I went to one of Newcastle's newest music venues and was blown away by its improvements
The site opened in September 2022 but this is our reviewer’s first time heading in for a gig.
As NewcastleWorld’s self imposed music nerd, a gig at NX has been on my to-do list for a long time. The venue has been a mainstay of Newcastle’s live music scene for much of the 21st century.
Initially a cinema, the site turned into a ballroom space in the 1950s before becoming the Carling Academy in 2005. Sponsorship changes caused the name to change to the O2 Academy, alongside many other venues of similar sizes across the UK.
However, since NX opened in 2022, things have got in the way of getting to the Westgate Road site. Indie-pop act Beabadoobee played in the venue’s opening weeks, but I was already off to the Cluny in Ouseburn for another show, and other double bookings have resulted in a lack of live shows at the venue. In addition, the opening of other venues such as The Grove in Byker moved my attention away from the city centre site.
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Important added context here - I used to hate the old venue when it was an academy. The sticky floors no matter where you were, the lingering smells from carpet, the bars on either side of the main floor which resulted in a cramped experience with people barging past all night.
My unpopular opinion in terms of live music would always be that the Academy 2 stage upstairs in the same building was far better. The main room was, to me, just horrible - but the acts the venue attracted meant it was a necessary evil.
Seeing punk upstarts Bob Vylan were headling a show as part of their Humble As The Sun tour in late October was enough to finally get me in. This would be the third time seeing the duo after initial shows at Newcastle University and Boiler Shop.
As soon as I approached the venue I knew it would be a better experience than its predecessor. The long entrance queues which would wind down Westgate Road and back up around the back of the venue, regardless of how the show had sold, were long gone. I was out Central Station and seeing the stage within five minutes. Long gone are the days of waiting halfway up Clayton Street!
Inside, the venue still seems very new, despite the amount of shows and club nights it has hosted over the last two years. The freshness of the venue really helps the experience with more hard flooring and better lighting around the corridors and rooms away from the main performance space.
Once in the main space, two things hit you. Firstly - there is only one side with a bar! Long gone are the days of being cramped in between two groups trying to get a drink. The former seated section which was placed on an overhanging balcony at the old Academy is now a series of balconies, which were closed on the night, but I can imagine offer a much improved, compact experience.
Bob Vylan themselves were as good as ever, with the energy of two men who were on their first night of a tour, rather than a few days in after a full stretch playing shows in the US.
Personally, I can’t wait to get back to NX - and thankfully it won’t be much of a wait with Australian dance pop four piece Confidence Man heading to Tyneside in November - hopefully this time I’ll see the full effect of the new balconies.