But when it’s simple organisational things that could have been done better that put a dampener on a good night, you can’t help but wonder how it happens.
When you’ve paid a lot of money to see someone, you want to get your money’s worth.
A drone view of Olivia Dean’s Western Springs Bowl concert. Photo / Auckland Stadiums
I’ve been to Western Springs gigs before the recent upgrade, and they were epic performances. But there were some concert bugbears at the venue, too.
At Guns N’ Roses 2018, I waited 30 minutes for the bathroom (there weren’t enough Portaloos), spent 45 minutes in line for an understaffed bar, and couldn’t hear a single vocal from the stage (not sure if that was just Axl Rose’s voice or the fault of the sound system.)
At Six60, there was so much dust I was sneezing brown for a week after, and I can’t ignore the fiasco getting out of the venue.
Hopes were high when I saw the $2.5m announcement to upgrade Western Springs, with permanent features for concerts.
British singer Olivia Dean was the “guinea pig” for night one of the Western Springs Bowl, with 45,000 people packing in to see her.
I went along to check it out, and found a night that gave me the good, the bad, and the frustrating.
The positives
Sound
Yes, the elephant in the room was the 40-minute delay mid-show due to a “technical issue”. People were left wondering what was going on, until someone came out and told the anxious crowd it was being fixed.
Initially, people were quick to blame the venue, but it was later discovered the root cause of the issue was Dean’s own technical set-up.
The show ran 22 minutes late, past an 11pm noise curfew. It is unclear whether anyone will face fines, but Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has said the city should not make “a drama out of an extra 22 minutes”.
Our view of the stage was uninterrupted. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Even before the hiccup, I thought the sound was superb, quite possibly some of the best I’ve heard in an outdoor venue.
We were on the terrace (middle section), and the speakers were well-positioned to give us that hallowed “wall of sound” that so many recalled of the 1983 David Bowie concert at the same venue.
Dean and her opening act sounded crystal clear, the volume didn’t require earplugs and even the music during the break from the speakers sounded okay.
Sight lines (generally)
I preface this by saying we arrived two hours early to get a good seat on the terrace. It meant we secured an unobstructed view. Others who came later weren’t so lucky.
The general design of the bowl means that, besides the speakers and sound booths, it’s hard to get a bad view of the action on stage. Large screens were also great, especially for those up the back of the embankment.
Food and drink
A big tick from me here. I scoffed down a Roti Brothers pie, which I only waited 10 minutes for, and spent less than five minutes getting a drink.
There were multiple food and drink “villages” – one when you come in from the Great North Road entry and another just before the embankment – with plenty of seating and options from Tank Juice to kebabs and weiners.
Staff were pleasant and great at refusing service to a man who had clearly had one too many.
It was easy enough to get a drink this time around. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Help
Medics had enough room to get to patients in need, and I saw plenty of security and venue assistance staff wandering the venue and answering questions.
They even managed to catch a gate-crasher in record time.
Toilets
I used the facilities twice (once minutes before Dean took to the stage) and I waited in a queue of about three people for less than six minutes.
There had to be hundreds of Portaloos scattered across the venue, as well as permanent toilets that have always been there.
And, most importantly, I left with a clear nose! There were no dust clouds in sight thanks to grassing over the GA area.
Food, drink and toilets had minimal wait times. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Room for improvement
Getting around
I don’t think any amount of money or upgrades can help the Western Springs Bowl fix these issues.
Getting into the venue was fine, but getting around it and out of it was not.
Those sitting or standing on the terrace were barred from returning through the entrance they came through after leaving the area, needing to go all the way to the other side of the stadium and trek through thousands of people to get back to their position.
Eventually, security couldn’t police this, and people were just finding a spare moment to sneak past them, but it felt like there was no proper plan to manage huge crowds.
Thousands of people on the crowded embankment waiting for Olivia Dean. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
This was also evident from conversations on the embankment, where people felt like they were forced to stand for the throngs of people to fit. While the 45,000-strong crowd was under the venue’s 50,000 capacity, crowd management is something the venue and promoters should think about for future gigs.
Transport
Leaving was another mission. I was lucky, and my ride managed to park 20 minutes’ walk away, but other fans told the Herald it was “absolute chaos” trying to get to nearby train stations or further.
“We walked to avoid some of the traffic and managed to get an overpriced Uber fairly quickly. The roads around Western Springs were certainly busy,” one concertgoer said.
Auckland Stadiums director James Parkinson said one of the implications of the show finishing later than planned because of the technical delay was that some scheduled public transport services had finished by the time the crowd left.
In my opinion, with a gig that size, free transport and event buses are a must. I don’t think the location, being on a main road, helps and planning will be needed to make it work better in the future.
The re-entry point was on the far left, whereas the exit was just to my right on the terrace. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Cellphone coverage
Want to contact your lost mate in the GA pit? Perhaps bring a walkie talkie, because getting a call out was like trying to contact Mars.
Sure, back in the day losing your mate in the crowd was all part of the plan. But with plenty of kids and parents at these gigs, cellphone coverage can prevent a trip to the lost and found tent.
This isn’t a problem unique to Western Springs Bowl, but I’ve seen some venues make deals with cellphone providers to bring in portable facilities and even Wi-Fi for guests, which makes sense today.
Lack of cover and lighting
Even with portable generator lights scattered around, it was ridiculously dark in certain areas, particularly on the terrace.
More permanent lighting is needed and pronto. Being an outdoor gig, expecting rain or shade cover is a big ask, but even some temporary pergolas or tents would have been a good safety measure in a very exposed location.
Olivia Dean delighted at Western Springs Bowl. Photo / Lola Mansell
Final thoughts
Despite the issues leaving and the logistical conundrums, I wasn’t disappointed after a stellar performance.
Sure, there are things that need fixing, and I think Auckland Transport and the council need to be part of that dialogue. But the Western Springs Bowl is a decent summer venue that fills a gap in the market.
Is it perfect? No, but it wasn’t in its previous iteration either. I’ll still keep going and enjoy the show.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.