Watch as reporter Aimee Seddon attends a show at Co-Op Live and offers her opinion of the experience
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00:00 Hi, I'm Digital Reporter Amy Seddon and tonight I'm going to the UK's biggest new music venue,
00:07 Co-op Live, which has controversially delayed its opening multiple times. I've got tickets
00:12 to see the band The Black Keys, who were originally scheduled to perform on April 27th, but instead
00:17 have been pushed back to May 15th, over two weeks later. I'm of course excited to see
00:22 The Black Keys, but I'm even more excited to see if Co-op Live has been worth the wait.
00:30 From the outside, Co-op Live was quite striking, a modern, unique black cube. We got there
00:35 20 minutes before the support act was on and didn't find it that busy. We found our gate
00:40 entrance easily and got through security and ticket checks swiftly. The first thing you
00:45 see once inside is a full-size car on display. Then you go downstairs to the street, home
00:51 to a long bar and a co-op shop selling hot food. This is the main space outside of the
00:56 main arena and it felt more like a venue in itself rather than a mere corridor surrounding
01:00 the performance space. At the back, there was also another co-op store and a 24-metre
01:05 long square bar. Before going in, I grabbed a hot dog for £11, which was steep but tasty.
01:12 I also got a double vodka coke for £13.30, although beers were slightly less painfully
01:16 expensive at £7.35 or £7.95 a pint. We then went into the performance space, which you
01:23 can see at this point wasn't full, but it allowed us to better take in our surroundings.
01:27 The standing hall wasn't much different to other venues, but it did have a bar inside,
01:32 which was a very welcome feature. Above standing, there were three floors of seats and although
01:37 Co-op Live is now the biggest indoor arena in Europe, it didn't feel like it. The space
01:41 wasn't intimidatingly big, but we did notice we had more space than usual when the full
01:46 audience finally trickled in.
02:11 The street was definitely way busier now, with queues for the bar, but we went on a
02:15 nose around the first floor, where we found a much quieter bar. This floor also had a
02:19 merchandise store and more food vendors down a corridor.
02:48 Getting out was then no bother, but we were glad we were driving, as the tram queue when
02:52 we went past was huge.
02:54 Overall, I had a great concert experience at Co-op Live, but I wouldn't say it was
02:59 much different to other venues. The sound system was definitely more immersive, and
03:04 obviously the facilities were nice and modern, but especially when considering the ticket
03:08 and refreshment prices, I wasn't blown away. If I was to go back to Co-op Live, it would
03:13 be for an artist, but really, that's the only reason we go to concert venues anyway.