Your Top Live Music Experiences By Venue

[Stevo985]

Having been to very very few live music events, my answers are going to be pathetic

1. Bar - None that I can recall.

2. Nightclub - It's between Block Party and Coolio - Leeds sometime in the mid 2000's

3. Outdoor - Newton Faulkner  (I've only been to one outdoor music event, and it was shit, as you can see)

4. Arena - Flight of the Conchords - Birmingham NIA 2010 (at a guess)

5. Stadium - Michael Jackson HIStory tour - Wembley 1996 (I think)

[AVFC_Hitz]

Bar: Arab Strap at the Birmingham academy bar.

Nightclub: Tinariwen at Istanbul Babylon

Outdoor: can't think

Arena: Manic Street Preachers NEC early noughties.

Stadium: Stereophonics at the Millennium Stadium in 2003. OCS Supported. It was a mental weekend. 

[bickster]

3 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

3. Outdoor - James ( supported by Cast , Space, The Farm , Inspiral Carpets and Echo & the Bunnymen )  - Quex Park 2012 -  managed to sing down Tim Booths microphone at one point as we were right down the front and we kinda pulled him into the crowd with us ( he always does it so in a nice way , not in a ruin it for everyone else way )

1

With the exception of the Farm who are actually worse than James, they ran the gig in reverse order to what it should have been

I can never do these lists because I've literally been to thousands of gigs and some are difficult to remember at an instant

 

My Outdoor choice - would be exactly the same as @blandy Radiohead / Sigur Ros at Rock Werchter a. because it really was a great gig and line up and b. I generally stay away from them as much as possible

Another absolute favourite of mine was also with @blandy and again was Sigur Ros with Amiina supporting at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, not sure where purpose-built concert hall fits into this

Stadium gig was probably REM at Huddersfield Rent This Space Stadium purely on the same grounds as outdoor, I rarely ever pay to go to outdoor events

I avoid outdoor events because the sound is generally shite, the view awful and the intimacy of the performance completely lost

[Paddywhack]

Maybe not the right thread for this post but I'm a bit odd with live music, I'm not really interested in it. I don't know why, I wish I was.

I love music and I've played in bands and played a few gigs, but I'm not interested in seeing bands live. And I really don't enjoy it if I don't already know the songs.

I liked it in my teens when it went hand in hand with thinking I was a rockstar, getting drunk and silly with mates, but I'm not bothered by it anymore. I prefer going to see stand up. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by Paddywhack

[mjmooney]

13 minutes ago, Paddywhack said:

Maybe not the right thread for this post but I'm a bit odd with live music, I'm not really interesting in it. I don't know why, I wish I was.

I love music and I've played in bands and played a few gigs, but I'm not interested in seeing bands live. And I really don't enjoy it if I don't already know the songs.

I liked it in my teens when it went hand in hand with thinking I was a rockstar, getting drunk and silly with mates, but I'm not bothered by it anymore. I prefer going to see stand up. 

Interesting. I'm the exact opposite. I love most forms of live music, and I will happily go and see any act whose style broadly fits my taste, even if I don't know any of the material - although I'm more likely to do it if they are a local band (i.e. cheap!) On the other hand, I've never been to a standup comedy show, and have no desire to. I prefer humour on the printed page to most forms of 'comedy'. 

[cyrusr]

3 hours ago, bickster said:

I avoid outdoor events because the sound is generally shite, the view awful and the intimacy of the performance completely lost

I agree. The only benefit to outdoor gigs is if you wish to you can see a lot of bands. A good festival will be able to keep you busy more or less the whole day listening to bands (and maybe with a beer or 2 in your hand...  ); however try and stick to the tents as the sound will generally be better! 

Whilst not been to thousands of gigs, it is quite hard to narrow down! Going off my setlist account I would probably suggest the following:

1. Bar –Gojira The Slade Rooms 12 November 2012 - Absolutely cracking gig. Although highlight being a crowd-surfer going to the front and falling flat on his face when he realised that there was security at the front to catch him... The band also reminded the crowd that the floor was made of concrete. Needless to say there were no more crowd-surfers... 
2. Nightclub – Mark Lanegan Glee Club 2 May 2016 - only real "nightclub" gig, however was lovely intimate acoustic show and given i was on my own managed to grab a seat on the front row  
3. Outdoor –Black Sabbath Download 2005 - first time seeing Black Sabbath and absolutely loved every minute of it. 
4. Arena –Heaven & Hell NEC 13 November 2007 - This is actually Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio but definitely was a great show. They had Lamb of God and Iced Earth supporting who were both fantastic. 
5. Stadium – never been to a stadium show. Wouldn't be adverse but usually expensive and never wanted to see bands that play the stadiums/travel to them.
6. Concert Hall – Sunn O))) & Boris – The Forum 10 December 2007 - could have been quite a few here but decided on this one for the uniqueness of the show. One off performance of Sunn O))) & Boris and their Altar album. Each did their own set along with a joint set and Earth supported for it as well. 
7. University/College – Therapy? - Manchester University 21 October 2001 - first ever gig so will always be there! Not really been to many university/college venues so likely never to be topped!  

Plenty of over good gigs over the years though  

Edited January 22, 2018 by cyrusr
Put wrong date in

[Mark Albrighton]

I’ll just list a few of the venues I’ve been at-

Eden project, Cornwall - Snow Patrol (went with a girl I was trying to pull, I didn’t).

The upstairs room of the little civic in Wolverhampton - Misty’s Big Adventure (rather optimistically there were three support acts).

Cannock chase - Blondie (support act was Ian Broudie, my 30th, possibly the drunkest I’ve ever been).

Glee Club, Birmingham - Charlotte Hatherley acoustic set

Less interesting venues -I’ve seen Oasis at the Reebok Stadium, Old Trafford Cricket ground, Man City’s new ground and the NIA on their last tour.

Throw in Wolves Civic, Wulfrun, Manchester Academy and the carling academy in Birmingham, the last of which is probably the venue I’ve seen the most gigs at.

Never been to a festival, not even V which isn’t too far from me. Not my thing really.

[VILLAMARV]

Having given it all some (probably far too much!) thought I too have invented my own categories to add to the list. Maybe it's the diversity of the buildings in the UK, maybe I'm taking 'Concert Hall' too literally. Wasn't sure where non-nightclubs/proper Concert Halls that aren't arenas or bars fit into all this so I thought I'd add another category Hard one though, I probably wanted to add it as it's the only one I have to weigh up really, the rest kind of pick themselves.I'm sure someone can come up with a better name than 'Venue' but I can't think where places like Brixton Academy, Alexandra Palace, Birmingham Academy, 'Arts Centres' the Coal Exchanges and so on would actually fit on that list of venues and yet that's where I've seen most bands now I think about it. Could go anywhere but also not really, some were theatres back in the day or cinemas but they are just Venues to me. Also felt Festivals and Theatres needed a separate shout out. Maybe Concert Hall and Theatres are effectively the same experience these days. I think Festivals and Outdoor Gigs are a completely different thing personally.

1. Bar - Pubs and Bars in the UK is a much more local scene unless you're in one of the bigger cities I suppose. There was a band a few years ago called 'Dexter Dextrous and the Fingersmiths' I've seen in 3 different bars/pubs across the land and they were always mint. I think they've split up now. And I'm not even trying to be all hipster. I cant think of anyone I've ever seen in a bar that most people would have heard of. Apart from James Dean Bradfield. And he was having a quiet pint so I never bothered him.

2. Nightclub - Leftfield - Motion, Bristol - 2017. The first night of their comeback tour in a warehouse in front of a 'home' crowd. Full of overweight 40 somethings like me sweating, smiling and dancing like we were back in the 90's for a moment. If I hadn't have gone to this last year though I'd be really struggling for decent nightclub experiences. Never really my thing.

3. Outdoor - Stone Roses - Heaton Park, Manchester - 2012. Best atmosphere ever. Everyone sang every word (well Ian Brown wasn't going to eh?!?). Hardly heard a thing. And smiles, lots of smiles.

4. Arena - Pearl Jam - Cardiff Indoor Arena - 2000. Probably my favourite gig ever in one of my least favourite venues. One of my idols in Eddie, one of my favourite bands ever and the right bunch of friends to enjoy it with. Monumental.

5. Stadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Millenium Stadium - 2004. Only ever been to two - not my cup of tea generally. Both in Cardiff. The Police were probably better than the Chili's to be fair. But the Chili's had James Brown supporting them so that wins

6. Concert Hall - Foggy memories of being dragged to something at Sheffield City Hall once - can't for the life of me remember who we were off to see though! Went to watch an Orchestra back in my school days at St Davids Hall in Cardiff doing Elgar's Starlight Express dontcha know. Dawns on me I've seen more comedy in Concert Halls than actual concerts. In the main it's weird sitting down to watch music though to me.

7. University/College - You jammy bar stewards from the generation before me with your 'Oh I saw The Who in Leeds' and all that! For me it is undoubtedly though some ABBA tribute band in Sheffield Student Union in 1998 - Had mates visiting and promised them a night out. Queued up for hours to get into Gatecrasher back in the day - wasn't let in, trawled Sheffield late for somewhere to go and ended up at an ABBA tribute night. Turned into a bit of a legendary evening even though we started off with some very disgruntled faces. Just go with it

8. Festival - Mr.B the Gentleman Rhymer - Croissant Neuf Summer Party - 2009. Of the things Ive seen at Festivals no one has ever left more of a lasting impression on me than this guy. Filled the tent I was in and it jumped for an hour like never before. Search youtube for 'Chap-Hop History' by Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer for a little nonsense on the banjolele

9. "Venue" - I always maintain that the tightest band I've ever seen was System of a Down at the then Carling Academy in Birmingham in 2002. But Walter Trout in the Coal Exchange in Cardiff pips it for me - I think it was 2008. Yeah, Walter Trout is properly mint.

10. Theatre - Roy Harper - Theatre Brycheiniog, Brecon - 2003. Not all music is for jumping around to though eh? 450 people sat in silence staring at a stage with a chair, a mic, an amp, Roy Harper and some guitars on. Oh, and a pint. What's not to like?

[blandy]

1 hour ago, bickster said:

Another absolute favourite of mine was also with @blandy and again was Sigur Ros with Amiina supporting at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, not sure where purpose-built concert hall fits into this

Definitely. (I didn't include it because it wasn't one of the listed categories, but it was absolutely superb).

[Xann]

This was a fairly good night.

 

[leemond2008]

1. Bar: The Kills - Nottingham, no idea what year it was or what the name of the bar was, it was during my 6 years or so that I spent absolutely out of my tree so it would have been at some point between 2003/2009

2. Nightclub: Chris Cornell - Birmingham Acadamy - 2007

3. Outdoor: Stone Roses - Manchesster, Heaton Park - 30th June 2012

4. Arena - Spritualized (Playing the whole Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space) Newcastle, The Sage - 9th December 2009

5. Stadium.....eerrrrrrr I don't know if I've ever been to a stadium gig

[leemond2008]

I remember the once when me and my mate somehow got into see Har Mar Superstar playing a little gig somewhere, I think it was at The Sanctuary or somewhere like that, anyway neither of us had much idea of who he was and we didn't particularly want to see the gig, we ended up getting backstage somehow and breaking into his dressing room and stealing about 4 bottles of vodka, a bouncer collared us he burst out laughing and told us that Har Mar was a prick and he let us keep the vodka and sneaked us out the back entrance .

[chrisp65]

16 hours ago, maqroll said:

1. Bar

2. Nightclub

3. Outdoor

4. Arena

5. Stadium

Bar:

Two best pub gigs, both at the same place. Shonen Knife at The Windmill, Brixton. Just utter noisy fun fun fun. Same venue, The Windmill, saw Brother Culture guesting for Mountain of Love. All about those loops and repetitions again, but with a great vocalist over the top. Both Shonen at the Windmill and Mountain of Love at the Windmill are on youtube. 'I was there', as they say.

Not working Brixton anymore so don't get to go there anymore. Miss it. Miss the WD40 on all the surfaces in the bogs.

Nightclub:

I'm taking this to mean music venue. There are simply too many to list. Highlights would include...

Dr Feelgood at the New Ocean Club, Cardiff Docks. As pub rock as it sounds. I went alone, none of my mates were interested. I was in my best shiniest suit, prince of wales dog tooth check, a psychedelic paisley shirt, bowling shoes. Everybody else in the venue was a Hells Angel. Clearly they thought I was either disturbed or properly hard, 'cos they left me alone to stand front and centre and dance. 

Super Furry Animals, Chapter Arts, Cardiff. I turned up without a ticket, got hold of the secret name that subbed as a guest list on the door. Got in, got around the back and got my mates in through a fire exit. King of the World. Tiny venue warm up gig before a big tour. 

Alabama 3, The Globe, Cardiff. Another ticketing cock up where there are more of us than there are tickets. So 2 of us get there early, cruise the pubs and sure enough find a couple of the band. Explain the situation and get adopted, they take us in with them, green room neat vodka pre gig, then out to meet the guys that had tickets but no awesome anecdote. 

Alabama 3, Gloucester Guildhall. Recalling our exploits a year earlier, 2 of us decide to try again. Get there so early the security staff are having their meeting / briefing. We said hi and just walked by them. So everyone has seen us early, seen us lording it and presumed we must be with the band. The band have had a bad week and have a number of personnel changes. So they do a full gig run through as a sound check. Witnessed by just me and my mate. We were stood in the middle of the hall, watching the practice gig, a woman brought us two mugs of tea! 

Outdoor: Don't really do much outdoor gigging festival type stuff. Tricky to find a festival under £20. Did the Brecon Jazz Festival a few years ago and loved it. Just the right side of pissed all day. The evening was an alternative gig not associated with the jazz fest. Super Furry Animals played the Farmers' Market. Great gig and a bunch of us blagged our way in to the after show party room. 

Arena & Stadium:

No, don't really do big gigs. Closest I guess would be Super Furries at the Royal Festival Hall. My turn to drive, we misunderestimated London traffic and were getting horribly late. Decided to drive right up to the Hall and risk abandoning the car. As it happened, we drove in to the RFH car park and there's a single parking space directly next to the security hut. It has tape across it and a sign that says 'reserved for musicians'. I drove straight in, through the tape and over the sign. Security guy comes out and I shout 'we are really really late'. Security guy shouts back 'go, go, go'. He may have been under the impression we were in the band.

[wazzap24]

18 hours ago, maqroll said:

1. Bar

2. Nightclub

3. Outdoor

4. Arena

5. Stadium

1. Babyshambles at the medicine bar in Brum.

Sweaty, Skag fuelled, totally shambolic and utterly brilliant. They could barely play, Doherty looked like he'd injected all the smack in Brum, but when they belted out '**** forever' the place went mental. 

2. The Strokes at the old Academy in Brum. 

Hardest pick this, I've seen some great gigs in 'nightclub venues'.

I picked this because they were at the peak of their powers when this gig took place. 'Is This It' was slowly taking over the world and they just blew the place away.

3. Oasis at Knebworth

I was 16. I made it to the 'front' with my mates, thanks to the Prodigy scaring the shit out of people and us nipping into the gaps. I'll never forget that day. A great experience. 

4. Guns N Roses at the NEC

I think this was the incarnation of the 'band' that included Buckethead, I can't quite remember, but it was Axl and some hired guns. I wasn't really expecting much, but they were brilliant. I'd heard his voice had gone, but it hit pretty much every note on every song, from the opening screech of "Do you know where the **** you are" through to the closing note of Paradise City. 

5. Never been to a stadium gig. 

 

Honourable mention to Blur at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall. Didn't fit into one of the categories, but one of the best gigs I've ever been to. I think it was either the very first or maybe second gig they played when they first reformed. They were just brilliant  and the whole vibe was a bit biblical. 

 

[krisagg75]

bar-fred zeppelin,bear tavern

nightclub-the scorpians at Edwards on john bright st 1980's

outdoor-slade monmore green greyhound stadium 1981

arena-metallica genting arena 2017

stadium-queen Wembley 86

[MrDuck]

1. Bar - David Devant & His Spirit Wife, somewhere around Camden Lock circa 1996.

2. Nightclub - New Model Army at Utopia in Bradford in 2012. Secret warm up gig in a small club before a big tour, by my favourite band. Best gig I've ever been to!

3. Outdoor - toss up between Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros at Big Day Out in NZ in 1999, and Neil Young at the Sidney Myer Bowl in Melbourne, 2003. Neil might just edge it based on the 35 minute Like A Hurricane encore

4. Arena - generally can't stand arena gigs, but Bowie at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne 2003 was special cos, you know, it was Bowie.

5. Stadium - I don't think I've ever been to a stadium gig!

[Seat68]

Its an odd one, I listed my gigs on the other page and on the drive home I remember other gigs, or favourite venues and the list changes. The Camden Underworld was where I saw some great memorable gigs, Hefner's residency, Frank and Walters/Divine Comedy/A House gig, or the Hummingbird, Newcastle Riverside, Dingwalls, Borderline, The Leadmill, Rota at Notting Hill Arts Centre watching Ballboy. Or great bars like Roberts Western World in Nashville and seeing Hoot Hesters daughter Rachel. Like a lot of you innumerable gigs, in venues all over the world and I already want to rewrite the list.

[theboyangel]

Hmmm,  a difficult one as I've tended to see bands in smaller venues than stadia and arena (just a better vibe I suppose)

1. Bar - Going to class Edwards No.8 as a bar (as the Hummingbird was most definitely a club). Many great memories of seeing bands there including Live, Weezer, Therapy and Honeycrack (supported by Catatonia - awful!). Also a nod to The Cockpit in Leeds, some very good nights there too - seeing Foo Fighters on their first UK tour and Terrorvision etc, The Hare and Hounds and the Flapper and Firkin too. 

2. Nightclub - The Hummingbird, sadly I missed out on a lot of gigs due to being too young but still managed to see both Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers there and both were amazing. Also very fond memories of when it became the Academy - many many great nights watching Super Furries, Calexico, Polyphonic Spree, Lemon Jelly, Vetiver, DJ Format, Divine Comedy, Elbow (when they were good ), Supergrass and Badly Drawn Boy to name a few. Also a nod to the Institute and Wolves Civic centre, where I've managed to watch Black Crowes, Mark Lanegan, the Propellerheads (the list goes on and on....) 

3. Outdoor - Glastonbury in the 90s and early 00s was a phenomenal experience, standouts were seeing Bowie and an awesome set by Death In Vegas. But my best outdoor live experience was probably the End of the Road Festival - Tindersticks, Calexico, Bon Iver, The Dirty Three... all within touching distance and regularly seen wandering around the site happy to chat.

4. Arena - as mentioned I've shied away from 'Arena' concerts as the atmosphere/lack of intimacy doesn't do much for me. However, last years Nick Cave gig in Bournemouth was mind-blowingly good and will be up there with my best ever gigs. 

5. Stadium - there can only be one. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at the old Wembley. Lucky enough the get tickets with a cracking view of the stage - a great day (regardless of Elton John and a few others murdering their sets!)

 

This thread has put me on a downer though - since moving to Devon 11yrs ago, my gig-going has dried up due to lack of bands touring in the South West (having kids doesn't help either ). Still manage a few concerts here and there during sporadic returns to Birmingham to see friends and family.  

 

 

[Stevo985]

18 hours ago, Paddywhack said:

Maybe not the right thread for this post but I'm a bit odd with live music, I'm not really interested in it. I don't know why, I wish I was.

I love music and I've played in bands and played a few gigs, but I'm not interested in seeing bands live. And I really don't enjoy it if I don't already know the songs.

I liked it in my teens when it went hand in hand with thinking I was a rockstar, getting drunk and silly with mates, but I'm not bothered by it anymore. I prefer going to see stand up. 

I'm the same, hence why my list was so rubbish.

I love music, but I never have the desire to watch it live. Had loads of invites to festivals and that in the past but never really been interested.

I've seen Bastille a few times, but that's only because one of my best mates lives with the lead singer so it's free. Can't say I'm that bothered about seeing the band  

[fightoffyour]

On 1/22/2018 at 09:13, hogso said:

Nightclub - Capdown @ Satan's Hollow, Manchester, Oct 2011

A fire at the original venue, I believe it was, had caused the Liverpool leg of this Capdown reunion tour to be cancelled, and so a last minute rearrangement had the gig take place at this suspiciously named venue, which I wasn't familiar with at all. 

Upon arriving, I descended into what is effectively a large cellar, with the stage area in the centre, marvelling at the decor - flames on the walls, chains and what not hanging hither and dither, and a giant Satan statue thing presiding over the venue at one end of the room. It was as though I had walked down into Hell itself. 

The support kicked things off quickly, and were decent enough, with Capdown themselves putting down a cracking set. It was the last time I saw them and an evening I won't soon forget, mostly thanks to the venue. 

Capdown are great and so is Satan's! They used to (possibly still do) have an open bar for the first hour of opening the club on Tuesday nights. Total carnage. I once infamously got entry to the club, enough alcohol to knock out elephant and some food on the way home, all for a fiver.