The AfterParty

Lemos @ Klub D Flyer

It’s been more than three months since it opened but I only managed to pay a visit to Klubd last Saturday. I was one of the regulars back in the days when it used to be spelled with a ‘C’, so to me the most obvious things when going there after so long were the differences. The first thing you notice upon arriving, is the change in the entrance, the long side corridor has been replaced by a more direct entrance which, after entering the club, evidently saves a lot of the wasted space. The big bar has been moved and split into two, and the DJ box was relocated to the far end of the length of the main section of the room. You can’t but notice the LED panel on the roof and behind the DJ which is a nice feature for an otherwise completely black/dark place. What became immediately apparent about it, is that after the first five minutes it loses its novelty factor and you no longer even notice that its there. The sound system was sufficient, by Cyprus standards, nothing extreme but provided an above average club sound, at least to the dance section. As a non-smoker, I felt that they should improve with air-conditioning / ventilation which didn’t seem sufficient.

I was surprised the most by the people; not sure if it’s the same every time since this was a ‘carnival’ themed night and people on such occasions act a bit crazier than usual, but almost all of the 120-140 people who were there were dancing and enjoying themselves. The whole atmosphere had the same feeling of parties that took place 3-4 years ago when people used to go to electronic dance events to have fun and not to pretend they are someone else. I guess that goes with the whole philosophy of the club, there’s nothing pretentious about it, no VIP sections and other similar peculiarities, just a dark room for people to listen to music, have a drink and enjoy themselves. And since I mentioned drinks I have to say that the bar prices are lower than the competition’s; Jack Daniel’s Coke at Klubd is 7 euro while at Versus is 10.
The music played by Lemos is not exactly my style so I don’t think its right for me to make any comments about it, but seeing people enjoying it, I take it, was good.
Overall seems like klubd has acquired a stable crowd, after the first ups and downs with the entrance prices. It seems like a good effort, it definitely has its place in the Nicosia’s clubbing scene, filling a gap that was created when it closed.

Does a dance club need a valentine’s night?

I felt compelled to post about this subject.  First of all I have to say I am not one of those people who believe that valentine’s should be celebrated the way it is – I believe it’s a yet another opportunity for overpriced dinners and useless gifts, an idea abused by marketers world-wide to the point that people feel the social push to do something on that day assuming they have someone to do it with or feel bad about it if they don’t. Along with everyone else even clubs and apparently their managers are living in this fantasy too, which is fine, but when it comes down to Dance clubs I think it’s a bit weird.

Here’s what on for this Valentines night:

• Lover’s Day @ Club The Escape
• “If music be the food of love, play on” @ klubd 
• Valentine’s Night @ Versus

 

Club The Escape will celebrate Valentine’s with psychedelic. Yes people in love can listen to psychedelic too, the question is though, will people in a relationship who actually celebrate Valentine’s go to a psy party? Of course when was the last time that Club the Escape had made some sensible decisions?

Who are the customers of these clubs to start with? It only takes going out a couple of times to make reliable statistics that they are 18 to 30 year olds, mostly single middle-class male. It’s unfortunate even if we won’t admit it, that the proportion of women to men in clubs is small, and for dance clubs it’s just laughable.  While everyone is aware of this fact, Versus is planning night based on ‘let us find you your Valentine’ theme. I was wondering how they’re planning to achieve that in the ‘natural/normal’ way but then I noticed that they have a low-priced open bar; which then translates the ‘let us find your Valentine’ to ‘let’s get you wasted and you might end up going home with someone or something’. At least people at Klubd seem to have put some more thought into the subject realizing that it won’t help them promoting Valentine’s as a night for people in love with each other but for people in love with music and at the same time kept their price the same as previous weekends (before anyone complains even though it’s a bit irrelevant with this posts’ topic I have to mention about their price drop from 25 to 10 euro since they opened a few months ago – which for some is taken as a sign that they failed and by others as a sign that they are quick to spot their mistakes and fix them).

Anyway, simply put, what I’m trying to say with all the above for anyone who hasn’t already got it, is that dance clubs on this particular over commercialised day, should keep the same character and theme as every other night they are open after all they are the ‘underground’. Keep the same pricing model and don’t waste their money on stupid decoration that doesn’t really impress anyone. The one’s who will celebrate this night will probably exchange their gifts, go spend their 50-60 euro per person (yes it’s the men who pay) at a posh restaurant (aren’t they all posh nowadays?)  and then go home have a good one; they will definitely not come to a dance club full of drunk men breathing down the neck of their women. So what’s the point of having a valentine’s night at a dance club?