O2 Academy

A small fervent auditorium to enjoy the performance of the local and international music artists. Good acoustics, but the drinks are expensive to say the least. Good idea to check the events and to spend a night there.

The Carling Academy is host to a variety of music acts all through the year, suiting all age ranges and music preferences. Its proximity to Newcastle Central Station gives the venue easy access to all. Newcastle’s infamous nightlife is just on the doorstep, meaning that after a gig a night on the town is more than easy enough to have.

The academy is personally, my favourite place to see big bands live. It gets all the good names in and once your inside the atmosphere tends to be good, although I’ve had a few experiences with people, who can only be described as oxygen thieves, before. The door staff are pretty OTT but aslong as your not hammered, you should be ok. The drinks are pretty expensive, so look out for the special offers. All in all though, had a great night every time I’ve been there!

You’ve gotta love the Academy. The place is huge and always packed, entry fee’s aren’t extortionate and if you don’t mind drinking Carling you can get yourself a pint of the stuff for under 2 quid.
They get plenty of bands in, there’s bound to be something you like at some point or another, and if there’s no band playing it’ll be some sort of night on with pretty good music and a plenty people kicking about. Plenty of students.
Fights and trouble are few and far between, I can’t recall a single fight I’ve seen there.
The biggest problem the place has is the street you have to queue on is unbelievably windy, and when you’re standing on a cold night time seems to stand still.

The Carling Academy is a fairly new and upcoming music venue in the heart of Newcastle City Centre. It plays host to a variety of bands including a lot of new artists or alternative/​indie acts. The venue is becoming increasingly popular, playing host to some big name acts, unfortunately this is beginning to reflect in the ticket prices. This used to be the cheaper of the music venues but is now fast becoming as pricey as the Arena. It seems to take an age for the queue to get in to move but once inside it is a pretty good venue. It has a large stage area and standing area with seated areas on some of the balconys. The bars are to the side of the room and the staff are quite friendly. This place seems to be a big hit with students.

The Carling Academy is a large music venue in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. Just a few minutes walk away from Monument metro station. There is a large room downstairs which has a seating balcony. This room has numerous large bars in it which are not too expensive. There is then a room upstairs which plays venue to the smaller acts. There is also two club nights on weekly ‘revolution’ on a Friday and ‘bullet-​proof’ on a Saturday, both are enjoyable depending on your music tastes. Along with the two universities the Carling makes a great place to see smaller bands.

The Carling Academy is a relatively new venue for music but it gets the majority of the touring alternative acts which is excellent for the people of Newcastle. Not only does it have a gig almost every night it also has two popular alternative nights Bulletproof on a Saturday and Revolution on a Friday. Both are popular with students as they are not very expensive and offer good deals on drinks. They have a cloak room and two stages, main stage and the smaller stage upstairs for smaller acts. Their toilets are always nice and clean.

probably the best gig venue in newcastle. normally has all the great up and coming indie bands on in the downstairs academy and good little known acts in academy 2 though academy 2 is very small. the drinks can be a bit watered down but their not too pricey for a gig venue. i go very often and it comes highly recommended by me.

The Carling Academy is possibly the worst venue I’ve ever been too, ever, and I’ve been to some dives. Outrageously expensive drinks (never mind the price of tickets!) served in flimsy plastic cups, excessively enthusiastic door staff that make you feel like a criminal the moment you walk in. Top this off with a devastatingly tinny/​trebly ear shredding sound that their sound tech (if they even have one) deserves to be flogged for. In short, do yourself a favour and go anywhere (really anywhere at all) than here. I’m not even sure if the other 2 reviewers have ever even been to the venue their reviews are so far off the mark.

great gig venue, drink prices not too bad either especially if you stick around after for the club nights the drink promo’s are great! id deffo recomend revolution night,
ticket prices seem to be getting pricier and pricier though! tickets can cost up to £35 these days!

Marvellous sound and excellent drinks prices. Only thing I would say is they should limit tickets to 2 per customer as sometimes you have to fork out to touts on the night. This place is so good we’re thinking of relocating our shop opposite it!
thriftybeatnik co uk
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Was very impressed when I came here. After visiting the arena a few times, I was unsure as of what to expect but the academy was brilliant. It’s a great venue and Scouting For Girls were fab. My only faults would be that the carpet had just been cleaned and it was very sticky and maybe this could have been arranged around gig nights. The seating area offers a great view but I think next time around, I’ll opt for standing. The prices are very reasonable, I just wish there were more Friday and Saturday shows with great bands.

This is a great venue slap bang in the middle of Newcastle. It is very clode to the bus and train station making it easily accessible. In the main stage area there is a standing and a seating area meaning that there is something for everyone — whether you like to be in the middle of the action of watching from above. In my opinion, the standing area is superb because the earlier you arrive for your gig the closer you get to the stage and the better view you get (see my Natalie Imbruglia pics!)

You don’t have to be stereotypically indie to come here — infact, far from it! The Academy is divided into Stage One and Stage Two, with the former being the main dancefloor on club nights and large enough to play host to some big acts: I’ve seen Mika here, the Shambles etc — with the room PACKED. It has two bars on two different levels and they are very well stocked! Up the grand staircase (alright, grand for an Academy anyway) is the more intimate Stage Two. This also has a bar, but could hold possibly only one hundred people or so: more seats, and the place to go if you actually want to have a conversation or see a smaller, just-​starting-​out band. Prices are cheap here on gig nights and Friday night’s more hard rock ‘Revolution’ club night, but they do rise on the popular Saturday night Bulletproof. Without sounding like a cheeseball, this is the place to be seen if you want to crazily dance around to some indie anthems. Strict on ID but still with a student crowd and a round-​the-​block queue from 10.30pm-11.30pm on a Saturday, I would DEFINITELY recommend trying out BP if you like that kind of thing!

This has to be the best venue for bands of all genres, audiences of all sizes and club nights to accomodate the indie masses. Bands such as Placebo to The Baby Shambles and more recently, Pedulum have played sold out gigs. There are two weekly club nights here. Revolution and W.A.P is held on Friday night. The fact that the drinks are pretty cheap and a pint of Carling is £1.80 attracts mostly student types. A band usually plays in room two and the music is pretty poor. Friday is Rock and Indie night then on Saturdays, Bullet Proof attracts more people, drink prices go up slightly and the music goes from bad to worse. More commercial tunes are played to please the masses. If you want a cheap night out then this is one of the best clubs in Newcastle. Don’t however turn up at a gig expecting to have loose change after a trip to the bar. Unless of course you’re used to paying £3.30 for a pint of Carling. Overall, I would recommend you see atleast one band here since it is a superb venue!