O2 Academy

The O2 academy is situated on the outskirts of the city centre close to Lime Street Station, which makes it better for parking in the nearby streets. It is a large building, pretty plain on the outside except for a couple of signs. The O2 academy is a music venue, hosting gigs of all different types of bands and artists, as well as club nights.
The venue has 2 floors. Upstairs is a large open hall with a huge stage and a lot of room for either standing or sitting to watch an event. There is a bar within the hall. It can sometimes take a while to be served due to the sheer amount of people in the venue, but the staff are very apologetic and friendly when they do serve you.
The other floor is smaller, although the bar is a lot bigger. It has the bar area, and then arches in the brick work which look across to the stage and the floor area. These arches are great when photographing a gig. The stage is a decent size, accommodating even the larger bands easily. There is an adequate amount of room for watching gigs or dancing on club nights. Towards the back of this area there is some seating which is great for a rest from dancing.
The drinks are quite expensive, but this is pretty much a given for music venues. The bar has a good variety available and the staff are knowledgeable about their stock.
There are lots of toilet cubicles for men and women. They start off pretty clean at the start of the night but after a while there is often toilet paper strewn around and puddles of spilt drinks. It doesn’t seem as if the staff check the toilets at all during the night.
The gigs here are generally not too expensive. For the less well known bands you will pay about £8, but for more famous bands it might be closer to £20, but this is still a lot cheaper than the echo arena. The O2 academy isn’t the smartest place, it has flaws, but it is fit for its purpose and is a great venue over all.

Even in the grotty category of small music venues, the O2 Academy always comes across as just that teensy bit grottier than anywhere else. This tends not to matter much though because I’ve had some great nights here, seeing Supergrass for the princely sum of zero pounds is one highlight that’s lodged in my cranium.
There’s always something going on the place which is a boon, but often these are either nights hosted for performers you’ve never heard of or themed occasions whose very premise sounds like lunacy made real. Of course, there’s better music venues in the city but it’s always good to have at least one Academy event on your calendar somewhere.

I think the arrival of the Echo arena has been the best thing for this music venue as there was once a lot of pressure for it to provide the sole outlet for big bands and artists but more often than not the city would miss out if they got too big.
Now with people like Lady Ga Ga and Rhianna rightly going to the big, souless venue over looking the river, The O2 can now focus on attracting big Indie names and encouraging new talent in good sized venue.
There are also two rooms here which mean that small acts can play here in a good, suitable arena in which they wont get lost or intimidated if only a small crowd turn up.

The O2 is a fantastic venue to see a live act. I’ve been here on many occasions and seen gigs like Travis and The Temper Trap. It’s a little precarious climbing the steep stairs to the upstairs area and on the way out it’s even more so and you can feel rather claustrophobic.
When I recently frequented the academy I was bowled over by the mellow performance of the Temper Trap– although it was an odd sensation as downstairs there seemed to be a hard core metal band playing and the thumping bass shook the floor. Simultaneous musical entertainment– not sure it was a good thing! Two gigs for the price of one?
Also, never buy a drink here on gig night. Or at least not spirits unless you want to be totally bankrupt.
They have a night on called Revolution which is a great mix of musical tastes And they have the cheapest drinks offers so it’ll cost you nothing to get pretty merry. Quite a turn around from the usual prices!

The O2 academy in Liverpool may not be the most welcoming place from the outside, being tucked in a side street to the North of Lime Street station, but it plays host to such a wide variety of regular music that it is an unavoidable night out in Liverpool.
Tickets can be purchased from ticketweb online, over the phone or on the door at the night of a gig, although it’s important to remember that popular gigs will sell out much faster and this could be a sad way to ruin a night. On the door sales are also cash only.
The Liverpool O2 academy prides itself on being a ‘showcase forum for unsigned talent’ which inevitably means that some of the performances there are going to be hit and miss, but that the atmosphere will be more personal than the much larger Echo Arena.

The o2 (formerly Carling) academy has to be one of the best places to go see a gig. So to further enhance your nightlife the o2 Academy Liverpool hosts regular club nights to satiate all musical tastes and preferences. Formerly the Lomax site, the o2 academy is in a 19^th century warehouse building and is steeped in musical history.
The facilities are not bad, both for club events and live music. On top of all this, o2 Academy Liverpool features accessible bars, merchandising, catering, excellent security, disabled access, helpful staff, and plentiful washroom facilities. There is usually a live band during the week plus every Friday night. Always special drinks offers and with admission £4/£5 or free entry after gig you can’t complain too much.
The upstairs venue is good with a decent capacity though I have to admit getting up to it causes a bit of problems not to mention getting out after a gig; a long flight of pretty steep steps to reach the upper floor, so if you find getting up a problem, getting down with a whole crowd coming out can be tricky.
The downstairs part of the venue is pretty small but you come to expect that in academies, so if your there to see a favourite band I would recommend getting early to get to the front.
The bar is separated from the stage by a short flight of steps, which keeps the drinks flowing. The good thing about this is the people who aren’t so interested in the band will stay at the bar and away from the crowd. Staff are generally is helpful and polite in my experience at this venue.