Cool place for midsize events. Have visited this venue twice now for an electronic music concerts (Dreamstate & Scooter) and had a blast on both occasions! Quite a clever layout with the main dancefloor sloped meaning you can see well from the back even if you're a bit shorter. Will definitely come back when something good is going on.
Love it, seen CarterUSM 11 times in the past, Charlatans were last I seen a year ago. Best venue in London
Came here to see PND live. Was absolutely amazing. If you wanna drink I suggest downing ur own bottle. This place is bucks for a couple of rounds
Great place and a historical concert venue. Sound system definitely needs improvement though.
Excellent venue ~ although a bit annoying that O2 customers get in first :(
Been here in February not for first time and definitely not for the last time , love the building and the sloping floor , if you need a rest there are seats upstairs . Plenty of bars and toilets aswell
I had a great time on the NYE. Perfect line up and amazing place to party.
Fantastic venue & organization, really nice employees
The seat two down from me has the fabric held on with tape. My seat is slashed, the foam bare and a huge chunk cut out. Perhaps that's why they keep the house lights out so we don't realise just how beat-up the seats are as we stagger through. The seat in front of me is busted so that when a person sits in it there is a literal gap of one inch of four inches between the back of their chair and the front of my seat. If the backs of the chair didn't curve so I could wedge my knees into the spaces between the seats in front of me, sitting would be physically impossible.
Good place to go watch some music, although they have changed the rules an no longer allow standing upstairs.
It would be better if the downstairs wasn't as flat.
Recommend standing a bit further back for better sound quality.
Nice venue and staff. Decent sound quality throughout the venue.
Organized, floor with elevation for anyone missing the show, easy to get in and out.
Great little venue, sloping standing in front of the stage gives a good view for everyone. Balcony seats for those who prefer. Cheap drinks
Gorgeous venue, with just the right size to maintain intimacy but have a good crowd. The front part is separated with a little fence, separating the rowdy crowd from the onlookers. Getting your coats back is a bit of a wait, but all well arranged.
Great music venue, been going here since 90s but always feel an extra person on each bar, with a few lads walking round with beer backpacks in the reception areas would a) improve queuing times and b) earn more revenue as people see the queues and don't bother. Sort it out
Staff can be rude and intursive did not comfortable.pulse was there in winter it was frexzzzing no heating
Nice venue, every experience is enhanced with a pint.
Gerry Cinnamon. Magic gig magic venue class act man
Team went above and beyond when i was feeling ill in a gig. Thank you
Fabulous venue. Built as a cinema in the Art-Deco style it's worth a visit just to see the architecture! We came to see Blondie. Unless you want to be right at the front, you don't need to come at doors open. The standing area floor slopes so wherever you stand you have a good view of the stage. Queue management brilliant. Airport-type security. When it's packed, access to ladies' loo (stage right) and bars (at the back) a bit tricky depending on where you are. Tube & rail stations within less than 5mins. Would definitely visit again.
The best London venue by far. I've seen so many bands here I've lost count. Art deco style with sticky carpets.
I see mr lemmy for motorhead great times had by all headbangers
Fantastic venue good sound quality and great atmosphere
Been here twice, standard venue. There is a completely restricted view from the balcony of the audience (stage is completely visible) which takes away some of the atmosphere. The queues going in are also quite slow
I m writing this review following a really distressing incident in which a member of the security staff at O2 Academy Brixton subjected me to racial harassment when going through security checks before a concert on the 14th of June 2018.
We arrived between 5 and 6 hours early in order to make sure we got a good position in the venue at the front. We were standing/sitting for many hours in line, patiently waiting for the doors to open, and because we were excited about the upcoming concert, we were of course okay with this. The point of arriving early was so that we could smoothly be the first to go through the bag checks and secure a good spot since it was a standing concert, which is important considering the expensive tickets.
However, once the doors opened my entire day took a turn for the worse. Once I reached the security staff, a particularly hostile female member of staff asked me to open my backpack. I politely complied and showed her the contents, which was nothing unusual - Antibacterial hand wipes, earplugs, keys to my flat, my wallet, and an umbrella. The lady began to angrily harass me about every single item in my backpack, aggressively asking me about the purpose of each of them. It was extremely uncomfortable, and even though I calmly explained what they were, she kept holding me back while other concert goers started slipping by me. These other people arrived hours later than me, and still managed to get into the venue before me.
The lady told me to open my backpack a total of four times, even though she had already gone through it. It felt humiliating and embarrassing to be treated so suspiciously in front of everyone. I am originally from a Middle Eastern country, and it felt as if I was singled out because of my race by this staff member. She treated me like a suspected radicalised islamist at an airport, interrogating me about completely innocent and normal items in my backpack. Other people who also brought backpacks with many items, were treated completely normally and walked past me in the dozens. I was shocked at the fact that I had to explain what my intentions were taking simply household items like an umbrella with me. Nobody would ever accept this kind of treatment, and I certainly will not either.
I can only call this by what it is - racial discrimination. There is nothing more humiliating than paying a lot of money, waiting for half a year, spending 6 hours in line expecting to enjoy a great evening, only to be publicly harassed by the staff as everyone else is easily let through. In the end I did not find a good spot in the venue to stand. It is completely unacceptable that I should be treated with suspicion simply because of my skin colour, and that I am forced to desperately try to reason with a racist staff member who seem to not accept that I come with the intention of enjoying my favourite band. I have never been treated so unfairly in any public place before, and I was being completely reasonable and polite towards her, displaying only good behaviour. I was held back for so long that at one point, I pleaded with her to keep my backpack so that I could get past her.
This experience has completely soured my relationship with O2 Academy Brixton. I can not even listen to A Perfect Circle anymore without being reminded of this horrible treatment I was subjected to. This is completely the fault of the staff member, and the venue who hired her. I sent a complaint email to the venue itself, which I received no response. This is extremely unacceptable.
The venue ruined what was supposed to be one of the best days of 2018, and made it one of the worst instead.
Best venue ever, great old cinema building with plenty of bars and facilities, great ground crew.
Enjoyed the show but floor should be more staggered as even very near the front people s heads are in the way. Also not allowed to bring in water bottles (even with the lid taken off) and price at the bar is a bit much just to not die of thirst. If you re near the front they do give out water but only a tiny bit and only a few people get some. Area is quite dodgy lots of men hanging around and someone got attacked with a shovel in the McDonald s on our way to the show so that was quite scary (not the academy s fault tho)
Rudest venue staff I have come across when I was nothing but polite. Spoke to me like I was scum. Making me move from a seat as I wanted to rest my feet whilst waiting to join the queue for the cloak room once it had shortened. Rudely More
Great place. My only wish is that it were bigger. It's not comfortable when it's full.
Loved every minute and aspect of the Academy. Super building to watch your favourite bands in!
Security really have bad attitude and think that they are above everyone else
The sloped floor is great and means you can see the stage from most places in the hall. My only issue with this place is that the sound system is so ridiculously bass heavy and the treble is quite bad so you can barely enjoy the vocals. Most of the time you can't make out what the artist is saying. If the music you're going to see is bass heavy then this is the place to go, if it's mostly vocals on the other hand then it's a pretty bad sonic experience.
Well it's a smelly old place having been a venue for eons.However it's an old style gig with a superb team of staff delivering security and crowd management. Totally tip top in customer service. Relaxed professional on point. I had a great time. Midnight oil did good.
Great venue spoiled by a bad selection of beers!! Get some nice IPA s in.
Just walked out of Fontaines DC ... never left a concert early in all my long years. I can't believe a professional sound crew can set up a gig so badly. It was utterly appalling. Real shame as we'd travelled around 100 miles to get there.
Nice enough Venue, queues for the cloakroom were long and required going up stairs.
Always a great night out and probably the best live music venue in London
We went to watch method man and Redman and as good as they were the venue let it down.
The sound quality was awful, as was the beer, and they ran out of food inside an hour and there's no readmission so had to starve for the remaining 4 hours!
Changed mind about this venue. Security was a sham and no one from the venue or the security team gave a damn. No security presence in centre of stage and people were getting crushed
Been going here for over 20 years, top venue for music with it's gently sloping floor and wide stage, you can get close to the action without being crushed. Booze getting pricey these days but that's life... Read 'Live at the Brixton Academy' to hear how Simon Parkes bought the building for one pound in 1982.
I just went to O2 Academy Brixton to see Miku expo and it was very nice, with a sloped standing area, making it easier to see the stage over other people.
Enjoyed the gig . Place is ok you can get a drink bit crowded but that depends on how much you payed for the ticket. It is a convenient place for transport and lots of local bars and restaurants for pre or post refreshment. At the end of the day it depends on the artists .
Everything about this venue is brilliant. Love coming here.
Weird queuing system. Sloping floor helps shorter viewers see the show.
Good acoustics, large venue and lots of bars to get drinks, shame about the lack of Regular Pepsi, ,not all of us can drink sweetened drinks.
floors a bit sticky, but that adds to the charm.
Ohhh, what a great room. I loved it. Considering that it makes it look great. Unique problem, the bar. Very slow for so many people
Saw stormzy. Place was packed downstairs but they had the viewing gallery above open for people that wanted to enjoy the performance with some relaxing space. It catered for all which I really liked. Security was very thorough as well.
Excellent venue! One of the best venues for vantage point as regardless of where you are you will have a good view due to the slanted floor.
Facilities are usually clean and just a small walking distance from Brixton tube. There is always a huge queue for the ladies bathroom.
Went to see macklenore and this is quite possibly the best concert hall ever!!!
Probably one of the best venues in London for a gig, the O2 is located a short walk away from Brixton station. The venue has great acoustics and looks incredible. The standing area is more fun but the seated seats offer a good view too. They host a wide variety of music on a daily basis.
Macklemore concert 06.04.18. An annoying guy before the start of the concert annoys the whole audience. After a while, he left the staff. Excellent service!
The Streets mental loved it from start to finish just the ques for the bars to slow and ran out of beer!
What a place. The staff and security were excellent. Friendly and professional. Well worth a visit if your fave band is in town.
I also agree it's the best live venue in London! Sloped floor with metal bars all over. However as a tourist from outside UK I would strongly suggest O2 to drop the priority line thingy... It's not possible for us to have an O2 phone and we came all the way here, showed up early just to see people on the other queue to get in before us... Not very nice!
Beautiful place . It is worth going to an event or concert. Beware the English because they drink ...
Dreadful experience here last night. Weren t allowed back out to smoke after getting in until 9pm (we got in at 7) and they only kept smoking area open for half an hour.
On entry we were split into guys and girls queues which is distressing when there is so many people and your partner has social anxiety when left alone around large groups of people.
The floor inside the venue is filthy and needs cleaning.
If you re booking tickets to see someone I advise going to any other venue they re playing at, like we will be doing in future.
Love this venue! The sloped floor in the standing area guarantees a good view
academymusicgroup.com
