In many regards. the quality ofThe Arches is what keeps all the other y'eiiues on their toes. probably because most nights are run by outside promoters. World class l).ls arid producers Slam run the Friday night. while Saturdays see four or five club runners rotating each week. This is where the outlandish Loye Boutique touches down. as well as the huge house nights C‘olours. Inside ()ut and Cool Lemon. There are a few rough edges to The Arches. with some areas having a makeshift y ibe. but the place is marked by its yersatility. with the capability to more than dotible its size if the night requires.
I, T, D, 88
l5—27 ()swald Street. ZZI 3(llll. Capacity 3‘)()/one room.
Entry on Saturdays £5.
h? 2. ‘9 l. 3” 8k. 7 {2. N Airy. Raised areas and extensive booths
r97.
ill lias‘y-going attitude with no dress code.
met.
A ISO/Ll
Over the last year the yenue has consolidated its indie/pop policy rather than the dance base it was known for when it opened a few years ago. It is a dark. gloomy place that has seen better days. btit the punters it attracts aren't looking for flash gimmicks or a guest DJ on the tlyer. The Arena has become one of the few places in Glasgow that isn't ashamed to haye an indie policy.
BABAZA
G. F, S, D
25 Royal lixcliange Square. 304 (ill) I. Capacity 346/0llc‘ room.
Entry on Saturdays £5.
\? i. M! I. W izk.
i “.85. is Throughout most of the club. :3 to.
El Fairly dressy.
RENO.
Pretty airy. ZN 34(3/(illp.
Babaza took oy er the site of the old (‘Iub X at the beginning of Noyember with a total facelift and dropping of the gay door policy. Popular for late night drinking. with a Moroccan theme. Baba/a opens iii the afternoon to catch the office crowd and hopes to keep them through the night. scy'en days a week. l.ocal l).ls play a laid back \‘ibe from soul to garage at a yolultie which doesn't interfere with chat at the bar.
H, T, C, Ga
St) (jlassfoi'd Street. 553 57(il. Capacity 375.
Entry on Saturdays £6.
3? 2, \9 l. glbk. i £2. Tr? um. “‘yy
Booths all round club.
‘an get hot.
OLUBBING GUIDE
For our regular clubs coverage
SEE PAGES 91 -97
i5? 3.
iii (‘iay club with regulars preference.
is 375mm
\Vilh the Closure of Club X last September Bennet's is now Glasgow‘s longest running gay club. Tending to attract a younger. more dancey' crowd than the Polo Lounge. it was recently refurbished. lf it's shirts off. pumping high energy sounds you‘re after. this is the place to go a bit wild. 'l'uesdays are still. and always will be the 'straight‘ night. which also sees a healthy outing of regulars too.
OATHOUSE
R, I, D, F
l5 Union Street. 2-18 6600. Capacity 75(l/tht‘ee l't)t)lll.\‘. Entry on Saturdays £4.
b? .1 ‘I. 2. W Quality sound. i emu. Two...
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:5? to.
it No dress code. btrt black helps.
met.
LR 7Sll/Sllly
It‘s like dance music l1L‘\t‘l' happened. Rock. thrash. grunge and maybe a bit of disco on a \\'cdnesday night at the undisputed licayyweight rock champion of Scotland. A yery btisy club that not only stays true to the music. but manages to do it in a city centre location. Also Used as a regular yenuc for liye bands
FURY MURRAY’S
l, C, H, D
()(i Maxwell Street. 321 (i5l 1. Capacity 52(l/two rooms. Entry on Saturdays £5.
h? i \9 3.
W 7k. i am. K lmproyiiig soon.
Booths. raised area and separate
E? It). ill liasy going.
()ne of those \‘ClllleS that has been rtmning for years. and as long as there is a student who wants to drink lots and jump about to good time party tunes. it will keep going. It's an extremely unintimidating club with few pretensions. despite a legacy of being the place w lieic most of the big name l).l.s in the ‘credible' scene started spinning those disks.
lieu»
3\ Jon/Sop.
CUT MK) 0‘. E ii i’t'stii
Q in their native club environment. Nowadays 7they take their decks down the pub with them.
Pro-club culture 2 Time was when 015 were a species found only
Words: Sarah Lowndes ‘
'l‘HlZ PRl'i-(‘H'B S(‘li.\'li has taken off with a yengcance lll recent?
Tyeai's. with many (‘ilasgow and lidit‘iburgli pubs now hosting excellent
guest DJ nights of club calibre. lts popularity is largely because. most of us enjoy relaxing with a drink and good music at the same time
.something that can be difficult in a heayiiig club atmosphere. Or“
maybe it's just that first-generation clubbers are getting older. The increasingly familiar sight of DJs playing in bars is also a sign of club culture's infiltration into non-club venues like restaurantsfi
f cinemas. theatres and art galleries. No longer is club culture confined l
to places with bouncers guarding the door.
The pre-club recasts the music of clubland in a more relaxed. less
; expensiyc format. Most of (ilasgow and lidinburgh‘s pubs charge noi ' admission fee for their pre-club evenings. although the Dls they have {as guests usually charge upwards of £6 to hear their skills at club
Weekend pre—club nights proy'idc an :itiiitispliei‘ic meeting place
? for friends to congregate. drink and hear cutting—edge sounds. During i
i ey‘ents. l
the week. the city‘s pubs also offer a fertile ground for new [Us to-
gain experience. and for? music that might emptyi dancefloors to get played! and listened to.
The pre-cltib scene has
Clubbers starting a night in the pub can listen to type of music: they . .
H ‘ . . . _ two strands. Midweek nights ‘1‘!”an Shawl“) line” can be an eyeningk in; than” to gatgy 13in themselves. where morel
“ low-key and often more? experimental music is
played to an atrdience who may well lime to get up early for work the next day. Places such as (ilasgow‘s (‘(‘z\ and lidinburgh's (‘atw‘alk proy'idc ati easygoing atiiiosphei'c and l).ls who won't make your ears ' bleed.
Alternatiyely. there is the weekend pre-club. where the music is too lotid to shout oyct‘ and the punters hay-c ey‘cry intention of getting rey'yed tip for the night ahead. ()by'iotts examples are Friday and Saturday nights at Glasgow's Bar l() and downstairs at R(i‘s in,
(ilasgow‘ and iii lidinburgli’s ehl and Negociants.
:\ fortuitous element of collaboration exists between pubs and clubs in both cities. so clubbers starting a night in the ptib can listen to the type of music they will be shaking their thang to later on. The Purple Planet at (ilasgow 's ('ul l)e Sac tSundays) proy'idcs‘ the perfect appetisei' for ()ptimo at the Sub (‘lub later on the same night. \‘y'hateyei‘ you are looking for in terms of iii-pub DJ action. (ilasgow and lidinburgh haye a wealth of interesting nights well worth checking out.
Dj Fawaz: creates that pre-club feeling at Edinburgh's Negociants. among other venues
19 Dec 199/ —- 8 Janl998 THE LIST 81