Best Live Venues in Adelaide

[rsemmler]

Went to Less Than Jake at HQ last night, in my opinion, easily the best live venue in Adelaide. Standing room everywhere, awesome views of the band, great sound quality.

Haven't been to many of the 'older' venues around town, but have a severe dislike for Thebby (sound, etc) and both uni bars (Flinders & Adelaide) are okay. Fowlers seems to be the new place for everything alternative.

Anyone been to shows at the Night Train?

Interested to hears peoples thoughts on our venues.

[RustyCage]

In no particular order

Cranka - great for local bands

The Gov

Fowlers - can be a bit hit and miss with the sound, but a good dedicated music venue

Jive - great place to watch bands

HQ - Great sound

[RustyCage]

Saw Megadeth at Thebby and the sound wasn't great, but they had a slight sound issue for whole tour, so not Thebbys fault. Saw Slayer and NOFX there earlier in the year and the sound was absolutely sensational, crisp and clear. Same thing when Muse played there a couple of years ago.

[Dirko]

for mine.
Thebby
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The Gov
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HQ

[Lunchcutter]

No question.. my fave adelaide venue definitely "The Drive"
('specially 1980 Kiss and 1986 midnight oil and Jet Last year) great atmosphere in the open air...

[Wedgie]

Ive always been a fan of HQ, great spot for bands.

Also enjoy the Gov but the stage is tiny there now.

Seen some great bands at Enigma but a bit cramped with minimal stage elevation but great atmosphere.

Didn't think much of the Adelaide Uni when I saw a local band there.

Used to love the Old Lion, crikey so many places in the old days that are just pokie palaces now like Lennies, the Bridgeway, Colonnades, Morphy, etc.

[cennals05]

I love going to see shows at the Gov, just because you're so close to the band. Absolutely hate the Entertainment Centre. Thebby's a great size but sound quality can be an issue. You can't beat Festival Theatre for sound quality. I agree with HQ being a great venue because you can see the band wherever you stand.

London has some great venues. Been to see gigs at Brixton Academy and Hammersmith Apollo and they are both fantastic venues. They have sloping floors so no matter where you stand you can see the ban. I Saw Powderfinger at Hammersmith last week and it was one of the best shows I've been to. Never heard so much noise from a crowd.

I'm off to see Kaiser Chiefs tonight at Earls Court, hopefully the venue is as good as the others.

[locky801]

With the cutter here, the Drive used to be awesome, guess it depends on what sort of venue you prefer, indoor or outdoor, been to some awesome concerts at Adelaide Oval and Aami stadium, sound is great as is the Drive, indoors, sorry cant go past the Gov

[Stumps]

i think jive is the best venue. small capacity tho

[Snaggletooth Tiger]

I miss the old days at The Tiv before bastard developers & inner city living destroyed
Adelaide's best live venue!

[Felch]

Ive always been a fan of HQ, great spot for bands.

Also enjoy the Gov but the stage is tiny there now.

Seen some great bands at Enigma but a bit cramped with minimal stage elevation but great atmosphere.

Didn't think much of the Adelaide Uni when I saw a local band there.

Used to love the Old Lion, crikey so many places in the old days that are just pokie palaces now like Lennies, the Bridgeway, Colonnades, Morphy, etc.

Ahhh....Lennies.....those were the days

Always liked The Gov, good atmosphere.

[Booney]

The Drive (Saw my first concert there, ZZ Top,Afterburner)
Thebby
Gov
HQ
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Enter Center

[Leaping Lindner]

I miss the old days at The Tiv before bastard developers & inner city living destroyed
Adelaide's best live venue!

GREAT venue provided it was half full. It wasn't very pleasant when you got stuck in the "side" room.
Can't believe they got rid of it. Still it's important for developers to make money so people can move into the inner city and then complain about the noise

"I like living in the city but it's a little bit noisy".
"Oi Einstein. The Tiv was there for years before you and your ilk!"

[Punk Rooster]

In-Zone (RIP) was my favourite (now Savvy)

[maxyoz]

Fad Bar in Waymouth Street has some sensational live acts, but is very small.

[woodwt]

Bring back the bridgeway!

[Felch]

Bring back the bridgeway!

Bridgeway was always a great place, fantastic atmosphere.

One of the best shows i saw there was Barnesy in the early 90's, when he still knew how to put on a show, ie drink a whole bottle of vodka and scream his lungs out !!!

[Lunchcutter]

Bring back the bridgeway!

Bridgeway was always a great place, fantastic atmosphere.

One of the best shows i saw there was Barnesy in the early 90's, when he still knew how to put on a show, ie drink a whole bottle of vodka and scream his lungs out !!!

here here , reckon i went to that show too, Two Fires i think...

have been to the Cavern in the city, that's pretty cool and has some good live acts on a weekly basis.. check out....
http://www.thecavern.com.au/

[MatteeG]

Tiv- was great. Went to many shows there during the early/mid 90's (Price of Silence anyone?). Also remember people diving off the balcony into the pit during the No Fun at All/Millencolin show there in 96. Priceless.

I like thebby, although the sound issues can sometimes give you the sh!ts. Also lucky I am a little taller than average otherwise you struggle to see from the back part of the floor.

HQ is a great viewing venue and the sound is great IMO.

Anyone ever see any shows at the Abbaddon? (Horace Pinker with the Blood Sucking Freaks!!)

Lennies used to have a good set-up, the stage elevation meant you could always see what is going on. Saw the final show for "The Sharp" there which was pretty good.

Fowlers I havent been impressed with too much- Sound is muddy and if you are trapped on the bar side you will not see too much. They do pull a pretty good number of quality shows I admit.

The Gov- only seen 1 show there but seems pretty good venue. Cant remember much.

Entertainment Centre. Only go there when I cant avoid it. Only good when it is full which generates a bit of atmosphere.

Enigma- as Wedgie says a great atmosphere, and the close proximity to the bands is good. Not great if you get trapped at the back, but if you are a fan you shouldnt be at the back anyway

Flinders Uni. The tavern is a little underrated, always thought the sound was pretty good. The refectory holds a lot of people but only half the people in there can see what is going on!

Adelaide UniBar. Probably not the greatest place to see bands but I am biased as I have seen many great shows there (Keeth, Force Fed Nine, Propagandhi, No Use for a Name just off the top of my head). Gets extremely hot inside even during the middle of winter.

Memorial Drive- I love it. Saw the Meanies w/ Pearl Jam there about 95, and Soundwave Festival in 2003. Both great.

Duncan Hall? @ Wayville- TERRIBLE sound. saw INXS there once and the tinny sound ruined my ears for about 2 weeks.

Old Lion- tried unsuccessfully to get into an 18+ Hoodoo Gurus gig when I was 17. My mates all >18 did the typical mate thing and left me outside for 2 1/2 hours. The sound was pretty good outside, so must have been pretty good inside.

Bridgeway- Saw Screaming Jets there a few years back and was a great show. Just wish I had worn my flanellette shirt so I'd fitted in with the locals a bit more...

Gawler Racecourse- Anyone who saw the Vans Warped festival there that day knows why nothing except horseracing is held there now.

Finally Ales and Sails- has a great band playing there in a week or 2 (Truth Be Sold). Plug over

[brod]

Holdfast used to be a good venue remember seeing Shihad play there a few years ago, before the pub started to brew its own beer.