The Queen's Hall

It was an amazing experience to be so close to songwriting legend Jimmy Webb. It was almost dreamlike to be in the company of a man who wrote such a string of hits. One of the titans of the great New American Songbook. That’s one of the beauties of Queens Hall, although it’s a 900 capacity venue you’re never very far away from the action. Seats for disabled punters in particular are just a few yards from the stage. Acoustically it’s amazing as befits an old Chapel or Kirk as we say hereabouts. Access wise the building has developed considerably over the past decade with more than adequate toileting facilities and a ramp outfront to a designated entrance. The website has full access information and the permanent staff are are informed and welcoming. The body of the hall is given over to tables with four chairs at each. This was my only disappointment. From my previous visits - in the disabled rows, close to the stage but off to the side - I eyed up these tables with envy and when it came time to book this show I didn’t bother ringing to sort out a wheelchair space but simply booked myself and my wife and my wife onto one of these tables, reasoning that they were fully accessible and thus didn’t need to bother with a wheelchair request. Unfortunately this caused a degree of consternation when I arrived. What I hadn’t realised was that for a big headliner the tables are pretty crammed in and to gain access to the table I booked would’ve meant asking one or two people to get up and move chairs out the way. This didn’t seem to me much of an issue but the staff member I was dealing with seemed most put out and was implying we couldn’t possibly take these seats . A lovely couple who were sitting just ahead of us and listening to this discussion offered us their seats at a table at the end of the row. It was still necessary for some reason to consult the staff members manager for this to be ratified but in the end we were seated comfortably around the friendly couples table who then took our booked seats. The moral of the story I guess it’s don’t try and beat the system. However when so many websites for venues still don’t allow wheelchair users to book online but instead we always have to ring to gain access it is of course tempting to try and circumvent this if the situation offers as I thought it did in this case. Whilst I can understand some of the logic of this it still sticks in the throat a little and feels like one law for walkers and another for wheelies.

I have been going to gigs here ever since I moved to Edinburgh, seeing the likes of Lemon Jelly, Elbow, The Unthanks, King Creosote and most recently Tinariwen last night. It has been refurbished over the years and currently it is looking a bit tired but the Scottish Government has recently awarded it money for historic fabric repairs for 2019. This is a good venue where you can see a decent band in a venue with good sound. Normally I would see bands from the folk scene here but they sometimes have the occasional rock, pop and classical concerts.

The Queen's Hall is a fantastic music venue for the quality of its acoustics. The venue itself is fairly easy to get around as a main corridor loops around the hall connecting the entrances, exits, bar and toilets. It is quite a small venue however, so gigs can feel very packed and busy.