For the love of live music: Ivan Muir
Nivara Lounge is an Aladdin’s Cave of musical intrigue.
On the main drag, yet off the beaten track, it’s a cornucopia of cool. An enclave for aural acolytes and artists alike, be they disciples of jazz, punk rock, country or some other iteration of melodic expression.
And Ivan Muir, who runs the venue located down a flight of stairs from the hubbub of Hamilton’s Victoria Street, could be described as a deacon of this multidenominational place of worship - both driving force and spiritual centre.
Muir, 56, is a font of musical knowledge. His rapid-fire, coffeefuelled conversation rapidly traverses dozens of acts he has seen or encountered or hosted over the years. And, in this environment - surrounded by a multitude of posters and photos and instruments and other artefacts adorning the moodily-lit confines of his basementbased business - having a yarn with him becomes almost an immersive, overwhelming experience.
Born in Invercargill, Muir’s lifelong love of live music was fostered by his older sisters, who took him to numerous gigs in his younger days in Christchurch, including The Byrds, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Rod Stewart and The Beach Boys.
Muir has lived in Hamilton for the last 30 years. He managed Nivara in the mid- to late-1990s, when it was called JBC (Jazz Blues Concept, but also known to punters as Jam Basement Cafe) and the business held the distinction of being Hamilton’s first (and briefly only) internet cafe.
In its JBC incarnation, Nivara played host to numerous memorable shows, including Wayne Mason of The Fourmyula and a youthful Kimbra Lee Johnson.
Before his first residency in the cosy basement, it was a snooker hall and spacies parlour and, earlier still, the venue of the Swiss Chalet, a rotisserie and grill that introduced many Hamiltonians to the delights of wienerschnitzel.
He took over the venue again three years ago and in the ensuing time has been working hard to establish it as the go-to location for both local and touring bands.
It is, as its semi-anagramatical name suggests, a place of nirvana for music lovers.
‘‘I want people to come down those stairs at any given time we are open and experience something. Everyone’s just here for the music.’’