Get Back to the Liverpool Echo Arena for a great gig (Echo Arena Liverpool)

Member Name: mrjoegoodwin

Product:	Echo Arena Liverpool
Date:	28/07/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great modern facility, sound quality, nearby restaurants/bars

Disadvantages: Smaller than some venues, but let it be

For a city that produced the biggest band ever to grace this planet (The Beatles, obviously), Liverpool has historically not been well served with a plethora of decent venues to host concerts, and I can remember seeing The Who perform in a large tent on the docks for the Summer Pops festival a few years ago, such was the lack of an appropriate venue at the time for such a large band.

Liverpool need stand in the shadow of Manchester no longer. Whilst Manchester has always had its Evening News arena, and has been able to attract the biggest names in music through its doors, Liverpool has been forced to watch with an envious glare - not many of the biggest bands want to play at the University, and there aren't many other venues to choose from in the city.

Celebrating it's status as the European City of Culture in 2008, the Echo Arena opened on the waterfront in January of that year, and now gives Liverpudlians a multi-purpose indoor arena to be proud of. Despite clocking in at half the size of the MEN/O2 (10,000 seats may sound vast, but is small fry compared to the aforementioned giants), the Echo Arena is starting to compliment other north west venues, and in some cases (Oasis, Muse to name but two), major artists are overlooking the MEN and choosing to play Liverpool instead. Ok, so this may be because these bands have plans to play stadiums in Manchester on future legs of their tours, but still - Liverpool is now proving a real alternative.

The arena can be reached in about 15 mins when walking from the city centre, and if you can, try and park anywhere except the official car park which serves the arena itself. I had been warned by friends who had attended concerts that the official car park can take up to 2 hours to clear all traffic on a busy night, and although I've done the sensible thing and found some suitable (and free) street parking on every occasion I've been to the arena, other people I know haven't been so lucky. It seems that in the UK, we can build all the fancy new buildings we want, but you'll still have to queue for an age to get out. How I wish sometimes that we had the infrastructure of the USA, where even at football stadiums, driving in and out of the venue is comparatively easy. Anyway, I digress.

Wherever you park/walk, you will most likely approach the arena through Monarch's Quay, a new complex of bars, restaurants and hotels, which offer plenty of options before and after the show if you need refreshments, a meal or a bed for the night. I'd advise to book in advance at the more popular establishments however, I've been to the nearby Pizza Express a couple of times before concerts, and despite being told I didn't need to book, found myself in a long queue to get a table.

The arena building itself is not unattractive to look at, if you like that kind of thing, and is a two-fold structure which houses both the arena, and the BT Convention Centre for exhibitions and conferences. Entrance to the arena is from either the City side (the side facing...the city), or from the river side, which backs on to - you guessed it - the river. Once inside the building however, the concourses are totally open, and you can wander around to meet your friends for a drink if they are sat somewhere different to you. As you would expect, the concourses provide merchandise, food/drink stalls and several bars, which frustratingly force you to empty any purchased bottles of water into a plastic glass before taking into the arena.

Inside the arena itself, and again, the usual mix of a floor seating/standing area and 2 levels of tiered seating are present. Unlike the MEN and the O2 Arena, the Echo has a 'horseshoe' seating bowl, and doesn't offer 360 degree seating - a factor likely influenced by the neighbouring conference centre. Your concert experience won't be affected in any way however.

Sound quality at the Echo Arena is surprisingly good for a venue of its size - quieter songs by Paul Simon still revealed their subtleties, and more raucous tunes by Oasis still packed a punch, instead of being muddied by bad acoustics - the plague of the larger venues.

In 2008, Liverpool also hosted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, a real coup for both the city, and the arena. This time, it was other cities in the country who looked on with envy as the cream of British sport packed into the arena for one night of celebration. I was lucky enough to attend this event, and it was really interesting to see a live television programme being made, including all of the behind the scenes activity that you don't see on the TV. This event showed off the flexibility of the arena, which for one night only, featured a stage in the centre of the floor, a Formula 1 car suspended from the roof, and a cycling ramp which showed off the talents of the British Olympic cycling team, including eventual winner Chris Hoy. Liverpool and the Echo Arena put on a great show that night, demonstrating that the city and venue have much to offer.

Whilst smaller than other arenas in the UK, the Liverpool Echo Arena is one that provides a great modern day arena experience, and one that rivals some of its more illustrious competitors.

Summary: The Long And Winding Road to a great Liverpool venue has finally been built