The Fleece

Tiny little venue within close proximity of Bristol Temple Meads station. Located down what is essentially an alley, this place can pack in a maximum of 420 people without it feeling like you could suffocate at any moment. They host a range of gigs of varying genres as well as metal club nights.
The toilets are plentiful with lots of large mirrors, so multiple people can touch up their hair/​make-​up at the same time. The sound quality is very hit and miss, dependent on the style of music you’re there to see. The TV screen never stops advertising other shows while gigs are taking place, which can be a little distracting. The drinks are average in price, but you will get a better deal by sneaking out and going to the pub next door.
Although it is deceptively small, there is a huge pocket of space to the left of the stage that no one ever seems to occupy, so if you’re prepared to elbow your way to this spot you’ll have a good view for the bands!

A treasured place for me. There really aren’t many rock venues quite like this one in Bristol. It has the darkened grungy feel that you’d hope for with a great sound system. The bass really does shake your body! Great acts are here often and you’ll certainly find yourself listening to music that you’ve never heard of but will chase afterward. The only downfall to this place is that the cloakroom never seems to be open. Oh well, not a huge issue. Cheers guys

Great music venue. The owner is spending time and money getting this place in order. Shame about the pillars that can get in the way and the long walk from the dressing rooms to the stage via the bar, but hey that’s rock’n’roll

The Fleece has hosted gigs by the likes of Oasis, Radiohead, Muse, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse, Jeff Buckley and the Killers. But it’s not all crap like that. Off the top of my head I can list seeing the likes of the Exploited, the Lunachicks, the Donnas, Eddie and the Hotrods, Girlschool, 999, the Vibrators, the Lurkers, Frank Sidebotham, Napalm Death and many many other excellent bands here I’ve been coming since the 80s! Having said that, the place had rather sunk into the doldrums with loads of substandard local bands and tribute acts until a couple of years ago, when it was suddenly galvanised back into action by new management in the form of the Blue Aeroplanes organisation. Punk fans like me are particuarly well served with a regular Saturday night slot, but there’s all kinds of other stuff too, with smaller bands on the way up still able to get in on the weekdays. On the downside to my way of thinking the place suffers from its almost total lack of anywhere to sit down, unless you go outside with the tobacco addicts. It’s cramped and crowded if there’s a big band on, and it can be a fight to get to the (fairly foul) bogs. The décor is still chiefly that left over from when the place was the Fleece and Firkin, when it had its own brewery in the back, but perhaps a proper makeover isn’t possible in view of the obvious great age of the building.

Great place for live bands, although it gets a bit packed. We got a good spot near the bar at the front, BUT… trying to Wade through the crowd to get to the loo was a bit difficult.
Always a good atmosphere here. I wish I could go more. I think you must know the bands your going to see first.
Doreen Doreen are highly recommend.

This is an amazing rock venue with the best atmosphere you will find at any gig in Bristol. The Fleece is a huge part of Bristol’s (music related) history; my friend actually saw Nirvana here and stood behind PJ Harvey at the bar, he also told her to move her stupid hat because it was blocking his view.
The Fleece has really high ceilings and pillars, get’s appropriately rowdy and you won’t find one of those ‘No Crowd Surfing’ signs that ‘the man’ seems to have put up in clubs all over town (02). This is a proper venue for people who love music and hate being ripped off to see it.
Just standing at the bar looking at all the old posters of bands that have played here, you wish you were at every single one of those gigs. I saw Eighties Matchbox B-​Line Disaster and got to do some proper moshing and crowd surfing without some inbred bouncer coming over and telling everyone to calm down for no good reason.
The bar is reassuringly cheap! It’s so nice to know that after paying £8 for two tiny, horrible vodka and cokes in a certain venue that will remain nameless (02…oops) that there are still venues left that care more about the music and their customers than just turning a stupidly high profit.

An impressive looking building, tucked away in the backstreets of Redcliffe is not only a pub, but a music venue. The Fleece doesn’t tend to pull in big names, but its a great place to go to hear up and coming bands. It’s a bit of studenty joint, so if you’re looking for something a bit more interesting I’d head over to The Louisiana.
But before you do, be sure to check out their range of ciders include Westons Organic and Thatcher’s which is my absolute favourite.

The Fleece and Firkin is a medium sized music venue just off the main drag of the town centre (over the Bristol bridge). They have the odd big act here, such as Athlete who recently played, but in general they take on local, tribute, and many up and coming acts. It’s a good size venue, a little bit similar to the Fiddlers in Bedminster, but on a smaller scale and generally better, in my opinion.
It’s always good when there’s a proper stage, which the Fleece ticks the box for, with a high quality sound rig. The ticket prices depend largely on the type of act playing, but can range from anywhere between £4 to just over a tenner, so it’s a good place to see bands close up while they’re still at a mid level.
It doubles up as a pub, and is open all day serving food and drinks, but expect to see it at its best on one of the gig nights. Check their website for listings.

This is another live music pub in the centre of Bristol and for a change it’s actually reasonably sized with a stage area elevated off the ground enough so you’re able to see the bands playing from virtually anywhere.
If you go during the week at lunch as I often did, it feels like a big empty cavernous room. You sort of feel like you’re not supposed to be in there as it is purely geared towards the live music events on the weekends. But this is by no means a bad thing because it’s actually pretty cheap and the food isn’t too bad. I often went there for lunch for these very reasons. Plus, because it was always dead during the weekday, there was never any danger of me not receiving my lunch order before I had to get back to the office.
On occasion you might find the line up not quite as strong as say «The Louisiana», but for the most part it’s a very good pub for live music and is only a 5 minute walk to Temple Meads if you’re from out of town.

Just over the Bristol Bridge from town, The Fleece is a small pub and music venue mostly catering to the rock scene. The floor is paved with flag stones, convenient if you spill your drink! Probably easier to keep in a decent state with the dancing and moshing that goes on here too. It’s on the circuit for small bands trying to get a break. That means the odd act that will be topping the charts in a few years time and not a few bands that definitely won’t
It’s a good space for a band to play, perhaps not quiet enough for singer songwriter type acts. The drinks on offer here aren’t too badly priced (and a lot cheaper than the O2 academy, which also has a very dire range on offer, thanks to the corporate sponsorship). Things tend to be a bit calmer here too. Although this might just be because it’s not such a big place. A gig here generally gets going towards the end, and their will be the risk of crowddivers falling on you, but I’ve never been there when things get out of control. If you like live music have a look for a band you know (or a tribute to them) and get a ticket for a good night.

One of Bristol’s oldest music venues, this intimate pub is a bit of a halfway house where you can see the wannabes on their way up and the never quite weres coming back down the other side. If you know your stuff you can catch some really big pre-​fame names (I saw Radiohead for £3.50 many, many years ago, though once turned down the chance to see some new band called ‘Oasis’ in favour of watching the footie in a pub down the road).
Weekends are dominated by tribute nights, which can be fun if you get the right one, while up-​and-​coming acts vie for your attention during the week, when there are also cheap drinks offers early in the night. Be warned: when stage diving keep an eye on the pillars as a mate of mine almost knocked himself out at a Moonflowers gig in the early 90s…

The Fleece used to have a bursting calendar full of up and coming bands. It’s one of Bristol’s more intimate gig venues and provides a dark and inviting setting for watching live music. Nowadays, the listings feature a lot of tribute fans but keep your eyes peeled as the odd surprise pops up, such as Idlewild and Los Campesinos. As long as you don’t get stuck behind a massive pillar, it is fantastically easy to see the stage from wherever you are in the venue. You may even see the artists themselves manning their own merchandise stall. Ticket prices are usually cheaper than other gigs in the city too.
The bar serves a good range of drinks, including Westons Organic Cider. It’s also next door to The Severn Stars, which is great for a pre-​gig drink. And look out for the free music nights featuring local bands.

I play in a band and have played here at ‘The Fleece’ (as it’s known) a few times. The sound system is really up to scratch, and the lighting is also great. Music can be found here most nights of the week, with a free upcoming local bands night on a Monday where you can hear all sorts of genres.
The pub itself is rather sparce, centred around the large stage with the bar down one side. The drinks are reasonably priced and they also do a great lunch during the week which is of reasonable quality and good value.
If you want to hear an eclectic range of music in the Bristol area, head here for a good night out.

This is a good mid-​sized space to see bands. The sound and light systems are of good quality, the staff friendly and the stage high enough off the ground to see the bands even if you are in the back.
There is minimal seating along the back and one side, the bar is quite long and has reasonably priced drinks.
They have a mixture of local bands, cover bands and well-​known names from the UK and further afield. Not far from Temple Meads and bus services, and parking on the street is fairly easy to find.

Another really good Bristol music venue is the Fleece and Firkin. The stage is a little bizzare but in general the sound is very good here and you get a lot of good up-​and-​coming bands play here along with a few dodgy cover bands! There is also a good pub next door.

This is a great pub with a brilliant atmosphere. Often holds gigs and live music. Drinks are fairly cheap great to meet at the weekends with mates. Also offers food all is reasonably priced and the food I have eaten there has always been fresh, hot and delicious! Definitely worth a try.

Great live music venue! Small and intimate in feel with good acoustics and reasonable priced drinks. It attracts some excellent bands and quite big names.
Good location — only a ten minute walk from Temple meads so perfect for getting home after a gig.
One of my favourite venues in Bristol!

The Fleece is one of the smaller live music venues that Bristol seems to excel in. Acts range from up-​and-​coming names to local tribute and covers bands. The beer is generally quite poor, and the sound quality can vary from performance-​to-​performance, but on a good night the atmosphere is second-​to-​none.

I know that the Fleece and Firkin is supposed to be a bar/​nightclub as well as a music venue, but I would only recommend going for the live music. It’s a really great music venue– quite small and intimate but with enough room to pack in a fair crowd in. The acoustics are really good especially with the funky, local music that so often appears in here. The drinks are pricey– but then this is Bristol, so it’s to be expected.

I think I must be getting old, because every time I go to the fleece it takes me a while to get over the fact that my organs are vibrating and my eyes are twitching involuntarily at every drumbeat. Thankfully this goes away after a while.
The thing I like about the fleece is that it supports young MTV2 type bands. Having said that though I have seen a few good bands here, so don’t worry about too much teen angst assaulting your eardrums!
This is not a place to go to if you want a quiet drink; it looks like a brick marquee, and feels a bit like the town hall social club that you might have hung out in when you were at secondary school.