Nice music venue, but concert was sold out and the place super packed. We also queued a lot. Both to enter (despite arriving 45min after doors opening) and for cloakroom (queue was so loooong that we kept our coats with us at the end, but was very hot and full of people).
Great venue. So nice that small venues are still around.
Never anywhere to sit in these places for the poor long suffering parents who accompany the kids and have to endure the act.
Great venue, good sound, and helpful staff. Had a fantastic night watching Thunder, brilliant gig
The venue is rather spacious. Sound was okay, I'm not going to complain about the crowd cause if you're not expecting one going to a live gig then I don't know what you're doing drinks are pricy but not outrageously so, for London standards.
Large, lots of space, good quality loudspeakers fast on drinks
Too small for such big events like Tory Lanez.
Waited for 2 hours for him to show up and in the meantime they didn't even put some music to be playing on the background.
There was no air ventilation, it felt too warm & they allowed smokers of all kinds to smoke inside and it was just a very stuffy atmosphere.
And the bar took way too long to give you your drinks.
I will never visit that place again.
What an amazing place for a gig!
Fairly small venue for those intimate concerts.
The bar area is raised, at the back of the auditorium, covering most of the width, offering a good selection of drinks.
Little merchandise cubby for purchasing your t-shirts.
Decent admit of toilets
Happy, helpful staff - bar and security alike.
I would definitely come again!
Went to see ECCO2K, was the best show ever filled with great people, nice confide floor and great music only downside was that I was charged around 8 quid for a double of coke and courvoisier.
Relentless Garage is a relatively small music venue tucked away just north of Islington. As the name would suggest, it's sponsored by Relentless energy drinks and those naturally have a large presence behind the bar (ie...a jaeger bomb will not be made with red bull but the Relentless equivalent). Given the small space, it will be bloody loud no matter where you are so be prepared to be fully absorbed in the music as talking will more or less be impossible once the band gets going.
The acoustics are pretty decent given the layout and the sound crew take centre stage. It's actually pretty cool to see them do their stuff while you wait for the warm up acts to get out of the way. I think the bar is cash only (not 100% sure on that) so it's worth hitting the cash point outside before you get in.
The only other thing I'd want to point out is that as it tends to be lesser known indie bands, you get a wide age range, in particular some of the younger kids who don't know their limits yet. Be wary of the jail bait stealing drinks from wide-eyed teenagers and then puking in a corner. You don't want any of that!
Cool space. Awful people.
Didn t let me in with my camera, took it and then went through my pictures while I m at the concert.
Great venue, great selection of acts. Easily accessible. Pretty good selection of drinks at the bar and very reasonably priced considering it's in London. The only down side I have seen is there doesn't seem to be an obvious place for the merch stand that isn't easily missed. Staff were pleasant, efficient and proficient.
Whilst The Garage might be one of the smaller gig venues in London, it never fails to deliver an awesome atmosphere! Friendly staff, from the door staff who greet you to the bar staff that serve you, make this a welcoming place. Although you can't always guarantee the quality of the artists, the sound is usually pretty tight and uses the space well. The high stage also affords a good view from most areas in the hall too. Fairly easy to get to from most parts of town, The Garage is a great venue for a gig!
Good concert hall! They had several beers and they were not very expensive considering London prices. The station is just in front and there are good places to go ahead!
Great venue and excellent sound. Would go back a million times.
Great band on their first full tour of the UK. Check out the Dead South!!
Not big but this cosy and really nice place for a medium sized concert. The only problem is that there is no place for a queue as it's a busy street hence we couldn't line up even if we got there 4h earlier just to get there first
The insane prices charged at the bar for what is basically Tuborg in a plastic cup let down this otherwise cracking venue.
The Garage is great for gigs. Toilets are kept clean. There is two floors and three seperate bars. Two small stages and one larger stage. This venue is great for concerts and it's location is perfect as it has a few bus stops close by, Highbury and Islington train station is across the road. I am not sure which nightclubs are held there now but it is a great place to meet people and make new me.Tories with friends.
What a great night we had here.. fiver a pint.. not bad.. one big party
Cosy and lively for music. Expensive drinks and questionably good acoustics for concerts.
Decent enough venue but terrible bartenders who steal money. Bought a couple of pints for my mate and I and on both occasions the same bartender stole a tenner off me by claiming my twenty pound note was a tenner.
All in all, go for the music but avoid buying drinks here, especially from the bartender with long hair and glasses.
Great live music venue, small but perfectly formed!
Excellent intimate venue. Bar not exorbitant. Great if you have a teen who wants to see a gig but doesn't want you to cramp their style! Perfect
Good atmosphere, well laid out, easy access from underground.
Saw pup here. Great venue with great sound. Drinks are overpriced ofc
Cool club and staff. Always it depends on the band playing . .
Saw the mistery jets here, great concert, good sound
Great venue, great acts, not extortionate booze prices!
Saw The Rutles here. Harry Hill was at the same gig. What are the chances of that happening?
The new renovation looks AMAZING. Such a flexible venue for gigs and club nights. Bar staff was efficient and management is very hospitable
Terrible venue - small, low ceiling, weird barrier at the front that you can't even drape a scarf over without the security guards attacking you - one to be avoided.
We spent 3 nights here for the Rocket Recordings 20 celebration, and we really enjoyed the place. First, security staff was friendly and kind, and the sound is very good. Last but not least, drinks - much more choices than french venues - are quite affordable (again, see the prices in Paris) for London ;-)
Always something good on and more importantly it can be a source for discovering new/unknown acts which really is something special. Place can be loud but there's free earbuds behind the bar so everyone's happy. You can see the stage from all points. Bar staff are good people. Can't fault the place, long live The Garage!
Great venue, lovely arched ceiling and artfully lit . Friendly staff and reasonable prices
saw seaway and woes there and it was amazing. got to meet woes after and i had loads of fun!
Intimate venue. Bar at the back of venue. Easy access to Underground
Good, centrally located music venue. The drinks selection is poor, but the sound system and atmosphere is good.
Very good place for concerts, not big, specific, big plus for two bathrooms for ladies on two separate sides of the club.
Acoustics terrible. No vibes at the hospitality after party!
Great sound inside. Also managed to get to view the bands on stage fairly easily :-)
Great little venue with that intimate vibe, especially if like me, you don't like stadiums. This is a great place to see a band. Good sound and decent lager.. Happy days.
The security is made by dwarves behaving like ss soldiers in a nazi camp, poor people, gross and funny, could be a Benny Hill gag...
Decent venue, fairly basic and access/edit is a little cramped but reasonable drinks selection and good acoustics
Great atmosphere. Just the right size for a small gig. You can see the band wherever you stand. Acoustics are good. Much rather be here than O2 or Wembley.
Great venue, had a brilliant time at the gig, have their own lager which is just as good as the rest and a lot cheaper. Staff were nice and didn't keep you waiting at the bar. Gig tickets were very good value, would definitely go back.
Located right by Highbury & Islington station, this venue is smaller than most in London but is great for that "intimate" feel. However, like most venues in London the drink selection isn't large, but it does offer lager & cider on tap. (If you fancy that kind of drink!) The sound quality is good and conveniently there are loos at both the front and back of the room, so it's never too long of a wait "when you need to go" or too much of a shuffle through the crowd. There are also plenty of restaurants/pubs nearby if you fancy a pre-gig dinner or pint!
Probably not the venue's fault, but we were made to queue for over an hour while they drip-fed people into the venue. The show had actually been on for 15 minutes when my friend was finally able to enter. Also it was 4 degrees out. Venue itself is pretty cool and intimate, tho.
We went for Jo Whiley's 90's Anthems night. The main room is a nice space, but the cloakroom is achingly slow when a queue of 10 people took ~15 minutes to move. There were two people policing the queue, but only one guy working in the cloakroom. :-/
It would also be nice if they collected the empty cups and cans, which just piled up all night. Finally, I don't know if it was the DJ, the sound engineer, or the system itself... but at several points during the night, the distortion was terrible.
We'll go back to give them another chance, as possibly it was just an off night.
Sound during Black Mountain gig was utterly abhorrent. Started out sort of okay but got progressively worse towards the end. The lows were completely overwhelming, uncomfortable and drowned out every other part of the spectrum. I'm sure that such a problem should be easily fixed by a sound engineer who knows what he's doing.
I love the band, heard them once before in Vancouver at Vogue Theatre and the sound was crystal clear, which makes my experience at the Garage even more miserable. Everything except the sound was fine - clean toilets, decently priced drinks, friendly security. But that doesn't help when the music sounds pretty damn bad. Not recommended.
thegarage.london
