Victoria Warehouse

An all round terrible experience.

I went to see two great bands: Bonobo and Caribou but it ended up being one of the worst gigs I've been to.

Getting in took nearly an hour and we missed half of Caribou's set just so they could funnel thousands and thousands of people past TWO drugs dogs. It really was pathetic. God knows how many people were behind us but I imagine many people would have missed Caribou altogether.

The bar queues were 6 or 7 deep, increasing to 10 or more between sets. It took so long to get a drink. The staff had no idea what they were doing and no sense of urgency at all. Using two people to take every order with one fumbling around on an iPad and the other one pacing up and down the bar trying to find whatever people had asked for and then feeling the need to open every can that was ordered. A complete waste of time and money for some warm drinks. £5 for a tiny 330ml can of lager or £11 for a double mixer.

Then the worst part, the acoustics. What a mess. I've seen both bands before in much better venues. I really appreciate the sound of a good band but this venue was a complete let down. While I was stood at the side bar, some 20 feet from the edge of the crowd, I could barely even recognise that it was caribou playing. The sound slightly improved for Bonobo but even then, you had to be right in the crowd, at a minimum in the front third.

The only positive I can give is that the venue looks impressive but I won't be going here for a gig again.

Went here to see Lorde on the 28th of May and had an awful experience. We arrived early in the day were told by security there was no O2 priority and therefore our place in the line would be accurate to where we would be stood.
Around 4pm we were told there was in fact O2 priority and we would now be split into queues. we got over this as we would still be relatively close.

However, once in separate queues at 4.30 we were told if we left the queue - to go to the public toilets we would not be allowed back to our place in the line. This meant that for two and a half hours in the boiling heat we had no access to toilets, water facilities or food. We were then made to stand for forty five minutes till we were let in past 7pm.
This was made even worse once we got into the venue where there was no ventilation and security only passed out minuscule cups of water before the concert had even began. We witnessed multiple people faint and get carried out.

Such a shame as Lorde was absolutely amazing and a spectacular performer.
The venue ruined an experience we had waited almost a year to see.

Absolutely extortionate prices at the bar, cost £7.75 for a single shot of vodka and diet coke. Was not allowed to bring in a rucksack and had to go to a nearby premier inn who thankfully were kind enough to help and let me keep the bag behind the desk. Stage was too low & was almost impossible to see clearly, in the balcony area they put up TVs which just made me wander why I'd bothered going to see live music in the first place. Will definitely be avoiding in the future.

Shocking venue. Do not buy tickets if you have the option of travelling to another tour date in another city. Promoters need to start thinking about ditching this place as it’s not fit for purpose for the amount of people being crammed in.

+ security are friendly and effective
+ toilets are fine and never too busy

- feels dangerously full everywhere. People were standing so far back tonight that even the bar area wasn’t accessible at times.
- bar prices are obscene.

I really dont think this venue should base its capacity on filling the bar, where you simply can’t see the stage. If you can’t fit everyone who wants to watch the show into the room beyond the brick wall, then that seems ridiculous. Should 10% of the tickets come with a ‘restricted view’ tag? You don’t buy a cinema ticket to then be expected to stand in the doorway with half of the screen out of view. I’d never expect to have an incredible view at any gig, but I would at least expect to be able to gain entry to the room where the gig was happening.

Worst music venue I ve ever been to. Went to see one of my favourite artists - Paolo Nuttini. For first time ever after attending concerts for decades, we left early - just over an hour after Paolo started playing. Overcrowded in a space clearly unsuitable for a concert, poor visibility to stage, no visibility at the back, useless acoustics, low ceiling, claustrophic and poor ventilation. Music comes over as a dull thud when stood at the back, couldn t even tell that there was saxophone playing. Don t waste your money on this place - no decent nearby parking and £3.50 for a small bottle of water to add insult to injury.

Just an empty cold warehouse with electricity. Terrible sound at venue, vocals distorted and acoustics leave a lot to be desired. Sound often lost in the space. Power-outage 3 mins into the main act didn't help. Atmosphere decent once the band got going
Drinks at £5.20 a can of Carlesberg, overpriced and bar staff slow. Not going back.

Went to see Paolo Nutini on Saturday 22nd and have never been so disappointed. Paolo was amazing but this venue is the worst venue I have ever been in. Unless you were happy to be crammed in like sardines at the front you have no chance of seeing ANYTHING. I only saw a fleeting glimpse of Paolo throughout the whole evening. Sound quality was terrible and far too many people milling about near the bar/at the back/sides just talking to each other and not respecting the fact you’re meant to be at a gig listening to the artist! The tv screens in the bar area were terrible - due to the position of the camera you STILL couldn’t see Paolo due to the lighting! It was essentially a tv screen showing the crowd. I would never pay to see a gig at this venue again - I’m sure Manchester must have somewhere better to offer?! A total disappointment on what should have been a fantastic evening.

Absolutely terrible venue. Go to any other date on the tour, even if you have to travel further, just don't go here.

Unfortunately I didn't read the reviews of this place before I bought the tickets although at the time of booking I did think it weird that I had never heard of this venue before, and maybe this is why.

I go to a lot of gigs and I've been to probably hundreds of venues, big and small, but this was my worst gig experience ever. So much so that we left 10 minutes into the main band, having tried standing in multiple locations and resigned ourselves to the fact that there was absolutely no point being there.

If the sound was poor and the view was decent (or we had any view at all) we would have stayed. If we had no view but the sound was good we would have stayed. But looking at a brick wall with tinny music in the background is not my idea of a gig.

We arrived after doors opened so we knew we'd be near the back, people were still queuing outside though so it's not like we strolled in at the last minute expecting an amazing view. However, what you don't expect is "the back" to be a completely different room separated from the area where the stage is by massive brick pillars. There was no way to get through the crowd into the main area so we went to the balcony where the view was also none existent. We thought maybe we'd just watch the show on the TV screens, but they were so small and blurred that if you didn't know who you were watching it could have literally been anyone. We'd have been better off staying at home and watching videos of previous shows on You Tube.

To top it off, when the security guy on the door asked why we were leaving and we explained he just laughed and said 'if you leave you can't come back in'. He had either not listened to a word we said or simply didn't care. I realise that sometimes it can be an external security firm but surely they should be taught how to handle situations like this a bit better, especially since after reading some reviews it seems like this is a regular occurrence at this venue.

Don't waste your money. Hopefully if shows don't sell out bands will stop playing here.

OK if you get in the main room or VIP balcony but other than that the sound is not great and you end up watching it on a TV screen where the artists are blurred out by stage light. The place needs to invest in proper cameras and screens if they continue to let people stand in the back rooms. Not cool

Attended to see Mabel live. Bit of a trek from the city centre where we were staying but its a great venue - loads of toilets, lots of well-staffed bars, friendly security and drinks were not rip off prices. Pretty good view without feeling over crowded.