One of the best Trance clubs in the country (Shindig @ Foundation - Newcastle Upon Tyne)

Member Name: Pamsy

Product:	Shindig @ Foundation - Newcastle Upon Tyne
Date:	25/12/01 (2877 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Crowd is ALWAYS up for it, Open till 3am standard - sometimes far later, Quite cheap considering some of the big name DJs it gets

Disadvantages: Out of the town centre

This club might not be as big as Cream or Gatecrasher, but it pulls in much better crowds in my opinion! Being a much smaller club, the atmosphere is very well contained. This club is a testament to the fact that Geordies know better than anyone how to party - that's why we were voted 6th most partying city in the world.

Gatecrasher is full of baby-clubbers, who wear beads and t-shirts with silly faces on and glowsticks thinking they are "original". Other clubs make you dress as if you are going to a wedding just to get in. Foundation is the perfect medium. No tossers with frills and beads and spiky hair, but at the same time, jeans are not scoffed at, and shirts are not over-encouraged.

The sound system is legendary, mainly because it's a small club with a damn good sound system. My mate, who DJ's around Newcastle's clubs and has DJ'd in other major cities, claims Foundation has excellent equipment.

The lighting is good, but not incredible. No lasers or anything here, but it's enough.

Here is what DJ Tiesto had to say about Foundation:
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(http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/dance/anthems_tou r_newcastle.shtml)

"Well what a night we had on the second leg of the Dance Anthems tour last night, Newcastle showed us why they've earned their place as the home of Love Parade 2001 by being so up for it there was sweat dripping off the ceiling. The Foundation nightclub, home of Shindig, was packed to capacity by the time I arrived around 7pm. By the time we went on air at the later time of 9pm the place was rocking big time."

Vincent De Moor and DJ Tiesto, who were really flying the flag for Holland, put on Stirling performances whipping the crowd into a frenzy. DJ Tiesto who has been whisked into remix stardom following his inspirational mix of Delirium's 'Silence' told me later that he was blown away by the reception of the Newcastle crowd.


"So what made the night special for me? ...Answer...the crowd! Even the crew working on the show were dancing away and when the lights came up nobody really wanted to go home."
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It costs around £7/8 into Foundation on a Saturday night (shindig night), £3/4 on a Monday, and £5/6 on a Saturday.

Which night to go on depends on your music tastes. On Monday, they play whatever they want, there seems to be no theme, basically anything that gets the crowd going. Promise night is better than Shindig in my opinion, but then I'm more into Trance music than cheese like Darude. However, if that's your taste then I guarantee you'll love Saturdays.

The crowd consists almost solely of 18-25 age range, and I have to say this club consistently pulls in the best crowds I've seen in any UK club.

Pulling potential isn't as great as certain clubs, or at least that's what I've found. If it's late on in the night, and your sole intention is to pull (from a lad's perspective) then I suggest you head to Sugar. It's a crap club, but is about 90% lasses! At Foundation pulling potential is about average, as the punters are just absolutely twatted and having a great time.

The drinks are about average for a club, at £2-3 for bottles.

The club is primarily one big dancefloor, with seating all along one side. Upstairs is a separate bar, and balcony overlooking the main dancefloor.

Music ends at 2am most days, 3 am on Saturdays, and often 4 am on Promise night. Shindig night often has special guests, occasionally some very big name DJs. If you want to club a bit longer, Legends is open until 4am on Saturday, and plays a range of house music, but isn't anywhere near as good in my opinion, and that's not just based on music taste.

It is probably the only club which isn't easy walking distance from the main nightlife areas of Newca
stle. However, a taxi from the Bigg Market or Quayside won't cost you any more than £3.

Sadly, Newcastle council are evil. Other cities, such as Sheffield, have clubs quite late, including Gatecrasher which is on until 6am every week. Newcastle's clubs predominantly end at 2, some at 3, and Legends at 4. This is sad, since from personal experience no city in the UK beats Newcastle for nightlife, except when you want an all-nighter. I sincerely hope the same council that ruined last year's Love Parade will do something about this out-of-date law.

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