When Phoenix Central Park publicly launched in 2022, the Chippendale performance space was lauded for its breathtaking beauty and curatorial daring. As its creative director, Beau Neilson was instrumental to its success. Now that she’s parted ways with Phoenix, she’s using the lessons she learnt there to take on a new challenge: restoring and relaunching King Street institution The Vanguard.

“Every time I went there I just loved it,” Neilson tells Broadsheet. “I just thought it was just such a great space that attracted such a varied audience. “It’s housed so many extraordinary performances from rock to burlesque and everything in between, and I just think it’s so important to have these spaces where musicians can build and expand their audiences and develop their skills.”

The Vanguard, with its high ceilings and sweet-spot capacity of just under 200, has always been a great performance space. That’s probably how it managed to persist through so many different lives. It started out in 2003, before closing in 2016. Then it came back as the rock’n’roll-focused Leadbelly, which didn’t last too long. In 2018 it returned as The Vanguard before the pandemic kiboshed its comeback. Neilson got hold of the keys earlier this year, started renovating in August, and relaunched The Vanguard last month.

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“The renovation involved very significant investment in the sound and lighting,” Neilson says. “I think it arguably has the best sound of a venue of this size in Australia.”

Neilson worked with designer Michael Delany, whose long career in the entertainment industry included time as the owner of iconic Melbourne club Honkytonks and, more recently, as co-owner of Potts Point newcomers The Hook and Vermuteria. They’ve put in a new D&B Audiotechnik sound system, as well as 30 new lighting fixtures.

For local acts, it means the chance to perform on a world-class stage. It also means that this little building on King Street can accommodate the technical specifications of some of the biggest performers in music. So The Vanguard has the versatility to book a wide variety of acts. In the next month you can catch Fleetwood Mac tributes, a Dungeons and Dragons-themed comedy show, post-metal rockers Black Aleph and, true to The Vanguard’s burlesque roots, a holiday cabaret. It’ll also host regular free jazz nights.

“We want to honour The Vanguard’s existing audience but also highlight some more unusual, underappreciated artists that are really special,” Neilson says. “We want people to trust in the experience here – it’s that balance between giving people what they want and then also going out on a limb from time to time.”

The new sound system doesn’t just enhance the performances – it increases the enjoyability of drinking and dining in the space, too. “It’s much more balanced now,” Neilson says. “There can be very loud music but you can still hear the person next to you.”

That means that a meal at The Vanguard has never been a more appealing prospect – especially with the team from Redfern’s Bush behind the menu. The Australian eatery is renowned for its deployment of native ingredients, and it’s no different here. Find everything from red pepper kangaroo to finger lime guac with corn chips. Plus, a swag of the eatery’s best-loved dishes including the saltbush “spliff” – a local spin on a filo pastry cigar.

“It’s been a pleasure working with Bush and seeing the magic that they put in their dishes,” Neilson says. “Traditionally at music places you might just get a burger, but we thought we could be bit bolder with what we were offering. We also still have chips, because who are we to deny anyone their chips?”

It’s all set within a maximalist refurbished space that’s heavy on the fun and light on the subtlety: patterned wallpaper, rococo light fittings, big curtains, lots of gold.

“It very much respects the past and the burlesque look, and it’s really fun and over the top. I wanted the Vanguard to be back to its former glory – but a little more glamorous,” says Neilson. “Because when you go out, it should feel like a treat, you should be immersed in a different environment and it should feel special.”

The Vanguard
42 King Street, Newtown
No phone

thevanguard.com.au