Recently I attended two gigs in the space of three days at the Birmingham O2 Academy that left me pondering on the state of live music. If you haven’t been to a gig at an O2 venue before then let me spell it out. O2 Academies are like prisons!

Let me break it down. You arrive at the O2 Academy to be searched by a security guard. Said security then shunt you in the direction of your allotted area depending on which ticket you purchased (balcony or stalls). Once inside there are more guards stashed in a metre wide gap between the crowd and the stage. Any crowd surfers who venture too close to this gap are grabbed by three security guards and hauled away. If any band members want to interact with the crowd then they have to stand on a special step with security holding onto the back of their trousers. More guards stand in the balcony with torches ready to shine on mosh pits down in the crowds, people are kicked out of the venue for being too drunk (too drunk? At a gig!) and if you dare to stand up whilst sitting in the balcony three guards descend on you and grunt “sit down or get out”.

Compare this with a gig I attended at The Underground in Stoke on Trent. One hired guard checking ID’s and tickets, no barriers at the front of the stage and definitely no flash lights. At one point the lead singer jumped into the crowd and told us to try and keep him down, leading to us all jumping on top of him. Madness some call it, but to me it’s the very spirit of live music, the atmosphere, the chaos, the emotions running high. It’s what makes gigs such an experience and in my opinion O2 is killing the spirit single handed. When they opened the O2 Academy in Leicester our local venue The Charlotte, the first venue Kasabian ever played in, was closed down due to lack of sales and turned into student flats. The legendary Leeds venue, The Well has suffered the same fate as a new O2 Academy opens. I could go on for pages.

Of course I understand that sometimes it’s necessary to have security (two people were killed when a crowd pushed towards the stage at Donington Monsters of Rock Festival in 1988) and yes it is a very big corporation covering their back so that no one gets hurt on their watch, however I’d argue that if they are so scared about getting sued for someone getting injured here’s a free tip. Don’t get involved in live music!

For those interested in The Charlotte’s fate here’s a report by the Leicester Mercury

What do you think? Do you think O2 are killing live music? Do you appreciate the added security? Leave a comment and we’ll get a discussion going.