Brixton Windmill, Brixton, London

Good things first: the bar staff at The Windmill are delightful and willingly kept our coats behind the bar for us. The decor is rather fun and they offer some interesting lineups, and you do get a lot of support acts for your ticket. Unfortunately, it’s just not a good venue for live music.

There are two major problems with The Windmill. The first one is that it’s a sort of C shape with the band at the top end of the C, meaning that you can only see the stage from about a quarter of the floorspace.

The second problem is that the guy who appears to be the resident sound engineer seems to think that loud equals awesome. It’s hard to say whether the sound system is any good—although I suspect it’s probably shot after all the punishment it’s received—as when I saw Rose Elinor Dougall headlining in February 2009, three of the four acts were painful to listen to because the vocals were distorted to the point of incoherence. By the end of the second support act, most of the audience had moved back round the C to get away from the abominable noise, and the only people left by the stage had come prepared with earplugs. Rose herself actually muttered at one point that “It’s a bit f___ing loud.”

Oh yeah, and also, there’s a huge pillar right in the middle just a few feet from the stage, so if you do retreat further back to escape the efforts of the crazy sound guy, you’ll be lucky to see anything.

Famed for their live music every night of the week, the Windmill is not just a Brixton but a London institution. Their website is a winner with a up to date list of upcoming gigs - even if the names of bands don’t sound familiar now they probably will within the year - the Windmill has played host to some of the most famous British bands ever at some point in their career. Worth checking out if you love live gigs.

I have heard about the windmill and as I only live down the road I thought I would cycle past and have a look when I was out on my bike recently. I was a bit put off by the big scary barking dog on the roof but it did look like a colourful quirky place tucked away from the main Brixton circuit. The Windmill website has a whole list of their upcoming gigs which are all very reasonably priced. I will definitely being going back one evening and giving it another shot.

A great venue hidden away in the suburbs of Brixton.

On first glance you’d be mistaken for thinking this place was some sort of community centre for hippies burn outs but this little place has a lot to offer.

Atmosphere is always key to a live gig and the slightly unusual shaping of the place means you really have to clammer around to see the band, giving it a great intimate diy feel. The stage isn’t particularly raised up either again bringing the music back to the audience.

Drink wise I’m usually sated. They’ve always had a bottle of Wild Turkey behind the bar which in the past has been known to get me into work majorly late if playing out on a school night… Never a good look but gigs at the Windmill can be so enchanting it can be hard to resist the festivities.

Charlie Parr has been known to play his excellent blues grass down there on more than one occasion as part of the Let’s Go Baboon gigs. Always worth a look for their interesting choice of artists.

Overall the Windmill is one of those rare smaller gig venues that gives something a little more than others of the same ilk. It’s not quite a tangible quantifiable thing, but it’s definitely in the air there…and if you don’t find it at first try looking after a savage investigation into what’s at the bottom of that beastly Wild Turkey bottle and the mists may start to clear.

A great venue for live music, although slightly oddly-designed with not much space in front of the stage. Gigs on most nights, and a good place to go to discover new bands. Sunday barbecues in summer and the drinks are fairly reasonably priced.

The Windmill is a great place to discover new and upcoming artists. I’ve seen many bands here including Clem Snide, The Rumble Strips, John Vanderslice and Los Campesinos. Each one has been a memorable occassion. The summer weekend barbeques are a fantastic way of whiling away sunny days whilst listening to interesting artists.

It’s not the most attractive venue you’ve seen, and the pillar near the stage does obscure the view for people quite near the front, but these little things are part of the charm.

The bar prices are fairly reasonable, and the odd combination of locals watching the football in one corner and some rising indie superstars playing in another is an enjoyable one.

This is a great small venue hidden away in the backlanes of South London. They host all of the best up and coming bands and it shows that they take pride in the programming rather than just sticking anybodys grandad on stage with a cymbal and a trumpet.

Just take a look at who’s played there… British Sea Power, Jeffrey Lewis, Parts and Labour, Yeasayer, Klaxons, The Wombats, Enon…

The Windmill is a legendary venue, well if it isn’t it should be! It feels a bit like a youth club / scout hut building, dingy and of questionable structural integrity, but the music is fantastic. They put on some of the most interesting underground nights and bands in London and have also hosted loads of big acts either early in their careers or as ‘secret’ weird gigs at their midway point. I saw So So Modern recently and the crowd were just brilliant, everyone there seems to be up for the party all the time and I haven’t seen any bad attitude any time I’ve been there. The backyard for smokers is another good touch, it’s even cheap to get in, usually about £3. They have an ATM but it’s always broken, no card payments so take cash with you.