Advantages: Fantastic intimate venue
Disadvantages: Queues and ticket touts

...I came across this venue whilst surfing the net for gigs and I am so glad I happened upon it. I love looking thro different catagories on ebay (internet auction site) and Im a huge fan of Linkin Park - with this in mind I happened to find that they were playing at the Brixton Academy on March 5th 2003. Funny old thing tickets had been sold out almost as soon as they went on sale which was why they were doing a brisk business on Ebay. I decided to have a bit of a research day before buying the tickets, just in case. I quite easily located the Brixton academy site, which gave very easy, concise gig information and so much more. The Venue Built towards the end of the 1920s as a movie theatre and to this day still has the look of a old fashioned theatre. On catching my first sight of the academy, not a place to be forgotten. It boasts... Read review

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Advantages: small and intimate place to see your fav bands
Disadvantages: carling own it so they force their beer on you

...Brixton Academy is the one of the best places to see bands.It offers a truly authentic atmosphere to seeing a band perform live. I've seen two bands perform there and each time I felt it was a really great place to see them. The two groups I saw were two completely different styles of rock, the first was Travis- a fairly mellow band- and the second The Darkness - who rocked so hard I swear the walls were vibrating! i think the reasons I enjoyed myself at these gigs were not only because the bands were great, but because the venue was great. here is a list of points which I think make Brixton a great place to see a band- 1) Its small, so you can actually see the band on stage and not watch them on a screen a million miles away, but not too small you cant get in comfortably. 2) It has seating thats comfy and with a brilliant view. 3... Read review

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Advantages: nice venue, the sound is always good
Disadvantages: upstairs!

...The Brixton Academy is a great place to go if you fancy going to a concert. It has a good atmosphere and the building itself is charming and old. I have gone there to see a variety of rock bands (Therapy?, Smashing Pumpkins, Sisters of Mercy, Rage against the Machine) as well as an indie band (Levellers twice), Nick Cave and the industrial band Ministry. The sound quality was always good and downstairs there are several sheltered places with very good views in case you’re as short as me and/or don’t like getting knocked about too much. There are two floors, downstairs is standing room only and upstairs is seating only. ‘Upstairs’ is actually quite high up, it is also steep, and if you suffer from vertigo I would not recommend you went to the Academy if a ticket upstairs is all you can get. The area... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent Sound, Easy To Get To
Disadvantages: Security Doesn't Check You For Anything Illegal Which May Be Bad

...I have been to Brixton Academy twice last month and I have only ever been there twice in my whole life. At first, I wasn’t particularly happy about going all the way to Brixton when I found out that my favourite bands were going to play there because Wembley Arena and the London Astoria were much closer to my home. The Brixton Academy is a much smaller venue than say Wembley Arena or the now closed down London Arena which can hold around 8,000 people in contrast to the Brixton Academy, which can hold about 4,000 people. Having a smaller venue is much better as it makes you feel closer to the stage for some reason. The only bad thing is that the tickets are more likely to sell out quicker! On the two occasions I went to Brixton Academy, the first time which was to see The Deftones play, I was standing in the stalls. I tried to make my... Read review

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Advantages: Great sound quality, close to public transport clean and safe.
Disadvantages: In a rough area of london, when seated a barrier clouds view, food and drinks cost.

...ABOUT THE VENUE: Brixton academy is an award winning ex theatre venue that lies in the borough centre of Brixton. However that might make some people frown straight away, Brixton is hardly known to be the friendliest place. There is a tube station around 200 yards from the cademy so it isnt a particuarly long walk and there are plenty of places for you to be picked up/dropped off via car. The Academy lies just off the main brixton road(the A23) and on a road named stockwell road (See map below in pictures). It has good connections with public transport and both an underground and overground station are very close and bus stops are also close, the Tube is about 200 yards away, the bus stops and overground are closer. Unless you are getting dropped off and picked up it is best not go by car there isn't parking spaces at the venue... Read review

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Advantages: Fairly good assortment of bands, easy access
Disadvantages: shocking sound system - absolutely terrible. part of carling's 'evil empire'

...hours or even minutes of going on sale. This leads to the inevitable touts, who can be quite pushy. It also keeps reasonably cool. The other major problem is that it's one of the victims of carling's quest for a monopoly on live music. not content with their mean fiddler tie-ins at reading etc, they own a series of academies around the country, and they've contrived to make most of them seem pretty soulless. This is exacerbated at brixton by the enticing carpet of gum and dried beer, and the fact that it's almost impossible to drink anything except the dreaded watery carling. Which is sold at steep prices. In my opinion, a new 3-5000 capacity venue is needed in London. Meanwhile the academy is tolerable, but no better. Secon... Read review

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Advantages: 3000 capacity but still feels like a smaller venue, sloping floors = good views
Disadvantages: Beer runs down a sloping floor - remember this before you sit down

...From Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine in 1992 to Weezer in 2002, the Brixton Academy has given me the many of the best gigs that I have seen. For a venue that holds approx. 3000 people the Academy has an intimate feel to it that Wembley and London Arenas can only dream about. You go into the building underneath a fantastic green dome that looks like something straight out of the 1930s. The bands name is usually displayed on a 1950s Happy Days style sign. Inside the auditorium you could be forgiven for thinking that you've walked into the set of a Shakespeare play. The ceiling is so high and black that it looks more like the night sky. The towers and balconies loo like something out of Romeo and Juliet. I've always assumed that the building is an old cinema as the lower floor slopes down to the stage. This makes for good views from... Read review

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Advantages: Great music, atmosphere
Disadvantages: Shame about Jackie

...I went to see The Beautiful South live at Brixton Academy last week and they were absolutely fantastic. I’ve always liked their music but now I’m a fan! We got a message a few days before to say that Jackie had left the band but the tour was going ahead as planned so I was curious as to how they were going to replace her at such short notice. As it happened, they replaced her with a male vocalist, who was brilliant, although it made songs like Perfect 10 a bit difficult - but great comedy value. They played older songs, including ‘Song for Whoever’ as well as the more recent stuff and there was a wide range of different people of all