Co-op Live

The UK’s only music-first arena has thrown open its doors in East Manchester, and despite initial teething issues, the world class experience it offers legitimises its existence in a city not short of arenas.

Accommodating 23,500 people, Co-op Live is the UK’s biggest indoor arena, but in some ways, it doesn’t feel like it. The innovative ‘smart bowl’ design – inspired by conversations with the likes of arena aficionados Bruce Springsteen and Harry Styles – does what its owners promised: the low ceiling makes the cavernous space feel more intimate, and the smart tiering of seats brings fans much closer to the action than at comparable venues.

We’re there to catch ’90s legends Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer. As we walk towards the venue, which undulates with soft lighting like some gargantuan spaceship, stewards ask us if we need any help finding our entrance (stewards being proactively helpful probably shouldn’t feel as novel as it does), before we’re ushered towards the relevant door of the mothership. As you’d expect, the place is immaculate, the countless bars, food vendors and other facilities very sleek and modern, and the queues (at least on this occasion) fairly short.

We’re offered a quick tour of the VIP section, which encompasses lounges, suites, restaurants, even whole clubs, where a dizzying number of smartly-dressed staff scurry around offering the kind of service that befits the price tag behind these premium experiences. And then we’re into the auditorium, where we sink into luxurious – as far as arenas go – seats. We’re pretty far away from the stage, but the way the tiers are stacked, we have a great view.

Looking out to the already-packed room, the first thing we notice is what it happily lacks. You tend to be bombarded with advertising in venues of this scale – a distraction from the show you tacitly accept, until you don’t have to. As Weezer stride on with ‘My Name is Jonas’, we remember that no amount of money spent on acoustics will make an arena sound as good as a smaller venue, but this is by far the best sound we’ve experienced at a show of this scale.

The decibel limiter is notably raised for The Smashing Pumpkins, who sound even better as they rip through a setlist largely comprised of greatest hits. The standing floor – which is huge, due to being unencumbered by the sports-led design requirements of most arenas – is bouncing front to back as the alt rock vets serve up classic bangers like ‘Zero’ and ‘Cherub Rock’. The atmosphere, even up here in the seating section, is fantastic, and nipping out for a pint is a remarkably swift (though not a cheap) experience. I miss just one song, mercifully a new one.

It took a while to get it all off the ground, but now that it’s open and fully operational, it’s hard not to be impressed by this place, which has a hell of a programme – from Paul McCartney to Charlie XCX – lined up to see the year out.