I recently saw Neil Young at the open-air amphitheatre in the Stadtpark, and I have to say it's a…read moregreat venue. It might not be so great if it was raining, but, well, it wasn't :) It probably holds a few thousand, but isn't huge and the views are great from just about everywhere. The beer is, as you might suspect, rather pricey, but which concerts have cheap refreshments? One thing that I'll have to try one of these days is taking a picnic to the park while there's a band on. Apparently this is quite a tradition in Hamburg, and the sound definitely does travel out of the arena pretty well, so I'm sure a great time could be had.

Fantastic location for a more private and intimate concert. I was blown away with how great the…read moreambiance was and the surroundings complimenting the connection between artist and the crowd! Definitely worth it to check which concerts take place this Summer.

I had so few expectations of this place. I'd walked past this graffiti-clad monolith before and was…read morepretty convinced it was a smack den. So imagine my surprise when a band from back home came to town and announced they were playing a show there. What I found was a phenomenal space for music and art in general. Surprisingly decent acoustics, awesome DIY setup, cheap beer, relaxed door policy (feel free to pop in and out, check out the bowl outside if the weather's nice), cool staff happy to put up with my broken German...the whole place just had a great vibe. The fact they wanted to knock this place down is crazy. This place is nuts.

The Rote Flora is, in my opinion, a must-see when you come to Hamburg. Even though it's in the…read moreSchanze area, it seems to be tied with the Kiez as half of the cultural heart of St. Pauli. The place is basically the centre for left-wing politics and also anarchists. It's where the yearly riot happens, with the nearby Haspa bank getting continually destroyed. It used to be a theatre, but now you'll find practice areas for bands, a café-type-thing and a dirty dirty electro club. I still haven't been for one of the club nights, but I really want to. It's pretty high on my list of things to do in Hamburg

It's located in the middle of nowhere and we found if hard to get to. It's a large indoor arena…read morethat hosts sports and entertainment events. Acoustics here were not great when we went to see Hugh Jackman perform on stage. Seating setup was quite ok and there was a lot of staff on hand to help guide you if needed. Plenty of food and drink outlets on site and it was easy to get in and out of the arena. The most frustrating thing about this place was, getting there and back. Huge queues of people waiting on taxis after the concert with absolutely no taxis around for ages, bus line up huge and, there was not enough buses to take you to the train station. The station was also a good walk away in the dark. A taxi driver told us it's a nightmare when there is football game nearby and a concert on at the arena.

Amazingly, at O2 world you get strong O2 reception that actually works! (that's a rarity in…read moreHamburg). I'm still unsure as to what benefit you get for walking through the special O2 entrance, but I guess there must be one. Maybe I'll try it next time Anyway, back to the details of the place. It's actually quite a nice arena. It's very much in the middle of nowhere, but the train + shuttle bus service is pretty great, so it's not much of a problem. Beyond that, it's a decent sized arena, with good viewing from pretty much all seats. The bars and food areas are slightly underwhelming, but it's not a complete rip-off and the service is pretty good. The toilets are also pretty good for such a large arena. All-in-all then it's pretty good, 4/5.

So much history here. Imagine this is where all the German greats have played. You are transported…read moreback to when classical music was king. Sophisticated and structured. Pure and clean. When you book a ticket through the Elbphilharmonie website make sure to pay attention to the location. They don't make it clear if the location is at the Elbphilharmonie opera house or the Laeiszhalle. Luckily it's only a 5 minute taxi ride if you make the same mistake that I did. Free concerts on the second Tuesday of the month. At noon but get there early as people scramble for the limited seats.

Here I am "watching" a concert by one of my favourite bands in a seat that cost EUR42 and I'm…read morewriting a review. Why is that? Well, I can't see 50% of the band for one. I can see the bassist, drummer and third guitarist. I can't see the singer, lead guitarist or keyboard player. I'm on the 3rd row in the first balcony. I'd say that perhaps 20% of the audience get a good view. A further 30% can see the entire stage, but from a far distance. 50% will get a very impaired-to-non-existent view (some seats are behind columns/walls). I just don't think that's acceptable for the prices. The sound is admittedly good and the place looks quite nice, but those are the only good points. Other negatives include a lack of atmosphere (due to it being all seated). It's uncomfortably hot as there is seemingly no ventilation if the doors are closed (which they always are during the performance). There's also just one choice of beer, so if you don't like König Pils you're out of luck. I'd say it's the worst concert venue in Hamburg - especially for watching rock concerts. Unfortunately, if the band you want to see is booked here there's not much you can do. I can give them a bad review though.

Fabrik is a brilliant concert venue. The roof is so high that it feels like a cathedral, but…read moreactually I think it used to be a factory of some kind. There are (at least) three levels, but when I was there they had only opened up one and a half. Even so there was loads of space. I can't believe that it took me a year to finally get along to Fabrik - I'll definitely be back - I'd like to go for one of their club nights

Was there yesterday (second time) to see Black Seeds from NZ. Great gig and the choice of the venue…read morewas perfect: 1) it's relatively small (it was about 500 people yesterday and it was full) so the band can interact with public and pass on the energy. When you're close to the stage - you feel it! 2) very informal, relaxed atmosphere. Drinks are sold at the bar, also there is a snack bar in the corner. 3) there are also places to sit and inner balcony/gallery upstares - need to try it next time! Verdict: great music venue, will go again. Darjeeling