O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire

I Loveeeee this venue! Been several times and it’s so much more intimate than the O2 Arena. Artists make use of the stage space with props etc and you can see everything clearly. I always go for unreserved seating.

The venue itself is small. It's many years since I've been here. They have restored some of it & it's looking good. The toilets are small but the bars are aplenty, relatively good beer for a change.

Went and saw "The Struts". Amazing band, incredible night. Venue is great, big enough to be a great concert, but small enough for it to feel more personal, almost like a secret gig, easy to get too from the tube station, venue is beautiful inside, there are three levels, balcony at the top, then the bars toilets, merch and cloakroom, with a wide walkway and a flight of stairs sweeping down either side, to the stage and standing area. I was standing as I went with my 17yr old daughter (would have rather been sitting, but i had an amazing time tbh). Acoustics were great, staff were friendly considering they were working late on a Thursday night in a heatwave.
I think its a great venue.

Went to see soak and modest mouse whilst heavily pregnant during the 40 degree heatwave. The manager on shift was amazing brought us in immediately to get me out of the heat and into the aie conned venue. She was so friendly and accommodating. Was an amazing surprise as I almost didn't go to the gig out of worry about the temperature. Had a brilliant night.

Saw Bleachers blow this place up! Venue itself is located close to the tube. Great atmosphere. Good sound. Decent bar.

Arriving at the O2 Shepherd's Bush building I was told that my small backpack (only capable of fitting a 13 inch laptop) will not be allowed in the venue, under the guise of being a 'security concern'.

Subsequently I was told I would need to find somewhere to store it. After walking half a mile we arrived at a backpackers where it was possible to store the bag for £5. As you can see from the photo (and this was only half the number of bags that were there upon collection) there were a lot of people caught out by this.
Heading back to the venue, the interior was quite nice, and getting a drink was fine. However, it quickly became apparent that the venue was uncomfortably full, even by London standards. On this occasion, if you were less than 6ft tall the view would most likely have been obstructed.

When the music finally started playing after over an hour from the support (who we just missed trying to store my bag) we were incredibly disappointed by the audio quality, which appeared to be tuned for a rock band (albeit poorly) with washed out and muddy vocals and an overabundance of bass. This was clearly not appropriate for a more nuanced soul band.

I'd never walked out from a gig before, but that was before I came here. If there is a gig that you absolutely must see here, please be prepared. It's clear that the capacity is in need of being reduced, rather than the venue hiring additional security to ban backpacks. I would also like to think the audio issues were a once off but I'm not forgiving enough to attempt round two.

One of the nicest places I have visited.. very clean kind of confusing to find the levels but not bad. I would suggest an easier access to the bar, for us seated on level 2 was far and difficult to reach through so many people... The singer was amazing with a voice of an angel!!

Went to see Jacob banks Nov '22. Venue has some beautiful architecture inside, it's not a huge venue, quite intimate with the act. Staff were excellent for limited access people, allowing us to take our seats ahead of the throng of people. Upstairs on the balcony there are seats and down in the stalls area it's standing only. This area gets packed, so bear this in mind when booking. Sound was good, lighting was good, albeit it is a small venue. Definitely recommend this venue if there's someone aying that you are into.