Ancienne Belgique
The Ancienne Belgique (AB) is a concert hall for contemporary music in Brussels, Belgium. Located in the historic heart of Brussels, it is one the leading concert venues in Belgium, hosting a wide variety of international and local acts.
The Venue
The venue consists of three concert halls: the "Main Hall" ("Salle"), the "ABClub", and the "ABBox". The Main Hall has a capacity of approximately 2000 people. It is said to be one of the best concert halls in Belgium with perfect acoustics. The ABBox is the newest edition to Ancienne Belgique. It is the Main Hall rearranged to be more intimate (no more sitting places or balconies) so it has a capacity of 800 people. The intimate venue was the AB's response to the need for a small pop/rock venue with the aim of hosting small local acts and 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
Mythic concerts at AB include in January 1955, when Jacques Brel supported the performances of the Belgian pop and variety pioneer Bobbejaan Schoepen for one week. In 1982 The Cure played a concert which ended in a fight between band-members on stage. The band split up right after this gig, yet reformed months later. In 1999, Iggy Pop performed, a concert that has been recorded on a DVD available with his 2005 release A Million in Prizes.
Other Notable concerts include:
- Lou Reed (1979)
- Madness (1980)
- U2 (1981)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers (1988)
- Public Enemy (1990)
- Def Leppard (1991)
- The Ramones (1994)
- Blondie (1998)
- Black Eyed Peas (1999)
- Steve Vai (2000)
- Coldplay (2000)
- UB 40 (2002)
- Van Morrison (2005)
among many others.
See also
External links
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