what makes a good venue?

What actually

Makes a great venue?

I have been round the country to see all my favourite bands, been to all different venues. Followed bands to a big gig in a park or somewhere that means a lot to them, but in this day and age we seem to be getting more and more obscure places. Kasabian recently played a gig on a plane. Now for anyone that has seen them play live, Tom likes his space to move around, a modern Mick Jagger if that’s how we are to describe his front man technique. These types of gigs are becoming more common than the stereotypical gig in a arena or other venue.

Every city has an iconic venue, or somewhere that was an iconic venue. But what actually makes it iconic? Is it that they played their most successful gig there? Was it their first ever gig? Or is it that the venue has played host to a number of great bands. My opinion it is a mix of all three, and more. Gigs, bands and venues get around through word of mouth. How many times have you been informed, that the band in the cockpit last night ripped it up? Or any other place in Leeds for that matter. It’s a good conversation who played well. Leeds has many of these venues, such as, Brudenell social club, O2 academy (formally the old town and country club) and the Well. Yes we have many more places but that could go on forever, couldn’t it. We have these just like Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and London have theirs. All with their own history and own iconic moments that have been cemented, in the bands history, the cities, and of course the venues.

Recently though we have seen an uprising in ‘different’ gigs. The Libertines are prime examples of this. They used to organise a gig form their flat or some other obscure place, and then let the world know, via the internet with only a few hours before the performance. All of these gigs have cemented the flat they shared (known as the Albion rooms) music history. So is it fair to call it an iconic venue? Yes and no really. Yes these gigs were something special, but they were done in a flat. Not a conventional venue to say the least, but it has brought fans across the country to see where these, monument-us gigs actually happened.

Not all gigs have to be obscure. Many bands and artists hold gigs and events at places, which are held deer to them. Kaiser chiefs held a gig at

Elland Road

, this being the home of their beloved football team Leeds United. This gig was a sell out and huge event to happen on the ground. Not the first time that it has held such events. It has hosted Queen, U2 and more recently Rod Stewart. Yes, it maybe not obscure but it is still unconventional as saying, we are going to play Manchester MEN arena. Kaiser Chiefs wanted to give Leeds and their football club something they could be proud of and also make it in history that they played there.

Knebworth is another example of something that is not obscure, but is certainly iconic now. On the 10^th August 1996 Oasis held a record breaking event in the park. 165,000 people each day flocked to the ground to hear their idols. This is still the highest amount of people to attend a concert at the venue. No it’s not obscure; Oasis could just play a number of arena tours to achieve those figures of people. But they wanted to something out of the so called ‘norm’. Don’t forget that these guys had not been around for decades, but only a few years, before they played to this size of a crowd. This then powered them further on in their careers, and made Knebworth more of an iconic venue that it had already been. Robbie Williams tried to compete with but managed 125,000 over two days, again making this a place for aspiring artists to play.

Forests have become a few bands recent, places to play. I think it’s the thought of playing somewhere that nobody else has, and being more creative than just within their music. The randomness of the venue creates excitement for both the band and the people that are going to attend. It’s the excitement of not knowing what is actually going to happen. The crowd are probably wary thinking, what the hell is going on. It is all good fun in general really. Sticking to what you know can be boring. It is about time that things became unconventional. Gigs need a shake up, it’s not all about getting to the front of a normal music venue; it’s about connecting to that band, and embracing the gift they are trying to give you. If you do ever get a chance of going to one of these weird gigs concerts, then fully take it up, break out of the norm and experience something new. It is knowledge and stories that you are able to pass down to the younger people as you get older. This way the younger ones can they draw their own ideas about where, they want to play, and start their own set of rules.