Shepherds Bush Empire Reviews

Great fun. Went to see The Dire Straits Experience. Top night out.

Great night, sound was good and atmosphere 2as amazing

It's an old and beautiful building, shabby though left in disrepair although the tickets are not too cheap, they should bring it to the former glory. Smells of nostalgia and beer.

Friendly staff, and clean toilets, 5% discount at bar if you use Barclaycard to pay

The band were superb, the venue could be a little more comfortable, bum freeze set in after an hour, but good location just needs a refurb.

Fairly compact, intimate, atmospheric but shabby with expensive drinks and bad acoustics.

Nice venue. Not too big that you feel hemmed in and the acoustics are great. Plenty of bar space too.

Nice and cosy and small enough to get close to the performers.

It's ok, we went to see Bill Bailey but the audio was terrible for the first half of the show all of us struggled to make out words.

I just saw Fields of the Nephilim here, so best venue in the world as far as I'm concerned. Lovely place, amazing ceiling and friendly staff.

Staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. Really enjoyed the evening watching The Zombies! Good location and the bar was stocked with loads of choices. Comfortable venue.

A really great old theater. Granted in the years, but with so much charm and flair. Do not know such a location in Germany. Was here three times. We have seen Bad Religion, FUN and Dave Gaham and the Soulsavers here. Great bars spread throughout the house and on every level. I can only recommend it to everyone. Super easy to reach with underground.

Great show , lovely place . Expensive beer . What's not to love ?

Emblematic concert hall with good sound and in which heat is not exactly passed.

Nice intimate venue easy to get too and surrounded by decent pubs. Sound quality is good and too bars.

Beautiful, ornate gig venue.

Can be difficult to see from the ground floor but the raised platform at the back offers a good view over the back bar down to the stage, if you can put up with the chatterers.

Currently closed due to serious structural damage though.

I loved the show that I was attending. the staff was nice and helpful. The event was a little bit disorganised but a food experience overall.

Great venue to see live bands however they couldn't control the heating and it was freezing

A really lovely venue. Quite close to the Shepherd's bush tube station, around 7 mins by foot. Coming slightly later than the doors opened, there was no queue.

If you have an electronic ticket (other than Ticketmaster) you'll have to queue in the box office to exchange it for a paper ticket. I didn't have to wait, but might be something to keep in mind. After that you'll need to join the main queue.

The sound seemed good in the standing area. The bar is in the same room, at the back (near the entrance opposite to the stage). The merch stands are there as well.

The concert finished very early, around 10pm, but it also started earlier than I had expected.

So would definitely recommend for live music shows.

Great venue, part of it's charm is the old style feel but floors could do with a clean and the seats need an upgrade

The last 3 times I've tried to buy tickets for this place I've nearly lost the will to live. Why, for God's sake why, can't we just ring the bl*#dy venue and get tickets?
All 3 times I've ended up literally right up in the Gods at the top of level 3, thanks to some website like Ticketmaster or similar.

The view from right up there is ok to be honest, considering being way, way up at the back. If you end up there, maybe take some little theatre glasses or binoculars or something. See my pics below of Agnes Obel from Nov 2016.
Oh - and a small wine and half a beer will cost you a tenner.

Really beautiful old theatre, venue used to be the centrepiece for BBC live variety etc. recordings ... That said, comfy seats only if under 5 foot tall (that s 1.54 metres in case anyone s reading this pre-Brexit) otherwise expect knees under chin... Ridonculous queuing system so get there really early or really late ...

Great location for gigs. You can get up close or stand back at the bar. All standing downstairs so make sure you book the circle if you want to sit.
Bar prices reasonable obviously plastic glasses though.

This is a beautiful old theatre. Went to see Leviston Wood last night. The mosh pit was temporary a seated area, with the oldest scuffy, uncomfortable chairs imaginable. Due to no dancing no body heat available and the place was cold. Thankfully Leviston was on fire as usual!!!

Nice if rather aging building. Good atmosphere and friendly staff. Sound was great at HRH Prog.

Great little venue in West London. Loads of big names appear here.

Depending of the event the place is very good. But don't drive.

I don t normally like O2 venues much but this one works really well. Great sound, easy to get in and out of decent bar and not much more expensive than the pub next door.

Good venue for live music, well organized and facilities are fine for a venue of that age.

Decent acoustics in downstairs standing. Plus compared to standing at The Forum Kentish Town there's 3 full bars that are decent to get to during a sold out gig, while The Forum has two full bars and a shooter bar. Fights break out at The Forum due to congestion as well, the old barriers don't help, fine at Empire, good vibes.

It's a great venue. Just the right size for a good vibe and being close to the performance.

Had a great night. Only down side is they need more female toilets and if only 2 a better flushing facility as it could not handle the load of people

Friendly security in their bumble bee outfits. Great sound and back stage room.

Shame about the rip off bar prices which tarnish an otherwise fine venue.

Good venue with great decor and atmosphere as it used to be a BBC recording studio for live acts. Beer prices are a bit steep though!

Nice venue as long as it doesn't get too packed... Acoustics weren't bad, plenty of bar to access. Kinda a weird bar placement but works well on a way as you can watch band while waiting for drinks. Enjoyed the experience.

A great venue, however beware as the stalls seating is on flat ground, not sloping ground, so if you get someone tall infront of you, you can't see for the rest of the show!

Getting a bit tatty and no bitter on tap! Nice smallish venue though.

Lack of slope means you get a terrible view from mid or back of the venue

Intimate setting for gig by an international European star. Loved the acoustics and the ambience.

Smallish venue with a lot of character and history.
The layout works wonders, you re able to still see the show while waiting for your drinks, and it s free from the usual narrow stairs/choke points that restrict movement.

Good music meeting place. Good acoustics without being deafened, also good standing in the stalls to feel fresh air. I would prefer the bars to stock a wider range especially when charging London prices

Great Venue and great sound, good view from anywhere in standing area, saw Pop Will Eat Itself recently at this great venue

Venue is fine, though the tickets I bought did not reflect the actual seating arrangement - I bought standing, expecting to be down at the front, but ended up seated at the far upper back, so be wary of this!
The venue also wasn't able to provide me an approximate end time for the show.

Great venue, feels much more intimate than a larger venue, fantastic concert with the Struts. Great evening all round.

We went to see calogero, to see a performance there it's great it's not a big venue so we can see the artist properly which is great unless you are small and everybody starts to get up a lovely venue very cosy and beautiful seats are outdated but its ok

Great venue, lovely and intimate without feeling squished. Seen atleast 2 artists here and the vibe was amazing.

Went to see gig here, acoustics good, venue quite small but interesting interior decor, good view of the stage from floor seating

Saw funeral for a friend there and was sensational and emotional evening.

We'll run and efficient Venue. Good sound and viewing positions throughout

Nice theater but really cold inside. You need to sit there with the jacket on

Staff were brilliant. Had some questions which they responded quickly to and when we needed assistance during the concert they were great.

Wasn't impressed very old fashioned but the band was great

Hippo Campus on February 21st was incredible! Always love coming to O2 Shepherd's Bush!

Easily accessible venue. There are places to dead upstairs and a decent standing area.

Small venue, but big enough for me. An old theatre now a music venue.
Enough with the bigger venues were you can't make out who is on stage, only by looking at TV monitors. It does get very packed downstairs if you are standing and the seats on the balconies are quite heavily raked.
Still prefer this type of venue to those stupidly big stadiums ... But that's me.
Staff were pleasant and attentive. Previously giving out tickets for free parking at Westfield.
Unsure if they still do this as last gig I travelled by train.

Great venue in the bush. Fantastic interior decor. Intimate Venue.

Smells like a pub but the view from the first floor was good

Smaller than other O2 venues, a good thing, beers always way too expensive

Great venue. Sound was amazing and staff were all nice and friendly and helpful