Dingwalls

A large venue that is a bit tricky to find the entrance to in Camden. To get inside, go down the path at the end of the bridge on the left after the lock as you head North up Camden High Street.
I came here to see a burlesque show, the venue was pretty big with lots of seating the only problem was that the stage was slightly low and with no raised seating expect at the different levels it made it hard to see some of it especially when the performers did floor work.
The bar was easy to get to with no queue and they provided me with tap water. The toilets were also easy to get to, didn’t visit them myself but I was told there was an attendant inside.

This was my first visit, luckily tickets from a friend, to see Catfish and the Bottlemen, there were a couple of supporting bands which were OK but the main band were awesome, never seen them before but the sound in the venue was very good. It’s a fairly small place and it did get busy and very hot as there is no A/​C. It was a fight (not literally) to get to the both the bar and toilets, although there was a lovely breeze along the toilet walkway, but still a battle even along there. The bar prices are good for the area and re staff, although busy, were pleasant.

Came here for my first visit to see Catfish and the Bottlemen and with any music venue your experience is going to depend on how good the night is.
The venue itself though isn’t too bad. It’s fairly small and on busy nights it does get incredibly hot with the only area getting any kind of air flow along the left hand side near the toilets. The bar prices are pretty reasonable, especially when compared to the O2 Empire type places and even the door staff are pretty friendly

I have been coming to this place for so many years now!
Every time that I have paid a visit, I have been provided with a reasonable ticket price, decent PA sound & mixing and also uniformly great views from most spots within the venue.
My last visit was to see my good friend Thomas Lang play with the formidable Mr Big guitarist Paul Gilbert. Previously visits have allowed me to see such greats as Nick Lowe, The Who drummer — Zak Starkey and his band old Face, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather and one of my most influential drummers, Simon Phillips.
Naturally, with all of the local bars and restaurants there is typically always a good place to eat and drink before and after a show. Drinks here are fairly reasonable and staff all seem to do what they are doing… and there seems to also be plenty of them.
I always enjoy watching bands at Dingwalls and I can’t wait for the opportunity to return here soon.

I love going to this place, it’s great on a Saturday afternoon to sit out in the balcony looking over the Canal on a sunny afternoon, I always have a great time there, the place is great, the only problem I find is that it does get a bit too crowded at times, but apart from that it’s a lovely place.

Always feels special being in one of London’s landmark venues. Great sound, great views of the artists and I’ve never been to a live show that didn’t feel special. Didn’t have to queue for the loos, bar prices were reasonable and importantly the vibe was friendly.
Right in Camden Lock, too. Great location.

this is a sweet venue. the way its laid out means that even for semi-​short arses like me, you can mostly always see the band. the sound was pretty good, although the lighting was a bit erratic, and it’s a nice intimate venue.
the toilets are pretty wrank but there are loads of them which is always appreciated at gigs. the bar is long and well staffed and drinks are totally reasonably priced for a gig venue.
i look forward to seeing more gigs here soon!

Dingwalls gets my vote for one of the best intimate gig venues in London. You get a really good mix of up and coming bands and the odd superstar playing a random little warm up show.
You’ve got to be quick off the mark with the tickets usually but if you haven’t got your finger on the pulse then you’ve probably never heard of Dingwalls anyway right?
Oh and don’t turn up expecting live music every night — there are often comedy nights and regular old club nights in there too. Makes it a little more interesting in my book!

Back to being 16 again, picture this: brillopad hair pre-​GHDs, braces and the wrong shade of blush. Standing in line for a comedy gig, the bill is full of performers you don’t know about but pretend to (pre-​easily searchable Google terms) and you are just gagging for a bottle of Hooch. You’re approaching the front of the queue, give the bouncer a flash of silver teeth and whip out that poorly laminated fake ID.
Outcome: Begging, faux-​crying and protestations of university credentials resulting in a walk of shame amongst your sniggering peers. Well done Dingwalls bouncers, you made this teen look like a right dingbat many moons ago :-)

Dingwalls has a curious layout with various teers of different heights descending from the door to the stage. This layout means that there are more places where you can see what’s going on than in other similarly sized venues, but it can cut up the atmosphere a bit with each section having its own ambience. I saw The Islands here a few weeks ago, and the sound engineer didn’t cope very well with the wildly varying instrumentation each of them was playing or swapping between, but by the end of the set it was pretty good.

If I don’t see live music regularly, the terrorists win. Therefore, it was my number one priority to check out some gigs as soon as I arrived in London. Dingwall’s certainly wasn’t the first venue I’ve ever been to in London, but it was the last place Be Your Own Pet ever played live. BYOP are (correction: WERE) a pretty rad band from the USA who liked to have a ridiculously fun time on stage and they shall be greatly missed (by me). This isn’t a review of the band, however. The venue was fantastic! I’ve seen my fair share of stages, and Dingwall’s certainly ranks high on my list of faves. Small enough to hear and see the band from the back of the room, prices at the bar didn’t knock me over, and in cool space near the Camden Lock. I would definitely like to check out other gigs here in the future.

Dingwalls (sometimes also called Lock 17) is a bar venue that does both comedy and music nights. It’s well-​suited for both since it has several stepped levels of floor in front of the stage, ensuring decent views for a large area.
Entry is through one of the middle courtyards in Camden market. The bar is at the back with a large floor space in front of it, then the descending levels, some with tables, and with plenty of rails to lean on at the front of each.
Musical acts that come through are typically uni-​student favourites like Metric and Buck 65.

Dingwalls ahs been at the cutting edge of the live music scene for over 30 years. Anybody who is famous be it a musician or an artist has played there some time. At present they have a lot of good gigs –worth checking out!