In just two weeks Backroom and The Wine Cellar were transformed into Double Whammy! and Whammy’s Public Bar. Gabi Lardies went along to the grand opening to suss the changes. 

On Saturday at about 8pm, Chlöe Swarbrick cut a shiny red ribbon strung across a stage in a large underground room. The smell of fresh paint lingered in the air. There was a small crowd, who cheered and shouted their approval, but with a sold out grand opening featuring six local acts, this was the quiet before the storm.

The underground room, about 15 metres long and 8 metres wide, was two rooms just two weeks prior. The smaller of the rooms was Backroom, once a late night spot mostly for electronic music which was accessed through Whammy’s narrow stairs. The bigger of the rooms was the Wine Cellar performance space known for having Persian carpets on the walls and being a rite of passage for New Zealand’s bands for the last two decades. A few walls have been busted down to join the spaces into a new venue called Double Whammy! It is accessed through what was The Wine Cellar, a 20 year long institution of Karangahape Road and New Zealand music, and is now Whammy’s Public Bar – a bar in its own right but also the gateway to Double Whammy. 

“We’ve poured our hearts, sweat and sledgehammers into this project,” announced the Whammy! Facebook page in a promotion for the grand opening. So what’s changed?

The good

Poopy smells are gone

In case you haven’t noticed, the smoking area has smelled like sewage for at least the past five years. On Saturday, there was nay a wisp of this curse. When I commented on this newfound cleanliness, sitting at a barrel next to a stainless steel bowl of ciggie buts, a punter told me that a leaking sewer pipe had been found during the renos. It was apparently a nightmare for the landlord to have fixed, and I would say 100% worth it for not having to smell a health hazard when you’re trying to look presentable at 1am.

The outside area got a glow up

The swing doors are gone, and so too is the oversized table and wobbly benches. Removing these old bits of ply has opened up a rather long space that now feels like a trendy laneway in Melbourne or some shit thanks to strings of fairy lights running across the length of the ceiling, and the ceiling having a fresh coat of black paint. If you don’t look too closely (or have enough beers) it might just be the night sky rather than concrete. There’s a few barrels dotted around to lean or sit at, and some booth-y benches have been built against one side and painted a glossy salmon colour!

It’s big

Double Whammy! is bigger than Whammy!, bigger than The Wine Cellar was, and waayyyy bigger the Backroom could have ever dreamed of. It has a 400-500 person capacity. I’m assuming it neared that on Saturday since tickets were sold out, but it didn’t feel cramped. 

Somewhere ‘not embarrassing’ for international acts to play

A friend commented that ever since The Kings Arms closed in 2018 there hasn’t been anywhere of the right size and vibe for good but niche international acts to play. Finally, we have somewhere “not embarrassing” for that, she said.

No posts on the dancefloor or stage

While I love the enterprising spirit that has wrapped pleather covered pads around the posts in the original Whammy! it is certainly preferable not to have posts breaking up the dancing and stage areas. The musicians on stage were free to roam and the drum kit didn’t have to be so far back. Also, it felt almost like maybe this wasn’t a repurposed basement no one else wanted to rent but maybe even a proper venue.

Fancy lighting

The stage had sooooo many lights that could do soooo many different things. Towards the end of the night people who were definitely not trained in lighting and definitely had no idea what they were doing (not me) were somehow let behind the desk to press random buttons. By pressing pretty much all of them, they showed what the lighting setup is truly capable of. 

Happy musicians

It started with Ruby Walsh of Na Noise looking like they were ascending into another realm while playing their conga drums and other percussion instruments. It continued with every other musician giving thanks for having the space and the people who made it possible. It stretched out with muso audience members saying they couldn’t wait for the things that are possible in there.

The bad

A touch of Ponsonby on a budget

I know those globular paper lantern lampshades are ubiquitous but I still never expected to see them in this underground nook of St Kevin’s Arcade. Maybe because they wouldn’t have matched the anarchy flag on the wall. Maybe because if you’ve painted all the walls black you don’t need to worry about softening the lighting. Maybe because they come with the baggage of trying to make a place look “nice” and that has never seemed like a concern for this particular place. But this is The Wine Cellar no more. This is Whammy’s Public Bar and it has about 20 paper lantern lampshades, white walls and exposed brick. 

The fake plants

Thankfully there aren’t many – just a few on a ceiling grate in the outside area and little squares in the toilet cubicles. I just think – nah. There are also a few real Mānuka baby trees in pots. I have no idea how they will survive without natural light and with a constant dose of cigarette and vape fumes. Someone suggested a plant care service like some corporate offices have, but I just can’t imagine it. 

Two additional toilets

The toilet situation is almost the same as before. In the Public Bar there’s one toilet and one urinal as per Wine Cellar. In Double Whammy! there’s four cubicles – two have been added to the two that were previously attached to Backroom. All together that make five toilets – one toilet per 100 people – surely not enough. There is something lovely about being stuck in a line next to someone you haven’t seen in a while, but at the same time, I need to pee and I could chat to them not in the bathroom under harsh fluorescent lighting. 

One tiny door

To get in, and out, of Double Whammy! there’s just one single door. On Saturday this caused much clogging before and after acts played, think the tube in London at rush hour. There is a second door (fire exit) but it was closed. 

Dancefloor not dark enough

Dancefloors need a certain level of anonymity and since everyone knows everyone in Auckland darkness is essential. This surely has an easy fix, but in the six hours I was there it was not done.

The price of a can of Coke

As circumstances would have it I happen to know the cost of cans of Coke in the mini-fridges inside the rooms of the Cordis Hotel – $6.50. At Double Whammy! they are $5. The difference is that at the former you’re in a fancy hotel that has towel robes, a pool, spa, saunas and jasmine scented steam rooms and at the latter you’re in an underground basement. It is my firm belief that this price is a bit rude to people trying to have a good time without getting wasted. They should be supported in their endeavours. 

The verdict

Aucklanders now have no excuse not to go out past 9pm. This is a good thing.