‘THERE ARE NO AIRS OR GRACES - WE SPEND MORE ON PRODUCTION
THAN ON BAR DETAIL'
— t m ~‘
Easy as...
Sandra Marron checks out one of the success stories of 2005, Glasgow’s ABC.
ow do _\‘otl start up two ncw club nights in
(ilasgow (not to mcntion a couplc of other.
smallcr. specialised nights) and makc a hona lidc success of them all'.’ .-\nd what il‘ ~\ou‘xc onl} been going six months and thc cluhs arc all houscd in a brand new \cnuc with no track rccord of running club nights. :\pparcntl_\. it‘s as cas)’ as ABC \thn the Sauchichall Strcct \cnuc opcncd its doors in the summer as a new li\‘c \cnuc. llohod} rcall) cxpcctcd thc cluhs sidc ol things to takc ol‘l‘ so quickly and to be such an instant hit. (‘luh managcr l’cdro McShanc puts this accomplishmcnt down to many things: luck. grcat l)Js. thc \‘cnuc itscll‘ and an all inchisii'c polic)‘ that scrcams cool rather than chccsc. 'l‘\ c iicxcr been to a club w hcrc thcrc arc punk i'ockcrs in a corncr. there are hairdrcsscrs. art studcnts. lllllVL‘l'sll)‘ lccturcrs and thcyrc all dancing to thc Ramoncs and ncxt minute tlic) arc dancing to .\I_\'lo without it hcing cllccs)‘: hc 811) s.
'l‘hc club nights arc now spread oxcr two lcx‘cls. :\B(‘l. which is the larger Me music spacc. and a smallcr ABC). which is primarily used as a club spacc. Due to good old-fashioncd stlppl)‘ and demand. the \cnuc‘s two flagship club nights l"csti\al on l’rida} with liuan .\'iclson (Killer Kitsch) and lust for Life with (MT) l._\ons ((iaragcl on Saturday ha\c hoth mmcd upstairs to thc largcr .spacc. making wa) for new smaller nights downstairs. Both nights wcrc originall} undcr thc mcrall cluhs titlc of It’s All About the Music as both rcsidcnt l).ls wcrc choscn for their cclcctic music tastcs and supcrh mixing skills.
McShanc rcinl'orccs this point and thc chrall cthos and uniqueness ol‘ thc nights. ‘You‘rc not coming hcrc for drinks promos. you‘rc not coming to just pull. It‘s about musicf hc sa_\s. With thc cmphasis firmly on local talcnt and not hig namc l).ls (although Andrcw \Vcathcrall is hookcd as a spccial trcat l‘or .lanuai'}l \lcShanc hclicxcs thc nights will huild slc‘tttlll}' as rcsidcnts nights and haVc longcxit}. llc‘s also awarc ol dwindling ligurcs across thc hoard in cluhland and thc l'icklcncss of thc husincss. ‘\\'c arc not gctting carried away To hc honcst. wc arc in our honc} moon pcriod. 'l‘hc l’ccdhack has hccn rcall_\' positch with pcoplc stl)‘lllg to us. “chp doing what you‘xc hccn doing and )ou should be OK." 'l'hal‘s w It} I don't want to go down the hig gucsl i'outc. l-‘or mc. it‘s got to hc a hit quirk) and I think w c’yc got enough talcnt hcrc l'or sustainability.
Ilc also doesn‘t hclich in running before walking and that qualit} is kc}. ‘\\'c arc ncxcr going to hc a scycn nights a w cck cluh. \Vc arc going to do X amount of clubs. thrcc or tour at the most and cycr) one of thcm has got to hax'c a uniqucncss.~ claims McShanc. Simpl} put: ‘\\'c arc opcll to all. 'l‘hcrc arc no airs or graccs. wc arc not thc most beautiful \cnuc. wc spcnd a lot more monc_\ on production than w c do on har dctail chn though wc hax c grcat bars. A lot of money has gone into other arcas for pcoplc to clljo} and tllcsc gu_\s pla} good music. It _\ou‘rc into good inusic. lct‘s mcct. lct’s cnjoy'
The ABC, Glasgow, weekly.
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Jungle Nation v Dogma Shit hot drum & bass crew from Aberdeen taking on the fantastic techno of Dogma. Sweet. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinl'mrgh, Fri 6 Jan.
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Monday Night Misery Club If Morrissey ran a club night. this would be it. Depressineg fantastic. Queens Club, Glasgow. week/y Mon.
Fast The new wave punk. garage dance party returns with more spiky tunes and attitude. Not forgetting Ride This Train and their rebel country soundtrack upstairs. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 13 Jan.
Nuklear Puppy Hard dance from the masterful Jason Cortex and Phil York hosting a free party (yay!l with special guest Reece Elliot iWild Clllldl. Ego, Edinburgh. Fri 13 Jan.
Riddim The Mungos boys play the timeless tunes that have populz-ited the reggae scene since year dot. The Woodsrde Socra/ Club. Glasgow. Fri 13 Jan.
':' .J.i" .‘ .'.‘ THE LIST 3‘!