Kidz – if you were going to see a popular beat combo (specifically Susanne Sundfor at Koko) and the ticket said “doors open 7.00, what time would you show up to be fashionably late but not miss the actual music you paid for?

Does it not show a start time on the ticket / booking website / venue web page?

Assume the warm-up act will be on at 7, so sit in Weatherspoons for cheap beer until five-to-nine.

(IANAKid)

I’d ask the venue http://www.koko.uk.com/listings/susanne-sundf%C3%B8r-27-10-2015 🙂

i would guess something like

support band – 8-9
main act 9.30 – 11

Usually, if you want to know, call the venue. But that’s a good website.

Phone the venue. They’ll tell you exactly what time they’re on. I always do this now, after years spent either

a) Thinking they won’t be on yet, staying in the pub then missing half the set.

Or

b) Turning up early and spending hours stood in some shithole venue, sticking to the carpets, while paying obscene prices for wobbly plastic beakers of warm cooking lager

I’d go with 9 unless you want to see the support act

I’d go with 9 unless you want to see the support act

Off topic but…
There’s a special circle in my personal hell reserved for people who don’t turn up to see support acts.

Go and see the support act! I don’t always, but that’s because I’ve seen too many gigs… But some of the bands I love, i only know because of support slots.

Depends if there is a support act. I went to a Rudimental gig a couple of weeks back. Doors opened at 7pm DJ came on for half an hour at 8:15, then Rudimental came on at 8:45, played for 90 minutes or so.

Does it not show a start time on the ticket / booking website / venue web page?

Dooohhh – yes it does. Senility starts here.

you have to see the support, otherwise you’ll never become this man

Man has seen all the big bands when they were unknown and shit

I saw Alt-J a couple of years back, before they were famous, as a support act. Didn’t get it then, still don’t.

There’s a special circle in my personal hell reserved for people who don’t turn up to see support acts.

+1

I’d go further than that. At small gigs where there are two or more acts on, please stay for ALL of the acts unless you’re about to turn into a pumpkin. If you’re IN one of the other acts, turning into a pumpkin is NOT a valid excuse for leaving early

If I was going to Koko I’d always aim to be in there for 9pm.

I went to see Plaid a few years ago (they were terrible) but the support was a then pretty unknown chap called Jon Hopkins. Glad I got there in time to catch the last half of his set, he was much better than the main act.

I’ve seen loads of support bands who’ve ended up being better than the main act

I went to see Plaid a few years ago (they were terrible) but the support was a then pretty unknown chap called Jon Hopkins. Glad I got there in time to catch the last half of his set, he was much better than the main act

He’s a bloody good motorbike racer too !

john_drummer – Member

I’d go further than that. At small gigs where there are two or more acts on, please stay for ALL of the acts unless you’re about to turn into a pumpkin.

I remember John Robb standing on the stairs of the barras shouting at everyone who was leaving after Goldblade’s set- “You ****s get back up the stairs, show some ****ing respect! If you’re not going to watch my mates you’re not welcome at my gigs!” 😆

There’s a Brewdog bar up the road from Koko and there’s good beer to be had in the Black Heart round the corner Brewdog. Once sufficiently lubricated, you can walk straight down to Koko. If doors are 7pm, you should aim to be in the first non venue bar/pub by 5pm.

Depending on how busy Koko is, it can take an age to get served – speedier bar service usually to be found upstairs (keep going all the way up rather than stopping on teh 1st floor)

The dark huddled masses gather at the gate,
The doors at 7, the show starts at 8.

I believe is the answer you require Sauce

IIRC I saw Joy Division supporting Buzzcocks. If that is an accurate memory, and not just confusing 2 events, it’s a hell of an argument for seeing support bands!

Yep, as above, most of my favorite bands were first seen as support acts.

If you do decide to skip the support bands be sure to barge your way through the already-formed crowd and position yourself 6 inches in front of the shortest person you can find so that everyone knows how much of a fan you are. Even better if you’ve got a group of mates, who obviously can’t fit into the paper thin sliver of floor space you’ve liberated, in tow. If you could spill beer over a few people’s shoes as you push through that’ll make you seem extra keen.

IIRC I saw Joy Division supporting Buzzcocks. If that is an accurate memory,

…in 1979. In Leeds. Also Human League supporting Siouxie etc, Slits and loads more supporting Clash. Frank Sidebottom supporting someone. Loads more. Having done hard time, these days I turn up at nine. I am not a youth.

Tell you what yoofs do: Drink too much alcohol (ie. half a bottle of alcopop); talk loudly all the way through the band; take selfies facing away from the stage; hold your phone in front of the person behind you to film a shit video of a portion of a song; take a shit photo of the band, check phone to see what shit photo looks like, take another shit photo of the band, check it – do this throughout the gig; text people; post to <insert social media site of your choice> that you’re AT A GIG.
Don’t actually listen or be involved in the actual gig whatever you do.

grammar points deducted for “DOORS : 19:00PM”
🙂

talk loudly all the way through the band

I saw Bonobo in Birmingham a couple of years ago and there must have been some cracking Columbian going about as I was about the only person who didn’t feel the need to waffle aimlessly at high volume during the gig. Chumps.

DezB – I won’t be doing any of that stuff, as I don’t have any friends. I’m just going to listen to the music. Sad 🙁

I went to see flight of the conchords a little while ago, and decided to drink overpriced piss out of a plastic cup rather than go into watch the support act, who I’d never heard of.

Saw the last 3 minutes of Arj Barker, who I thought was one of the highlights of the FOC telly show. The 3 minutes I caught were bloody funny, too. Nuts.

Go and see the support act!

if you’ve not gone to a gig for a long time bear in mind they seem to start and finish earlier nowadays. I’m an old man who can’t handle the late nights so I’m not complaining but it feels a bit odd.

Depends if you want to see the support band? We usually turn up early and watch support bands- mostly a good experience!

Not in the States – great value for money over there – 6.30ish start, three or four support bands and finish at midnight \m/

SOP is to rock up to the venue as early as possible, in order to be as close to the front as possible when the doors open.
Unlike the sort of jackass who gets there half an hour after doors open, goes to the bar, then tries to exercise his/her sense of entitlement by barging through the crowd to get to ‘their’ space at the front.
Forty-four years of gig-going means I’ve got the first scenario pretty much sussed.
Which means I get to see the support act, which means I got to see Blondie, Dire Straits, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Joy Formidable, Slaves, Ed Harcourt, Delgados, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Gillian Welch, Devine Comedy, Skunk Anansi, Thea Gilmore, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, among many others.

Countzero- or the 3rd type, who turns up early, stands at the front for 5 minutes, disappears to the bar for 2 hrs while the support bands are on and then expects to have ‘their’ place back when the main act starts.

Countzero- or the 3rd type, who turns up early, stands at the front for 5 minutes, disappears to the bar for 2 hrs while the support bands are on and then expects to have ‘their’ place back when the main act starts.

Oh yes, I’ve met more than my fair share of those, one particularly strident female sticks in my memory!
Booze at most venues is far too expensive to consider buying, although St Bonaventures in Bristol is excellent, it’s the community centre attached to a Catholic church, spirits are very, very cheap…

Sometimes find band start times on twitter, it’s pretty much the only useful function I’ve ever found twitter to have!

It has to be said, door opening times at some venues are, shall we say, ‘flexible’. 😉
The Fleece, in Bristol, can sometimes open twenty to thirty minutes after the official opening time, ten to fifteen isn’t at all unusual.
The O2 Academy is normally pretty punctual. Some smaller London venues can be a bit tardy opening as well; I’ve only been to Koko once, for an iTunes Festival gig, and IIRC they opened pretty much on time.

I’m going to see IAMX at Koko next month and I’ve never been there before, so what’s it like?
Also, I haven’t bothered to find out where in London it actually is, so what is the nearest tube station?

At Koko it’s worth pitching up fairly soon after doors open to get a decent spot on one of the balconies. Means you can sit down, get a good view, and easy access to a bar. If you want to stand in the pit and are happy to shove to the front then a bit later is ok. They tend to run pretty tight timewise though, opens at 11 as a club I think, so most of the gigs are done by 10:30.

Nearest tube is Mornington Crescent.

Nice one…thanks.