Acts such as the brilliant Lightspeed Champion and the not so brilliant Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong (seriously, that's so much worse of a name than Biffy Clyro, don't you think?) played for the last time in the Astoria last night, before its demolition this weekend. It's such a shame that the venue is being demolished-for a railway station of all things. I mean does London really need another railway station?
I haven't been to the place myself, what with being 16 and living about 100 miles away and all, but still it does seem sad that this place is closing. The Astoria is one of those venues that everyone talks about; one of those places that you hear every band seems to play at, where every comedian worth their salt seems to record their DVD's.
The scary thing is, the smaller, more independent venues aren't exactly thick on the ground either. If you want to go to a gig in Bristol you'd have to either pay god knows how much to go to the now garish Colston Hall or go to the Academy with its sticky floors and watered down drinks. Saying that, I do rather like the Academy, but it's hardly got that wow factor; you don't really walk straight in and think that the setting of the gig will enhance the night, whereas for gigs at other venues like the Astoria there's more of a presence, so I'm told by my mother, a music veteran.
And all the smaller venues seem to exclude a large percentage of potential customers due to age restrictions, licensing laws,etc,etc. So really it seems that this is the end of an era, at least for London's music scene anyway.
Whilst I'm wittering on about gig venues, has anyone ever been to a really great and/or appalling venue? What was it like?
The Astoria theater is where Engelbert Humperdinck performed way back. I have the DVD. It was very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteIt's always sad when a building that has housed such great music goes by the wayside. So many memories for so many people are buried beneath the rubble.
ReplyDeleteThis week it came out that The Charlotte in Leicester may shut as well.
ReplyDeleteI know it's not in the Astoria league, but it's one of the best venues in the East Midlands in terms of atmosphere.
Bands like Blur and Bloc Party have played the venue during their rises, and any band in Leicestershire worth its salt has played there at some point.
Boo, says I.
I've been to practically every venue in London and, frankly, the Astoria is nothing special. It's a completely generic mid-sized venue that is totally indistinguishable from the likes of Shepherds Bush Empire and The Forum.
ReplyDeleteCrossrail on the other hand is unique. It will make the whole country richer by boosting the capital's transport connections to Heathrow, which brings foreign money into the country. That in turn means more Londoners can prosper - some of whom will invest their money into building venues that actually have some character and individuality to them.
Bye bye Astoria xD Good riddance