The Venue

Quite an odd place to attend a ‘gig’.
This is part of Leeds College of Music so is a more formal set up than a beery, sweaty venue one might expect for guitars and the like. There are endless stairs to climb to find the place, but once in your seat it’s comfortable and spacious, with a well set out auditorium. What makes it a success is the terrific sound quality. Good sound might go hand in hand at such an establishment, but sound is what can make a place work. So many venues suffer from poor mixing or just a poor PA in general, but the sound for the Mark Lanegan show I saw in November 2013 was immaculate. You could hear every instrument, every warble in the great man’s voice, and the audience remained silent throughout which made it better.
Not quite the ***** review though. Getting in and out once the music started wasn’t easy as you weren’t permitted to go in during a song and had to wait in a sort of stair area until the right moment. That’s OK in a more formal setting but when in any sort of rock and roll environment things like visiting the toilets or bar became quite a process. I’m not trying to say endless bladder trips are all that matters, but even a single trip to get a drink or whatever was a little awkward. Once seated it was a lot easier just to stay there.
And the bar itself. Goodness me — despite the friendly approach of the staff the sheer level of mediocrity in the way it was run was startling. Very badly organised, a poor selection of drinks of any kind, and an apparently universal lack of basic knowledge of how to use the till. I went to the bar twice and on both occasions the staff present were unable to work the till in any way bar making it emit one long complaining bleep. Much discussion took place, and then calculators were used to total my bill up and a key used to open the till to get change. Amazing.
Having said that it’s a decent enough place and superbly situated for those using public transport as it’s slap bang next to the bus station. And there’s The Wardrobe next door for a sneaky nightcap on the way home…

The Venue is a theatre style auditorium for holding concerts in Leeds College of Music. Jazz, classical and world music are the main genres for The Venue which is used for touring artists as well as show casing work from students as well as ensembles with students and established artists.
There are various themes held at The Venue including lunch time sessions during the week and the international concert series showcasing particular styles from particular periods from certain parts of the world. This time round it is covering French chamber music from the 1870s.