VENUE O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON, LONDON DATE 08/12/2023
It’s bitterly cold outside tonight as IQ take the stage for yet another ‘Legendary Christmas Bash’, and to be honest, the atmosphere seems a bit frosty inside Islington Academy too. Downgrading from the far more suitable Islington Assembly Hall (where the band played in 2019) or 229 in Great Portland Street, probably hasn’t helped matters as it’s rammed to the rafters inside this soulless concrete box of a venue and sharpened elbows are pointing rigidly outward. There’s little in the way of Christmas cheer for anyone trying to manoeuvre their way towards the stage.
At the bar, one fellow of short stature is even getting belligerent with punters standing in front of him ordering a drink, seemingly oblivious to the fact that’s actually what happens at bars in venues. Later, he and his coterie of pals will be admonished, rightly, for yapping like terriers. There’s been a fair few posts on social media about behaviour at gigs recently, and not just from the prog community. Is this a reflection of where we’re at as a society?