Around the UK in 80 Venues: Brighton Concorde 2

Location: Madeira Shelter Hall, Madeira Drive, Brighton, East Sussex

Website: http://www.concorde2.co.uk/

Capacity: 540

Come to See: Brits, as the song goes, do like to be beside the seaside, and considering they adore their music too, it's no surprise that this beachfront venue is one of the country's best-loved. Unlike the concrete environs of its similarly beachside predecessor the Concorde, version two is crammed with classical Victorian character, style and period features like its rather beautiful stained-glass windows. And what could be better after a warm day on the shingle opposite eating ice cream than getting even more hot and sweaty watching the latest indie chancers in the evening? Although the type of music isn't guaranteed, as you're just as likely to see rock, pop, jazz, blues, electro and hip hop. Box officer manager Mira Parviainen tells Spinner, "We don't actually have a music policy. We do pretty much everything under the sun."

The Atmosphere: Brighton isn't nick-named 'London on Sea' for nothing and the music scene is arguably as rich and varied as in the capital. Audiences can also be as hard to please and discerning as those up the road, but only the bands have to worry about that. Staff and punters are friendly otherwise and there's never much of a queue for the reasonably-priced booze. Aside from the live music fare on offer, the venue is also a nightclub, and the likes of Mark Ronson, Soulwax and Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook regularly raise the fabulously ornate roof. Good staging and a great sound and lighting system add to the mood; taking music seriously but having a lot of fun with it at the same time.

You Saw Them Here First: Bands aren't averse to a seaside outing either, so most acts will factor in a trip to the Concorde 2 on a UK tour when they first start tasting a modicum of success. Consequently, the likes of Gossip, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs and Scissor Sisters have all played here before going on to sell out the likes of the massive Brighton Centre further along the promenade. Loads of local bands have also started out here -- Foals, the Kooks, the Ordinary Boys and the Maccabees, to name but a few.

Claim to Fame: The venue's website states that the White Stripes made their first-ever live UK appearance here on November 11, 2001. Sadly, that honour goes to London's 100 Club, where the band played on July 26 earlier that year. Close, but no cigar ...

You Should Also Know: A Grade II Listed Building originally built as tea rooms in the 1800s, in the 1960s it became a notorious bikers' cafe where leather-clad greasers fuelled up before many 'mods vs rockers' rumbles on the beach. In the 1970s, it was an amusement arcade before becoming derelict. It was renovated, restored and transformed into a music venue in 2000.

Booking Now: Secret Affair, Hayseed Dixie, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Mr Hudson, New Young Pony Club, Yeasayer, and er, Chaka Demus and Pliers.