The Windmill

My band played here back in 2010. Despite the fact that we were complete dicks and snuck in our own booze, they didn’t throw us out and even ended up being super nice. We had a fun, amazing, and ridiculously drunken show, met a lot of cool people, and would love to return eventually. This time I’ll try not to be such an asshole.

A lovely, no-​nonsense dive bar. You can rely on the Windmill for a mixture of always-​interesting leftfield live music, reasonably priced drinks and good vibrations. All presided over by Roofdog. Lovely.

I saw Hollerado, a Canadian rock band I really like, do a show here. I dragged some friends along were only willing cause the cover was just £5. When we showed up I was nervous my friends weren’t gonna have fun. It’s a small little dingy place. We went in and had some drinks, which weren’t terribly priced. The opening acts had good energy and when Hollerado got up their I realized this little punk pub was perfect. Small intimate show with crazy loud speakers. It was so punk rock. If you get a chance to catch a show there, do it!

Man, this place is a dive but I loved it.
I’m a bit afraid of Brixon, this North London princess doesn’t like scary estates that you must travel up, all the while wondering if Google Maps is messing with you.
But I got there, to a weird community centre place. It was filled with young trendy peeps and old Irish men. Bit of a divey bar, tiny stage and covered in graffiti. The women’s toilets are referred to as ‘Authorities’. Cute.
We went to see Lucero and they tore it up. Crazy to be able to see a favourite band in such an intimate venue. Tickets were a reasonable 15 quid. Take someone there if you want to show them how hip and edgy you are.

Dark, smelly and pretty darn scary.
I’ll get back to you if and when I return.

This is my favorite bar in the entire damn world. It gets the best music in London, and is always a good time. Gonna miss this place as much as anything in London when I go.

Hello cool new music venue. Okay so it’s not new but I’ve only just discovered it and I love it. Decent price drinks, wonderfully clean loos and a dog who lives on the roof — what’s not to love?
As Craig M mentioned, squirrelled away off Brixton Hill is this gig venue that shows great music most nights of the week. They have a BBQ area outside and even though I didn’t get to try it on that night, I bet their beer garden is ace in summer.
Check out their website to see what’s on and you’ll enjoy a mix of arty students and music fans who pilgrim here to listen to great bands at an intimate location. A winner in south London.

Squirrelled down a side street off Brixton Hill that you’re going to get lost trying to find, you’ll find the local community centre, I mean, The Windmill.
Ok so it doesn’t look like much from the outside, and not great looking inside either to be honest, but it’s a rare gem.
You come here for the music, and that’s it. But it does help that they have a trusty bar and a good crowd. Entrance is typically cheap, the drinks too, and you’re likely to be treated to some up and coming bands that might just take your fancy!
If I lived North of the river, I don’t know if I’d trek all the way there for a night out… but I don’t — I live 10mins away which makes this a great, fun and cheapish night out in Brixton. No pretence either!

The Windmill — what a great venue, I wish there were more places like this. Apart from the fact that it’s located right next to a early 19^th century, actual, proper, I saw a mouse on the stair, right there type windmill; it’s also a great place to see some good live music in. They charge door prices which are stuck in some kind of bizarre time warp — a fiver? I haven’t paid that little to get into a gig since the early 90s!!! Leaving you enough money to have a seriously good time with. Sure not every band is a winner but go onto their website, check out the listings and follow the links to myspace and you can get a pretty good idea of what’s in store. And I need to give you the heads up on the garden at the back — lots of room outside for having a much needed breather from all the flailing around you’ll be doing inside!

There’s something very welcoming about the unusually shaped gig setup in this little pub — it encourages people to move towards the stage and makes the place look bustling even if there aren’t that many people present. The people who run it are also unusual in that they get interesting bands along, promote the shows well and get people to come and watch — all basic requirements of a music venue but sadly lacking in many.
In nice weather there are barbeques every Sunday in the back garden and there’s some space to sit or stand out the front, though inevitably this is dominated by smokers. It’s a great place to come and see quite well known US acts who are a bit more underground here — last year I know I missed Bowerbirds performing because I didn’t find out until the day afterwards, no fault of the promoters though!

Good things first: the bar staff at The Windmill are delightful and willingly kept our coats behind the bar for us. The décor is rather fun and they offer some interesting lineups, and you do get a lot of support acts for your ticket. Unfortunately, it’s just not a good venue for live music.
There are two major problems with The Windmill. The first one is that it’s a sort of C shape with the band at the top end of the C, meaning that you can only see the stage from about a quarter of the floorspace.
The second problem is that the guy who appears to be the resident sound engineer seems to think that loud equals awesome. It’s hard to say whether the sound system is any goodalthough I suspect it’s probably shot after all the punishment it’s receivedas when I saw Rose Elinor Dougall headlining in February 2009, three of the four acts were painful to listen to because the vocals were distorted to the point of incoherence. By the end of the second support act, most of the audience had moved back round the C to get away from the abominable noise, and the only people left by the stage had come prepared with earplugs. Rose herself actually muttered at one point that It’s a bit f_​_​_​ing loud.
Oh yeah, and also, there’s a huge pillar right in the middle just a few feet from the stage, so if you do retreat further back to escape the efforts of the crazy sound guy, you’ll be lucky to see anything.

Aah my new discovery great place, great location, great bands, great fun, great big dog on the roof! What can I say its the Tardis off pubs not exactly inviting on the outside but fantastic on the inside only wish I’d discovered it when I lived around the corner. Impress your mates with this hidden gem!

The Brixton Windmill is my favourite London venue, hands down. Their programming is the most interesting, their atmosphere the most relaxed, their layout the most amusing and least frustrating. Its location is pretty odd, in the shadow of a prison and nestled next to some impossibly bleak looking council estates at the bottom end of the Brixton build up.

The Windmill. Where would we be without it? It’s got it all. But first, let’s talk about the bad stuff. It’s out of the way. It looks like a community centre. The sound quality isn’t superb.
But… aside from all that. They put on great bands. And yes, Stereolab did play here recently. The venue has such a good rep that bands too big for the place will come back time and time again. Which is exactly what Clor did, until they broke up.
The icing on the cake though, is the free barbeque put on every Sunday. Just get there early if you don’t want to miss out on the vegetarian choice.

Watkins is an esoteric book temple. They carry new and used books on all types of spiritual subjects, from Buddhism, Wicca, astrology to I-​Ching and much more. Tarot cards, candles and other spiritual artifacts are also for sale here. Whenever I need a little divine inspiration I go into this shop to peruse the selection. Most of the time I am tempted to lie facedown on the floor and start meditating, but although this place is a tolerance sanctuary, for some reason I don’t think that kind of behaviour would be acceptable. If you’re into tarot card readings or psychics, professionals come here to give readings for a fee a few days a week. You don’t have to book an appointment to come to the shop, but you definitely have to book an appointment to get your palm read.

A great venue hidden away in the suburbs of Brixton.
On first glance you’d be mistaken for thinking this place was some sort of community centre for hippies burn outs but this little place has a lot to offer.
Atmosphere is always key to a live gig and the slightly unusual shaping of the place means you really have to clammer around to see the band, giving it a great intimate diy feel. The stage isn’t particularly raised up either again bringing the music back to the audience.
Drink wise I’m usually sated. They’ve always had a bottle of Wild Turkey behind the bar which in the past has been known to get me into work majorly late if playing out on a school night Never a good look but gigs at the Windmill can be so enchanting it can be hard to resist the festivities.
Charlie Parr has been known to play his excellent blues grass down there on more than one occasion as part of the Let’s Go Baboon gigs. Always worth a look for their interesting choice of artists.
Overall the Windmill is one of those rare smaller gig venues that gives something a little more than others of the same ilk. It’s not quite a tangible quantifiable thing, but it’s definitely in the air thereand if you don’t find it at first try looking after a savage investigation into what’s at the bottom of that beastly Wild Turkey bottle and the mists may start to clear.

The Windmill has such a fantastic name for live music in London, but I fail to see why.
The first thing I look for in a good music venue is always the area. It’s just a little bit out of the way unless you are a Brixton local. It’s tucked-​away in a little residential area of the main street.
The bands that play there are really hit and miss. Sometimes you get a really good underground band that plays and it’s a total surprise but others it’s just your bog-​standard rock /​punk /​indie band playing because it’s cheap and easy to get a gig there. However, having said that, check the listings on their website, there might be a wee gem hidden on their monthly calendar of events.
There are always a few locals sitting in having a pint and then fans and friends of whatever band is playing. I’m not sure of the set up, sound or the atmosphere, it’s really average.
I’m such a big live music freak and have been to almost every little venue in London and this one doesn’t cut it. Great if you know what’s on and you happen to be in Brixton but don’t go out of your way to go to The Windmill.

I had one of the best nights out recently at The Windmill. Admittedly it could have been because of the group that I was with, or the fact that I was drunk, but I like to think that The Windmill itself had something to do with it.
This tiny little place is tucked away in a residential street away from the high street of Brixton, and if you are looking for it for the first time you will probably get lost, I know I did. Its a great moment; you walk towards it, thinking ‘this can’t be it, this little stand alone building that looks like a garage’, but it is, and you walk in, and it is packed with everyone having a great time.
The Windmill specialises in live music. You buy tickets on the door and they are generally about £5.00. A lot of the bands are up and coming kids who have sent in their demos. Some of it is hit and miss, but other times, you stand a chance of seeing a band that you will be hearing on the radio in 6 months. Last time I was there I watched a performance of a guy wearing a Jason mask from Friday 13^th. I’m not sure that I will be hearing him on the radio anytime soon. I once heard a rumour that one of my favourite bands, Stereolab had made an impromptu appearance here and done a set. If anyone could corroborate this I would be most grateful.

The Windmill is a great place to discover new and upcoming artists. I’ve seen many bands here including Clem Snide, The Rumble Strips, John Vanderslice and Los Campesinos. Each one has been a memorable occassion. The summer weekend barbeques are a fantastic way of whiling away sunny days whilst listening to interesting artists.
It’s not the most attractive venue you’ve seen, and the pillar near the stage does obscure the view for people quite near the front, but these little things are part of the charm.
The bar prices are fairly reasonable, and the odd combination of locals watching the football in one corner and some rising indie superstars playing in another is an enjoyable one.

This is a great small venue hidden away in the backlanes of South London. They host all of the best up and coming bands and it shows that they take pride in the programming rather than just sticking anybodys grandad on stage with a cymbal and a trumpet.
Just take a look at who’s played there British Sea Power, Jeffrey Lewis, Parts and Labour, Yeasayer, Klaxons, The Wombats, Enon