Astoria
Info
Capacity: 2,000
Nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road
Ah, the Astoria - home of all those mid-level bands who will play venues a third of the size everywhere else in the country. Anyone who's anyone has played here.
You get free roam of the venue's three levels. There are enough bars to get served quickly enough at and you can escape the music at the middle bar if it all gets a bit too much for your poor little ears. There is a 'VIP' round the sides of the stage on the second level.
Acoustics can be dodgy depending on where you stand.
Reviewed Events
Rachel Stamp at London Astoria, Sat 28 Oct
What happens if you hate the body fascism and uniformity of today's pop??…Maybe you're a bit different, a bit of a rebel, but what happens if you can't stomach the macho posturing and uniformity of today's rock?? …Isn't that what rebels are supposed to listen to??… Music to get under your parents skin??….»
Rachel Stamp at London Astoria, Sat 28 Oct
Return to Gender Fred Durst claims he's recreating the generation gap with nu-metal. In Rachel Stamp's world there is definitely a gap but it's not one of age. Twelve year olds in Slipknot t-shirts stand next to goths in their thirties, welcome to the degeneration gap of alternative against the world. The c»
Soulwax at London Astoria, Sat 04 Nov
It is perhaps an un-acknowledged tradition that all wars should include a couple of armies running through Belgium, just because it has always happened. Not known for its cutting edge coolness and swingin’ music scene this country is possibly known for giving us terminaly uncool and cheesy day-glo wearing Euro-tras»
Queens of The Stone Age at London Astoria, Thu 23 Nov
I caught about half of the set of first-on support Snake River Conspiracy.On record they consist of Tobey Torres on vocals (She's a girl….why do Americans have to persist in giving girls Boys Names??) and Jason Slater, one of the founder members of Third Eye Blind, being Mr. Studio Wiz . For their live show the»
The Almighty, Stampin Ground at London Astoria, Thu 14 Dec
THE ALMIGHTY / STAMPIN’ GROUND – London Astoria Dec 13th 2000 As part of a weeks’ long Kerrang sponsored K-FEST shows as the London Astoria, this show sees the Almighty returning to the same venue they made their triumphant UK return some 5 months ago. However, unlike the packed to capacity show th»
Rival Schools at London Astoria, Mon 12 Feb
Rival Schools, Rival Schools, Rival Schools!! Ok, so I know I’m here to see … um, Rival Schools. But the question is, who else is? Well, I don’t care that the sweaty hoards of Nck*lbck hoody wearers aren’t, and I’m in the minorit»
The Dandy Warhols at London Astoria, Sat 24 Mar
OK, give me a moment. I'm trying to work out exactly how to start this... see, it's very rare that you go to a gig and come out feeling completely catalysed into trying to take over the world with a geetarr slung over your shoulder, but seeing the super handsome Dandy Warhols strutting their knowingly cool stuff has do»
Mo-ho-bish-o-pi at London Astoria, Mon 21 May
The venue is packed, quite an achievement considering headliners, King Adora , have never been higher than the top 30.
Mohobishopi, in support tonight, have yet to even hit the chart that high but show no signs of intimidation to be playing such a large venue. As a three piece banging out sho»
Goldfinger at London Astoria, Thu 28 Jun
Tonight the Astoria's triple assemblage of ska-punk-power-rock-misfits has gathered the many varied peoples of the punk rock fraternity to an all encumbering post-exam, pre-Festival mosh fest, in all its glory. The Astoria buzzes, as is usual at many a punk gig, with fuzzed up, ‘cola’ drinking, rizla smoking, teens (so»
Fantomas at London Astoria, Wed 18 Jul
It’s a long way down from the top. A long way down from even half way. When you start that slippery slide form public eye, when someone newer younger, more desperate and more unoriginal arrives, you know your time is numbered. There’s two distinct ways you can go. But either way points down. One proves you only »
Spineshank, Dry Kill Logic at London Astoria, Fri 07 Sep
My God! Are Spineshank really this popular!? It’s a Friday night inside London’s Astoria and everyone’s stuffed together like the proverbial tinned sardines. What a long way the band have come from opening here for Fear Factory all those years ago. Before Spineshank, however, there’s the seemingly small ma»
Kids Near Water, Sum 41 at London Astoria, Fri 28 Sep
It's a funny old game, the world of Rock 'n' Roll. There are bands that spend years in the back of cold, battered mini-vans striving for success to no avail and, quite frankly, Sum 41 are not one of them. To say that their rise to the top has been meteoric would be like saying Manchester United’s weekend comebac»
Garbage at London Astoria, Wed 14 Nov
Returning to Britain for their first tour in almost three years, Garbage's live performance skills were put to the test when they took up the mighty challenge of the London Astoria on Wednesday the 14th November. I should have known that the lack of support band was the first confirmation of their supergrou»
The Hives, 59 Times The Pain, Randy, The (International) Noise Conspiracy at Astoria, London, Sun 23 Dec
Due to the current musical climate, this gig was going to be a strange mix. The Hives, along with all the other bands on the bill today, come from a Swedish punk background, and are on the Burning heart record label. They've put out 2 albums and various ep's. And now there's a big thing for retro rock n roll wha»
Aphex Twin, Russell Haswell, Ed DMX at London Astoria, Wed 06 Feb
Strange things are afoot at the Astoria. An odd creature with rather lank shoulder-length hair, and wearing what can only be described as a white chemical warfare suit, is doing funny dances in the centre of the stage, while using his laptop to force two Ataris to duel to the death across the speakers. Eventually on»
Pet Shop Boys at London Astoria, Thu 14 Feb
In this part of the story, the Pet Shop Boys go suddenly, disturbingly rock. But before this, we get the NME’s much lauded A.R.E. Weapons, a band hopelessly in love with 1987 beatboxes, Pop Will Eat Itself before they got good, guitar riffola, berets, and unfortunately free of the ravages of talent. They are the»
Rachel Stamp, Halo at London Astoria, Sat 16 Feb
Looking like a tempered down Smashing Pumpkins, completed by bald front man/guitarist, and sounding like a Muse at half-mast devoid of Matt Bellamy’s soaring vocals, Halo have a long way to go before they will actually be headlining venues the size of the Astoria. Even as the new shinning hope»
Tomahawk at London Astoria, Sun 10 Mar
It starts with the wail of sirens and four policemen coming on stage to rapturous applause. Thirty seconds later the vocalist, in a dark blue LAPD uniform and wearing a gas mask with a microphone inside is yelling an unintelligable cacophony whilst around him the musicians create a tight, taut swirl of noise and»
The Flaming Lips, Goldrush, Bob Mould at London Astoria, Wed 10 Jul
If enthusiasm alone was a barometer of rock and roll greatness, this would be the best gig of all time. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to rock’s second childhood, as young whippersnappers and old veterans alike proceed to grace the Astoria with the kind of wide-eyed passion that seems oddly out of sorts in today’s leth»
Halo at London Astoria, Fri 19 Jul
To the same familiar tune Halo stride onstage. Greeted by a chorus of high-pitched squeals, they pick up their instruments, say their hello’s and start to play. For Halo, it’s a good set, they play well, the audience gets into it, there’s a fun atmosphere as some jump around and sing along, and some just stand a»
Moby at London Astoria, Fri 27 Sep
“SKINNER!! SKINNER!! SKINNER!!” go the tribe of oiks. “Look everyone, Frank Skinners on the balcony!”. So what? SO FUCKING WHAT? You boring little cunts. Frank Skinner doesn’t care that you’re pointing at him. He don’t give a fuck. And neither do I. Get over it. Few people care that the 36th»
Coldplay, Idlewild, Oasis, Ms Dynamite at London Astoria, Tue 29 Oct
Charidee. Doncha just love it? It gives people like Phil Collins that warm glowy feeling inside, as they pledge their time to yet another useless cause, throwing money at a problem, instead of trying to solve it. So, tonight the music is almost irrelevant. Music, for all its beauty, all its greatness, a»
Alabama 3 at London Astoria, Sun 01 Dec
I’ve got a great idea for a band. Take 10% Elvis, 10% Jesus, 40% proof Blues, 9% of Tennants Super, 4% Mao Tse Tung (a dash of), 5% Acid bleeps, 5% Country & Western, 5% big cowboy hats, 12% a demented fallen preacher, and aliases like Rock Freebase, Little Boy Dope, The Spirit, and The Mountain Of Love. And then we»
The Streets at London Astoria, Fri 06 Dec
“Do you want some excitement?” yells The Streets. Of course we do, and that is precisely what Mr Mike Skinner goes about giving us. First off though, its a pity More Fire Crew are so MOR. All their songs sound the same, even ‘Oi, Who dat More Fire Crew’ sounds weak and wat»
Audioslave at London Astoria, Fri 17 Jan
Even the people who knew it wasn't going to work wanted it to be so much more. A thousand or more people have paid over the odds, £20 a ticket, give or take, to see Chris Cornell front Rage Against The Machine. That's what it comes down to. The hopes of the crowd here are split two ways - the ones wh»
Reel Big Fish, The Starting Line, Sugarcult at London Astoria, Fri 31 Jan
“They’re just re-hashing the same stuff they were playing back in ’97, but back then they’d never sell out a venue this big. For some reason ska-punk, pop punk, whatever… -it’s so popular in England right now!” Interesting thoughts from Reel Big Fish’s merchandise guy. It does seem a mystery to some»
Interpol at London Astoria, Sun 09 Feb
The last time I saw Interpol play, I had just fallen in love with their first LP. Four months later, they are back in London playing alongside The Thrills, The Polyphonic Spree and The Datsuns on the last date of the annual NME tour. The band slink on stage, sharp-suited and pretty, an»
N*E*R*D at London Astoria, Fri 14 Feb
Seltzer: You see, the thing about hip-hop shows, is that they're best when they sound like rock shows. I.e. devoid of the "yeaaa--ahhhh" crowd pleasing nonsense that - to my cynical eyes - seems only there to kill time in what's a limited set anyway. I mean, at certain points, watching NER*D»
Saliva, Winnebago Deal, Stone Sour at London Astoria, Wed 26 Feb
The last time I saw Winnebago Deal was supporting Fugazi, and I wasn't totally blown away, though they did rock considerably. Though I only caught the close of their set this time, it was a very different context, and all of a sudden they made»
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Kills, Har Mar Superstar at London Astoria, Tue 04 Mar
Sleaze...but in a pretty way. That's seemingly tonight's theme. Ok, so I cannot comment on the first support, C64 because I was stuck in a lift (I'd rather not go into the details...) but I mean: Har Mar Superstar...what more can you say?
A one-man cheese-warrior, crooning sleaze-adelic lurve»
The Cooper Temple Clause at London Astoria, Tue 29 Apr
Be afraid. Pick a scene from your favourite Stephen King flick, cross it with your favourite Coopers song – (‘The Lake’, or maybe ‘Murder Song’) - and you have tonight’s horror-show Astoria. It’s hard to see, but a thousand or-so Didz clones are just about visible; silhouetted through»
Snow Patrol, Dashboard Confessional at London Astoria, Thu 14 Aug
It’s like a Protestant stepping into a Catholic service; sure, you can be there if you want, I mean, they’re not going to turn you away; hell, they’re all good people inside, it’s just that you’re not going to fit in. Amongst the converted, the devotionals, you can only be a non-believer. But before mass, »
Hot Water Music, Alkaline Trio at London Astoria, Sat 20 Sep
I've never been a particularly big fan of the Astoria, least of all when it hosts supposed 'punk' bands.»
Mogwai at London Astoria, Thu 23 Oct
9:15pm: I feel dirty. I'm upstairs at the Astoria, watching Mogwai - fuckin' Mogwai. I'm sitting down. They just played 'Ratts Of The Capital', the bass doing something ungodly to the ribcages of every man jack in this here building, and I'm sitting down.»
Hundred Reasons at London Astoria, Tue 10 Feb
There was a time when everything that Surrey emo pranksters Hundred Reasons touched turned to solid gold. And now they're back, up to their same old tricks, only this time they’re in front of a sell-out crowd at The Astoria»
Le Tigre, KaitO, Erase Errata at London Astoria, Mon 05 Apr
What's that? There ARE some real vocalists left out there? From the moment Le Tigre's Kathleen Hanna opens her trap, the quality level leaps about 4 notches in the right direction. What we're talking about here is conviction, and Le Tigre have it in spades.»
Mudhoney at London Astoria, Sun 30 May
Little has changed in the last 15 years and tonight, as usual, we find Mudhoney playing only partially to its strengths.»
The 22-20s, Nine Black Alps at London Astoria, Sat 22 Jan
There’s nothing quite like a good angst ridden thrashing when triggered off at the right time and place. And after overdosing on a lot of sentimental weepers last year, it’s about time we had some angry young men venting aggressively about their discontent rather than being defeated by it. Seizing the moment are Nine Black Alps, who bounce erratically off the walls like an infected ping-pong ball of rage.»
Hope of the States, Sons and Daughters, The Bravery, Willy Mason at Astoria, London, Tue 15 Feb
The coolest act on the planet right now, apparently, is The Bravery. They've created a stir in the media after a string of high-profile support sets and an attachment to the current love of anything ‘80s. They join an Astoria bill alongside Willy Mason, Sons and Daughters and HotS...»
The Tears at London Astoria, Wed 16 Feb
Brett and Bernard are back...hmmm...»
Jimmy Eat World at London Astoria, Tue 22 Mar
Two years ago, nobody could have predicted that the recycling - the bleeding if you will - of a successful crossover record could lull the very same first-time fans, be they old-school or otherwise, into a similar state of admiration.»
Oasis, Yeti at London Astoria, Tue 10 May
So the biggest circus/soap opera in music is back in town... Dom Gourlay's down the front for the return of Britain's biggest band, Oasis.»
The Go! Team at London Astoria, Fri 07 Oct
A shadow of fear loomed over tonight's gig, anticipatory concern clawing in from a fair few many angles. Following an ill-fated line of failed festival appearances over the summer, plagued by bad sound and technical set up, there were whispers that The Team couldn't cut it live.»
Chimaira at London Astoria, Thu 01 Dec
Realising a new level of brutality, Chimaira are back promoting their new brand of heavy metal. Mention a power ballad to this band and expect laughter at very least. This is 100% Heavy Metal.»
The Rakes, Duels, White Rose Movement at London Astoria, Thu 02 Feb
Having arrived too late to catch Duels’ set, I clambered into the jammed Astoria and was confronted with a motley crowd and an indescribably arrogant display from White Rose Movement frontman, Finn Vine- a tall lithe, uber-cool character anim»
Soulfly at London Astoria, Tue 07 Feb
The Astoria is packed tonight. Since even before the acrimonious advent of Soulfly a decade ago, they have always demanded such ceremony. Now, touring their recent Dark Ages album, the quartet return to London with a renewed sense of urgency and vengeance. It would be unfair to say that Soulfly are now relying on their reputation and some gimmicks to liven up their shows but after such a long time at the top of the heavy metal tree, sometimes it really is just too difficult to keep pace.»
Broken Social Scene at London Astoria, Wed 08 Feb
The Wikipedia entry writers, the MySpace-obsessed and broadsheet readers: they're all alike; all hoping that, if they hold on, they can tell people on blogs and in pubs that they were part of something at the core of this decade's cultural movement; a culture which has turned its back to the TV and thrown out its playlisted radio, in favour of broader, braver, more innovative things...»
NME Awards Show at London Astoria, Sun 19 Feb
Surely a band that provides nothing more than required, and in doing so takes no risks, but gives, throws and showers the audience with exactly what they desire, is irrelevant? After all, do we not want to be in total awe, have our breath whisked from our lungs by life-altering inventiveness? Not tonight.»
Death Cab For Cutie at London Astoria, Tue 28 Feb
Tonight, Death Cab For Cutie are faultless; to some that’ll translate as boring, but to a thousand-or-so paying punters, the Astoria this wintry eve is a place of absolute worship...»
Avenged Sevenfold at London Astoria, Sat 11 Mar
Breaking through with some decidedly goth-influenced, OC metalcore roots in 2003 with the majestic Waking The Fallen, the muscle-bound Californians have seemingly turned a corner with their recent album City Of Evil resembling the sleazy, Hollywood hard rock of the 1980s. Make no bones about it, this was an odd career move...»
God Forbid, Trivium at London Astoria, Thu 16 Mar
Idle hands beget the devil’s work. This is certainly true in the case of Trivium tonight. After touring their silver-selling Ascendancy album for over a year and a half now and a certain level of boredom is definitely showing. There are to be some testing times ahead for Trivium if they are to reach the high targets they’ve set themselves.»
Panic At The Disco, Men Women And Children at London Astoria, Tue 25 Apr
What the hell am I doing here? Why’s everyone dancing? Where’s the mosh? There’s emos everywhere, but this ain’t no rock show. This fickle public will simply move on when the next My Chemical Romance album drops later this year in wholehearted glory. Repeat: this is not a rock show. Not even close.»
Thomas Truax, The Dresden Dolls, DeVotchKa at London Astoria, Fri 12 May
The Astoria is buzzing with a very unusual atmosphere tonight. The venue is overrun with clown-faced people laughing wildly over blood red drinks, faux-Victorian ladies gliding around under lacey parasols with their hair curled tight and piled high, low-rent Camden goths mingling with chunky Cyberdog people, or spiky-haired metal kids running around with those ubiquitous greasepaint-loving Brandon Lee fans. »
Angels And Airwaves at London Astoria, Mon 12 Jun
Ok first off let me just say I've been a big Airwaves and Angels fan ever since the hype started after Blink 182 reached 'indefinate hiatus' :( I mean I loved Blink, yet with all the hype Tom kept putting into the new band, I was getting really excite»
My Morning Jacket at London Astoria, Fri 22 Sep
The underlying problem with a band like My Morning Jacket is that it's often plain to see that they just don't know where to draw the line...»
Papa Roach, Gallows at London Astoria, Mon 02 Oct
It’s possibly the most universally ridiculed genre to have ever formed and spawned hit records, and with Linkin Park’s recent decision to ditch the style in favour of hip-hop and punk rock, it seems that nu-metal is truly dead now. Papa Roach is dead, then. Long live Papa Roach...»
Engerica, Seether, The Art Of Dying at London Astoria, Fri 06 Oct
Tonight, a multinational line-up that sees not a single American band grace the stage performs at yet another sold-out night at London’s Astoria...»
Enter Shikari, :( at London Astoria, Sat 04 Nov
i went to enter shikari at london astoria on saturday 4th of november it was amazing the place was packed u could hardly moved i c»
New Young Pony Club, Lily Allen at London Astoria, Mon 06 Nov
These people are dead inside, as hollow as the empty cans littering the venue floor...»
The Bronx at London Astoria, Sat 27 Jan
Some things in life really really piss me off. Usually breaking two of my toes is one such item of dismay, but when aforementioned toes are broken because of the world's best live band (and possibly the most violent crowd seen since Matisyahu was accidentally booked to play Skinhead Fest 2006), I'll lump it...»
Regina Spektor, Love Is All at London Astoria, Fri 16 Feb
ASTORIA FEB 16th REVIEW: Regina Spektor has a great voice, it's a pity she decided to add a backing band that added nothing to her»
!!!, Maximo Park, Blood Red Shoes at London Astoria, Wed 21 Feb
!!! draw together a mulchy feel-good tonic of musical enthusiasm - total commitment from all concerned mixed with their unstoppable, endlessly danceable, juddering bass-heavy dance-pop (punk-funk?) make them one of the best live bands I've seen in recent years...»
The Shins, Alberta Cross at London Astoria, Sun 25 Feb
The Shins' set gushes with energy and whilst the newer songs have a sturdy and thoughtful tone, they showcase a different depth for a band that could so easily fall into the limiting tie of summery, Brian Wilson-scented pop...»
The Bees at London Astoria, Wed 07 Mar
With a new album to promote, one might expect The Bees to wring their new Octopus LP till it's dry. We've followed them for many years now, laughing at the monkey noises, bobbing our heads to the lilting psychedelia and going "cripes!" at the superb Tamla-esque production of their records, so it's time we let them play some new stuff, yeah...»
LCD Soundsystem, Prinzhorn Dance School at London Astoria, Wed 14 Mar
LCD Soundsystem's trick is to work out a near perfect ratio of repetition to variation, reminding you just how many great songs James Murphy has written in this guise...»
Gravenhurst, Explosions In The Sky at London Astoria, Thu 19 Apr
Is there any better way to end a crushingly loud, euphoric post-rock show than your instruments actually destroying themselves on-»
The National, Annuals at London Astoria, Tue 22 May
We like The National at DiS. When we’re not busy giving ourselves toothache with the latest Battles or Deerhoof records, The National offer solace with albums of understated depth that have ‘quality’ written through them like a particularly bitter-tasting stick of rock. An old-fashioned pleasure, if you will...»
The Thermals, The Cribs at London Astoria, Tue 29 May
Oh the inevitably irony. The Cribs have become part of the machine they wished to break. And they’ve plenty of luddites clinging on... »
Megadeth at London Astoria, Sat 16 Jun
There is no chatter from the stage for a while but, along with brothers Shawn (drums) and Glen Drover (guitars) and James Lomenzo on bass, Dave Mustaine powers through riff-tastic song after guitar-duelling solo and has the crowd enraptured throughout.»
The Polyphonic Spree at London Astoria, Mon 03 Sep
Getting to Hammersmith Tube station a good 2 hours before doors with pending tube strike action and the possibility of missing a m»
Paramore at London Astoria, Fri 07 Sep
You don’t need to hear any more songs that sound the same played with different words. You don’t need to see her band of nameless, faceless, pointedly personified goons nimbly hurling themselves across the stage. You don't need her over-rehearsed lines being professionally projected beyond the back of the auditorium, just like she's been told to so many times...»
Bad Brains, Sonic Boom Six at London Astoria, Tue 16 Oct
With tickets priced at £20, it would appear that the cider punx of London town aren’t going to be descending en masse onto Tottenham Court Road to see one of the few remaining old-school punk bands around who haven’t turned into a hideous parody of themselves. But then again, Bad Brains’ return to the capital after more than a few years away – and with the original lineup – was always going to be an event...»
Animal Collective at London Astoria, Thu 01 Nov
Animal Collective performances have always been frustrating, often beguilingly so, but of late it’s veered towards notoriously awkward»
Les Savy Fav, Future Of The Left, Los Campesinos! at London Astoria, Sun 10 Feb
Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington is unassailably the greatest frontman in the history of rock music. Iggy could out-antic him, and countless people have infinitely better voices, but who else can make people feel this good? It's almost spiritual»
Justice at London Astoria, Thu 14 Feb
Eyes closed, ignorant of the mass of hipsters around me, this is perfect, proof that music can trump the aesthetic. veryone looks the part, but only Justice is playing the part»
Foals at London Astoria, Mon 17 Mar
Given the swaying masses crammed in to the Astoria tonight, there can be no doubt as to the current perception of Foals as a party band, a celebratory act, albeit an odd one. For the future, however, tough questions abound»
Battles, Fuck Buttons, Dirty Projectors at London Astoria, Wed 14 May
As Tyondai Braxton reminds us tonight, it’s been just over a year since Battles released their debut LP Mirrored. This is a fitting victory lap»
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