Nice and Sleazy’s, Sauchiehall Street, G2 3LG

Capacity: 70

Satirically but fittingly named, Nice and Sleazy’s is definitely towards the sticky floored end of the city’s venues. Destinctly no frills inside with grungy décor which would probably make Changing Rooms presenters weep in despair, it boasts what the late John Peel described as one the best bar juke boxes in Britain. Basically a hang out for student and rock/alt types, downstairs a tiny basement venue provides the stage for a plethora of live bands as well as an established open mic night on Mondays. Not a bad venue, but its size means that you’d better take ear plugs to avoid irreversible damage to your lug holes.     

(3/5)

Barrowlands, Gallowgate, G4 0TT

Capacity: 1,900

The Barrowlands is the daddy of indie/rock music venues, not just in Glasgow but all over the world. It’s consistently voted as best gig venue in Britain and bands rave about playing there. There’s more than a hint of history surrounding the venue. Located next to the famous Barras market, it was originally built as a dance hall for vendors. Opened in 1934, it for years played cupid for many a Glaswegian couple. Gutted by fire in 1958, it was rebuilt and opened again in 1960, with the ‘Barrowlands Ballroom’ neon sign fitted to the façade which is now an established Glasgow icon. 

Barrowlands has been at the forefront of the city’s music scene for years, but it’s difficult to pinpoint entirely why. Not much has changed since the ballroom days with the décor on the definite no frills side – essentially a level wooden floor and the stage, with the toilets especially poor. There’s a bar both next to the stage and down the stairs from the main venue, but both, like much of the venue, have an air of neglect. The acoustics are magnificent though and the size of the venue means that the balance between crowd and band is perfect. The Glasgow crowd is renowned for supporting bands to the hilt and true to form, normally the atmosphere at a Barras gig is nothing short of astonishing. This writer has experienced numerous Barras gigs so electric that they could be use to power the national grid.

The Barras has taken a hit from the Academy in the last two years and could do with a lick of paint, but it’s still the Glasgow venue bands aspire to playing. 

(4½/5)

Glasgow Academy, Eglington Street, G5 9NT

Capacity: 2,500

The Academy is Glasgow’s newest and increasingly best venue. A former cinema, it was lovingly restored and opened in 2003 with a performance by veterans Deacon Blue. Inside the décor is bright and appealing, with the art deco features of the former cinema retained, including rather neat balconies which overlook the stage. Cleverly, unlike Barrowlands, the floor slopes down towards the stage so that if you’re at the back you can still see the band. Upstairs there are seats which offer a pretty decent view of the stage if you don’t want to stand. There’s a decent bar (cleverly placed at the back) downstairs and a very tasteful one upstairs too, together with a VIP lounge. The toilets aren’t the best, but they still put Barrowlands to shame.

The venue is marred by occasional sound problems but has stolen a march on the Barrowlands since opening, with a number of bands seeking to play here to take advantage of the slightly larger capacity. It’s a mainly indie/rock venue, but a number of dance gigs are held too, including a monthly club night, and it’s a venue for Glasgow’s annual Comedy Festival in April. It might be a young pretender to the Barras crown, but the larger capacity and more salubrious surroundings means that it’s becoming the city’s favourite. 

(4½/5)

Clyde Auditorium ('The Armadillo'), Finnieston, G3 8YW

Capacity: 3,000

The Clyde Auditorium, known as 'the Armadillo' by locals due to its striking architecture, is part of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) and is located next to the River Clyde. It’s all seated inside and rather futuristic looking, with half of the inside architecture looking incomplete. The venue generally plays host to more middle of the road artists like Norah Jones and as you would expect is clean, calming and tastefully decorated. In fact, a gig here almost feels like pulling on your favourite jumper. Again it’s marred occasionally by problems with sound and the size of the venue, and the fact that it’s all seated, means that a decent atmosphere is quite difficult to come by. Not by any means the worst, but there are better venues in the city.   

(3/5)

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Killermont Street/Buchanan Street
Capacity:  2,500

The Concert Hall is an imposing sandstone building with facades down to both Buchanan Street, one the main shopping streets in the city, and Killermont Street.  It’s more famous for classical concerts and the annual Celtic Connections festival in January, but occasionally rock/pop artists such as Ben Folds and Neil Finn stray into its cosy environs. It’s as tastefully decorated as the Armadillo but has the advantage of having both a standing and a seating area. Standing is fine, but be prepared for nosebleeds with the seats – if you’re right at the back vertigo can set in, if you haven’t already strained your eyes trying to find the band on stage. Acoustically it’s pretty excellent, and although the crowd is generally more restrained than those of the Academy and the Barrowlands, an atmosphere isn’t difficult to come by. 

(3½/5)

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), Finnieston, G3 8YW

Capacity:  4,000 - 10,000

The SECC is a stone’s throw from the Armadillo and is Glasgow’s enormodome venue for stadium bands. Known as the Big Red Shed by locals, it’s probably the worst of the venues in the city.  It’s made up of 5 main halls, with capacity between 4,000 and 10,000. Given the size of the various halls, which play host to bands, conferences and recently the rather terrifying spectacle of Noddy: Live, bands who play here have to be big - the likes Radiohead and Coldplay have played here in the past. The halls have space for standing and sitting, but if you’re standing you feel dwarfed by the size of the hall, and if you’re seated, the stage is so far away you’d need binoculars to see.  The acoustics are awful and given the size of the venue an atmosphere at an SECC gig is almost as rare as a sighting of Lord Lucan. The worst of the bunch.

(2/5)