The Buttermarket — Local services in England

This venue has got so much going for it ... though there is also a big but.

It is located right next to the railway station with the railway car park situated immediately behind the building. This means that it is an easy place to get to whether you are travelling by car or public transport.

The marketing is good and keeps you well informed about upcoming events via various platforms. There is an appealing range of acts to cater for a variety of tastes. A good deal of investment has clearly been made to make the interior conducive to an enjoyable night out. The welcome is warm and staff / management are pleasant and approachable.

As a minor drawback, the structure of the building does mean that sight lines of the stage can be obstructed when you are situated on the main floor area, but that isn't the end of the world.

But sadly, the biggest letdown is the sound set-up ... and that really is a major consideration when your primary reason for visiting is to watch and listen to a live music act. I have seen a number of acts at The Buttermarket and the one consistent fault has been the sound set-up. It isn't just that it is uncomfortably loud, but mainly that is also becomes horribly distorted.

A venue of this size shouldn't need particularly high volume settings in any case - though there is, perhaps, an element of personal preference to be considered.

But, that point aside, it should be clear and free from distortion. I don't know whether the issue is down to the quality of the sound equipment (though given the apparent quality of other areas of the venue, I wouldn't have expected that to be the case), or whether the inherent acoustics of the architecture present insurmountable sound issues, or whether it is simply down to the person(s) responsible for setting up the sound.

Whatever the reason, it does mean that an otherwise appealing live music venue is badly let down by the sound delivery.

As I mentioned, I have seen several acts here, having returned in the hope that the problem was a temporary one, but I have now had to come to the conclusion that it is more fundamental than that, so have regrettably come to the conclusion that it isn't worthwhile continuing to visit The Buttermarket...

Seen Darts on Friday and they were absolutely brilliant. Mischief, mayhem and musical masterclass. Smiled from the moment they appeared on stage in brightly coloured attire with an air of danger. Big Den Hegarty stirred the adoring audience into a frenzy with some hilarious antics, at one point disappearing off stage to reappear upstairs amongst the stunned fans. Rita Ray some how has managed to age backwards and kept the boys under control which they obviously needed. Griff sounded like it was 1979 in perfect voice. Sparkle, fireworks and beautiful harmonies. What more do we need? And only £40 for VIP tickets. Top act at tribute prices must be madness. This was a steal. DARTS for Glastonbury before Griff heads off for his hot chocolate. Awesome. Never been to this venue before and found staff friendly and informative. Plenty room for dancing and didn't feel overcrowded even though sold out. Will come back if bands with similar...

Tried to get into the downstairs event and the bouncers told me to get a ticket upstairs (Saturday 2nd October). Tried to ask upstairs after paying the £5 entry fee for upstairs and they said “go downstairs and they’ll sort it”. When I explained that the bouncers downstairs said the same thing, the general manager, Claire, accused me of lying and very aggressively kicked me out from the premises without an explanation. When trying to get my friend out from the club (with the help of another friend) both of the bouncers hadn’t got a clue why I had been kicked out. They asked Claire and she just gave a pathetic excuse which didn’t really make sense. My friend said to her that she had been rude to me, so she pushed him outside and the bouncer punched him and said don’t come back. If you want a trouble free night, just don’t bother with the Buttermarket. So-called “superclub”. Would rather stay at home and...