Intimate underground music venue in the heart of Dalston. Sounds and styles may shift night-on-night, but it seems all of the promoters have their fingers on the pulse of their respective scenes. A local sweatbox that parades hyped acts at least six months before they truly blow up... but then can't afford to them back once they have. I admire that in a venue though.

38-44 Stoke Newington Road. London N16 7XJ

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This is a wonderfully atmospheric pub that constantly looks shut from the outside so is never too busy. Upstairs is a room that could be your lounge. Every Wednesday they put on live music and they never fail to impress me. The old chesterfield chairs allow you to go beyond relaxation and let you take in the acoustic sounds played out to you.

Number 2 Queens Crescent, Chalk Farm

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Now I know it's a church but it also doubles as a fantastic music venue. I've been to a lot of London venues and this is my all-time favourite, great acoustics, good ambience and it also has the benefit of not being too big or impersonal.

Nearest tube: Highbury and Islington

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Ok, it may only be suitable as a summer venue but what a venue!

Beautiful courtyard setting, small and intimate, slightly sloping down to the stage to give a good view, and some cracking acts. Kasabian and Prodigy playing there stand out as being awesome gigs. Even though it can sometimes take a while to get a beer, at least they have a orderly and well managed queuing system!

The Strand, central London.

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While Brixton is a close second, the Astoria is my favourite due to the ease of getting a beer, the size of the venue and its central location. Given that it doesn't look like it will be around much longer, go there while you still can!

The only downside is having a toilet attendant trying to offer you aftershave - you may want that in a nice bar but not midway through Maximo Park!

Tottenham Court Road

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Probably the best live music venue for bands that are just about to hit it huge, or major acts getting back to the grime pit for a real atmospheric and intimate experience and nowhere else can lay claim to hosting the Libertines in a major venue before all the hype and nonsense.

A great performance at the Astoria ultimately proves whether you can last or fade. Sadly it looks like the Astoria itself may die a death before too long.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Astoria

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Whether you're standing at the back or moshing at the front the Academy is ideal - small enough for that intimate atmosphere, big enough to generate some noise and passion. OK, so it's sponsored by Carling, so the beer's not great so for a pre-gig pint and some nosebag, nip into the Dogstar on Coldharbour Lane for some good value Mexican food.

Carling Academy Brixton: 211 Stockwell Road London SW9 www.brixton-academy.co.uk/

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Whether you're standing at the back or moshing at the front, the Academy is ideal - small enough for that intimate atmosphere, big enough to generate some noise and passion. OK, so it's sponsored by Carling, so the beer's not great. For a pre-gig pint and some nosebag, nip into the Dogstar on Coldharbour Lane for some good value Mexican food.

Carling Academy Brixton: 211 Stockwell Road London SW9 www.brixton-academy.co.uk/

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Watching bands here is more of a musical experience than just a 'gig'.

Despite the venue being miles from any sort of humanity, the looming site of this magnificient glass building with its atriums and arches makes the one and half mile trek up the hill all worthwhile! Once inside Ally Pally you will be amazed by the amount of space there is and the decadent interior: gold-painted scrolling handrails on winding marbled stairs carpeted with lush velvet makes going to the loo feel like a royal visit!

The huge expanse of the building means that acoustics travel far and wide, making even the smallest band sound magnanimous. An excellent example of this was The White Stripes gig where the stark two-piece made so much noise that many were afraid Jack White's shrieking vocals would shatter the glass ceiling.

Alexandra Palace is truly a venue fit for kings!

Alexandra Palace Way
Wood Green
London
N22 7AY

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This gorgeous building houses quality music nights. A wonderfully civilised venue. Great acoustics - stone and brick and a massive space really help here, as does excellent amplification.

A lovely atmosphere - I'm convinced that because people sit on pews, and because it's a chapel, the audience listen to and appreciate the music more.

You won't get beer spilled on you here! Great acts have played here from Bjork to Jose Gonzalez. A true treat for music lovers - easily the best venue in London and one which attracts excellent artists.

Compton Terrace, Upper Street, Islington, N1 2UN. +44 207 226 1686
Nearest tube: Highbury & Islington
www.unionchapel.org.uk

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You can see genuine up and coming bands here. Home to music nights by Vice magazine. Great scuzzy boozer feel.

The Old Blue Last
38 Great Eastern St
Shoreditch EC2A 3ES

www.theoldbluelast.com/

Old St tube

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A wonderful gig venue, that is all about the music. From the signs telling you that nobody is here to listen to your voice, to the sound, and the overall ambience.

311 High Road
Kilburn
London NW6 7JR

www.theluminaire.co.uk

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This former cinema with its art deco interior has to be London's leading venue for gigs. Has a capacity of just under 5,000 and the slanted floor ensures a great view for all. Many names play and is only a short stroll from Brixton Tube Station.

211 Stockwell Road, Lambeth, London, SW9 9SL , Brixton Tube 5 mins away.

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This pub, halfway between Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road tube stations, is brilliant. As well as a good range of drinks and a yummy menu, it offers loads of live music events all week (from open mic nights to unsigned indie bands and old-time jazz).

Thanks to a new refurbishment the Spice now looks like a slightly garish, eccentric Highland mansion, and it's extra-cosy for sinking winter pints. And best of all the pub's attractions? Three words: Sticky. Toffee. Pudding.

6 Moor St (by the intersection of Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Ave - just next to the big theatre)
www.spiceoflifesoho.com

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Brilliant, cheap little live blues joint right in the centre of town, fiver on the door and drinks promotions. Drinkable house red, horrid little loos, great clientele. Fight for a table near the band.

20 Kingly Street, Soho, London W1B 5PZ Tel: 020 7287 0514

www.aintnothinbut.co.uk/

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This is a great bar/venue. Dispite its small size it rocks BIG. You can get up close to up and coming bands, and rock on till the early hours of the morning. If you get tired, you can always chill out in the bar downstairs. It is a great night out whoever you are. Also you usually get to see three bands for less then a tenner. Coldplay, Electric Six, Badly Drawn Boy, The Vines and The Darkness have all played here.
Cutting-edge non-mainstream music.
Capacity 400.

49 Chalk Farm Road, Camden, LONDON, NW1 8AN
from Camden Town tube station - 5 Mins
From Chalk farm tube station - 3 Mins

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This genuine 1950s coffee house has played host to Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon in its time, and it retains an artistic, bohemian buzz to this day.

The food is excellent, the atmosphere agreeably relaxed and the club beneath it has a huge range of comedy nights, poetry readings and live music. Highly recommended.

263-7 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9JA; Tel: 020 7370 1434; www.troubadour.co.uk

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An ideal place to sample the famous London nightlife. A cavernous bar/club under brick railway arches in Shoreditch, an unpretentious, friendly bar with an amazingly diverse music policy. Cargo is the place to sample some of London's amazing musical creativity from algerian folk to house nights, hotly tipped indie bands, MC battles and world music festivals Cago has it all.

If that's not enough you can recover on Sunday afternoons with brunch (their sweet potato chips are the best hangover cure around) in their garden.

Rivington Street
Shoreditch

Old Street tube
www.cargo-london.com

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In its day one of the most painfully trendy bars in London, set-up by the record label of the same name. A great upstairs with intimate booths that you need to grab early to nab; a downstairs with very eclectic DJs and bands. All this plus fantastic White Russians and one of the best juke boxes in town.

Little Portland Street: tube to Oxford Cricus - head to Tottenham Ct Rd, take the 1st road on the leftm then Little Portland is on the left.

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