Capacity: 425
Who plays there: Bush Hall is especially popular with Americana acts – the next few weeks alone see the Barr Brothers, Hiss Golden Messenger and Hamell on Trial playing there – perhaps because of its proximity to both the K West Hotel (where many American acts stay when in London) and Heathrow airport. But it’s also a hugely popular venue for sponsored gigs, and for secret shows by major artists – Paul Weller, Adele, Bastille, Ellie Goulding and Suede have all played there in recent years.
Cloakroom: Yes
Admission: Usually around the £15 mark.
Bar: Yes, but nothing on draught – for beer, it’s bottled beers decanted into plastic glasses, including some decent local brews. Spirits and wines are available, of course. Soft drinks come from big plastic bottles, so if you’re on the Diet Coke all night you run the risk of getting a drink that’s lost its fizz. Shepherd’s Bush is an area that’s surprisingly light on good pubs – the nearest ones that are genuinely nice as opposed to grimly functional are the Queen Adelaide, which is five minutes’ walk west along the Uxbridge Road, and the Crown and Sceptre, five minutes’ walk south on Melina Road.
Food: Not in the venue itself, but the adjoining Bush Hall Dining Rooms is a destination in its own right, and offers a pre-gig menu from 6-8pm at £11 for one course or £14 for two. Sample dishes include cheeseburger, risotto, haddock and chips or a goat’s cheese, poached pear, dandelion and balsamic salad. If you want to eat locally before the gig, many other options are available – one of the best Syrian restaurants in London, Abu Zaad, is just a couple of minutes’ walk away.
Toilets: Clean and fine, but small and cramped. You will have to queue. Even the men.
Wheelchair access: There is step-free access at ground-floor level, and a disabled toilet. Carers and those accompanying will be admitted free of charge, and seats can be provided for those who need them.
Sound: As ever, the sound engineer can make or break the performance, but the acoustics in this small early-20th-century music hall are reliably clear, and despite the ornate decoration, there’s no need to worry about it not being loud enough – rock bands can be as at home here as singer-songwriters.
Where to stand: This is a small room, so there’s not really a bad spot. There’s a tiny balcony, but don’t bother with it – only three or four people can actually see from there, it’s so small. The venue is never oversold, either, so if you are tall enough you can stand in comfortable amounts of space near the back and still have a great view. Otherwise, fight your way to the front by making your way down the sides and then cutting in to the centre.
Overall: Bush Hall is a delight. It feels like the old dance hall it was in the 1920s, all crystal chandeliers and ornate cornices. It became a gig venue in 2001, having been a snooker hall beforehand, and its restoration has been loving and complete. But the lushness of the room doesn’t mean a compromise on atmosphere: Bush Hall doesn’t feel sterile, as some well-heeled rooms can – it can get raucous with the right band. Its size means it creates intimacy, and if you’re lucky enough to get a ticket for a big act playing a show here, you’re in for a treat. A gig at Bush Hall feels like an event in the way one at a pub venue of similar size doesn’t. The only gripe one might have is that for some reason audiences often sit on the floor for support bands, which can mean you walk into the room and have to halt immediately, despite it being only half full. For goodness sake, stand up and let the rest of us in!
Address: 310 Uxbridge Road, London W12 7LJ.
Telephone: 020-8222 6955.
Website: bushhallmusic.co.uk
Public transport: Bush Hall is very well served. Shepherd’s Bush Market station, on the Hammersmith and City tube line, is five minutes away, with Shepherd’s Bush tube (Central line) and railway (London Overground) stations 10 minutes away. Buses 94, 148, 49, N207, 283, 72, 260, 207, 266, 295 and 288 all stop either outside the venue or nearby on Shepherd’s Bush Green.
