New sound at The Louisiana

We’ve been looking at how brilliant small music venues are in Bristol recently and one name which keeps cropping up is The Louisiana.

We asked a dozen prominent musicians and music lovers what their favourite Bristol venue was and about half said the Louie. Among these was Bristol’s most prolific gig goer Big Jeff. He said: “My favourite small venue is the Louisiana, I think its probably the best venue in Bristol. It’s a venue that is steeped in Bristol history, it’s very intimate and the sound is always really good.

“You just marvel at the posters of who they have had coming through their doors and who is coming up. I’ve seen classic shows in there from the likes of Fleet Foxes, Beach House, Scissor Sistors, The Cribs, Boom Bip Pretty Girls Make Graves, Foals amongst many others. It’s a great place to see the up and coming artists before the head off to the likes of the Academy or into complete obscurity.”

Louie owner Mig Schillace agrees. He said: “I think people love it because of the great history we have with the amount of amazing bands that have played there.” He listed off some of the now big acts who once trod the boards at the Louie creating endless ‘I woz there’ moments. Coldplay (3 times), The Whitestripes, Amy Winehouse, Super Furry Animals, Placebo, Florence & The Machine, Kasabian, Scissor Sisters (3 times), Snow Patrol (3 times), Jose Gonzalez, Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes, Muse (4 times), Young Fathers, Kings Of Leon, Interpol, The Libertines, Stereophonics (Twice), Goldfrapp, Dry The River, The Strokes…the list goes on.

And sound is something that’s very important to The Louie. They recently installed a brand new sound desk and have been receiving compliments from bands and punters alike. When we asked Mig what helps make a good small venue, he immediately replied: “Sound. We’re probably the most over spec’d venue of it’s size in the country and the best sounding.” But obviously that’s not all. You could have the best sound desk and acoustics in the world, but if you’re a hole run by money-grabbing reality TV fans, it aint gonna cut the mustard. So what else?

Mig said: “Lots of hard work & dedication and having a great team is a must. And an element of sacrifice. Years ago, we had a situation where we had noise complaints from one of our ‘then’ neighbours – We ended up having to close for a month and spend £60K to sound proof the Live room.  It was a choice of either throwing in the towel or selling our family home so we could get the work done – we sold our house.”

That’s dedication to the cause, and thankfully for Team Louie, it’s paid off with the future looking bright. Mig added: “We’ll carry on putting on quality national touring acts as well as Bristol/Bath based bands. We’re also looking to move the Green room next to the stage and fit in showers for touring bands. We have plans to open in the daytime, as a live music, bar & grill, once the construction of Wapping Wharf, opposite The Louisiana is completed.”

Exciting times!

Follow The Louisiana on Facebook (TheLouisiana) and Twitter (@LouisianaVenue) and visit: www.thelouisiana.net