CLUBS listings
Phactfile
It’s a widely known fact that girls just wanna have fun. it’s also well documented that girls. be they gay or straight. need not the company of boys to have said fun. Catherine Bromley gets the lowdown on Edinburgh’s women-only club, Divine Divas.
'Women only' - wouldn't that take the fun out of an evening out on the tiles then? Not really, no. It kind of suggests a testosterone-free environment where you won’t have your evening ruined by pesky aggressive male bravado or some half-pissed Neanderthal trying to chat you up all night.
Now that I think about it, I'm beginning to like the sound of that. So did Jean and Nancy when they came up with the idea. After Edinburgh‘s previous women-only night, Madisons, closed some way back, the girls realised that the capital was badly in need of a wild clubbing soiree devoted solely to the ladies. They also wanted to raise money for the Lothian Gay And Lesbian Switchboard, the charity to which all profits from the club nights go.
I trust all the usual entertainments are in place then? But of course. The club runs once a month and each night varies in theme and musical style. Regulars Alley Vegas, Norma and DJ 5002 spin a selection of 705, 805, chart and dance floorfillers and every three months the lovely DJ Michelle presents ’Poptastic'. Playing indie dance favourites, Michelle also brings with her the infamous introductions system -— Shagtag.
What's ‘Shagtag'? Didn’t you read your List last week? We'll go over it once more, slowly: everyone gets a number when they go in the club, there’s a large blackboard and if someone catches your eye, you write their number on the board along with an introductory message. Not as scary as it sounds, Shagtag might be a favourite in pulling joints around town, but it's also a bit of a giggle.
Divine Divas celebrates its third birthday at The Venue on Fri 12 May returning with ’Poptastic' & the Shagtag system on Fri 9 Jun.
82 THE “31' 11—25 May 2000
EDINBURGH THURSDAYS: CLUBS continued
I Jazz Joint at Jazz Joint. 9pm-3am. £4 (£3). Weekly. The Brian Kellock Trio lay on the piano jazz with support from new Thu resident Joseph Malik (Lizzard Lounge). 25 May sees the Joint launch their first jazz dinner, featuring renowned Glaswegian vocalist Fionna Duncan.
I Love Breaks at P0 Na Na. 11pm-3am. £2. Weekly. DJs Simone and Dr Jon play new and old classics from the realms of Latin, soul, R&B and disco.
I The Moneyshot at The Bongo Club. 10.30pm—3am. £4. 25 May. Monthly. An artwork-hip hop-funk fusion featuring the decks efi'ects of Skinny Man and Quick Fingers.
I Perception at La Belle Angele. 10pm-3am. £4. 11 May. Monthly. A change of venue for Derek, Grant and Gav and their house and trance night - with The Tunnel’s Steven McCreery dropping in to help celebrate.
I Rotary Funk at The Venue (top floor). 11pm-3am. £2. 18 May. Monthly. A brand new night playing music with the funk, from old classics to future favourites, featuring Chuck, Lorne and Scottish Vestax finalist Sacha.
I Snatch Club at The Liquid Room. 10.30pm—3am. £3.50 (£2.50). Weekly. Kernal Snatch and his compadres have quite literally set up camp at The Liquid Room. Let the crew behind the brilliant/utterly sick (delete as appropriate) Barry Cabanas take you back to the family holiday camp as you’ve never experienced it before, with paedophilic uncles, a soundtrack straight from the charity shop bargain bin and enough cheap drinks to make you for et you’ve ever been there. I The Squa or Show at The Cocteau Lounge. 11pm-3am. £2 (£1). 18 May. Fortnightly. Babes and Frosty lay on the real disco, hip hop and funk beats.
I 3 Piece Sweet at The Cocteau Lounge. 11pm—3am. £2. 11 May. Fortnightly. Sally F, Trendy Wendy and Nicci throw a party for us, and the music policy is there is no music policy — they’ll play anything from cutting edge choons to kitsch classics.
Chart & party
I The Ark at The Ark. 10pm—3am. £4 (£2). Weekly. Mind-melting drink promos and full-on party music to take you into the wee hours.
I Back To Basics at Why Not? llpm-3am. £5. Weekly. Favourites from the chart crypt.
I Blast at Gaia. 10pm—3am. £3 (£2). Weekly. Student soiree featuring intergalactic dance from across the solar system and lo-fi/indie from Planet Earth. I Bubbalicious at Club Mercado. 10.30pm-3am. £4 (£3 with flyer). Weekly. A student night at this very gorgeous venue with Vince Stilton the Cheesemaster and suitably discounted bevvy.
I Funky Underground at Revolution. 10pm—3am. £4 (£3). Weekly. The student night at this giant venue with Daddy Cool laying on the fromage.
I Ignition at Eros/Elite. 9pm—3am. £3 (£2). Weekly. Big student night.
I The Kangaroo Klub at The Citrus Club. 11pm—3am. £2. Weekly. Dance and chart club.
I Loca at Loca. 8pm—3am. Free entry before 11pm; £2 before lam; £4 after. Weekly. A commercial mix of chart, dance and disco.
I Thursday Night heaven at E2K. 11pm—3am. £3 (£2). A fine and kitsch blend of 705 and 805 retro classics.
EDINBURGH FRIDAYS Pro-club
I Big Soup at The Soupdragon. 9pm—lam. Free. Weekly. A laid-back Sat warm-up from Bill Spice and guests.
I Cuba Norte at Cuba Norte. 10pm—1am. Free. Weekly. Flamenco Puro pla live. DJs afterwards.
I The Fly Bar at The Fly Bar. 9pm—1am. Weekly. Local DJs of note at this laid- back bar.
I The Friday Feelgood at Baracoa. 10pm-lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Trnku supplies a vinyl solution ofjazz, funk, soul and hi hop.
I The Gil ed Saloon at The Gilded Saloon. 9pm—1am. Free. Weekly. in demand DJs offering smooth grooves. I Immersed In Music at Pivo. 9pm—1am. Free. Weekly. George T (Tribal Funktion) plays out the funky tunes on 12 May, with Martin Valentine (Taste) on 19 May.
I Made In Iguana at Iguana. 9pm—lam.
Free. Weekly. The practically legendary Jo Malik takes in the full spectrum of world music at this funky bar.
I NYC at Bliss. 9pm—1am. Free. Weekly. ‘A clubbers’ guide to the underground sound of New York’ from resident Kevin Jones.
I Heritage at Oxygen. 5pm—1am. Free. Weekly. An exploration of black music, from Motown to Masters At Work, from Geor e Reid and Gary Young.
I Reiel Waltz at City Cafe 2. 9pm—1am. Free. 19 May. Fortnightly. After much jet-setting of late, Murray Richardson continues his deep house residency with special guest Aljay (Sunburn).
I TFI Friday at Club Mercado. 5—10pm. Free. Weekly. Good old-fashioned after- work mayhem, hosted by everyone’s favourite good time girl, Trendy Wendy. I What It Is at City Cafe 2. 8pm—1am. Free. 12 May. Fortnightly. Bob Cairns doing the jazz, soul and funk thing.
I Underworld Vibes at Bannermans. 9pm—1am. Free. Weekly. Sean Pearson and Neil Ferguson doing the garage and house thing.
Club
I Anomalos at The Wee Red Bar. 10pm-3am. £5 (£4). 12 May. Monthly. Another instalment of drum & bass, electro and techno action from residents Mr Meltdown and Covalent, plus special guest WTrouble.
I Apex at Studio 24. Monthly. Next date 26 Ma .
I Ara ataca! at The Bongo Club. 11pm—3am. £5. 26 May. Monthly. Cool beats from hot countries, with the emphasis on Afro, Latin and Caribbean rhythms.
I Big Beat at The Bongo Club. 10.30pm—3am. £7 (£6). 12 May. Monthly. A bit of a big night, even by Big Beat standards, as they welcome soul-funk singer Lee Fields and The Soul Providers. Fields has been around a longtime, since the days ofJames Brown, and he’s still releasing highly collectable cuts for the Desco label. He’ll be accompanied by resident spinners Simon, Stuart and Tinku. An essential event. See preview.
I CC. Blooms at CC. Blooms. 11pm-3am. Free. Weekly. See Thu.
I Club Latino at The Bongo Club. 10.30pm-3am. £6 (£4—£5). 19 May. Monthly. A scorching selection of salsa and Latin grooves from DJ Simon, with free dance classes from The Salsa Angels for early birds and an appearance from everyone’s favourite Venezeulan sonero Carlos Pena and his Muchachos.
I Disuko at E2K. 10.30pm—3am. £5. Monthly. Next date 2 Jun.
I Divine Divas at The Venue (top floor). 10pm-3am. £6 (£4). 12 May. Monthly. Scotland’s longest running women-only club celebrates its third birthday tonight with DJs Alley Vegas and Norma, plus a whole host of surprise guests. See Phactfile.
I Evol at The Liquid Room. 10.30pm—3am. £4. Weekly. Still going strong, Evol is the city’s longest running indie night which, back in the hallowed days of yore, can claim to have had the likes of Oasis gracing its stage. These days, expect a heady mix of the best alternative and crossover tunes, new and old.
I Funk Latino at Gaia. 9pm—3am. Free before midnight; £4 after. Weekly. Funk and Latino on the main floor while upstairs goes all Latino Loco with DJ Hector, playing Latino, salsa, merengue and Latin pop.
I Funk Train at Potterrow. 9pm-3am. £7 (£5). 19 May. Monthly. Allan Ross and Matthew Atkinson stoke the funk and soul engine.
I Glamdup at E2K. 10pm-3am. £6 (£5) before midnight; £7 (£6) after. 12 May. Monthly. A new night from the people behind Queer Sunday where glamour is the name of the game. The event will feature PAs, drag queens and hostesses, and tonight’s highlight is a live appearance from Venga Boys tribute act Vengaz R US, featuring disco-dancing queen Felicity D.
I Higher Ground at La Belle Angelc. 11pm—3am. £8 (£7). 12 May. Monthly. Chicago houseman Gemini joins the Higher Ground party to celebrate the release of his latest album, Music Hall. In addition to rocking guest tunes, there will be an Odd One Out fashion experience to keep you entertained.
I Jazz Joint at The Jazz Joint. 10pm—3am. £5. Weekly. 12 May secs Colin Steele’s Melting Pot playing Latino-laced funk, with The High Heeled Sneakers with horn-led bop on 19 May. Andy B. does decks.
I Loop at The Wee Red Bar. Monthly. Next date 2 Jun.
I The Mambo Club at The Cavendish. 10pm—3am. £5 (£4). Weekly. Reggae, ragga. soul, funk, swing and R&B delights provided by the honourable Sir Ossie.
I Manga at La Belle Angele. 9pm—3am. £9 (£7) advance. 19 May. Monthly. Ray Keith of Dread Recordingsjoins Scotland’s drum & bass experts, and he’s not the only one: tonight also sees Hyper (Y3K) and Glasgow beat-merchants The Jengaheads in the breaks room. Don’t forget the Perfect Blue DVD screening at 9pm either. For more info, check out www.basstrap.com. See panel.
I The Mission at The Venue. llpm—3am. Price the. 19 May. Fortnightly. Another night from the people who bring you The Mission at Studio 24 on a Sat, with the same music policy of rock, goth and alternative indie and dance sounds.
I Nature at The Attic. 1 1pm—3am. £6. Weekly. Deep and funky tunes from the collective that brings you Sub Culture in Glasgow, with weekly resident Domenic joined in rotation by other Sub Club regulars. On Fri 12 it’s the turn of Matt Gray, and Fri 19 sees the east coast launch of Domenic’s mix CD Subversion with Murray Richardson. I Noa at Noa. 10pm—3am. Free before midnight; £6 after. Weekly. Jon Flowers in the main room with garage; Paul Dixon through the back with old skool, soul and funk.
I Nomad at Wilkie House. 10.30pm-3am. £8. 12 May. Monthly. Another instalment in the eclectic musical education that is Nomad as Richard Fearless (of Death in Vegas fame) drops in for a three-hour session of rocking beats, with resident decks man Flix in support. The only dark cloud in the Nomad sky is the cancellation of the Afrika Bambaataa gig (Thu 1 Jun) — watch this space for details of the re- scheduled event.
I Pillbox at Studio 24. 10.30pm—3am. £7 (£5). 19 May. Monthly. A three-room extravaganza with Hwatsong and J-Loop spinning the trance and techno on the main floor, room two going live with breakbcat outfit Solaris and hip hop crew Dcsiato and room three hosting a live funky house set from Morph, plus psychedelic tunes from the excellently monikered Yoghurt Weaver.
I Planet Earth at The Citrus. 10.30pm—3am. £4. Weekly. From 1976—1989, it’s all that new romantic. pop and punk stuff that made our lives so enjoyable way back when.
I Pure at The Venue. 10.30pm—3am. £9 (£7). 12 May. Fortnightly. Dance stalwart and longtime Pure favourite Andy Weathcrall is the guest,joining the resident line-up of Twitch, Brainstorm, The Bill and Sandy Paris. I Radio Babylon at La Belle Angelo. Monthly. Next date 2 Jun.
I Redspin at The Wee Red Bar.