listings Clubs
VENUE RE-LAUNCH NEW NlCH'l BASS D FUNK The Venue, Edinburgh, Sun 7 Apr
Hi1“
It’ll take more than a lick of paint...
The Venue is a clubbing institution. Think of all those legendary nights. Pure. Tribal Funktion. Disco Inferno. But if you Visited iast year. you'd never have guessed at these halcyon days as owner Ellis Johnston seemed intent on letting
the place crumble around his ears.
Then thank God for Stuart Mackinnon. Mike Teiiipleman and Lloyd lvchermott who took over at the end of 2001. ‘Our biggest concern was whether we could get in fast enough.’ {lCCOl‘dlllg lvlacKinnon. ‘Its easier to raise a sinking ship than a sunken one.‘ SO it's time to celebrate their new soundsystem. lighting rig. refurbished top floor icomplete with new stagm and all round spring clean. Clubs Such as Mischief. Lick Shot. Beats N Pieces and Airborne are all leading the big
push with more new nights on the way.
Which brings us onto Bz,iss'(l'Ftiiik. a new weekly Sunday showcase of residents and guests across three floors. With Smokey And The Bandit. George T and Ollie occupying the guest spots on the launch night it all sounds very promising indeed. ‘lt's not so much a relaunch of the Venue. more of a night to
say: “Hi. we’re here and there's a new heart in the place."'
says Mackinnon. ‘lt's
as cheap to drink here as a bar. so you can haye a club enVironn‘ient but use it
like a bar."
And there's plenty more where that came from. Fred Deakin. of Going Places fame. is coming tip twice a year to do his new club lmpotent Fury. ‘Fred phoned me and said “I never expected to do anything at the Venue."' jokes Mackinnon. Meanv-rhile. the Assembly Rooms Wlll be using the space during the Festival. and the new team have managed to secure the cream of April's ti'ii_)Ty(:li festival ihow does Evan Dando. Derrick lvlay. Jerry Dammers and Luke Slater grab ya’h.
'We want to move forward. we want it more as an arts venue. not ltlSl a club. People have been saying it's so different. Security’s changed. bar staff has changed. it's JtlSl a friendlier attitude.‘ says Mackinnon. and this new attitude seems to be working wonders. iHeniy Nortlimorei
I Taste at the Liquid Room.
llpiii 3am. £8 (£0 inemhers). Weekly titot 3| Marl. 'l‘hc capital’s infaiitous Sunday night session continues apace. l-‘isher & l’rice supply a progressiye mix of house and garage in the main room while Martin Valentine wows the mixed/gay crowd with his funky l'S house gems through the hack. Please note that ‘l'aste w ill he hosting a members otily party at Berlin (formerly Not!) on .il .\l;tt’. (‘ttll 557 4056 to hook places.
I Ultragroove/Robodisco at La Belle .-\ngele. lflpm 3am. £10. 31 Mar only. l'ltragrooy e residents (‘olin (‘ook and (iareth Sommery ille team tip with Rohodisco‘s .\Iiles Holloway and lilliot liast ick for a night of clteery liaster ftiii. Sery ing tip a heady mix of afroheat. Latin jaH funk and disco imhtied house. this
w ill allegedly he ‘the hest party since [)1 Jesus rolled away the stone aiid had all the Roman infantry men going titad to his
selection of ultra-rare Northern 7s. Walter
(iihhons re-edits and one-off dtih plates of Derrick May teaching Ki‘aftw ei'k key hoard skills on a sly lophone.‘
Chart & Party
I Danced Out! at |.oca. lllpni 3am. £4 (£3). 3| Mai' only. .-\ one—off charity bash in aid or limit ()nc's ‘llelp A (‘ii'titi x‘sppeal‘ featuring a music policy of commercial house from D] Day id Beatson.
I HRT at the (’ayendish. lllpin 3am. £3 l£3/£l l. Weekly. Mainstream chart and party classics at a night w hose acrony mic moniker stands for ‘.-\lcohol Replacement Therapy ’. Which would work if ‘alcohol' started with an 'h'.
I Sin at the Ark. lllpm 3am. £3 (U l. Weekly. ('hart arid party tunes from 1)] John. pltis home at sweet shop prices.
I Sundazed at Suhway West Iind. 9pm 3am. £2 (U i. Weekly. ('heap drinks promos and chart tunes proy ide a dehauched climax to the weekend.
Edinburgh Mondays
Pre—club
I Beluga at Beluga. Spin laiti. Free. Weekly. Sotil jaH lotingin‘ with l)om lilanagan t 1 .-\pr). followed hy' chilled ottt deep house and sotilfttl garage with Anthony Small (8 Apr).
I Quality Control at Meadow s Bai'. 0pm laiit. Free. Weekly. ()ff—kilter hip hop. hreaks and heats with the iny'entiye lot that run the Quality ('ontrol radio show on l'lt'eslt x\il‘ l'-.\L
I UrbannHangSuite at Banii‘s.
l lpnt 3am. l‘i'ee. Weekly. See 'l‘hu.
Club
I c.c. Blooms at (‘.(‘. Blooms. Illulflpm 3am thar from (ipmi. l-‘ree. Weekly. 'l‘ltings mellow ottt for so they claimi at this gay club. with an upbeat disco selection.
I Metro at l’o .\'a .\'a. l lptn 3am. liree. Weekly. 1)] Roddy Mac mixes tip 80s classics. filthy disco and soulftil house.
I Spanish Pub Night at lil Barrio. ltlpin 3am. liree. Weekly. A right old knees-up for the Spatiish and Spanish- loying community hosted by l)Js helix and lidu aitd featuring tlanienquito straight through to Hispanic chart hits. I Vod: Bull at the Liquid Room. lllpm 3am. £4. Weekly. Messy student night supplying high calihre hip hop. heats and hreaks from Harry Let's (io (Boomhoxl and Lyley (Scratch). The name deriyes from the fact that \‘tltlls'il/RL‘Ll Btill mixers are a mere £1 all night long.
Chart & Party
I Decadence at Revolution. ll)..‘~()pm 3am. £4 non-students (£2 students). l)eprayed dancelloor decadence at this capacity sttident night w here hig. hig pri/es are tip for grabs. I Funny Farm at Suhway West lind. 7pm 3am. £| (free with tlyer/straight jacket l. Weekly. l)r Shock Jock administers his music therapy to the freaks. l-‘unny features also include electric shock chairs and a giant ()peration game.
I The Subway at the Stihway.
0pm 3am. l-'ree for students with matriculation card; £l otherwise. Weekly. See 'l‘htt.
I Tentastic at (iaia. ltlpm 3am. £l(). Weekly. l’ay £10 on the door and get unlimited drinking at the bar. This frankly insane facility (hearing iii mind it's the heginning of the w eeki w ill he complemented hy a suitahle crass chart & party selection.
Edinburgh Tuesdays
Pre—club
I Beluga at Beluga. 8pm laiit. l-‘ree. Weekly. Big Beat l)Js Simon Hodge arid Stuart Bennet spin ja/l funk and rare gt'ooy'e classics from across the decades.
Caramel at Rtish. 0pm latii. l‘ree. Weekly. DJ (‘l’R mainlines the freak funk. with cocktails at happy hour prices all night long.
I Flowin’ at Bani Boti. 0pm lam. Free. Weekly. 11’ and l’ Sty'l/ proy'ide more hotince to the ounce with their weekly fix of sotilftil to scratchy hip hop atid R&B.
I Immersed In Music at l’iyo. 9pm laiii. Free. Weekly. ()li arid clteeky ‘Monkey Boy" Mark lidmondson play :\t‘t'o—(‘arihhean. funky phathack gi‘ooycs.
I UrbannHangSuite ttl Banii‘s.
l lpiit 3am. l-'rec. Weekly. See ’l'hu.
Club
I 0.0. Blooms at (‘.(‘. Blooms. lt).3()pm 3am (bar from (ipm). Free. Weekly. lake :1 step hack in little to (ills. 7()s, fills and early 90s times at this gay club.
I Come Correct at ()piuni.
ltlpni 3am. l-‘ree. Weekly. The nu metal theme har takes a hreak from the norm. showcasing underground [S and [K hip hop with DJRedo (lil Segundo).
I Livin’ It Up at lil Barrio. ()pm late. l-‘i‘ee. Weekly. Smooth urhan grooyes (for this. lead hip hop. R&B and street soul) at this new session hosted by DJ Bayo and guests.
I Motherfunk at the ltoiieyeonih. Illuillpm .itlttl. Free. Weekly. .\lesst‘s (iiito. l5ryei' and Spectrum freak the ftiiik fantastic at their consistently rammed night of classics old aitd new. I Paul Maslin at l’o .\'a .\'a.
l lpnt 3am. l-‘ree. Weekly. DJ Paul Maslin may not hay e the imagination to giye his weekly session a name htit he can play quality dance fare frotn across the hoard.
Chart & Party
I Fairy Liquid at |.oca. lllpnt 3am. £3 (£2 with student II) or offers of sexual fayoursi. Weekly. lnimensely popular gay night featuring uplifting commercial chart and dance. with Item y bias on disco.
I Jackass at Suhway West liiid.
7pm 3am. £2 i£| with student 11)). Weekly. A night of shameless l'tin arid games. including ‘tind the pri/e in a howl of maggots .
I Shagtag at (iaia. lflpm 3am. £4 (£2). Weekly. Alcohol-fuelled flirting laided and ahetted hy drinks promosi \ ia the infamous ntiniher-hased introductions system. If. on the other hand. you'd rather take the piss than llirt your way to a cheap shag. why not gather a posse of your mates aitd wreak hayoc. tisiiig the message hoards to publicly iiistilt the freaks that are hoping to get lucky.
I The Subway at the Subway.
9pm 3am. l-‘ree for students with matriculation card: £l otherwise. Weekly. See 'I‘hu.
Edinburgh Wednesdays
Pre-club
I Beluga at Beluga. 8pm lam. Free. Weekly. Boh (aims and l)om l‘lanagan select the hest in glohal ja/z gt‘oo\‘es for the local drinking hordes.
I The Departure Lounge at l’opRokit has now finished.
I Excursions at lgtiatia. 9pm lam. l-‘ree. Weekly. Rotational residents (i-Mac (Mangai. (iary Mac iStihliniet. (‘olin Millar attd Adam Bray illeadspinl demonstrate their astounding decksterical \ersatility iii the fields of drum a hass. hip hop. ftiiik and hreaks.
I Smirnoff Experience at l’iyo.
9pm latit. l’ree. Weekly. lidinhtirgh's tip- and-coniing deep house l)_ls Lena and Jamie Buchanan man the hox.
I Tango Club (Libertango) ill (‘iii‘e Royal. 7 llpiii. Free. Weekly. 'l'ango session featuring a 90 minute free instruction class with Steve Mcls'ay froin 7pm. Beginners aitd non-dancers w elcoiiie to this informal gathering incorporating classic to contemporary tango tunes.
I Together at Bath Bou. 8pm lam. l‘ree. Weekly. Bass htiggin'. dirty discoid funk with your hosts (irant MacDonald and Alan l’attl lMtt/iki/uml.
I UrbannHangSuite at Bann's.
l lpiti 3am. Free. Weekly. See Tim.
I Workers Wednesdays at the ()tithotise. 8pm 1am. l-‘ree. Weekly. .-\n opportunity for the grafters w ho work weekends iii ptihs and cltihs to pump the party at this sneaky session. Provide proof of pesky employment arid you'll get drinks promos a plenty.
Club
I 0.6. Blooms at (‘.(‘. Blooms. 10.30pm 3am that from (ipm l. l-‘ree. Weekly. A spot of midweek house action at this consistently htisy gay cltih.
I Kero-Scene—K2 itl Studio 34.
l lpiit late. £L5t). Weekly. Increasingly popular alternatiye night which sees Leaf. Wally. lqy and Lil play death. dooni. heayy nietal atid extreme tunes.
I Low Gravity at the Liquid Room. 10.30pm 3am. £3 (£3 i; free with Suhlitne ntemhership. Weekly. A night geared towards turning the mid-week messy with nu-skool hreaks and cheap home. It‘s a heady comho arid it comes courtesy of l-'e|ix. Beany and (iary Mac. the hack room hoys froin Suhlitne.
I MZK at (iaia. ltlpm 3am. £4 i£3 l. Weekly. linjoy the Mttdd (’ltih. an alternatiy e indie night on the main floor and Disco 2000. a self-explanatory night of dancetloor disco in the upstairs lounge.
I Obscene ill La Belle .»\ngele. ll).3t)pm 3am. £4. lf).-\pr. Monthly. “rum is hass that's scratched tip. ftinked up atid toasted hy Kry ptik. Rccy pher and M(' 'l‘yga (Spellhound l. All this pltis a liye set from Solar l’erplextis.
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