Entertainment For Lively Minds
Favourite music venue?
Of all time? What's yours? It might not be the place where you saw your most memorable live performances, but the place that was always a decent night out, with good music.
For me it was the Kashmir, a tiny venue under a pizza restaurant in Marylebone in London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kashmir_Klub)
I used to go at least once a week, because it was a) free so a good place to drink, but because of the music better than the pub and b)it was local to where I was living at the time.
There was a lot of good music there. One of my favourite performances of all time was actually there, and I realised later it was KT Tunstall, in what I've since found out was her first London gig. She did some jazzy Patti Smith sounding thing, that she segued into Sexy MF. It was smoky and sexy and to be frank much better than the things she has done since.
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oops
**Sorry, mis-post!!**
Newcastle Riverside
Long gone sadly, but just down the road from the Barley Mow and Egypt Cottage, and where I saw Tom Tom Club, Sonic Youth, Sugar, Kitchens of Distinction, Steve Earle and loads of others.
Lovely venue
Only played there once but a lovely room, good crowd, great bars nearby.
The Wardour Street Marquee
is up there for me - had some great times there and imbibed some of the history in the process. My name was inscribed on the dressing room wall ;-)
Oh yeah, The Marquee
I spent a lot of time there in my teens, from about 84 until it closed. Not it's most vital time perhaps, as the live scene in London was starting to die off somewhat, but still some good nights.
http://www.themarqueeclub.net/index.php
That's a great site about the place with a calendar of gigs over the years.
One of my favourite live albums ever was at the Marquee, The Playn Jayn Friday The 13th album.
Not sure
For me, it's a toss up between the Wardour Street Marquee and the Harlesden Mean Fiddler (before they expanded it).
Was talking to someone last night about the Marquee and
they mentioned playing the Marquee in Leicester Square. I didn't even realise it'd had been there. Checked on Wikipedia and it seems to have been a moveable feast since Wardour Street closed:
165 Oxford Street
90 Wardour Street
105 Charing Cross Road
16 Parkfield Street, Islington
1 Leicester Square
14 Upper St Martins Lane
Ah, the Kash!
We must have bumped into each other there Simon - I used to go once or twice a week, and used to write reviews for their website. I wrote a valedictory "12 magic moments" post when the place closed down, which I was very proud of as a piece of writing - it's vanished into the ether now along with the rest of the site.
One of the most memorable gigs there was Ben Christophers, only his second live performance, with the venue dangerously full and boiling hot. He should have been a star.
I also saw an impromptu performance by Jane Siberry, who had been dragged back there from the South Bank by Tony Moore, the compere, who'd been a fan of hers for many years. As I've mentioned before, I saw early performances by KT Tunstall, Nerina Pallot, Imogen Heap, Ed Harcourt, Ben and Jason, Rosie Brown, Jason Mraz, and many others. It was free to get in, no money changed hands between the performers and the people who ran it, the food was great, the atmosphere was convivial. I doubt I'll ever love a venue as much.
Any other admirers of Rosie Brown here? I think this song is exquisite.
Ed Harcourt
I saw him there!
Ah the food, pizzas with great music works for me, and I loved the little alcove/booths along the side.
Ronnie Scotts in Birmingham
Didn't live in Birmingham long, but long enough for this to become my favourite venue. Saw Glenn Tilbrook, and Ben & Jason there, amongst others. Lovely.
Conversely, nothing can persuade me to go to the Hammersmith Apollo again. No matter who's playing there. I have missed some fine artists that way, but no mind, at least I didn't have to go to the Hammersmith Apollo.
Some favourites from Glasgow
The Apollo was the best - I saw some fantastic gigs there - The Ramones, The Clash, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC - a great place to see a band, with a bouncing balcony.
Sadly its been knocked down and is now a warren of cinemas.
I've had variable experiences in King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - some bands seem to want to bludgeon the audience into submission with raw volume. El Vez didn't - he was great, as were The Blasters, Joe Ely, Tony Joe White and the Drive-By Truckers.
The Garage is also pretty good : a good size to see Dick Dale, The New York Dolls, The Fountains Of Wayne or DTK/MC5.
ditto The Apollo
but the bands I choose are Hawkwind (5 times), UFO, SAHB & MtH, Utopia, Yes
after that it must be Nightmoves/Rooftops with Tones On Tail, Big Country, Woodentops, The Blood Uncles, Fields of the Nephilim
The Garage is a pretty cool venue, remember when it was the Mayfair? I saw Strawberry Switchblade support Orange Juice there
and thanks for not mentioning Aerosmith :D
More Glasgow
The Barrowland Ballroom is spectacular in its simplicity. Big, rectangular room with a sprung wooden floor. Best gig I saw there was Bowie in 97 - started with an acoustic, solo Quicksand. Oh, mama!
The Apollo was scene of my first gigs - The Jam in 79, Blondie in 80 and a load of others.
Nitemoves was a cool place to play and watch. Killing Joke, The Colorblind James Experience, Friends Again, loads more.
Sticking with Glasgow, I remember the Garage when it was Tiffany's. U2 played there in 1980.
I saw a few at the mentioned Kashmir - Ben Kweller sticks in the mind.
The Forum is a really good venue, as is Brixton Academy, but you need to arrive early to get a decent spot near the front in either. Next visit to Brixton is for Grovesnor and Hot Chip on 25 February.
Union Chapel can be a pretty magical place - I saw Bjork there in 1999 accompanied by the Brodsky Quartet, no stage, no sound system. That was quite a show.
point of order p.c
Tiffany's Ballroom was further down Sauchiehall Street towards Charing Cross, I saw The Cure, Blancmange and Bert Palmer in there and a triumphant Seemples Minds on the New Gold Dream tour oh how could I forget - Bauhaus!
Si, es veridad
Senor Blast is right - Tiffany's was bigger, with the hall at street level. I saw Chuck Berry there around 79 - a great showbusiness lesson, but a pretty miserable gig. He was duckwalking across the stage somewhere around the 44th minute, checked his watch, and duckwalked off-stage, having met his contracted stagetime.
The place that was Tiffany's is now a casino, as far as I recall.
Did you play Nitemoves too ?
Apologies..
...you're right. Tiffany's was renamed The Locarno in the 80s. It had been The Locarno before, too.
Ah, Peter Murphy brandishing a handheld strobe light? Am I right?
I played Nitemoves maybe half-a-dozen times around 1983/84. Run by a bloke called Wille Potts, as I recall. *Sniff*
Found this pic of The Troggs at a Radio Scotland Clan Ball at the Locarno, on the revolving stage!
Impessive!
and what about the Kelvin Hall?
I saw the Symphonic Tubular Bells there with the SNO and Steve Hillage, Manfred Mann's Earthband with Racing cars as support and The Strawbs on their H&H tour.
Town and Country Club, surely?
"The Forum" just doesn't do it for me...
Plenty of great bands there - some credible, others not.
Best was the Blues Brothers Band sometime in the early 1990s - the proper band, minus Ackroyd and Belushi obviously, with Eddie Floyd and another singer. Everyone in black suits, white shirts, etc. A fabulous party gig.
Town and Country Club, definitely for me
Too many to remember, let alone count. Fond memories (I left the UK several years ago) include Oysterband, Johnny Clegg & Savuka, and of course Richard Thompson.
The Royal Court
in Liverpool, before it was done up with European money and transformed in to a "Comedy Club". At least half a dozen of my most memorable gigs were there.
Also the Philharmonic Hall, just a fantastic place regardless of the quality of music on offer (which is normally pretty good, but I did, er, see the Lighthouse Family there)
Wrecked at Eric's.
The famous Liverpool venue in Matthew st. Where else would put on a matinee show featuring Iggy Pop so those under age Punks could be entertained by Iggy's wholesome stage antics.
Shepherd's Bush Empire
Perfect size - big enough to feel like an occasion but small enough to be intimate.
Perfect layout - standing and bar downstairs for atmosphere, loads of balconies with seating upstairs because I'm not 17 any more.
It's even got that slightly seedy feel which a rock venue needs.
Not quite
There are two things that stop the Shepherds Bush Empire being perfect (I'm accepting that you can't be choosy about the beer) they are:
1. It's a nightmare to park anywhere near it.
2. The stage is too low which means too much jossling if you like the atmosphere of the stalls. I agree with everything else you say.
Love the feel and atmosphere
of Shepherd's Bush. The only thing that spoils it for me now I've got older and grumpier is the noise from the bar - even if you're upstairs, the sheer volume of yakking coming from below has really started to interfere with my enjoyment of the music.
Music in a church
For me it has to be Colchester Arts Centre
www.colchesterartscentre.com
It is an old converted church and has great sound. I have seen many great gigs there over the last 13 years.
It has a great acoustic and a bloody good sound man on the desk who really knows his stuff.
You have to pretty much set aside any hope of decent beer
Tuborg, anyone? Has anyone ever chosen to drink that fizzy piss anywhere outside of a music venue?
No sleep till Hammersmith
I've been there countless times some gig's that come to mind.
Nils Lofgren/Tom Petty - Almost caught Tom Petty's guitar strap when it reached the guy in front.
Ian Hunter/Mick Ronson
Thin Lizzy a few times
Black Sabbath - 14yrs old. Woke up the next morning wondering why my head wouldn't stay up on it's shoulders!
David Sylvian - Superb night with Mark Isham on sax if memories serve me well.
Clannad - Theme from Harrys game still put's the hairs on my neck up thinking about it.
The Passion Puppets - I played guitar in the band and to see the name up on the lights outside was one of the proudest nights of my life. two nights with Paul young and two nights with The Psychedelic Furs.Better days have never been.
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust 30yr anniversary gig. Camped out all night for the tickets and took my first girlfriend to the gig after 30yrs! We are both still big Dame fans.
Paul Weller - Walked out -rubbish!
Flaming Lips - they know how to have a party.
I've probably left out a dozen but just arriving makes the sense of occasion right.
Ps oh yes Laurie Anderson after one or two too many H**h cakes!
Very Happy nights................
For a town the size of Reading
I remain constantly surprised that there is no decent venue here.
Nearest decent, well used venues seem to be Oxford (O2 Academy/Zodiac), Basingstoke (Anvil) or London (at a push (30/40 miles, travel time approx 1 hour).
There is The Hexagon - fine if you want The Bootleg Beatles, Hits From The West End Shows, Bjorn Again or Peter Andre.
In fairness, they have played host to Saw Doctors, and The Dubliners & Jethro Tull will be there in March (separately, not together!)
The Rivermead tried but failed (appearances by: Gary Glitter, Saxon, Wondertstuff & Status Quo).
So - Come To Reading, and if you want some musical entertainment, go to another town.
Rivermead
I saw Deacon Blue there on their farewell tour in 198-mumble
Hammersmith Odeon
In the eighties - Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel, Marillion, Steve Hackett and Dave Gilmour shutting down the support band because they knew where Syd Barrett lived. Great days.
The Weavers
London N16.
Much missed.
I feel such a fool
I can't believe I forgot The Weavers! It was a truly great venue with a friendly atmosphere, good beer and excellent music at reasonable prices. The Jukebox they had when I first started going there was brilliant as well. The compilation CDs they released are also excellent.
Embassy Rooms
I used to love this place - it was about 2 mins from Warren Street tube near Euston in London. They booked a lot of indie and Americana, saw some great people like Calexico and Willard Grant Conspiracy, back in the days when the Handsome Family were typically supporting.
The bar was in a separate area from the stage (always a big plus for me, the further away I am from people who are determined to chat all the way through the band they've paid to see, the better) - and the stage area itself was wide, without going back very far. So everyone was quite close to the bands, even if they were off to the side, and able to get a pretty good view.
Apparently they poured loads of money into an unsuccessful club night (allegedly - if this isn't the real story, I'd love to know what actually happened) and almost overnight, the venue was gone. Became a Spearmint Rhino, I think. Sigh.
Oooohh, memories
Loved Donnington at the big end.
Loved the original Marquee at the grotty end (never made it to CBGBs).
Love Slims in San Francisco, mainly because big UK acts would play small places like this when trying to break the US.
Love the Basement in Sydney, tiny intimate, reach out you can almost touch the artists, turn around you can reach the bar.
The Basement
Thanks for mentioning the Basement. Next time I go down to Sydney (from Brisbane) I'll try make a point of going, I've see and heard recordings which made it sound good.
I just checked for the first time in ages
...and they've got Eddie Reader, Dr John, John Mayall and Peter Green all coming through in the next few weeks. www.thebasement.com.au
Festival time
Ah, the advantages of artists being in Aus for Bluesfest at Byron Bay, but what a better venue The Basement would be for all of those.
Sydney has some great small and medium sized venues..
Oxford Arts Factory, The Metro Theatre, The Factory Theatre, the Spectrum, to name a few. It's a shame the Hopetoun has gone now, that was great too.
Queens Hotel , Harare, Zimbabwe
outdoors in the beer garden, jacaranda trees overhead, canvas canopy for the wet season, kids dressed in their best clothes, chicken and boiled egg vendors, a small stage with gravel dance floor, crappy Pa and the hotel/ brothel behind.
saw many a band mapfumo, mtukudzi, bhundus, masekela, misty in roots, aswad etc
Last year Mtukudzi told me it is now a supermarket