Brixton Academy (Carling Academy Brixton)

The Carling Brixton Academy has good transport links as it is a 5 minute walk from Brixton tube station (leave another 5 minutes for queues). When you get inside, the entrance hall is quite grand with two sweeping staircases either side of you leading to a bar (drinks prices are typical gig prices i.e. quite expensive and queues to the bars are usually very long), toilet and seating area.

The downstairs area has a pricey merchandise shop (it’s better to wait until after the gig when merchandise sellers set up stalls outside the venue) and a bar. The concert arena is one of the largest indoor venues in London (fitting nearly 4000) and to combat potential problems stemming from this there is a sloping floor which manages to give a good view of the stage from anywhere.

The renaissance style interior design features give the venue a unique quality which provides alternative entertainment to the acts in gawking at statues and murals. Incredibly large speakers sprout from either side of the stage and there are never any acoustic problems.

I have only one criticism in that towards the front of the standing area (possibly due to the sloped floor) it is quite easy to get squashed by the force of thousands of surging bodies which can become quite painful. But overall, the Carling Brixton Academy deserves its status as the top large gig venue in London as it’s easy to get to, it has an interesting design and history, the sound quality is always very good and with the hundreds of acts playing there every year, you’re sure to find one to cater to your tastes.