Super Club or another Crappy Cliche (Majestics (Leeds))

Member Name: tonybone

Product:	Majestics (Leeds)
Date:	07/01/02 (366 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Size, , Music

Disadvantages: Cost of drinks

I’ve never been a hard-core clubber, and although I enjoy going out, I don’t tend to go to night clubs all the time. However I have been to my fair share, both locally and on holiday. The reason I tend to avoid them is that I feel them to be completely over rated, crowded and full of attitude. Was Majestyk any different?

Last weekend I went up to Leeds to visit a friend, who is working there in his year out from University. I was aware that the night life in Leeds is supposed to be one of the best in the country, and everyone I spoke to, said that I should visit Majestyk. It came as little surprise when my friend suggested that we went there!

So what do you get? Well, Majestyk is probably Leeds’ most well known night club. It is situated in the square in the city centre. From the outside it doesn’t look that large, but like many night clubs, it is a converted bingo hall. There is the usual queue at the entrance, which can get quite large at peak times - although I didn’t have to endure it, thanks to one of my friends having some sort of VIP membership card. Inside, the reception area is quite modern and the distant thump of bass hints at a loud sound system.

The entrance fees vary according to the time and your status. As this was my first visit, I can’t be sure that they don’t vary throughout the year, but I assume they will be similar. As with many night clubs, lower prices are offered early on, to entice the public away from cheap bars and into the clutches of the overpriced club! The doors open at 10pm and if you enter before 11pm, you will pay £6, or if you are an NUS card holder or a member, the price drops to £4. After 11pm (when the majority arrive), the price increases to £7 for guests, or £6 for card holders. This may sound expensive, but considering the club in my town is the size of Majestyk’s toilet and they charge £5, it isn’t too bad. The other fee that most people inc
ur (in the winter anyway) is for storing coats. For the privilege, you will queue up (over 15 minutes in my case) and pay £1 for them to take your coat from you for the night. You receive a ticket to be able to retrieve it, and give your initials for security - in case anyone finds your ticket.

After you leave the reception areas and enter the main club, the first thing that hits you, is the sheer size of the place. The dance floor is in the centre and isn’t amazingly big, although they never are. Around the edge, there are places to stand, sit and buy drinks - as well as go to the toilet. Above the dance floor, there are balcony areas that are reachable by stairs. These are covered with tables and chairs for people who choose not to dance. Again, there are more bars and toilets upstairs. Looking over the balcony, you can watch the dance floor - one thing that concerned me, was that people were standing over the edge with bottles and glasses in their hands!

Just to quickly touch upon the facilities……the bars are well stocked and don’t seem to generate massive queues. However this could be due to the fact that, as with most clubs, the drinks are heavily overpriced. Although, they do have a monopoly, as most people in clubs want to drink, and these bars are the only supplier of alcohol! The toilets are nothing special - at the beginning of the night they seemed quite clean and pleasant, although towards the end, they became a bit of a health hazard. As for food, there was a snack bar serving chips and the like - although I didn’t have the "pleasure" and couldn’t comment on the prices, even though I could probably guess!

I won’t go into huge depths about the club atmosphere, because if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all! It was a club much like any other - bar starts off packed and dance floor virtually empty…..then at about 1am, the tables turn and you can barely fin
d a space on the dance floor. The sound system was very impressive although is extremely loud and bassy. The music they play is vocal house and garage, mainstream disco, and soul. If you stood next to the speakers, you can actually feel your hair moving, and after not too long, can feel a sick feeling in your stomach!

Going back to the atmosphere of the club……there is no change from the norm, in that there are big groups of girls competing for the award for shortest skirt and smallest handbag (not that we were complaining!). Following the girls around like lost puppies, are equally large groups of men (or should I say boys?) who all look identical, and seem not to notice that they are being led on by the girls. Going back to the point about "boys", I did often wonder whether the majority of the clientele were actually 20, as they should have been (this included the girls). Although this is a common problem that manifests itself in night clubs, and I must be honest in saying that I have seen it much worse elsewhere.

As I mentioned before, the dance floor is disproportional to the size of the club, but I feel that this is a common feature in clubs to ensure that the clubbers are concentrated in a small area to improve the atmosphere. The DJ was very professional, and I heard some excellent mixing (in my opinion as a budding DJ anyway!) They have an impressive laser show that actually makes people stop dancing and stare! To make this show more visually pleasing they release dry ice at regular intervals. Unfortunately, they do go a bit overboard with the dry ice, and at some points you can’t actually see anything. Towards the end of the evening, they shoot lots of confetti up into the air, which falls all over the dancers below - nice touch or tacky?? I’m not sure! Speaking of dancers, they have the usual podium dancers above the dance floor, who must surely be shattered at the end of the evening.

The night
finishes at 3am, when people then re-queue for their jackets and handbags, and spill outside on to the streets of Leeds. Most people then seem to head towards the kebab shop and then into the hour long taxi queue. I know that there has been trouble outside the club recently, although I detected absolutely no attitude throughout the night.

So, is it worth a visit? If you like night clubs, then the answer is a hearty yes! It is a very impressive club and is probably among the best I have visited. I am not over-enthusiastic about night clubs - mainly because I don’t relish the thought of being charged to get into a place full of people who are in effect, all the same, being overcharged for drinks, and then having to fight for a 2ft square space on the dance floor - and even when you get it, you can be sure that some arrogant, drunk idiot will push you out of the way! However, that said I did enjoy my night a great deal, and Majestyk wasn’t as cliched as some of the other clubs I have been to!

By the way I have spelt Majestyk right!!!

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