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Flares Nightclubs
by paulyvous
I went into town a few weeks ago with two friends.'We decided to visit Flares. It was a good few years since we'd been, so we thought it would be interesting. The first thing I noticed when I entered was my feet stuck to the floor. I don't know if this might be intentional on their part to try and stop you from leaving! If so good on ... them! It shows initiative.
The song playing was 'Heart of Glass' by Blondie, which is one of my favourite songs, so it was mixed emotions on first entry. My next review will be on Blondie by the way.
I managed to uproot myself from the spot and we headed for the bar. It was just after 11pm and it was about 8 deep in the queue waiting to be served. At this point we already considered leaving and going for something to eat. Now I must say, that on this occasion I had chosen to drive for the night, so I was stone cold sober throughout. My friends' John and Graham were knocking them back and were nicely easing into The Flares atmosphere. After much pushing, shoving and shouting for some service I got served. I wasn't very impressed, everyone waiting to be served seemed to be completely wasted and I was lucky enough to get a lady's complete life story as I got closer to the bar. It was all about her husband, who is the 'biggest selfish pig' in the world who lies on the couch all day whilst she works her fingers to the bone.
'Why don't you leave him' I retorted. 'Well I love him' She replied. 'I just need to slag him off sometimes, it makes me feel better. It's my therapy', she said. I'm just glad I was there to listen, honestly!!
John and Graham were getting ' into the groove' and chatting away to various people, who were finding it hard to stand up. With me drinking diet coke, I merely became an observer and my friends' I noticed were drinking really fast, probably to keep up with everyone else. In fact they were doing my head in too and I just wanted to go but it was only 12.30am.
The one consolation to me was the music. Love all the 70's and 80's stuff. Apart from Blondie playing there was Abba of course with Dancing Queen, Simple Minds, U2, Deacon Blue etc etc. If I was a bit more oiled I probably would of been strutting my stuff on the dance floor like John and Graham who both dance like they are having some kind of seizure!
I must of had some kind of radar telling people I was sober as they kept coming up to me - I was drinking water now- and saying in a very bemused fashion, 'Are you only drinking water'? 'Yes I am. It's not a crime. In fact I think I'll never drink again looking at you, as if you are about to loose all voluntary control over your bodily functions. In fact I got my car keys out to hold whilst drinking the water. People just stared then, as if I was some kind of deranged freak!
The last time I had been to Flares was about 4 or 5 years ago, but I must admit we all used to be half cut when we went in and we had AN ABSOLUTE BALL! It's definitely a place to go if you're going to have a few, but otherwise I'd stay away. I don't want anyone to go through what I did!
You'll find people from all age ranges coming here so there's somebody for everyone - well you know what I mean!
Anyway I finally dragged John and Graham away from talking to a couple of women older enough to be their grandmothers, and threw them into the car. They demanded I put on my 80's CD full blast! Oh God!
I phoned them the next day and they want to go again. Double Oh God!!
P.S It's free to get in, only one bar and one dance floor. Very limited seating areas. They could certainly do with more seats!
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Oceana Kingston (Kingston)
by GeordieNick
Oceana is a popular chain of English night clubs with venues spanning the entire country. Oceana has venues in thirteen areas in England with one of which being in Kingston which I have been to on several occassions. It is reported that Luminar Leisure, who own Oceana, are aiming to expand their portfolio to sixteen Oceana clubs. In this ... review I am going to try and give you a feel for the what the vibe of the Kingston night club is all about.
The club is located across the road from the the train station and between the two large bus stations so it is difficult to miss and looks pretty impressive from the outside as you can see by the picture. Accross the road from the club is a Weatherspoons bar called 'The Tun' which is where a lot of people go to stock up on a few drinks before heading over to Oceana. Oceana is a bit different from other night clubs. It has your usual themed nights but it also has several rooms rather than one or two very large rooms. I have to say on my first visit I thought from the outside it was quite small. When I got in though I realised it was like the tardis, and in my slightly drunken state shall we say I got lost on the way out and wandered round most the rooms. Outside the the club there is a place for a guest list queue and also the regular queueing which goes round a side area and even as far as the telephone boxes sometimes if you know your Kingston. The bouncers are strict on the door and will follow the dress code for the night strictly. You will have no chance of getting in without a passport or driving license. The club usually opens at around 8pm and music usually finished at around 3pm, but times are stated on thier website.
I have only ever been to the club on a Wednesday night because I am a student and it is a student night, so anything that is cheaper is a blessing for me! Oceana have nights with live music, foam party nights and a student night on Monday and Wednesday where you can get in for free if you print off a voucher. As well as this, on a student night, selected drinks are £1.80 including bottled VK drinks, Becks and Stella Artois usually. To get into the club on a student night you will need some form of student identification.
Oceana theme their rooms on venues around the world. For example they have the Aspen Ski Lodge for people who want to sit down and have a drink before partying hard in the New York Disco. The New York Disco is one of the most popular rooms, often referred to as the cheese room, and features a multi coloured dance floor with the room spanning two open stories. You can hear cheesy classics such as 'Everybody' by the Backstreet Boys and 'C'est La Vie' by Bewitched in the Cheese Room. Possibly the most popular room and by far the biggest room is the Venetian Ball Room. Do not be fooled by the name, it is not exactly a posh room. It has a huge chandelier as the centre piece and when I say huge I mean absolutely massive. This room has the biggest and a very sticky dance floor and plays a lot of new dance music and old club classics. As well as these rooms, several VIP suites are on offer.
There are plenty of different groups in this club, particularly on a student night with free entry but in my opinion everything works really well and people just let loose in Oceana with a great general atmosphere. My main criticism would be that, particularly in the Ball Room, the music is remixed too much and often cut a bit short. Oceana Kingston is definately a good night out though.
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Electric Ballroom (London)
by oceansecret
It has only been a year or so since I moved to UK and I canno say I have been to that many clubs locally, but I checked several where my favourite bands performed. But comparing even few: Astoria (which is so unfortunately closed now), Islington and Electric Ballroom plus the places in other countries I definitely give a positive 4 out ... of 5 to this place.
The gig I went to see was 69 eyes, Tiamat and Ava Inferi. So you can imagine the kind of music I am into - rather gothic, or at least doom metal.. And for that sort of music Electric Ballroom is absolutely a great place. Its not too big like Astoria, but rather good size and its Dark! The general audience seems quite alternative as well (well maybe it was due to the gig, but many of them seem to look like "locals").
The place has a nice bar as well which is on a side of the main area therefore you can sit down next to it and talk without being unable to hear each other.
Plus, it is located very much in centre of Camden, so very easy to get to even if you coming from outside London (I myself walked to and from Kings Cross station without problem at night).
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