The Forum

I went to see The Roots at The Forum this weekend and although most of my enjoyment was down to them being an incredible band, some of it had to do with the venue, which I rate highly.

As a sprightly, young music fan, I used to get standing tickets for every concert because I wanted to be at the front, hugging the speaker and as close as possible to whoever was on stage. Now at the ripe old age of 24, I may be getting a bit old for this kind of behaviour and so for the first time ever, opted for seated balcony tickets.

When we arrived and moved through the fast moving queue I started to worry that buying seats meant that you had to sit in them; I just wanted to be on the balcony for a better view. My fears turned out to be unfounded; the seating is comprised of tiered, cushioned benches that curve around the balcony. It was unreserved too so even though we arrived late, we still managed to squeeze in with another friend at the front.

There are several bars at The Forum, so the queues for drinks were nothing like what I've seen in other large music venues and they are inside the auditorium so getting a beer doesn't mean missing half the gig. It's very grand inside with a huge chandelier hanging from the high ceiling and gold detailing on every available surface. The only complaint about this venue is the sound wasn't particularly good, especially after the gig, the DJ set was so quiet it sounded as though the speakers were in a different room.

I came to see Manu Chao here last night, which was an amazing concert with an electric atmosphere. Everyone was jumping up and about for most of the evening. It was sold out, but still not terribly crowded. A pint of beer was decent at 3.20 pounds, not extortionate but you're not allowed re-entry. Might as well have a drink before.

It was not too small and not too big, perfect for an intimate concert. Its divided into two levels with lots of chairs upstairs, where you can sit with a great view of the stage. The cloakroom was terribly crowded at the end of the night, but the manager and security team managed the crowd really well (mini London mob... don't we know them well). Awesome concert, decent venue.

No big complaints about The Forum

Security - friendly and efficient. Line to get in and have a looksie in bags went quickly and without gruffness/rudeness.

Bag check - available but didn't use it.

View - We got in a bit late so were stuck at the back. There's a raised up back area with a metal rail across - you want to be right behind that rail if you want a decent view without being up front. Stage is a pretty good size and as a converted movie theatre, it is suited as a music venue (no issues with labyrnthian layout or multiple rooms to get stuck in without a view of the stage)

Bar - One in the very back which closed when the headline act went on. Another bigger bar along the side seemed the only other option on ground floor. A pain to get to but service was fast. Prices on par with music venues in London

Sound - Pretty good but not amazing. Some vocals were completely lost :/ But everything else sounded phenomenal.

George Clinton with his signature colourful dreadlocks and Parliament Funkadelic have been making music since the 1970's.


They have covered most types of music from Funk, to Rock and Roll and even a little Jazz.


Their only UK date was in North London's HMV Forum in Kentish Town.


The Forum was originally built as an art deco cinema in 1934 by Herbert Yapp, it was launched with a grand opening ceremony on 17th December 1934.


The venue was taken over in 1993 by The Mean Fiddler Music Group and was returned to its original name the London Forum. It was also granted Grade II Listed building status.


I was impressed with the space and sound that the forum had to offer, perfect a for sitting or having a little dance. Even though it was nearly full, it didn't feel cramped or over crowded.


Along with the Jazz Cafe in Camden Town, the HMV Forum in Kentish Town is a great little venue to see your favourite music legend come to life.


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A grand night out with Graham Parker and the Rumour. A most welcome blast from the past. The Forum was a good choice of venue ... enough room to strut our stuff, enough red wine to keep us dancing and a loud but not deafening sound system. We would definitely come back another time.

The only reason The Forum gets four stars instead of five is because of its location. KENTISH TOWN? That's practically Australia. Waaaaay on the other side of town for me, so for purely selfish reasons I have to dock it one star.

That being said, this is one of the better venues I've been to. GREAT sound, and the perfect sized floor to dance a little and feel the crowd's energy. I haven't seen the upstairs so I can't judge it, but my friend said it was pretty rubbish. I'll be back for another gig in a few weeks where I'm sitting upstairs, so look out for that review update! Get excited!

I love that most venues in London are really just converted old theatres. Everything appears grand... the walls and ceiling, the balcony, the acoustics. And then they throw some rockstars on stage and crank the amps up to 11 and all of a sudden you forget where you are and get lost in the music. That's the best kind of venue.

Also, the floors aren't sticky. WIN!

Now called HMV Forum, I went here last night to see Sigur Rós' vocalist (Jónsi) in his solo effort. Truly the most stunning performance I've ever seen in my life, I'll have to talk about the experience more on my blog. But for the time, being, back to the venue.

Easy to find, it's just over the road from Kentish Town tube and handily location next to a pub for pre-concert drinks. Good job too, as the bars don't accept cards - BUT HAVE NO SIGNS ANYWHERE TO SAY SO.

Sorry, but that irritates me beyond belief. It's probably for the best though, as at £4.20 (?!) for a bottle of Gaymers - that could have been very expensive. I normally don't whine at high prices in venues, but honestly, that's pushing it a bit.

We sat upstairs, which pleased me because the *outstanding* visuals were best viewed from up top. Plus, it got unbearably hot about 15 minutes from the end. I can only imagine how bad it got down in the pit.

I'll now always hold a special place in my heart for this place, but only because of Jónsi. However, I'd also definitely go back :)

I saw The Shins here and was really pleased with several aspects of the venue!

Things I always worry about when I go to music venues:
-The pain of standing the whole time.
-The intense heat.
-Bathroom access.
-Ease of experience/convenience.

HMV forum pretty much knocked it out of the park in all of these respects! We got the unreserved seating tickets on the top level and easily got to sit in the closest section. We decided to sit against the wall of that section near the middle so we were jazzed to be able to lean back while we chilled (instead of leaning forward the whole time). Many people were forced to stand and could not sit in our section because the show was sold out and there was no space for them, but that only started to become a problem when the main act about started.

When we got there which was at 7 PM (as doors opened), we grabbed seats with ease and located both the bathrooms and the bar which were incredibly convenient. The toilets are just up the stairs easily accessible from anyone's seat so no one has to leave to the concourse or anything. The bar was EMPTY in the beginning so that's the best time to grab drinks, it only took a couple minutes and the bartenders are really friendly people.

The seats themselves a little awkward, it's like they were designed for people with short legs so your body crunches up in a weird way, but we got over it. The heat issue was a big concern for me because I hate how hot it gets at shows, but they had some oscillating air conditioning thing going on that successfully kept me cool. Towards the very end it did get hot, but getting some air from the fan every 5 min kept me content.

The convenience factor was also a thumbs up as the forum sits only yards away from the Kentish Town tube stop. Only took about 15 minutes from us to get there from Great Portland.

So yeah, I'd definitely see another show here! Great venue!

The nitty gritty:

Bottom standing floor isn't sloped, but semi-tiered so it's really not all bad. I've been on the main floor for such illustrious events as Church (which now moved south of the river) and always had a good time.

Balcony: You'll actually get a decent view from just about every level of the upstairs, but be warned, the sound is a little off so it won't realllllly be loud enough if you're all the way up top and you'll 'just' miss out on the full effect of the gig vibe. There is a perk to standing up by the top bar though, and that's that you can actually dance... the only place you can do so upstairs...because if you try to dance near the seated bit in the balcony, staff will go running down to you and promptly stop any fun you may be trying to brew up. It's a bit tricky up there....my tip is to just aim for standing tickets downstairs if you don't mind being in the masses, because upstairs will be all sorts of hit and miss. Unless you hate dancing, then it's the perfect place to be....but why are you leaving the house if that's your thing?

It is kind of in the middle of nowhere if you don't live north-ish, and there's kind of a lack of stuff to do pre-and-post gig in the area... but... you could do worse... it'd be a 4 star experience downstairs, 3 stars upstairs, but I'm leaning down to 3 for my overall because of the variation range. You just can't win these days, can you?

I know that The Forum is a historic venue and I should have tons of respect for my elders and where I came from and blah blah blah, but the place just didn't knock my socks off.

I split my time between the floor and the balcony and the experience was markedly different. The acoustics on the floor were good, if not great, and the energy was palpable - I felt like I was at a rock show (which is good...because I was). Upstairs, however, I felt like I watching the same show through a Youtube simulcast. It's a large space with a high ceiling, so I think more speakers are in order. I've seen more audio equipment in some cars than The Forum packed last night.

The angle of the lights upstairs was rather annoying as well. Perhaps better placement of the strobes and floods would have prevented all of us from losing our memories a la Men In Black (http://is.gd/P20k).

So basically it was too quiet and too bright. I guess I'm 50% of the way to being a curmudgeon and I'm OK with that. Damn kids with their baggy pants and their rap music and their sliced bread!