Well, it’s not every day that you get to review the opening (or re-opening, for that matter) of a music venue. Built in 1888, Brisbane’s Princess Theatre had been looking a little worse-for-wear in recent years. While it was never in awful condition, neither did it feel fresh and new. I reviewed the terrific Brisbane-based classical/experimental genre-hoppers Topology playing there last year and they sounded great, but the venue certainly felt like it needed a shake-up, and maybe a solid dusting, to boot. The Princess Theatre has now been totally revamped by the same team behind Brisbane’s iconic Tivoli, and the opening night kicked things off with a bang.

Collar on stage at the Princess Theatre, Brisbane. Photo © Mitch Lowe

With an absolutely killer location in Woolloongabba, just near Brisbane’s South Bank, I can see The Princess Theatre really filling in a gap in Brisbane’s cultural scene. I’m reliably informed that it has a standing capacity of just over 900 people, or alternatively just over 500 seats, which could be a real boon for both rock gigs (Brisbane’s live music scene is located almost entirely within...