Old blue last...

I fucking hate it.

Health were great tonight (and made it all worth while!) but apart from that, when that place gets full its a right fucking pain in the arse.

Just had to vent the spleen.




  • stinks really bad

    full of scenesters downstairs too. gets good bands though

  • i was just about to post something like this

    i was there too, and yes, health were great, and yes, it was unspeakably packed. reminded me of my morning commute.

    i don't think the crowd is that bad though. a lot of dickheads undoubtedly, but as my grandma used to say, everyone is someone's dickhead.

    there was a very remarkable girl i kept catching the eye of tonight but had a miserable FAIL in terms of talking to. lucyjay, it wasn't you, was it?

    • I had a good night

      someone kept pinching my arse

    • jesus_son

      I'm pretty sure it couldn't have been - I am definitely nowhere close to anything relating to remarkable! :) Sad but true!

      I was the midget with a camera (who got into a row with some d**khead whilst i was shooting Comenechi) alas no signs of romance was in my night!

      • ah well

        maybe there should be a londonpaper type board for this sort of thing...

        "you were the dark haired girl in the blue dress who smoked a lot, i was the stuttering fool who almost said hello. we made eye contact and in my mind this pretty much constitutes a relationship and you will definitely read this ad and not be freaked out at all. get in touch..."

        has anyone ever posted one of those/been posted about in one of those things?

  • It's a shithole, Luce, and no mistake.

    When the bar staff knock over one of your fresh drinks and then go and serve someone else before ungraciously replacing it you know you're in hell...

    • health

      Health were awesome. First time i'd ever heard of them.

      At times they kept reminding me of the film akira; if anyone can remember the soundtrack lol. sorry to geek it up but yeah. Laserbeams and tribal drums is what i think about when i think of health.

      Re:old blue last
      A friend of mine and I pop in there every now and then in hopes of finding something really silly to laugh about. We saw this band i can't remeber the name of a while back, who consisted of a rotund girl with pink highlights and my little ponies as a necklace, a dude who was dressed up as a pharoah, and a trucker with a cardboard beard - they made nathan barley look tame with their spectacle.

      Every time there's a vice issue night, all the very ostentatious scenester types descend. On most nights i've gone, its kind of a mixed crowd-ish; a higher number of brick lane indie kids though.
      I was so confused one time i went and there were these cityboys booty shakin for their women.

  • i never thought i'd say this

    but i'm glad i went to the luminaire (shudders) and saw health, considering the other options were the old blue last and white heat.

    i got lost trying to find pure groove, but that's another story.

    its true what you say about the obl, i really have to be in the mood to go in there and the issue launch parties are usually fucking packed and it seems that if you aren't wearing some sort of american apparel garment you get stared at.

    it really is hard work.

  • I only went upstairs once

    to see Gay Against You and then we found out very quickly they weren't playing and got out.

  • I try to avoid the place

    I've been to worse venues but I most definitely agree about the scenester twats you get downstairs. It can be a nightmare to get served at the bar if your face doesn't fit.

  • it's got such a horrid atmosphere

    i'm not sure about the scenester element, but it's got that odd disjointed feel. people standing around looking to see what's happening, even though there's only other people standing around doing the same thing.

    would never ever go to a gig there - i'd rather wait and see where else a band are playing. the free thing is so annoying though! can't there be a nice venue with free gigs? :(

  • i've still never been

    is it REALLY that bad?

    • last night..

      ....was the first time I had had fun at OBL. And i've seen far worse looking crowds there. I have stupidly started a thread abotu this gig in the music section.

      It is pain when its that full though. I would imagine its even worse if ur short/average height girl.

    • to be honest..

      i don't mind the pub - when it isn't crazily packed its alright (occasionally if i'm about i'll pop in for a quiet drink on me todd and its fine), and i'm sure for smaller local gigs its wicked..(like the Concentration Face night we've got coming up...*nudge*!) just i think sometimes when they get a bigger band in - its a FUCKING NIGHTMARE!

      ..and it just so happened that last night there were a few people that were probably the rudest people i've met in my life.

      • im probably stating the obvious

        but they just get bigger bands because - a) they can cuz they have the money to do it b) it creates a 'i was there, it was so packed, only 120 ppl max! omg!' thing - its a clever thing to do, but not the best gig going experience ever! but nothing is when u get beyond like 22/23 anyway - theres not many venues i couldnt have a grumble about probably!

  • i walked into old blue last once

    three minutes later, i walked back out and i've never been back. this makes me happy.

  • Re last night

    I turned up with my gf at 6.15 (queues, my arse...the place was fucking empty). By 9 it was so packed out we literally couldn't move and given that there seemed to be no prospect of Awesome Colour appearing any time soon we just bailed. That place is fucking unbearable when it's that busy.

    • it's fine when it's a gig you have to pay for

      when it's a free gig it usually gets far too busy.

      As a pub, it's fine but does get stupidly busy on Thursday and Friday. I don't really have a problem with the clientele.

      • Hipsters are fairly harmless

        and I'd much rather be surrounded by people who read Vice and have a slightly inflated opinion of themselves than cunts looking to fight me because 'I look like a fag' or whatever. It was more the volume of people that made last night so bad, which is a shame because I was psyched to see Health.

        • I think that they should have

          sold tickets for it, even if it was only £2 or something. that way when it had sold out loads of people wouldn't turn up and try and get in.

          When LSF played for free my friends and I queued for hours outside and were quite near the front but found out that people had been coming in from the inside as well. we managed to talk our way in but it was absolutley rammed and I got drag out by a bouncer, thrown down the stairs and out of the door minus and shoe and I had no idea what I'd done.

          I don't mind it as a pub though, they usually have a free jukebox and I don't care if people are starting at me.

        • good point really

          i suppose they are a lesser of two evils. fall of troy the other day had about 4 idiots ruining (well not ruining but slightly spoiling the amount of fun i could have had) and hipsters are preferable to them really. i mean pushing people who are dancing over then not helping them up= cunt.

  • It was mega packed last night

    We went to see The Kills first, and surprisingly had no problem getting upstairs at the Old Blue Last at about 8.30

  • Has no-one mentioned the sound?

    I left after about the second song Health played as I could hardly hear anything (I think the soundman just turned everything to maximum).

    Yet the sound for Comanechi was great... it was just a shame I was stood next to The Most Annoying Couple In The World(tm). They had there fingers in their ears and shouted at eachother over the band at how the singer had "an aweful voice". I HATE YOU

    Gigs being packed doesn't really bother me.