Ancienne Belgique

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 Belgique
A concert taking place in the main hall
AddressAnspachlaan / Boulevard Anspach 110
LocationB-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Coordinates50°50′49″N 4°20′55″E
OperatorAncienne Belgique
Capacity2,000 (main hall), 250 (ABClub)
Construction
Opened1857
Renovated1992
Website
Official website

The venue

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. 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
  • 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 Belgique

See also

References
  1. "The Cure live concert: 11.06.1982 Brussel – Ancienne Belgique (Belgium)". Cure-Concerts.de. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  2. Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. Oxford University Press. p. 248. ISBN 9780199832583.
  3. 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.
  4. "Trials & Errors".
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50°50′49″N 4°20′55″E

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