The Bunker

The Bunker was an event held in the early 1990s, and was the output of a collaborative effort by Greg Wood and Shane Hobson. The Bunker occurred twice in Hamilton. The Bunker 1 was held in Ward Lane Tavern on 26 October 1991, and The Bunker 2 was held at 15 Ulster St, where 'Briscoes' is located now, on 6 June 1992.

As the venue used on the second occasion had a history of failed nightclubs (Roxof, Faces, The Club, etc), it was decided not to promote The Bunker 2 at that address as the poor reputation of the failed nightclubs may have rubbed off on The Bunker. This problem was solved by opening a fire exit onto Liverpool St and promoting The Bunker at a Liverpool St address; this completely disassociated The Bunker from the failed nightclubs even though it was in the same venue.

The venue comprised two floors, the main floor had a bar, dance floor and seating. The upper floor was simply a mezzanine that looked onto the dance floor below. The organisers decided that the original space was too large for the expected crowd and so cut it down in size by hanging a vertical, paper wall cutting through the middle of the main floor and suspending a paper ceiling above the dance floor. 8mm film projectors were then installed into the closed off areas and played film loops onto the backs of the paper wall and ceiling. This created a dance floor environment that had projected film loops covering the entire ceiling and one complete wall. The effect worked well, but maintaining the 20 or so 8mm film loops was hard work.

Patrons would arrive in Liverpool St to find a plain door open in the side of an massive, anonymous, concrete block building. They ascended two flights of stairs to the venue mezzanine floor, have tickets checked and would then descend one set of stairs down onto the main floor.

Love and Violence performed live at The Bunker 2.

The Bunker is mentioned in this newspaper article. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0304/S00026/soliton-prepare-to-feel-inspired.htm