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VENUE OVERHAUL Exploring new erritories

Slam take over programming at Alaska

The Slam promotions organisation has turned its hand to numerous projects over the years, from acclaimed club nights Relief and Pressure to the underground house and techno showcase of T in the Park's dance tent. From mid- September however, the promoters

will have a club space of their own

for the first time as they take over music programming at Alaska. 'Alaska seemed to have run their course with the various options they could come up with,’ Slam promoter Crae Caldwell explains, 'and they thought it would be good to get a bit of outside input into the club.’ So far, individual club nights are only at the planning stage: Stuart MacMillan and Orde Meikle’s Freelance Science will remain in its first Saturday slot and Relief will

The Jengaheads will be bringing their electro-fused beats to the revamped Alaska

for a monthly residency

run weekly on Fridays with residents Silicone Soul and Lawrence Hughes. As for the rest of the schedule, Percy X, Derek Wallace and The Jengaheads will all be presenting monthly events. 'What we want to do is bring in the best people around and give them a great space to work in,’ says Caldwell. 'With The Jengaheads‘ night, for example, we won’t have much to do with the promotion, but on a practical level they'll find the sound is the best you can get; there’ll be no technical hitches and the club will work well. Alaska is a really nice space, but it needs time and energy spent on it.’

Slam are also keen to take advantage of the venue as a means of complementing their established ventures. ‘Because Alaska is a fairly small place,’ says Caldwell,

a,

‘lt’s not often that you get Paul Oakenfold coming to Scotland2

'you can have 300 people in there, and it will really kick off, which means we can bring in guests that wouldn't work at The Arches because they don't yet have the reputation to bring in the big crowds. We can put on people like Joshua, James Ruskin or James Holroyd to Alaska, then once they‘ve built up a following, we can transfer them to Pressure. lt’ll work as a testing ground as well as a place to see the less established DJs.’

With Slam's undeniable commitment to quality programming, Alaska's latest incarnation should prove a much needed shot in the arm for Glasgow clubbing. (Jack Mottram) gs: Alaska wil/ re-open in September, see next issue for full details.

watering in anticipation.

’Basically, we just got on with programming the line-up,’ says Colours supremo Ricky MacGowan of their Friday night bill. ’With organising clubs, we have so much to deal with and the logistics of it can get pretty complicated, but with this we’ve been able to free ourselves of all that.’ The line-up is something to behold, with Paul Oakenfold, the undisputed crown king of UK house, nestling at the top alongside Guy Ornadel, Jon Mancini, Cosby, Ian 'Boney’ Clark and Darren Mackie. ’It was good to get involved in this,’ says MacGowan, ’and it was good to be able to do something a

FESTIVAL Glasgow Green Festival In The City

Glasgow: Glasgow Green, Fri 25 & Sat 26 Aug.

Clubs at festivals? You can take them or leave them, mate. Why spend fifty quid to dance in a field when you can go clubbing for a tenner? It’s a common opinion, but after years of ignoring the fun to be had by combining Scottish weather, pounding beats and a big tent, clubs at festivals are all the rage these days.

38 THE lIST 24 Aug—7 Sep 2000

Since The Stone Roses let rip on Glasgow Green with Slam as guest DJs ten years ago, the usually peaceful Clydeside lawns have more and more frequently been home to some of the best events the city has seen, and this year’s Glasgow Green Festival In The City is no exception. The indie kids are, as ever, well catered for, but there’s also some heavyweight support for clubbbers in the form of Inside Out and Colours. These two Scottish clubs take over the dance tent for a night each, and between them there are enough superstar DJs to set mouths

little bit different from ordinary, run- of—the-mill clubs. It's not often that you get Paul Oakenfold coming to Scotland.‘

And right he is; getting Oakenfold is something of a coup, and proves Colours' long-standing reputation which, along with Inside Out's Saturday line-up of Mauro Picotto, Lisa Loud, Scott Bond, Sister Bliss, Jon Pleased Wimmin, Simon Foy, Zammo and Michael Kilkie, ought to see the crowds dancing all the way to Glasgow Green.

(Leon McDermott)

Phactfile

Steaming ahead like a well-tailored but nonetheless hedonistically- inclined glam house monster, Birmingham’s Miss Moneypenny’s takes on Glasgow. And you thought it was just heavy metal that came out of Brum. Leon McDermott engages in

I? way...» my -‘. ., ',, s. .”- 14/ a a :'§-./z&.i’- almsm'ii

Ah, Mish Moneypenny, you look dazzling . . . Yeah yeah, so you can do a bad James Bond impersonation. But it's not big and it's not clever, so you might as well drop it right this minute. And forget about Big Tam. We’re here to talk house clubs, not gentlemen’s ones.

Soo, what's Mish Moneypenny's all about then, if she isn’t hanging around outside M’s office? She’s all about Glamour, with a capital G. No stone is left unturned by the Moneypenny search for the perfect outfit. Forget trainers, forget your tatty but oh-so-comfortable ripped jeans and think glittering style, think dressed up to the nines for a night of mayhem, think looking like a million dollars and then some.

Okay, I get the picture. Slap on the make-up, find a sequinned bra, a pair of gold pants and some five-inch heels, and go for it on the floor Now, now. There’s no need to be snotty. Miss Moneypennny’s is one of the most respected clubs in the country; they’ve been raising hell in their native Birmingham since 1993, and what with the home fixtures, the parties in Ibiza and the stellar guests, Moneypenny’s is a storming operation.

So we've talked dressing up, then. All fine and well, but tell me this: has the music just taken a back seat for the dancefloor fashionistas? Or should we expect quality tunes to go with the extravagant outfits? God, you’re such a snob; yes, the music’s important. It is a club, after all. Expect funky, four to the floor house action of the cheese-free variety played by the residents, and anything from jacked up Chicago party music to slammin' filtered disco from guests like Farley ’Jackmaster’ Funk and Huggy Burger Queen.

Cool. I’ll be the one down the front, wearing a feather boa and a string of pearls See you there, loverboy . . .

Egg; Miss Moneypenny’s Launch Night, 6 7, Sat 2 Sep.