Most places to be fair
Bit of an art ,sound
You're spot on there. Only the Sage round here has decent sound. The rest of the venues were never designed with music in mind - converted bingo halls, cinemas and the sound is never good.
One exception the Boilershop isn't bad but I think that's down to the quality of the equipment and set up rather than the acoustics. The worst is Wylam Brewery - stand at the bar and you can barely hear the music.