Do you actually enjoy a gig in a huge venue?

[WhatstheStory01]

I would love to see Oasis next year and thought about joining the queue for tickets this morning.

Cardiff’s Principality Stadium would be nearest for me but I have been to gigs there and at Wembley and it is so vast it affects my enjoyment of the music. I know there are screens but you can hardly see them depending on where you sit. I’ve never managed to get anywhere near the front by the stage where you might be able to actually see anything either.

Anyway I was wondering if anyone feels the same and if it puts you off.

Not really. Small venues are much better. There are good things about big venues; atmosphere, noise etc. But you can get that with a football match or fireworks in London, it's not about the band.

Added to which, the stadium gigs I've enjoyed have been bands that really think about big venues. Taylor Swift and U2 for example. Lots of theatre and use of space. Oasis ain't them.

Yes. Too big really. We saw AC/DC at Wembley a few months ago. Too big and too loud for me. However, my DH loved it and it made him very happy. My recent best was (don't laugh!) the Eurovision final in Liverpool in 2023. Awesome fun, very small venue (7,000 ish I think, as it's primarily a television event and the audience are there for atmosphere). The whole weekend in Liverpool was amazing.

The Albert Hall is a great place for music of all kinds, and a good size.

I prefer smaller venues as well and I prefer stay sitting otherwise I can’t see and what the point?

I prefer a smaller venue but some bands I want to see don’t play them 🤷‍♀️

My recent best was (don't laugh!) the Eurovision final in Liverpool in 2023.

No laughing here. I would have LOVED that.

Recently went to see Taylor Swift at Wembley - amazing tickets very close to the front but still got neck ache having to look up at the big screen at points! And it was a nightmare at kicking out time - took hours to get back home.

Another couple of artists I went to see in a big venue with tickets in the stands, apart from the crowd atmosphere I may as well been sitting at home watching on TV.

I don’t get the hype myself.

Its not my favourite venue type but it definitely depends on the gig. The atmosphere for Blur at Wembley last year was electric!

Definitely. I love live music but really don’t enjoy massive stadium gigs, no matter how much I love the band.

I mean ideally I'd like to see my preferred bands at our local town theatre but sadly they only seem to play at Wembley or 02....and it's difficult enough to get tickets for those!

No because of the faff of getting in/out and there isn't a good seat. Looking at the Swift gigs, she had that stage which she covered every metre of but if you were on the sides and high up you could see the lighting etc but the artist is a speck. On the pitch near the stage you are closer but can't see the show. Smaller places obv better but the artists popularity dictates this. Springsteen plays smaller places in the US 10-20k but in Europe plays 50-100k

Exactly.

We saw a Genesis free concert at the Circus Maximus in Rome . The crowd was 500,000 . We were ,of course , a long way from the stage but there were big screens and the atmosphere was amazing.

@Fizbosshoes and @bigbadbarry at some point the bands you like were playing tiny gig venues. Which means there are currently bands playing small gigs that you probably would like. I don't have the time or inclination to research, but it might be worth it.

DH finds me new bands he thinks I'll like. Sometimes they are great.

Big or small - it depends on the type of act I am seeing.

Just saw Taylor Swift at Wembley and it was an incredible atmosphere with 92,000 people. You just wouldn't get that same electric vibe in a small venue.

I saw Garth Brooks in Croke Park in Dublin (80,000 capacity) and the atmosphere was absolutely incredible. That volume of people all singing along. I wouldn't like to be standing though, we had seats and while we were up dancing for lots of it we could sit down.

No. I have seen bands and comedians at Sheffield Arena and really dislike the place. The seats are only comfortable for the vertically challenged, and I find standing all night too uncomfortable.

I saw Michael Jackson at Roundhay Park many years ago, but watched most of it on a screen as we were too far from the stage. Several years later at Leeds festival, by the time the headline act came on, I felt too claustrophobic in the crowd.

Boringly, I prefer to watch huge bands on TV (Glastonbury) or smaller bands at smaller venues.

We are going to see a few bands later this year at a local venue that has 344 seats. It is a charity fund raiser and has a couple of well known acts. I'm looking forward to this.

I agree with this^
However small venues are often standing only and it’s my problem. The band I’m interested in was in a small venue recently but standing only. So nope, it’s still the same problem for me. I’m a creature of comfort 🙂

@RampantIvy I agree that the Sheffield arena is rubbish. It's soulless.
I generally don't like big venues. The only exception is The Sphere in Las Vegas.
I didn't see Taylor Swift but I think she did the best you could in a big venue. The pictures of Adele's recent concerts look awful. I know the artists want to maximise their profits but it seems greedy when the venues are so large

Our local venue sometimes has acts that have been around for many years and are less famous now.

A couple of years ago we saw an ex Dire Straits band member do a Q and A session followed by playing their back catalogue of hits with his current band. It was absolutely brilliant.

It's a cinema with a stage so the seats are comfortable and have plenty of legroom.

Ugh, no. Over a hundred notes for a dot in the distance and the only thing to hear is the people next to and behind me caterwauling? That's before the pushing and shoving, drunks and the crowd dynamics that frequently avoid a major incident through pure fluke, as hardly anybody listens to the venue staff.

Normally i would say I don’t like big venues but we went to see Taylor Swift and LOVED it.

I know what you mean. Saw Bruce Springsteen in Cardiff in the Spring and he was awesome but he is original stadium material. Alternatively saw James in the CIA (or whatever they are calling it now, Cardiff people will know what I mean), much smaller, about 8000 people if that I think compared to 70,000 in the stadium - I think better, you see the band better, they can interact better.

I love the smaller venues and have purposely chosen them if possible

One of my faves is Gloucester Guild hall, 300 capacity. Saw Wheatus there and it was so lovely being able to see them from the back

Both of those were seated as well. Don’t like standing, too much shoving, and when you’re a 5 foot nothing woman it’s not fun!

No! Biggest would be Barrowlands sized for me. I’ve been to the O2 once and it was awful. A big soulless cavern. It probably suits big pop acts, sound-wise, but I don’t like it for bands. And the only gig where I’ve actually got cold. I like tiny, sticky floored venues!