Clubs listings
You may well have noticed that Scotland's streets have, in recent months. been positively awash with young folk wearing chains and black clothing. Thankful/y a new venue called Opium has just opened in Edinburgh to keep them all in one place. Catherine Bromley employs the well-loved question and answer format beloved of this particular column to find out more.
Opium? Isn’t that the dried narcotic juice of the white poppy, commonly thought to have a stupefying effect on people’s minds? Indeed it is. In this particular instance though it's a state of the art bar-cum-club complex on the former site of seedy dive Legends and compact live music venue. The Attic. Good grief. I thought we’d all be dead and buried before anyone looked at sorting those abominations. Watch your step. fella. While many would agree with you that Legends was in dire need of a makeover. The Attic certainly served a valuable purpose as one the city’s few live music venues. Opium does plan to take up where these venues left off — namely by providing a large venue for the cities nit-metal kids to call a home from home — but it will not be staging live music events.
That’s a shame but it’s nice to think these noise-mongering rascals are being kept off the streets. Not only that but they're well set tip in a four-room space spread over two levels. including pool tables in the downstairs area and a large dancefloor in the upstairs
Edinburgh Fridays Pre-Club I Bassz'l‘rap Sessions at Bani Bou. 9pm—Iam. Free. Weekly. Wise Manga master G-Mac presents his weekly fix of hand-picked narcotic breaks and beats. including all the latest hip hop. 2-step. R&B and drum & bass. Catch live recordings from the Bass: Trap on Radio Magnetic (www.radiomagnetic.com) on Fri frotn 9—10pm. I Blok at PopRokit. ()ptn—lam. Free. Weekly. A regular venture courtesy of Robin Styler (Solefusion). Bootsy (Substance/Groove Theory) and Gregor (Douche Ma Touche). where rare groove. funk. disco and hip hop will be the order of the day. I Centro at City Cafe 2. ()plIl—lam. Free. 28 Sep. Fortnightly. Ultragroove resident Gareth Sommerville aurally entertains the drinking masses with a sweet nu-jazz and sultry house selection. I Chaos Cubano at Baracoa. l()pm—lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Mikayel hosts a night of funk. hip hop arid salsa. I Cuba Norte at Cuba None. IOpm—lam. Free. Weekly. Still supplying the broadest musical spectrum for Latin lovers and still pivotal to the whole Latin I Cuts & Strings at The ()uthouse. ()pin—lam. 21 Sep. Monthly. Many. myriad moods of music ranging frotii house to hip hop. front techno to weird electro from those cheeky rapscallions Paul Mason. Kevin Roe. and Sean Kellie. I EH1 at EH 1. ()plli—lilm. Free. Weekly. In the sleek. minimalist surrounds of this swanky style bar. it's deep house delight from Drew Wright (21 Sep) followed by urban beats and breaks from the liat Not Sold crew (28 Sep). I Flashback at Flashback. 8.30pm—1ani. Free. Weekly. DJ Frenchie supplies a retro chart mix for the over 2 l s. I 4-Play at Club Mercado. Jr- l()pm. Free. Weekly. Serving you hard working. hard partying types with a mind-iiielting tnix of music (courtesy of kitsch queen Trendy Wendy) and drinks promos that include bottles of bubbly at £10 until 8pm. To avoid disappointment email (enq (‘1‘c1ubmercado.com) or fax (226 4224) your party booking iii advance. I Immersed In Music at Pivo. ()ptti—lam. Free. Weekly. In the saluhrious surrounds of this award-winning Czech theme bar. Neil Ferries gets us in the mood for some weekend debauchery with his funky house grooves (21 Sep). The following week (28 Sep). George T of Tribal Funktion infamy plays some chunky. funky house jives. I Made In Iguana at lguana. 9pm—lam. Free. Weekly. A new Friday fixture sees the boys froin Underground Solu ‘shn get bisay with the jiggy hip hop. house. funk. drum & bass and techno. I Name It at Rush. 9pm—-midnight. Free. Weekly. Natne your poison bttt not
Club
I Adaptor at Studio 24. Monthly. Next date 28 Sep. No information available at time of going to press.
I Big Beat at La Belle Angele. Monthly. Next date 12 Oct.
0 Binding Agent at The Bongo Club. 10.30pm—3am. £8 (£7). 28 Sep only. A new clttb at The Bongo that's testing the waters. as it were. with this one-off event. The aim is to replicate the vibe of Chocolate City (for those that remember the Canongate clttb night). using a host of local artists as the instruments of entertainment. Forward thinking live hip hop comes courtesy of lticorporeal. cut and paste scratch-iiiongering is taken care of by Plus ()ne (UK DMC Champion) and lih'.’ Wun! and there’s even live breaking frotn The Funk Junkies. See llitlist.
I Blitz at The Venue (top floor). l().30am---3am. £8 (£6). 21 Sep. Monthly. A fresh new take on clubbing classics from the resident DJs ‘- Doc. Andy T. Kamikaze and Carlos Lopez.
I Boogie Mo Dynamo at ligo.
I lpin—3am. £8 (£7); Free before 12.30am. 28 Sep. Monthly. Badass breaks attd beats from the Boogie Mo boys —- Smack. Wreckage and Believe. Fusing twisted disco and chunky funky stuff geared directly to the floor. Boogie Mo also boasts one of the more impressive soundsytems iii town now that Smack‘s had his way with it.
I Canned Heat at Gaia. l()piii 3am. £4 (£2). Weekly. llarri ‘Let's Go‘ with a reliable mix of dancefloor greats including pop. pttrik. funk aiid hip hop. Please note that entry to this event includes entry to R&B showcase Fiesta. See separate listing below.
I 0.0. Blooms at CC. Blooms. 10.30pm--3am (bar from 6pm). Free. Weekly. DJ Ally does the decks duty at this gay night with her inimitable
selection of high camp and disco classics.
moving on to pumped-up house and dance as the evening progresses.
I Cerotonin at The Venue (lower two floors). l().30pnt-3am. £10 (£8). 28 Sep. Monthly. Tech it to the bridge with the resident DJs Graeme Marshall and Robert Thomson plus their guest. DJ Dave Begg (Skank. Aberdeen). Iixpect ferocious tech-trance on the main floor. deep house iii the Cooler and all manner of pleasure-invoking devices throughout. including Indian head massage.
I Club Latino at The Bongo Club. Monthly. Next date with another ‘Night For Cuha' on 26 ()ct.
I Dischord at Studio 2-1. 1 1pm~3ani. £3.50 (£2.50). 28 Sep. Monthly. Heavy metal. nu-nietal. death-metal. extreme metal and some token goth with DJs Leaf. Wally. lqy and Liz.
I Dr No’s at The Bongo Cltth. llpm~3am. £7 (£5). 5 ()ct. Monthly. ()rigirial Jamaican ska and classic rocksteady showcase featuring live
1 I Fiesta at Gaia. l 1pm—3am. £2 before
midnight; £4 after. Weekly. All-new showcase where DJ Fabuloz (Vibe. 2 Urban) drops the latest pressings and
. jams from the hot and jiggy worlds of hip hop and R&B. VIP passes available every
Sun at the Q Bar.
I Friscodisco at Noa. l()pm—3am. £6 (£5). 5 ()ct. Monthly. Following the sell-
out success of last month's birthday bash. Friscodisco gets back to the business of
. dirty house with a residents showcase
featttring Martin Valentine and Steven Wanless.
I La Fructa Bomba at El Barrio. l()pm—3am. Free before 1 1pm; £2 after. Weekly. Roughly translated to mean ‘the bees-kiiees'. join DJ Hector. Nano and the Latin posse at this swinging barrio party where the tequila rutis like water. I The Fun at Ego. 1 [pm—3am. £2. 5 ()ct. Monthly. Resident DJs Morgan and Simmone Black (Ruby Fruit)
T demonstrate base humour and high-grade
DJ skills in the popular styles of garage
and house. And by christ it‘s cheap!
I Funky Magic at The Cocteau Lounge (downstairs at Ego). I 1pm—3am. £5. 5 ()ct. Monthly. Soul-fuelled deep house for pilgrims hosted by The Hoff Project and now boasting live percussion from Tagg.
0 Future Noodle at Ego.
10.30pm—3am. £8. 21 Sep. Monthly. A
brand new tech—house and breaks night
that aims to combine the underground feel of art original acid house party with the commercial stiss of the superclub. The promoters ctttn resident DJs are liuan James (Lift. Eccentric). Believe (Boogie Mo Dynamo). Dan Bland (The Flow) and Mikey Magic (Bench) and the guest DJ of distinction is Trevor Rockliffe (Mentor Records). a man fatned as being ‘one of the funkiest tech- no 1)Js around'. See preview and llitlist. I The 60-60 at The Cocteau Lounge (downstairs at Iigo). Monthly. Next date 1‘) ()ct.
I Lost at Studio 24. 10.30pm»—3am. £5 before midnight; £8 (£6) after. 21 Sep. Monthly. Funk-laden tech-house shenanigans in the main rootn with residents Neil T. Nomad. Al Space and their very special guest DJ. Si Begg aka Buckfunk 3000. Upstairs in the chill suite there‘s a tluorotiiarket. henna tatooirig. professional massage and a psychedelic.
: dub. ska and breaks soundtrack served up
by Disco Pervert and the Yoghurt weaver.
3 I Luscious at Club Java. 9.30pm-Iate. £6. 21 Sep. Fortnightly. The only UK and
US garage night in town. hosted by Shabba. DJ Dan and DJ Innovator. If you're on a budget and/or a lazy arse.
. you'll be pleased to hear that if you catch a cab from the city centre straight to the
venue. you can reclaim your taxi fare (with receipt) frotn the Luscious door staff. Maximum claims are £6. so don‘t take the piss.
I Magik at The Venue (lower two
floors). 10.3()pni~3am. £8: £6 before midnight. 5 ()ct. Monthly. The
entertainment from up-and-coniing local combo Big Hand. Their live antics will
area. What's more, it‘s all realised in a yOUF music 0f PFCfCFCHCC 118' .VOU‘I'C rather fetching Moorish mood with expected to enjoy mainstream house frotn
. . . . DJ Toomanyhats should you choose to be ably augmented by the resident underground house night welcomes ; dark, leather fumlsh'ngs and a far b't drink here of a Fri. dancetloor dictators. Mary Doll and Tani. special guest DJs Stevie ‘Sole' Middleton 0‘ “"09 I Oxygen at Oxygen. ()pin—lam. Free. I El Segundo at The Bongo Club. . (Solemusic) and the Rumbah Tribe (the)
if; Presumably they have to pay a door fee to enjoy these lavish
V surroundings? Not at all. Entry to the 500 capacity space that ‘s licensed until 3am is entirely free every night of the week. including the
Weekly. Rotational residents Craig Smith 10.30pm—3am. £5. 21 Sep. Monthly. (District) and Craig Gee (Freefall) I Following the enormous success of the celebrate the fact that they‘ve got the same i Lowlife Records Festival date featuring christian name and pretty much the same the UK‘s leading hip hop artists. lil taste in quality house music. Segundo plays host to a comparatively I Rebel Waltz at City Cafe 2 has now low-key resideiits' night featuring finished. DJRed6‘s street selection and some hip five nights when anemauve dubs are I UrbannHangSuite at Bann‘s. hop and fuiik in the back room with Mr {i held . 1 1pm—3am. Free. Weekly. Light Chango. l2- . , i_{ vegetarian snacks served to a bi ho i and I E-Ruptor at Studio 24 (ii istairs). i Alternatwe s so vague' What ’5‘ breaks soundtrack from l)()lphlli)l30fv Monthly. Next date 12 ()ct. I exaCtly do you mean? YOU know- (Tummy Touch). I Evol at The Liquid Room. Death metal. nit-metal. extreme I Why Not? at Why Not‘.’ 8el()pm. £5 l().30pni»-3am. £4. Weekly. lidinburgh‘s metal, goth, punk, indie, all types of (includes entry to club afterwards). longest running indie night (ten rock basicaw Weekly. Salsa dance classes for beginners consecutive years. with no holidays and Thanks. I {eel as though Pve and intermediate enthusiasts. with a feisty no sickies). providing an ex er reliable . .’ club tiight to follow should you so choose. mix of the best current and classic
l} learnt somethmg' 5 I Yo! Below at Yo! Below. alternative. crossover tunes. It's an it I 386’ C/Ub listings for full details Of 8pm—midnight. Free. Weekly. The sushi institution already and with the recent Ea. Club night at Opium. . style bar gets the nu-jazz. R&B and addition of the back room. playing host ;. dancefloor soul treatment front the Posh to Mr & Mrs Mogwai. the future looks .'3:a~.u».>:-.:.‘r.sr..»..r7: 33".. ."xi‘r ll happy place TOT illl llllllgS l‘:\'()l.
for some sweet ‘n' funky action. Support comes from Kevin Jones and Lorne Finnie in the main rooni while the Cooler provides a happy haven for the hip hop headz with Ritchie Ruftone (Scottish DMC chantp). Nasty P and Reveal , working it wildstyle. I Majestica at Noa. l()pni—3am. £6 (£5). 28 Sep. Monthly. Chunky. funky house in the main rooin with residents Trevor G. Bruno F-K and their guest DJ. Jamie Jon Campbell (Miss Moneypenny‘s). Through t‘other rooiii things jump on a harder edged tip. going all dark and dirty with the resident DJs Shakti & Logrey. I Manga at La Belle Angele. 10.30pm--3am. £9 (£7). 5 ()ct. Monthly. Manga really are busy beavers these days -- so much so that it‘s worthwhile checking the website (www.basstrapconi) to keep your linger
78 TI'IE LIST 20 Sep *4 Oct 2001