RA's Kit Macdonald charts the challenges faced by the highly creative Glasgow scene as the Scottish clubbing capital moves into a new era.

was expecting so much more from this article..poorly written

good feature, drags on a bit though. Alot of similarities to Belfast actually

no mention of substanz?
[or the unit for that matter]

probs for the best actually..

Thanks Kit, for not mentioning Sunday Circus...it wasn't in mixmag's top ten nights in the UK 2009 and doesn't regularly bring the biggest names in the industry to Glasgow.

Affikoman - I'm not a big Sunday Circus fan, and didn't have room to mention every club night in Glasgow, therefore it was cut.

Couldn't win with this article could you? Always going to miss someone out. Nice read, but did go on a bit and ended up just scrolling/skim reading...

Also, "biggest names in the industry"? What, in terms of syllables?

*gets popcorn*

I think the start of this article is quite misleading. Glasgow is not a small city at all. I checked this on Wikipedia (which i know is not always reliable!):...

..."In the 1960s, comprehensive urban renewal projects resulting in large-scale relocation of people to new towns and peripheral suburbs, followed by successive boundary changes, have reduced the current population of the City of Glasgow council area to 580,690, with 1,199,629 people living in the Greater Glasgow urban area. The entire region surrounding the conurbation covers approximately 2.3 million people, 41% of Scotland's population"...

So, while the city centre is - technically - of about 600000, the region is rather more populous, and I think this is reflected in the facilities and feeling of the city, which is that it is a big, (post-) industrial city.

Definitely does a good job of covering the scene for your typical RA reader, getting in mentions for most of the parties that would be deemed to be fresh, forward thinking parties or credible clubbing institutions.

Although, I'm not totally sure if that's a complete view of the Glasgow scene. Little mention of the nights that actually pull in the big audiences.

Colours for instance is the best attended club night in Glasgow, maybe it's pushing mainstream names, but all the same it's regularly pulling 1000+ audiences to see electronic artists.

Death Disco's maybe a slightly better example, the likes of Lindstrom and Prins Thomas might tick the credibility box, but are they really going to pull in the numbers? It's acts like the Ed Banger roster or the unpretentious, perhaps not so credible electro of Crookers (1800 in May) or Erol Alkan (2000 last year) that will still pull in the masses. That electro sound is still relevant to a very wide audience (Nice example would be the relatively new I AM, which packs the Sub Club every Tuesday with hundreds of kids that are more than up for hearing a big electro set), even if it isn't necessarily deemed credible or current by your typical RA reader.

There was never going to be a way to write this article and please everyone. Mention every club night and the piece becomes bloated and nobody will read it. Personally I think this feature is great and makes for an interesting read regardless of whether you're familiar with Glasgow or not.

"Glasgow (City of)" and "Greater Glasgow" are different things.

"Friendliness," "passion," "knowledge," "open-mindedness," "humour"

alot of good nights missed out on this, not being able to fit everything is a bit bullshit as the sub and numbers are mentioned on several occasions. There's alot more to glasgow than mentioned here

Twitch -belfast. Don't be mistaken. This article misses out so much of Glasgow clubbing history it is laughable. This is basically somebody who has probabaly been clubbing for say 5 to 10 years and based her information on what happened before that on the views of a few select people. Clumsy journalism at best but more likely just ver lazy

Glasgow underground clubbing did not suddenly appear in the mid 90s. It was very strong before that..in fact some would say that was it's strongest period.

Pussy power - terry and jasons night, the first peolpe tro bring aphex twin to scotland..on a par with Pure untill they went a bit off the rails

Atlantis - slam and harris first night at the subbie from 90 to 94..well regarded as scotland's best underground club..ahead of pure

Hardcore scene around 90-91..people look back and laugh now but this scene was vibrant and sowed the scenes for every other credible scene (and many djs) after it

Soundhouse - no mention - this was a key clubbing venue for the underground in the late 90s (less so now)

Traxx - key glasgow hoouse night in the late nighties which spawned melting pot

Melting pot - top 3 most importantnnight in glasgow if not scotland in the last 10 years..one liner mention. Joke.

Sole music - infliuential house night for many years but which stopped recently

I could go on - this article was a complete waste of time and an embabressment to the author

no mention of monox either, imo the most important underground techno night glasgows seen

I'd have thought the likes of Sunday Circus might get a mention as it's one of the more pertinent small/mid size nights (or days?) to RA readers. Animal Farm are booking great techno DJs too, and are pretty handy on the decks themselves. All this coverage of the likes of the Art School (which had some good nights but was mostly just a fun night out that mates would always be up for unlike persuading them to come to an expensive specialist night at the Subby or something) compared to these... Subcity could've got a bigger shout too since it's been such an integral part of the scene for years and helped launch many careers, maybe I'm just biased through years of involvement though...

Ah well... I enjoyed reading the article overall. Of course folk are gonna complain and there'll be some omissions but all in all it seems a decent round-up of where Glasgow's at just now..

"Though the inevitable Darwinist effects have undoubtedly helped keep standards high, the difficulty of attracting a reasonable crowd has been brought into sharper relief lately by a cocktail of economic hardship, shifting tastes among 18 to 20-something year-olds, the end of a couple of key nights and saturation of Friday and Saturday clubbing options. A feeling of sameness and relative creative malaise has resulted."
"These days (the Soundhaus) is a little too overrun with dodgy hardcore nights to recommend heading down to on the off-chance that something good is on"

Both very true

"A quick guide to Glasgow" is commendable too, fine taste in bars and restaurants

Decent read. Few things missed out I'd have liked to see included but fair enough you can't mention it all.

Only thing that I found strange was the status given to the Art School - it was for me an occasional alternative venue & playing up their Thursday night as something that was some kind of legendary weekend kick off doesn't really ring true. For me that is. It's entirely possible I missed out on something there.

Even the Optimo thing - it was huge yes but it was a very alternative crowd and I don't agree that in any way it took focus away from Friday and Saturday nights. Or that Fridays and Saturdays were just a bonus on top of the Art School on Thursdays and Optimo on Sundays. That for me is bullshit. However that's me - for someone else it might ring true who knows.

In a way it kind of sums up Glasgows scene - there is so much going on in such a small space that one persons opinion isn't going to satisfy everyone. 20 people could write an article like this and highlight completely different nights, venues and parties.

Also Franz Ferdinand? Really? ;-)

Are you giving a fair and accurate representation of 'clubbing in Glasgow' if you only include things that are to your taste?

I thing some here are missing the point; Kit's article isn't supposed to act as list of every club there is and every club there's been in Glasgow, it's aimed at giving a feel for what the city's club scene is like, and more or less that's been achieved.

Neil, I think you answered your second post with your earlier statement:

'There is so much going on in such a small space that one persons opinion isn't going to satisfy everyone'.

A feature like this is always likely to be subjective.

Gonnie no di that?

Got to pull up one point,

The article suggests Thursday night at the Art School was solely defined by RPZ, which simply wasn't the case.

It was excellent in it's time but Art School Thursdays over the past two years were led by Mixed Bizness and remained as strong and as vibrant. It's poor not to at least name check MB. RPZ left the Art School a year before it's closure but the Thursday night crowd didn't disappear. In fact I'd directly dispute the following,

"Neither RPZ nor Optimo has been replaced in terms of their crowds moving somewhere else en masse—the Glasgow habit of going to a (good quality) club night on a Thursday and/or Sunday has simply disappeared"

Thursday night clubbing definitely continued with MB. The young student audience followed broader trends and migrated upstairs.

Really great article, gives a good overview of some of the interesting things happening in Glasgow at the moment.

I think these peices should be written by an outsider as it's impossible to be objective if you live there or are involved in the scene

If you live in or regularly go clubbing in Glasgow, this type of article could never satisfy your view of the scene, how it has developed and how recent closures etc will affect the future of it. However, as an introduction to clubbing in Glasgow, I think it covers many important points, and it's the kind of article I'd point in the direction of someone moving to the city.

I was surprised that the Riverside Club was not mentioned. Although it's been a few years now, its closure certainly posed challenges for many promoters at the time and in turn had an effect on clubbing habits and the shaping of our scene in the last few years.

Yeah, have to admit there are a lot of omissions, like Scrabble - we've only just finished after 6 years, had guests such as Raffertie, Kanji Kinetic, Nightslugs (Bok Bok, LVIS 1990, Egyptrixx), Crystal Distortion, Kelpe, Taz Buckfaster, Billy Nasty, Al Tourettes, Michael Forshaw... to name but a few. Also Camouflage was a beastin' night at the time and MONOX? Banjax is a newish night that would also be deserved of a mention for the guests they've already had and have planned... Glasgow ain't just about Optimo, Numbers and the Art School, still very much alive and kicking if you go looking. (PS Free parties like Pi-Eyed also buffers up the goings on in the city!)

" generously bearded local music oracle and all-round walking antidepressant David Barbarossa"

A-men.
A really great guy, massively underrated/talented/hilarious.

Not sure how possible that would be but yeah I guess that is kind of the problem, we each have our own personal history within a scene and will write about the nights that have mattered most to us.

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T MENTION HAIRY TOM'S BI-ANNUAL CLUBNIGHT IN THE BASEMENT OF FAT BOABS! IT'S SHIT LIKE THAT THAT'S SHAPING THIS CITY!

Hahahaha!

Yeah I know. I agree with you, but for me the writer should do their best in this kind of article to cover all bases not just the particular area they move in or are a fan of.

Sounds like Im being hyper critical which Im not really meaning to be. I still kinda enjoyed the article it's just that it doesnt feel like it's describing a Glasgow that Im particularly familiar with.

I miss ol Glasgee.. 10 yrs ago i was living there and it changed my sound, and my life.. the people, the music, the culture... fond memories, as foggy as they are.. @_@

Sunday Circus has put on parties in a variety of wonderful venues in and around Glasgow...rooftops/The Winter Gardens/barn party/street parties/town halls/Maid of the Loch)

When it began over 4 years ago it brought a breath of fresh air to Glasgow clubbing and something that seemed impossible in the city - an outdoor daytime party with forward thinking house and techno music, amazing guests and put the venue, The Courtyard Bar on the map.

To say that you are not a fan of Sunday Circus is to say that you are not a fan of partying/electronic music/the music our guests play/having fun/life. This leads me to question what you are doing writing such an important article for RA?

You are clearly an ignoramus of the highest order and also, by coming on and saying what you have in response to my original post, you come across as a bit pompous as well. A simple, 'couldn't include everyone' would have been insufficient but mannerly.

I fully understand that not every night can be included in your review and there are many other nights which should have been mentioned from Glasgow's rich clubbing history.
However, an article entitled, 'Kit Macdonald charts the challenges faced by the highly creative glasgow scene as the scottish clubbing capital moves into a new era' should without question incorporate Sunday Circus which embodies this statement.

An article like this is never going to please everyone and can only reflect one view point of what a city is like. There will be bruised egos and complaints that it isn't representative and I feel a little tragic chiming in on this thread but a few points need to be addressed.

From a purely critical viewpoint regarding the writing, this piece did feel lazy and poorly edited. I struggled to make it to the end and I can't imagine anyone from outside Glasgow would have made it beyond the initial paragraphs. Isn't the point of these pieces to make for an interesting read for people outside the city? It also seemed very lazy with regard to who was interviewed with a very narrow focus on that based around one interviewee and his opinions.

I have never heard of RPZ which isn't to say it wasn't an influential night and I always felt Optimo was more influential outside Glasgow than within (but I worked Mondays so couldn't attend). I do find neilmurphy's comments about alternative crowds weird though. alternative to what? A crowd is a crowd surely and if they had a crowd then bravo to them.

I don't have any particular allegiance to any club nights in Glasgow. I just like going out but it was a bit sad that Harri who had been djing in Glasgow for all of my life got no mention.

I'd give this 4/10. 6/10 for the comments. 2/10 for my own comment.

Having not lived in Glasgow for 5 years now I would like to say a big cheers to Kit for reminding me how gloriously debauched it felt to start on a Thursday and carry on through till Monday (I have no idea how I managed it - God I feel OLD now!) Though, to be fair, we'd end up at such a good after party after the arty that Friday and Saturday were spent trying to find one's bearings, a burger and my shoes just in time to get back on it for Optimo!

Also seems that those who didn't get a mention have more than made up for it in terms of promotion on the comments section so cheer up lovelies, maybe next time eh?!

Oh yeah, and I'm in Glasgow this weekend which is very rare and now I can't wait to go out tonight and Saturday and see what's out there (hopefully I'll have some nostalgic stamina and get myself to Smagghe on Sunday too - for old times sake)

Its not just about the content its just poorly written.

Think its testament to Glasgow that the article has sparked such passionate chatter already!

I have only skimmed so far but will give a proper read as soon as.

No mention of Subculture or Harri and Domenic ?

Sorry, just to clarify what I meant...

For me, Optimo very much had it's own crowd. It attracted people looking for something different. Something outside of the traditional house & techno nights that dominate Friday / Saturday.

To say that Art School Thursdays or Optimo on the Sunday shifted focus away from Friday / Saturday nights is to imply all these nights appealed to the same crowd. I dont believe that was really the case.

Ok. That makes sense.

Cant believe there is no mention of Sunday Circus as well. Probably the most talked about and hyped up night in the entire of Scotland just now, not just Glasgow.

Nice read apart from that.

I'm from Peterborough an can safely say Glasgow is a FANTASTIC city for clubbing, love it! - Can't understand the whole 'small city' thing??! Far from it!

Sunday Circus is one of the things I thought would / should be included in something like this.

Should add - I've never been to Sunday Circus. I've no particular fondness for them but I would have thought the fact they'd made a success out of doing something new would be worth mentioning.

To say that everyone who is a fan of partying/electronic music/the music our guests play/having fun/life should be a fan of Sunday Circus is a bit much though. And calling the writer names ain't helping your cause.

This.

lol at this thread a bit.

Affi - you know you're a big night, the hundreds of people who come to SC know you're a big night. surely being missed out on something like this should mean fuck all in the grand scheme??

only skimmed this article really but to hear there is no mention of Harri and Domenic is sad really. Monox too.

Bloated article which misses out key nights in my opinion. Great city though!

monox, subculture anyone?

Ok, perhaps I went a bit OTT there but I am just passionate about the night, what it stands for and feel it deserves some recognition in an article of this nature. I guess I am just confused more than anything - our friends at Sensu and Bigfoot's are hailed for having parties in interesting venues and doing daytime parties yet Kit is not a fan of Sunday Circus?

That is the equivalent of me saying I love watching programmes about people going round to each other's houses and judging each other on the meals they prepare while hilarity ensues fuelled by some comical commentary - but I am not a fan of 'Come Dine With Me.'

Surely you can see where I am coming from here?



Surely you can see where i am coming from...

Yes, I know it doesn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things - it merely puzzles me.
< - as does this

Fair enough. As I said for me Sunday Circus should have got mentioned.

Especially since a lot was mentioned about Glasgows licensing laws and the 3am closures. The daytime party (which as far as Im aware SC was among the first to try or at least the first to make a long-term success out of) was surely a creative way around those laws.

Again, fair enough you cant mention everything but there are some big names missing and some things I would have considered less worthy taking up a lot of room.

Mostly I cand believe the level of adoration heaped on the Art School. The Art School 'served as a symbol of Glasgows move into position as a serious clubbing destination'. Naw. It didnae.