2009 shows the venue in its student pub days. The heavy drinking culture eventually saw it shut by the university in 2014. However, Michael McLeod subsequently took it over and re-established it as a music venue (including gigs by McLeod's own bands, Shifting Sands and Bad Sav). These days, only the upstairs area has gigs, but at least the music lives on!

The Odeon 

This building was originally known as the Tuam Street Public Hall. It would go on to be known as the Opera House (in July 1984) and was used as a venue for music and vaudeville acts for many decades. In 1930, it was renamed the St James and became predominantly known as a cinema, though live music and other performances also took place regularly. In 1960, it took its current name, the Odeon.
On the left: An illustration of the "Tuam Street Public hall" in around 1885.
On the right: The Odeon as it was until the Christchurch Earthquakes, when the back wall collapsed. The exterior you see here is now supported by a stack of shipping containers while the future of the building is decided.

Bowl of Brooklands

In 1956, it was recognised that a sloping hillside area of the Brooklands park formed a natural ampitheatre and so the swampland below was transformed to be the setting for a stage (with a parabolic soundshell to project the sound). Music has been performed here regularly over the decades including some bit overseas acts that including: The Seekers, Lionel Richie and John Farnham (2014); Sting and Paul Simon (2015).  
On the right: A Jon Stevens and Sharon O'Neill in 1980. The band onstage seems to be the support act, which consisted of Wayne Mason (keyboards), Bob Smith (synthesiser), Ross Burge (drums), Clinton Brown (bass), and Dennis Mason (saxophone). (Photo credit: Puke Ariki, WD.042985).
On the left: The main stage of WOMAD in 2019 (credit: Gareth Shute).
 

King's Arms

On the left: The Kings Arms Tavern in 1890s. (photo: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-RIC53)
On the right: The same venue in the 2010s, by which time it had been a music venue for many decades.



On the left: Once again we see the Kings Arms in its heyday.
On the right: The construction site where apartments are in the process of being built in the same location (in 2019).

Ace of Clubs

On the left: The Ace of Clubs nightclub above Cook Street markets.
On the right: Roughly the same view from Aotea Square in 2019, with Cook Street entirely removed to create Mayoral Drive and the Aotea Centre.
 

Albert Park Band Rotunda

On the left: The Albert Park band rotunda in 1904.
On the right: The Naked and Famous playing the bFM Summer Series in 2010 (photo: Jacqueline May).

Auckland Town Hall

On the left: A choir plays at the opening of the Auckland Town Hall in 1911.
On the right: Marlon Williams plays the Auckland Town Hall in 2018 (credit: Doug Peters).

 

Crystal Palace

On the right: a crowd gathers outside Crystal Palace in 1958 (credit: Auckland Libraries, Rykenberg Collection).
On the left: A gathering of people who were working/practising in The Lab recording studio in 2019: Olly Harmer (engineer/producer), Jol Mulholland (Mulholland/Gasoline Cowboy), Sam Flynn Scott (Phoenix Foundation), Reb Fountain, Sean Donelly (SJD) and Brett Adams (The Bads, The Mockers). (credit: Gareth Shute)

Montmartre on Lorne Street

On the left: The Mike Walker Trio on the opening night of Lautrec. They were known as the resident band in the venue, Montmartre, which was upstairs. The band from left to right are: Frank Conway, Neville Whitehead, and Mike Walker.
On the right: The same doorway at 57 Lorne Street in 2019. This was previously the entry to Pizza Pizza in the 2000s, which hosted many gigs including a surprise performance by the White Stripes!