The Ancienne Belgique (French for 'Old Belgium') is a concert hall for contemporary music in Brussels, Belgium. Located in the historic heart of Brussels, it is one of the leading concert venues in Belgium, hosting a wide variety of international and local acts. Some 300,000 people attend a concert at the "AB" every year.
The venue consists of three concert halls: the "Main Hall", the "ABBox", and the "ABClub". The Main Hall is, logically, the Ancienne Belgique's main hall, and has a capacity of 2,000 people. It is said to be one of the best concert halls in Belgium, with perfect acoustics.[citation needed] The ABBox is the latest addition to the Ancienne Belgique. It is the same space as the Main Hall, but rearranged for greater intimacy: the seats in the back and the balconies at the sides of the hall are covered, limiting its capacity to 800 people. The ABBox is the Ancienne Belgique's response to the need for a smaller concert hall to host less well-known acts, helping them gain a new and larger audience. The ABClub has a capacity of approximately 250 people, and hosts smaller, up-and-coming acts.
Notable concertsEdit
In January 1955, Jacques Brel supported the performances of the Belgian pop and variety pioneer Bobbejaan Schoepen for one week.
Suicide performed at the Ancienne Belgique on June 16, 1978. The crowd was hostile, wanting to hear the main act (Elvis Costello), and the members of Suicide antagonized the audience further during the performance. The recorded performance, on which many confrontational exchanges can be heard, was eventually released as 23 Minutes Over Brussels.
In 1982, The Cure played a concert which ended in a fight between band-members on stage.[1] The band split up right after this gig, yet reformed months later.
Circa 1986, Ancienne Belgique hosted a popular club night with DJ "Fat" Ronny Harmsen whose distinctive DJ-ing style, dubbed "AB" music after the club's initials, laid the groundwork for the emergence of the New Beat genre.[2]
The Domino festival, which was held annually from 1999 to 2011, hosted some underground artists that later broke into the mainstream.[3]
Albums and videos recorded at the Ancienne BelgiqueEdit
In 1999, Iggy Pop performed a concert that was recorded on a DVD and made available with his 2005 release A Million in Prizes.
In 2000, the rock band Oasis played a notable concert which was taped by MTV.
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The Ancienne Belgique French for Old Belgium is a concert hall for contemporary music in Brussels Belgium Located in the historic heart of Brussels it is one of the leading concert venues in Belgium hosting a wide variety of international and local acts Some 300 000 people attend a concert at the AB every year Ancienne BelgiqueA concert taking place in the main hallAddressAnspachlaan Boulevard Anspach 110LocationB 1000 Brussels BelgiumCoordinates50 50 49 N 4 20 55 E 50 84694 N 4 34861 E 50 84694 4 34861OperatorAncienne BelgiqueCapacity2 000 main hall 250 ABClub ConstructionOpened1857Renovated1992WebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 The venue 2 Notable concerts 3 Albums and videos recorded at the Ancienne Belgique 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksThe venue EditThe venue consists of three concert halls the Main Hall the ABBox and the ABClub The Main Hall is logically the Ancienne Belgique s main hall and has a capacity of 2 000 people It is said to be one of the best concert halls in Belgium with perfect acoustics citation needed The ABBox is the latest addition to the Ancienne Belgique It is the same space as the Main Hall but rearranged for greater intimacy the seats in the back and the balconies at the sides of the hall are covered limiting its capacity to 800 people The ABBox is the Ancienne Belgique s response to the need for a smaller concert hall to host less well known acts helping them gain a new and larger audience The ABClub has a capacity of approximately 250 people and hosts smaller up and coming acts Notable concerts EditIn January 1955 Jacques Brel supported the performances of the Belgian pop and variety pioneer Bobbejaan Schoepen for one week Suicide performed at the Ancienne Belgique on June 16 1978 The crowd was hostile wanting to hear the main act Elvis Costello and the members of Suicide antagonized the audience further during the performance The recorded performance on which many confrontational exchanges can be heard was eventually released as 23 Minutes Over Brussels In 1982 The Cure played a concert which ended in a fight between band members on stage 1 The band split up right after this gig yet reformed months later Circa 1986 Ancienne Belgique hosted a popular club night with DJ Fat Ronny Harmsen whose distinctive DJ ing style dubbed AB music after the club s initials laid the groundwork for the emergence of the New Beat genre 2 The Domino festival which was held annually from 1999 to 2011 hosted some underground artists that later broke into the mainstream 3 Albums and videos recorded at the Ancienne Belgique EditIn 1999 Iggy Pop performed a concert that was recorded on a DVD and made available with his 2005 release A Million in Prizes In 2000 the rock band Oasis played a notable concert which was taped by MTV Magnolia Electric Co s live album Trials amp Errors was recorded at Ancienne Belgique in April 2003 and released in January 2005 4 The Hives 2004 performance was released as the live DVD Tussles in Brussels Roisin Murphy released the limited double CD Live at Ancienne Belgique in November 2007 Yeasayer released a live album Live At Ancienne Belgique which was recorded on October 28 2010 in the venue Kings of Leon released a limited edition EP in 2004 Day Old Belgian Blues that was recorded at the ABBox Monster Magnet placed two songs from a 2014 performance which also was the debut for recent bassist Chris Kosnik at the AB on Milking the Stars A Re Imagining of Last Patrol The songs chosen were Last Patrol and Three Kingfishers Calexico released three live albums recorded at the Ancienne Belgique in 2008 and 2012 Netsky went to Ancienne Belgique in 2012 for his song Give amp Take King Gizzard amp the Lizard Wizard s performances at Ancienne Belgique on October 8 and 9 2019 would be released in 2020 as Live in Brussels 19 It would also be partially included in their 2020 concert film Chunky Shrapnel Queens of the Stone Age Therapy Lamb and Chvrches released songs that were recorded in the main hall See also EditList of concert hallsReferences Edit The Cure live concert 11 06 1982 Brussel Ancienne Belgique Belgium Cure Concerts de Retrieved 4 May 2011 Reed S Alexander 2013 Assimilate A Critical History of Industrial Music Oxford University Press p 248 ISBN 9780199832583 Lozowick Surat 6 April 2011 Toppling the last Domino at Ancienne Belgique An interview with Jari Demeulemeester New Europe Agenda New Europe Archived from the original on 23 August 2011 Retrieved 4 May 2011 Trials amp Errors External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ancienne Belgique nbsp Belgium portalOfficial Ancienne Belgique Web Site 50 50 49 N 4 20 55 E 50 84694 N 4 34861 E 50 84694 4 34861 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ancienne Belgique amp oldid 1177124660, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
