Entertainment in Dunedin & The Otago Peninsula
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Backstage
Hidden down an appropriately seedy backstreet, magnificently grungy Backstage is the live-music venue in Dunedin. This is where NZ's bigger acts usually play when they're in town, whether they're pop, metal, rock, jazz or dub. Check local media or the website to see who's playing when you're in town. Acts here can be pretty loud, but it's a big bar, so you can generally escape far enough to be able to think, if not talk. It even does bar food, but you'd have to be pretty hungry…
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Arc Cafe
Wonderful Arc Cafe would be an asset in any city: out front there's a laid-back, grungy bar-café with mismatched tables and a gentle, welcoming vibe from the be-dreaded staff and drinkers; in back there's a dark live-music venue where fine bands play to packed crowds, or lousy bands play for their own entertainment. Good for a midday coffee or a late night beer. The vegetarian fare here is some of the best (and certainly the healthiest) options for late-night snacking.
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Empire
The stately old dame of Dunedin's pubs, this is a ‘must visit' if you're one of the army of Flying Nun pilgrims that visit Dunedin each year. It's not in the hot list of greatest live-music venues these days, but is still a damn fine venue, with bars on each of three floors, each providing a different vibe, and often hosting local bands (perhaps blues or acoustic) or jam sessions on the bottom floor.
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Chick’s Hotel
Across in Port Chalmers, Chicks is the archetypal rock-and-roll pub, and the venue’s 19th-century stone walls now play host to everything from touring alt-country bands from the States to local metal bands. If any of Dunedin’s esteemed Flying Nun alumni are performing, chances are it will be here or at Sammy’s. Catch bus 13 or 14 from stand 4 outside the Countdown supermarket on Cumberland St.
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Albar
This former butchers is now a bohemian little bar attracting just maybe the widest age range in Dunedin. Most punters are drawn by the 50 single malt whiskies, a changing array of interesting tap beers, and a concise menu of cheap-as-chips bar snacks ($4 to $8). Background music stays firmly in the background, making Albar a top spot for conversation.
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Mou Very
The tiny Mou Very may well be the world’s smallest bar. It’s only 1.8m wide, but is still big enough to host regular funk and soul DJ sessions most Fridays from 5pm. There’s just six bar stools, so Mou Very’s boho regulars usually spill out into an adjacent laneway. By day, it’s a handy refuelling spot for your morning or afternoon espresso.
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Forsyth Barr Stadium
Constructed for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Dunedin’s newest sports venue is 2km from the centre of town. It’s the only major stadium in NZ with a fully covered roof and will host the Highlanders Super 14 rugby team from 2012 and the Otago NPC rugby team from 2011. See www.orfu.co.nz and www.highlanders-rugby.co.nz for match schedules.
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12 Below
In the same alleyway as Pequeno, 12 Below is a hip and intimate underground bar. There’s mismatched comfy seats and couches, and nooks aplenty for chatting to mates. There’s also floor space for those here to listen to live-music acts (a lot of funk and reggae) or to wriggle along with the DJ’s choice of hip-hop and drum ‘n’ bass.
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Pequeno
Down the alleyway opposite the Rialto cinema, Pequeno attracts a slightly older, more sophisticated crowd. There are cosy leather couches, a warming fireplace, and an excellent wine selection and interesting tapas menu. Music is generally laid-back and never too loud to intrude on discussions of the latest architectural fashions.
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Tonic
Craft beer bar with the best of Kiwi brews, and lots more interesting imports than your average pub. Limited release beers, loads of single malt whiskies and stellar cocktails appeal to an older crowd than Dunedin’s student pubs. Antipasto plates and cheese boards mean you’ve got good reasons to stay for another drink.
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Fortune Theatre
The world’s southernmost professional theatre company has been running dramas, comedies, pantomimes, classics and contemporary NZ productions for almost 40 years. Shows are performed – watched over by the obligatory theatre ghost – in a Gothic-styled old Wesleyan church.
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Murphy's Irish Bar
Less painfully Irish than most of the country's Irish bars, rustic, no-nonsense Murphy's has live music, generally of the foot stompin' and fiddle-playin' variety, on Friday nights. Couches in front of the gas heater are a nice spot to lounge on a cold winter evening.
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Sammy’s
Dunedin’s premier live-music venue draws an eclectic mix of genres from noisy-as-hell punk to chilled reggae and gritty dubstep. It’s also increasingly the venue of choice for visiting Kiwi bands and up-and-coming international acts.
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di lusso
Grooving to a sexier-than-average house DJ, and darkly cool with crimson walls and a backlit drinks display, di lusso serves seriously good cocktails and offers a submarine perspective through to the toilets.
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Speight’s Ale House
Busy even through the off months, the Ale House is a favourite of strapping young lads in their cleanest dirty shirts. A good spot to watch the rugby on TV, and to try the full range of Speight’s beers.
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Captain Cook
This grand-daddy of Dunedin student pubs, with a fun garden bar that’s packed with the nation’s youth over winter, shrinks to a sad pokies venue over the summer months.
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Carousel
Dark and sophisticated, with great cocktails, loungey music and a late-30s crowd looking pretty pleased with themselves to be seen somewhere so deadly cool.
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Bath Street
When all the other bars are closed, Bath Street’s famously good sound system summons Dunedin’s unsleeping dance crowd for drum ‘n’ bass, house and hip-hop.
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10 Bar
Deep downstairs is a complex space filled with loud music, pulsing lights and dancing bogan princesses. A cover charge kicks in at midnight.
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Toast
The dark, comfy booths at small, intimate Toast are a nice spot to catch your breath between livelier, noisier bars.
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Pop
Downstairs from di lusso, and possibly even cooler, Pop serves Dunedin’s best martinis, and prides itself on seriously good DJs playing funk and house.
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Rialto Cinemas
A mix of blockbusters and art-house flicks with an extensive program of specialised festivals.
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Metro Cinema
Below the Town Hall; art-house and nostalgic. Backpackers – with student ID – get in for $10.
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Academy Cinema
Foreign, art-house and Kiwi flicks. Come early to snare a couch or bean bag.
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Bowler
If you've never drunk cocktails from a teapot before, now's your chance.
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