The set-up is completely bizarre for a show where the typical divisive practices of club-owners bottleneck the 'kiddie section' dead center in front of the stage, which is the 'no-fly zone' for alcohol.
This arrangement sets up the now-famous 'awkward 20 foot gap' between showpiece and fully-anticipatory-audience who is inebriated enough to dance and cheer instead of the tweener crowd in full cross-armed bashful gawkiness. The drinking audience is so colossally detached from the musical climate of the show that it is truly insignificant whether or not they actually attended.
I went here with Graham C and Natalie G to see Voxtrot and Au Revoir Simone and all of this foolishness climaxed when the three bandmates from ARS had to break the 21 and under barrier just to show headliners Voxtrot some love by peacocking around the dance floor in the general vicinity of the band. No one else was willing to give up their beers to participate.
There is generally no alternative options when presented with the venue of choice where a band you wanna hear is playing ... but if its a band you only 'kinda wanna hear', its not really worth the hassle or boredom. There's really no excuse for a club owner to have a crummy live music venue. Those are simple dynamics to work out.