| rev:text
| - Note: My memories of this venue may be slightly clouded/biased due to the fact that I saw one of my favourite bands of all time play the best gig of my life here, and I think it's difficult to separate your enjoyment of a band's performance from the standards of the venue in which they play ...
That being said, I still cannot objectively understand the negative reviews below.
Yes, the Sound Academy is located in a somewhat awkward location, but, honestly, how hard is it to take a TTC bus and then walk south for ten minutes? C'mon! Not every music venue in the city is going to be right in the centre of your neighbourhood. In fact, the 72/172 bus that runs close by this venue is very convenient, providing easy access to both downtown, St Andrew Subway station on the Yonge line, as well as Queen East and Pape Station on the Bloor line. Additionally, the venue is a quick drive away from Union Station. People complaining about the accessibility of the venue are seriously sounding like spoiled brats! Perhaps there was no space to park your limo?!
Secondly, for people complaining about rough/unpleasant crowds, you cannot blame the venue for this. Certain bands attract a certain demographic of people, some of which can be more pleasant to interact with than others. That's not the venue's fault. I thought that much would be obvious.
On the night I attended, security were thorough but in no way rough or intrusive. I didn't mind waiting in line to be searched, and I appreciated the fact that others were being searched in a similarly thorough way. It's nice to attend a gig in Toronto without being suffocated by the smell of weed everywhere! I've seen other venues being badly run and maintained (an air conditioning unit fell on a young woman the last time I attended a gig at the Opera House, knocking her unconscious, and at a recent gig in London ON a fight broke out in the crowd and security did NOTHING), so the security's willingness to actually do their job here was a bonus as far as I was concerned!
There was no line for the coat check and the washrooms were clean and very well maintained. How often at a metal gig do you get a washroom assistant, with deodorant, hairspray, mints, etc on offer?
People complaining about the layout must be out of their minds, in my opinion! Yes, the venue is 'long', but this extra space allows for extra washrooms and an extra bar. What's there to complain about? It's such a welcome relief to not have to push past thousands of people and walk to the back of the venue if, over the course of a long gig, you need to use the washroom or want to buy a drink. I managed to be up front for the entirety of the gig I attended at the Sound Academy, despite going to the washroom and going to the bar between bands. I could easily squeeze back into my spot with no hassle to myself or to others, because the facilities I needed were just a step away, instead of right at the back of the venue. Extra facilities also, surprise surprise, means fewer lines. Is that really a reason to complain? There was never any line for the washroom, and I got my drink within seconds. Prices were very expensive, but no worse than any other similar venue in Toronto.
The welcome additional space to the left of the stage provides easy access to the patio, an additional bar, or just general breathing space if, like me, you're a girl alone at a metal gig and you want to avoid an intense pit or too many crowdsurfers!
As for the sound quality, I could hear all three bands perfectly, despite being up close. Everything was in balance and sounded clear. The support band won me over even though I had never heard them before, and as a result of that gig at the Sound Academy, I am now a huge fan. The second band (Gojira, one of my favourites ever) gave me the best concert of my life. No bands, no matter how great they are, can completely override a shoddy sound system, so I can only conclude that the Sound Academy's sound system is not actually half as bad as people are suggesting.
When I got home from that great concert, one of the first things I did was go on the venue's Facebook to review it with five stars (this was before I started Yelping). That says it all! The venue really added to my experience of that wonderful night, and I'm genuinely baffled by the reviews below. I'd be glad to return.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)