The Good Ship

It’s one of gems of Kilburn. The venue offers live music and comedy nights. I’ve seen many great bands there. Good ship is also an excellent destination if you are looking for somewhere to have a drink with mates. Defenitely five stars.

If like me, you’re a fan of live music and looking for somewhere to break up the monotony of life during the week then look no further than The Good Ship.
Located in the heart of Kilburn, The Good Ship is not only a live music venue but a bar, nightclub and arts centre all in one. Easily accessible on Kilburn High Road they offer live bands, DJ’s, comedians, spoken word and story telling. Check out their events section to see what’s on and take in a few acts.
Inside, the place has a relaxed atmosphere with lots of like-​minded people and bands there to enjoy the night and have a good time.
There is a wide range of drinks available at the bar and this is certainly a place where you’ll meet a few characters, many who have had one too many of said drinks.
The bands all seem to love playing here, many of which are trying to make it in the business. I myself haven’t had the privilege of performing here but some of my friends have and they all enjoy the intimate atmosphere of a smaller venue.
This place comes highly recommended and you are certain to have a good time and meet some interesting people!

Great bar, live music /​comedy venue with friendly staff and decent prices.
There’s music and dancing until late at the weekends, the genre can be anything from electro pop to rock n roll depending on the night so check before you go if you’re fussy!

I LOVE The Good Ship and have made the journey to Kilburn from South East London on many occasions because some of the best bands play there and I just love the vibe. The Good Ship’s Captain John rocks, too. Affordable booze and entry, friendly people and I also like that where the bands play is a virtual TV show.

The Good Ship is mainly a music oriented pub on Kilburn High Road (just along from the Luminaire), but also has comedy nights.
The front half of the pub has a long traditional bar on one side, with a range of lagers and real ales at not outrageous prices (especially considering it is a late night venue in London). Plenty of space and a few tables so provides somewhere to chill if you don’t want to be too close to whatever entertainment is on stage.
The stage is towards the rear and a bit oddly is sunken below bar level and has a small standing area immediately in front of it providing the opportunity to get up close. There are also a few stools dotted around on the main bar level giving more of an overview and also a higher ‘balcony’ level with a bit more of a birds eye view at the side, although when I was last there this was being used by the musicians as a storage area.
Unlike so many venues, the layout of The Good Ship means you can go closer to the stage to see/​hear whoever appeals, but if not can lurk by the bar without being deafened.
Overall a great little venue, thoroughly recommended — either go to see someone specific or just drop in and see whats on (the website has listings so its easy to find out whats on before going if your looking for a specific style

Alas!
My spiritual home.
I stumbled into this place by accident.
As far as I was concerned, it had come out of the ground, and I spent the first two hours wondering where this place had been hidden. similar to someone whose just stepped into the Tardis and found Dr. Who had been running a massage parlour from it.
I used to dislike Kilburn, my mum used to drag out there to do the cheap shopping and we’d be there for ages. and it was on the way to school, so I saw the dump «nearly» everyday
How was I to know… I often tell my friends Kilburn is Marakesh in the daylight and Vegas at night (on a much smaller scale of course) But the things I’ve seen and the people I’ve met, People I will be friends with for life.
Sorry, let me talk to you about the bar itself. It’s grotty, nicely grotty. The staff are awesome (except a few individuals, but they don’t spoil the broth). They get great bands and some great DJ’s and you can just have fun all night long. They close at about 4am on the weekend and around 2am during the week. and there’s always a good crowd.

The Good Ship is a versatile venue — it plays host to a range of music acts throughout the week, culminating in a late one on a Saturday, whilst also playing host to The Good Ship Comedy Club (formerly known as Porthole) and then doubling up as a venue for spoken word events.
The stage is sunk below the bar and underneath a main seating area, which can be reserved for parties, and as a spectator, gives you a grandstand view of the bands that are on. As a performer it is a little odd playing to a group of people below and above you, but a great experience all the same.
The clean exterior has little seating save for a few chairs and tables, but they only serve to get in the way once your dancing shoes are on.
The bar staff are amazingly friendly, if not a little hipster when bands are on, and the drinks are mid range pricewise.

I came here on a very freezing Sunday night and was happily surprised to find that this place was packed! There was a live acoustic set, cute guys and comfy couches to sit on. Not to mention, the place wasn’t set to close until 2am, on a Sunday! Now if it was only closer to Fulham…

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
Oh GS, I love all the awesome music you have on your free jukebox, and I also love your choice of DJ’s, such as the ever-​charming Sid Trotter with his indie-​rocktastic beats and Maurice, with his Motown moments…
I love your reasonably priced drinks, and your ability to always make me want to drink Jaeger-​bombs, despite not liking Jaegermeister or Red Bull very much…
Your owner and Captain, John, is so friendly and welcoming and works hard to make you an awesome and diverse venue by getting you to host many different nights, such as Comedy, Pop Quiz and the acoustic Sunday Cruise as well as regular club nights and live music…
I am so happy to have met so many awesome people and made so many wonderful friends through you, it’s great having a local hang-​out where you can be guaranteed to see someone you know and be welcomed by friendly staff…
Oh the amount of times that I have left you at 4.30 in the morning, a little worse for wear and hungry like the wolf, but oh-​so-​happy!
I might arrive to you as a second choice, a little tipsy already from your surrounding establishments, but it is you who stays open so late and compels me to dance… and you always make my shoes a little mucky in your dance ‘pit’…
Oh I love you, but I wish you weren’t so smelly… I know you try to hide it with incense, but there is only so much those little sticks can do…
Oh GS, I have to give you 5 stars, quite simply for all the fun nights I have had in you.

On a Monday there is only one place to go, to The Porthole Comedy night held here in it’s little theatre. It is a great little venue (won best small comedy venue 2009), intimate but you aren’t on top of each other. It’s the mini comedy store with real headline acts. Stephen Merchant to name, er, one! Oh and it’s a couple of quid.

Nette Bar mit reichlich Live-​Acts, die auf einer kleinen abgesenkten Bühne spielen, die — wenn keine Livemusic gespielt wird — als Tanzfläche dient. Dadurch kommt kuschelige Stimmung auf. Eintrittspreise sind sehr passabel mit ca. 5 Pfund.

The Good Ship is probably the thing I miss most about living in Kilburn. Thursday nights are particularly good, when there are usually three or four live bands followed by a good indie disco. It’s very reasonable to get in too, around a fiver. The bar staff are always very friendly even when it’s really busy and likewise the other customers are pretty friendly and easy going too, you’re not likely to find a fight here which makes a very pleasant difference to most of Kilburn!

I love the Good Ship! Just down the road from the much feted Luminaire, the Good Ship could be seen as it’s little brother, as its a bit smaller in stature, a bit cheaper to get in, and a lot less pretentious in atmosphere.
It’s about a 3 minute walk from Brondesbury station, and you’ll see the big painted sign on the outside wall as you walk up, inviting you in.
The venue is big and spacious, and quite airy, the bar is long and clean, and upstairs there is a small seated area that sometimes serves as a backstage, and sometimes gets hired out for birthday parties.
Check out the amazing jukebox too, and sit back and enjoy the great bands.

The Good ship is a venue that you may definitely get along with, 2 minute walk from the station and easy to spot. Inside can get mildly packed but its still all good fun. They have an awesome line up of musicians bands and solo artists. They also hook up with BAMBOOZLE a events/​party organization for students. They bar prices are fair and theres also raised seating so you can also watch the live acts from above.

The Good Ship is about 2 minutes walk from the critically acclaimed music venue, The Luminaire, so this little place has a lot to live up to.
The bar itself is pretty bog standard and the actual music /​comedy venue is basically a little space within that bar, all on the one floor. It’s an odd layout. The stage is lower than the ground level and therefore gives a «gallery» feel to the live events as people can huddle around and watch from above.
I have not seen any comedy at this venue before but I have seen a few bands here. I’m not sure I like the way it’s designed and the sound doesn’t carry very well. It almost seems like what could be a totally perfect, awesome little pub is simply just trying to hard to be something it’s not.
If you are just wanting a quiet drink, you simply cannot do that because as soon as a band hits the stage, all are forced to listen and there’s no getting away from the live music.
Having said all this, the saving grace here is that The Good Ship’s owner, John, is super friendly and accommodating and the rest of the bar staff follow suit.
It’s not the best place in the world to hang out and see a band but it wins extra brownie points for it’s casual and relaxed vibe.

The Good ship is an intriguing venue, hosting a mix of live music, DJ’s and comedy throughout the week to the wee small hours. The layout of the venue is slightly odd the first time you go but soon you’ll come to love the pit area where the bands and comedians do their thing and want to get up to the raised balcony to overlook everyone dancing away late into the night.
I’ve been to quite a few of the comedy nights here and there has been nothing but brilliant talent every time with respected headline comedians coming back to play the venue again.
The music can seem loud at times but I’m putting that down to my slowly advancing years! A free jukebox with a great selections of albums is perched not far from the bar on those quieter nights when there is no live music or DJ’s and as well as the aforementioned music and comedy the Good Ship also shows the football for those inclined as well as hosting film nights as part of local film festivals.

Went here recently for one of the Saturday gig nights — fun place, really good mix of people, some great live music and a good range of tunes afterwards.
However, and this may just be my age and going to far too many gigs in my 20sthe music is pretty damn loud in my view — expect to have one of those conversations where you shout in someone’s ear, they look at you slightly bemused, then shout in your ear and you realise they looked bemused as you can’t hear a word they are saying!
Anyway, besides that — good range of drinks and pretty reasonably priced.
The stage/​dancefloor is very small though and it’s an unusual place to watch a gig as the stage is basically down a small square where you can fit a few people in front watching it and then everyone else peers down from the balconies surrounding it. I’m told it’s good fun to play though.
Oh and it’s open well past my bedtime

Cool neighbourhood pub in Kilburn. The bar is the sort of laid-​back place where everyone’s made to feel welcome, and the crowd is therefore quite mixed. Most of the front of the bar is a single large room with a mix of seating, stools along ledges, and open areas for standing about.
At the back of the bar is a small stage area where they often have live bands, or — on Mondays — a very reasonably priced comedy night (see the web page for listings). I went here a few months ago and for a fiver saw four comedians, including Shazia Mirza (
) !
Open late, until 2am most nights and 4am on the weekends. I think this text from their web page gives you a feel for the sort of friendly place it is: We say no to alcopops, fruit machines, change on a plate. We say yes to real ales, customers of all ages and enjoying a friendly, non pretentious atmosphere.

The Good Ship is where you will inevitably end up on a night out in Kilburn. It is always open late and there is always music playing (but not to loudly.) Lots of live music events and they do comedy on monday nights. Door entry for gigs in normally under £5. They lock the door late at night to keep out trouble but knock on the window and give the bar staff a wave and they will let you in.

I just love this place. The good ship is a great place to go on a saturday night after a few drinks on Kilburn High Road. Granted the music is always the same– but isn’t it great! The indie playlists are fantastic. The drinks always seem a lot stronger than what you’ve paid for– but hay maybe that’s why I love it so much! The dance floor is tiny but sufficient enough to dance away on till the early hours– open till 4am on a saturday and good value to get in at that.
I just haven’t had a bad night here yet. It’s the kind of place where everyone is very approachable and easy to talk to– a rare thing to find in London.

«A bar /​pub /​club transmographication» reads a helpful explanation above the entrance, well if not helpful I suppose it gives you a kind of impression of the intentions of The Good Ship.
There seems to be some kind of live music show case with 4 bands and djs for pudding most nights. Witht the sprinkling of comedy nights, and sports on screens (- which I hear is what some perverts like doing with their eyes whilst drinking).
Djs are on till 4 am on a Saturday which is helpful when you’re stumbling around Kilburn High Road. The dance floor/​stage area is a bit of an architectural oddity… well a «pit» to be more specific, can be quite an intimidating prospect at quieter moments.
The Good Ship also happens to have possibly the best jukebox I have ever come across, including Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, post-​punk whatnots, Roots Manuva… blah blah blah
The Good Ship often attracts a large crowd of young scamps, the kind of Top Shopped ‘Skins’ extras you only see migrating to two venues in Kilburn — The Good Ship and the even newer Westbury. I presume they are migrating from the suburbs, either that or they are employed by Brent Council to beautify Kilburn High Road with indie sex-​things in a bid to stop Kilburn becoming a Logan Run-​type Sanctuary for older boozers, cos I sure haven’t seen them around in the day time… and god knows I’ve been looking (* fastens cord around brown mac*)
The Good Ship also happens to be owned by a charismatic fellow called «Good Ship John» …who you will have spoken to be the end of night.
…from 8^th Januray 2008 The Good Ship is hosting comedy nights every Monday.