Former Powderfinger member John Collins, is opening a venue at 7 Stratton St Newstead.
Collins has plans for a new 800-seat venue in inner-city Newstead. He plans to open 'Triffid' in November to address the lack of mid-sized live gig spaces. Collins said the venue, being built in one of Newstead’s iconic WWII hangars, was the kind of space he wished had been around when Powderfinger started out.
“Back then there was a place called The Attic (Brunswick Street, opposite The Arena), which held a few hundred people, and The Zoo, which holds 500, but then it jumped up to The Roxy, which was 2000,” he said. “When we travelled overseas we played a lot of rooms that held 800 people which was perfect. We want to make it Newstead’s backyard,” he said. “Somewhere to come and hang out after work, hear some music, have a drink and can grab some food.”
Collins said he was working closely with sound engineers to ensure the venue would not impact residential neighbours. “There’s no neighbours nearby yet, but there are a few developments,” he said. “We have been talking to acoustic engineers to make sure it isn’t pumping out volume to the neighbours because inside we are going to have the best, professional gear and a big enough stage for decent-sized acts.”
