One Night At the Disco
On an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday morning in late April 1977, under the headline “Discotheque Opens Despite Its Leaking Waterfall,” The New York Times carried the story of the previous night’s opening of Studio 54: the television studio-cum-nightclub that became the ultimate symbol of the disco era’s decadence.
Far from being a glamorous affair, it made it sound like a farce. The club’s waterfall was leaking until the last minute. The furniture wasn’t delivered until three hours before opening. The camera crew from Italian Vogue couldn’t find anywhere to plug in their lights so they could photograph the celebrity guests.
Teething problems are common in this business, though, and by November the chat was about its “uninhibited upbeat ambience,” its hosting of Mick Jagger’s birthday party – and its free brownies and coffee cake.
There might not be complimentary snacks at One Night at the Disco on Saturday, but this night of excess at SWG3 aims to bring a taste of that flamboyant era to Finnieston. The Melting Pot DJs take over the venue’s TV studio, cranking out everything from all-time megahits (Donna Summer, Chic et al) to the rarest edits ¬– as well as all the aural fun, look out for the hidden cocktail bar, glitter face decorators, crowdsurfing disco balloons, bus boys and stage performers.
While all this is popping off, the room next door hosts Paco Osuna: an artist who made his musical bones at Studio 54, as a regular attendee at the tender age of 14 (it was actually Studio 54 in Barcelona but who’s splitting hairs?). From the first time he saw Raul Orellana spinning acid house there, Osuna was inspired to be a DJ and his journey has taken him through acid and house before he landed on his signature brand of deep, dark, imaginative techno. He’s supported by up-and-coming Scots techno DJ Jamie Roy, and residents Raeside and Vilmos.
Paco Osuna, Saturday, SWG3, 10pm – 2am, £13
One Night at the Disco, Saturday, SWG3, 10pm – 2am, £20
Ben Nicky
The tattoos. The highlights. The big sunglasses. The enormous chain. Ben Nicky looks exactly like you’d expect a massively popular electronic artist to look, and he plays the part of the globetrotting superstar DJ to a tee. After closing the Main Arena at Coloursfest 2017 in August, the Bristolian trance tsar hits up the O2 Academy on Saturday night for his biggest Scottish solo show to date. His last three gigs here have been a complete sell-out, so if you’re in the market to see the man described by Armin van Buuren himself as “the badboy of dance music,” better move quick.
Ben Nicky, Saturday, O2 Academy, 9pm – 3am, £24.50
Marcel Fengler
For a taste of Berlin that’s more authentic than currywurst washed down with a glass bottle of Club Mate, stoat down to Jamaica Street tomorrow night for this month’s Return to Mono.
Slam’s monthly Sub Club night has Marcel Fengler playing from start to finish.
Initially a hip-hop obsessive, Fengler – like so many Berliners – drifted towards techno after the fall of the wall, and began playing records at his own parties with his childhood friend Marcel Dettman. He honed his craft at E-Werk and Tresor in the German capital, becoming one of the first residents at the infamous Berghain in 2005. Since then, it has been a steady rise to the top of the Teutonic techno totem: he’s widely regarded as one of the underground’s finest utility men ¬ – an electronic Charlie Mulgrew, if you will – flitting deftly between pummeling, hands-in-the-air stuff, moody, melodic grooves, and industrial toughness.
That’s the highlight of a business-as-usual weekend on Jamaica Street, but come midweek the I AM lads mark their ever-popular night’s fifth birthday. London mainstays Krywald & Farrer make the journey north to join Beta & Kappa with the celebrations, which are free before 11.30pm.
Return to Mono with Marcel Fengler, tomorrow, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, £12
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