*This a review of The Art School as a concert venue*
You have to wonder who decides how many tickets to sell for a gig, because I get the impression that whoever set the limit for the Courtney Barnett gig I was at here definitely overfilled it. With about 5% less people this venue would be fantastic, as it has a hell of a lot going for it.
You'll be knackered once you get there though. It's up a pretty steep hill off Sauchiehall Street for a start, and the venue is up a couple of flights of stairs. Need to go to the loo while you're there and you're going to have to go down those stairs again to the basement level. You can cool off at a pretty big bar at the back, and it looks like they sell Drygate if you're looking for something half decent to drink.
In terms of the important things, the view and the sound are pretty great. It's in line with SWG3 in size, but long and thin as opposed to short and wide (actually, it's probably more like Oran Mor in terms of size and dimensions). It's a relatively tall space, so there is a good sized stage, which means that you can see the band pretty well from anywhere you stand. While my tinnitus ravaged/earplug stuffed ears aren't the best to judge sound quality things did sound had decent, and I was able to pick things up pretty well without it descending into sludge.
But my god it was tightly packed though. I got there early and managed to get a space next to the sound desk, and for the first couple of bands this was great, as I had a little bit of space while still feeling part of the crowd. As things progressed however the venue got fuller and fuller, and by the time the main event was on it definitely felt like sardines in a tin. While this could be me getting old and grumpy it definitely felt tighter than sold out shows at other venues (SWG3, ABC for example) and was more like the Academy at it's worst in terms of feeling cramped. Even the bar area, where you can usually get some space, was pretty mobbed (although it didn't look like the wait to get served was that bad - good on the staff!), and to be honest it took a bit of the shine off the gig.
It wouldn't put me off going again, and I think with the right band and perhaps a few less people this would be a great little venue. It's just reached 4 star status for now, but I'm sure a few more visits will cement this scoreline. read more