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Po Rokh Edin urgh: 2 Picardy Place.

Those of you who've been wandering down Broughton Street recently might have noticed some changes afoot at the site of the old Catwalk. The premises have been bought by Warren Deighan, former owner of The Honeycomb, and will be the first of a series of planned venues across the city to face the critical eye of the punter.

So what can you expect from PopRokit? A complete revamp courtesy of Manchester designers Lush, who have been responsible for a selection of high profile bars in the city's Canal Street area, as well as graphics from local lad Harry 30 and food from Adrian Hodge of Dial fame. Edinburgh has no shortage of stylish hang-outs though, so where PopRokit hopes to excel is in its entertainment policy.

The plan is to tap into the area’s diverse scene to create a series of 'mini-clubs' - essentially a hybrid between a pre-

club and a full-on club night. ‘We want to work with the clubs in Edinburgh‘, explains Nicki Forest of promotion company Lowdown. 'Promoters can represent their night however they want to: they can book in whatever DJ they want, whatever is going to reflect the kind of vibe that their night is about.’ The venue has a state of the art sound system, but it won't be all strobes and banging tunes. ’The emphasis is really on quality sound and not on loudness', stresses Forest. ‘The thing we all agreed on the thing that really does our heads in is when you go to a bar to meet your friends and it's so loud that you can't actually sit and chat. That

is, after all, the whole purpose of a bar.’

The roster will feature different clubs each night of the weekend, with Higher Ground kicking things off on Fri 26 May. Coming soon are the likes of Manga, Vegas and Club Latino - watch the club listings for further details.

(Abi Bremner)

EDINBURGH SATURDAY: continued

I Why Not? at Why Not'.’ ll)pm—3am. £7.50. Weekly. Chart, dance, mainstream and all your favourite club anthems at this popular city centre venue.

EDINBURGH SUNDAYS

Pre-club

I Club Mojito at Cuba Norte. lllpm—lam. Free. Weekly. An early evening Afro-Cuban and Latin cocktail. I East Coast Project Sunday Service at The City Cafe. 8pm—lam. Free. Weekly. Joseph Malik checks his favourite tunes.

I Latino Loco at Baracoa. 9pm—lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Hector is kept busy with more salsa and Latino action.

I Made In Iguana at Iguana. 9pm—lam. Free. Weekly. Bob Cairns does the laid- back Sun session thing. taking in soul, funk, Latin grooves and future jazz. 28 May sees Glasgow’s infamous Nick Peacock dropping by.

I The Outhouse Garden Party at The Outhouse. 2pm-late. Free. Weekly. Now that summer is upon us. take advantage of The ()ulhouse’s generous offer of free barbee food and chill (possibly quite literally) to the alternating tunes of Harvey and Neil Ferris or Gail Sellars and Simmone Black.

I PopRokit at PopRokit. ‘)pm—lam. Free. A laid-back Sunday session.

I Rotary Funk at Negoeiants. 9pm—3am. Free. The Rotary lads, who also run a night at The Venue, supply the funk favourites, old and new.

I Tango El Domingo at Baracoa. 5.3(lpm—9pm. A new, early evening hang- out for tango fanatics.

Club

I Black Projects at La Belle Anche. llpm--3am. £4. 28 May only. Across-the- board heals, with the emphasis on funky

82 THE LIST 2S May-781m 2000

house and breaks, as Jamie Watt, Ross Duckering and Ross Mitchell return for the first in a series of one-off events. To add to the Bank Holiday antics, there’ll be free gifts and giveaways, including free champagne for the weirdest outfit. I C.C. Blooms 10.30pm—3am (bar from 8pm). Free. W'ekly. The best tunes from across the genres to shake you booty to at this gay club.

I DMC Competition at The Liquid Room. 7pm—3am. £7 (£5). 28 May only. Come and have a go if you think you‘re hard enough or just pop in to spot the turntable talents of tomorrow. This is the only Scottish heat, and it’s a Bank Holiday, so the promoters are expecting quite a turn- out. Young hopefuls might still be able to beg themselves a place on the line-up by calling Sally on 01628 667124 or e-mailing heatanE dincworldcom.

I Elements at Gaia. 1(me—3am. £5. Weekly. Ritchie Rufftone and Kash reside, with hip hop, soul, breaks and R&B.

I Ethos at Studio 24. 11pm-3am. £3. 3 Jun. Monthly. Dub. trance and techno with Steave and DBH.

I Glitter at The Venue (top floor). 1()pm—3am. £4; £2 before midnight. 4 Jun. Fortnightly. A brand new gay- friendly night featuring the talents of DJ Venus and a music policy that’s glittery, glitzy and just a wee bit cheesy.

I Icons at Club Mercado. 11pm—3am. £4 (£3). 4 Jun. Monthly. £4 (£3). Cabaret- cum-kitsch-gay-night which tonight celebrates The Spice Girls’ solo careers with ‘Life After Spice’ there goes your chance to dress up as Emma Bunton then. Free shuttle bus from Planet Out.

I Jazz Joint at The Jazz Joint. 1(me—3am. £2. Weekly. DJ only night featuring a selection of Jazz Joint regulars.

I Kinky Indie at The Citrus Club. llpm—3am. £2. 4 Jun. Monthly. As the name suggests, indie and alternative sounds.

I Kute at Po Na Na. llpm—3am. Free. Weekly. Murray Richardson and Flash man a night of sweet house music at this bar-cum-club.

I Mode Organic at The Citrus Club. llpm—3am. £3. 28 May. Monthly. A freaky mix of funk, soul, mod, ska, blues and rock.

I None Of The Above at The Bongo Club. 8.30pm—lam. £7 (£5). 28 May. Monthly. More genre-bending goings-on in the form of Mr McFall’s Chamber with pianist Andy Thornburn, Malcolm Lindsay and Matt Seattle, Chilean folkster Carlos Arredondo and purveyors ofAfro-Peruvian son (and if you want to know what that is, we guess you’d better just head down) El Tigre.

I Parliament at Revolution. 9pm—3am. £10. 28 May. Monthly. A new night which sees Revolution using its massive capacity to try to attract some of the biggest names in the club scene. Tonight the star turn comes from one Des Mitchell.

I Queer Sunday at Ego. 1()pm—-3am. £6 (£4). Weekly. Now truly established as a haven for all things fabulous, with drag dancers. special guests and all sorts of other glam goings-on. 4 Jun sees ‘The Handbag Boys’ on decks.

I Tackno at Club Mercado. 10.30pm-3am. £4—£6. 28 May. Monthly. Pull on your best Kappa shell suit and join Trendy Wendy from some cheesy choons down at ‘Sehemie Tackno’ .

I Taste at Wilkie House. I 1pm—3am. £8 (£6). Weekly. Fisher and Price continue to bang out the hard house in their inimitable style, with garage and US house through the back courtesy of Martin and Stuart. 4 Jun sees a guest appearance from Taste favourite Jon Pleased Wimmin. No sleep till Monday. Chart &. party

I The Ark at The Ark. l()pm—3am. £4 (£2). Weekly. With super-cheap bevvy, you might want to take Mon off.

I Chocolate Sundae at Revolution. 10pm—3am. £2—£5. Weekly (not 28

Ma ). Soulful house and disco dubs.

I roovey Baby at The Cavendish. 11pm—3am. £1 (free to students). Weekly. Bop till you drop to mainstream 90s tunes, with drinks promotions all night. I Kiss at The Liquid Room. 10.30pm—3am. Free with flyer. Weekly (not 28 May). An across-the-board selection of 703, 805 and 905 tunes from the dubiously named Billy Whizz.

I Loca at Loca. 10pm—3am. Free. Weekly. A commercial mix of chart, dance and disco.

I Mad Sundays at The Attic. 8pm—Sam. £3 (£2). Weekly. Chart and classic disco. I Replay at Eros/Elite. 9pm-3am. £2 (£1) before 11pm; £3 (£2) before midnight; £4 (£3) after. Replay sees the hits of the 705 and 805, er, replayed while the kids in Meltdown relax to chart and countdown anthems.

I The Subway West End at The Subway West End. 4pm-3am. £1. Weekly. See Fri.

EDINBURGH MONDAYS

Pro-club

I Baracoa at Baracoa. 9pm-1am. Free. Weekly. Easy listening heaven with Deke Patton.

Club

I C.C. Blooms at C.C. Blooms. 10.30pm—3am (bar from 6pm). Free. Weekly. Things mellow out (or so they claim) at this gay club, with an upbeat, discoy selection.

I Dusty Rhodes at The Cocteau Lounge. 11pm—3am. Free. Weekly. Mr Todd (Higher Ground) playing jazz, funk, Latin, world and smooth classics.

I Jazz Joint at Jazz Joint. 10pm—3am. £2. Weekly. 15 May sees Joseph Malik (Lizzard Lounge) taking to the decks for a DJ-only night. On 22 May (£5) the Joint throws open its doors to the Dave O’Higgins Quartet, when saxman O’Higgins touts his funky, soul-jazz talents as demonstrated on new album The Grinder '3 Monkey.

I The Profezzionals at Po Na Na. llpm—3am. Free. Weekly. DJ Roddy and Jason offer a first class mix of 805, filthy disco and house.

Chart & party

I The Ark at The Ark. 10pm—3am. £4 (£2). Weekly. Charty, cheesy and cheerful.

I Loca at Loca. 8pm—3am. Free entry before 11pm; £2 before lam; £4 after. Weekly. A commercial mix of chart, dance and disco.

I The Subway West End at The Subway West End. 4pm—3am. £1. Weekly. Sec Fri.

I Trainspotter at The Subway. 10pm—3am. £1 (free for students with matriculation card). Weekly. A mix of indie and dance.

I Wacky at Why Not? 10pm—3am. £l—£5. 17 Apr. Fortnightly. Chart and

party.

EDINBURGH TUESDAYS

Pro-club

I Pivo at Pivo. 9pm—lam. Weekly. Free. First Contact and DJ Ed rotate on a jazzy house and drum & bass tip.

I Salsa Con Sabor at Baracoa. l().3()pm—lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Hector in Latin heaven.

Club

I C.C. Blooms at C.C. Blooms. 10.30pm—3am (bar from 6pm). Free. Weekly. Take a step back in time to 605, 70s, 805 and earl 90$ tunes at this gay club. I Future Shock at The Cocteau Lounge. llpm—3am. Free. Weekly. Simmone Black plays deep garage and soulful grooves.

I Jazz Joint at Jazz Joint. lOpm—3am. £2. Weekly. DJ-only night.

I Knights Of The Turntable at Po Na Na. llpm—3am. Free. Weekly. Sir Dance- A-Lot holds the holy grail of smooth grooves and funky moves.