Club Previews

06/08/15

Optimo

The electrifying duo of JD Twitch and JG Wilkes are set to light up the Subbie tomorrow at their regular bi-monthly party. As is their wont, they’ve invited a special guest along who will be doing something truly unique and unprecedented around these parts: performing with an electrical Tesla Coil as part of the show.

The man in question is RF Transmission, a shadowy art world figure who incorporates the coil into his work.

“I’ve been working with the Tesla Coil in art installations for the last couple of years, but wanted to start the RF Transmission project to explore the coil as an instrument in it's own right,” he says.

“It's a harsh sounding instrument, but it’s surprisingly versatile and often distorts the signals you send it in ways which makes writing music for it really interesting. It's hard to say exactly what kind of sound the set will take on but it will definitely be something that you can dance to.

We’re quite literally buzzing for this one already."

On Saturday, Harri and Dom join forces with one of Glasgow’s other veteran duos for what should be a memorable edition of Subculture. Silicone Soul, the Soma-signed seminal Scots, will be bringing their soulful house jams and 18 years of party-starting experience to the Subbie. With the Subculture residents warming up, this is quite simply four hours of sheer pleasure for fans of classic and modern house.

Named after the controversial police operation that directly led to the 1981 Brixton Riot, Swamp 81 is the record label ran by London dubstep pioneer Loefah.

On Tuesday it’s coming north, with Mickey Pearce and Chunky - two of the imprint’s favourite acts – set to knock the Sub Club for six with their minimalistic, murky and cutting-edge UK dance.

• Optimo Free Energy with RF Transmission, tomorrow, Sub Club, 11pm - 3am, £tbc

• Subculture with Silicone Soul, Saturday, Sub Club, 11pm - 3am, £8

• Swamp 81 with Mickey Pearce, Tuesday, Sub Club, 11pm - 3am, £7

Long Live Love

When local lad Stuart Nixon was left with a fractured skull and two brain bleeds after a serious car accident while on holiday in Turkey last month, the outlook was not good. Faced with the exceptionally high cost of his medical bills, his family and friends organised a GoFundMe page, and this night at SWG3 tomorrow, to help cover some of his treatment and transport home.

It features one of the city’s hottest talents in Rustie, the maximalist electro producer who released his second album Green Language last year to widespread critical acclaim. He’s joined by local hip-hop heavyweight S-Type, grime DJ Innke, Mogwai (DJ set) and Sam from Vitamins. And with Stuart now recovering at home and awaiting a place in a rehab centre, there’s reason to celebrate, too.

• Long Live Love with Rustie, tomorrow, SWG3, 7pm - 2am, £10

Mungo’s Hi-Fi Soundsystem

This eight-hour reggae soundsystem session could be enough to challenge the endurance of even the most ardent skanker. Taking over Govan’s African Arts Centre until dawn on Sunday morning, it features prime local selectors Mungo’s Hi-Fi, their collaborator and veteran UK dancehall figure Kenny Knots, and partners in all things reggae Chungo Bungo. If you can last beyond 3am, you have my full admiration.

• Mungo’s Hi-Fi Soundsystem, Saturday, African Arts Centre, Broomloan Road, 10pm - 6am, £6

Pretty Ugly

A triple-header of excellent nights at three different venues is the eager indie kid’s reward this weekend. Tonight, get down to Gonzo at Bloc for a nostalgia trip inspired by Zane Lowe’s famous brown sofa. They’ll be playing the finest in alternative music from the early noughties, it’s free, and you can drink beer and eat pizza until 3am. What’s not to love.

Then tomorrow, our favourite Flat 0/1 wreckers Milk host a scaled-down version of their riotous Wednesday nighter at the new Hug and Pint over on Great Western Road. It has the brilliant Sharptooth and Lush Purr playing live, with the Milk DJs, ice lollies and cookies for all. And on Saturday, synthesiser sympathisers will find much to love as Marnie from electro-pop outfit Ladytron plays a guest DJ set.

• Gonzo, tonight, Bloc, 11pm – 3am, free

• Mini Milk, tomorrow, The Hug and Pint, 8pm – late, £4

• Pretty Ugly, Saturday, The Admiral, 11pm - 3am, £6

Night Moves

06/08/15

Heverlee at Tontine Lane

The folks at Heverlee have struck marketing gold with this outdoor popup concept that has been enchanting the Merchant City for the last two weeks. Hidden down a previously-private lane off Bell Street, the limited-time-only bar came courtesy of the team behind The Fish Plaice, the incredibly popular seafood restaurant that introduced hipsters to the Saltmarket’s less-than-glamorous back lanes during last year’s heady Commonwealth summer.

It was only open for a fortnight, but during that time this lane was the coolest passageway in all of Glasgow. Lifestyle and food bloggers trampled over each other to get in, then faced an agonising decision over which Instagram filter to use on their photos of Douglas Gordon’s Turner Prize-winning Empire sign.

The promise of refined Belgian bistro scran and hand-selected beers sent foodies into overdrive. Leuven’s Wim Dejonge – one of Belgium’s most exciting young chefs - curated the low countries-inspired menu, which of course featured much more than just waffles and sprouts. Moules frites, the Belgian national dish, and other seafood-centric delights such as lobster mac and cheese went down beautifully, while a six-course tasting menu developed for Belgium’s national day – all steak tartare, monk cheeks and pearl barley risotto – was hailed as “fantastic” by the VIPs in attendance.

Sadly, the bar’s gone now and it isn’t coming back. That’s causing a fair amount of anguish among the city’s cool kids, who now need to find the next similarly trendy space to move onto. But the upshot is that after Tontine’s stunning success, beer companies will be clamouring to turn every grubby lane in the city into a bustling, branded venue bursting with bloggers and minor celebs. For me and my Instagram-happy, Prosecco-swilling peers, it can't come quick enough.

Night Moves

06/08/15

Heverlee at Tontine Lane

Q: What’s your favourite popup bar or restaurant?

1. Pavel Parfencik, 21, Lithuania, A popup recording studio back home.

Ursule Kerbedyte, 23, Lithuania, A popup painting studio by drag queen in Lithuania

2. Natalie Traynor, 35, Shawlands, Glasgow, This bar

Kris Elliot 37, West End, The Fish Plaice, during last year’s Commonwealth Games

3. Paul Scullion, 30, Merchant City, A Southern fried chicken place I sampled in London.

Lisa Stewart, 27, Merchant City, The rum popup in Shoreditch

4. Nicola Thorne, 27, Ayrshire, Rio Club Glasgow during the Jazz Festival.

Karen McFarlane, 26, South Side, Ting Thai Caravan during the Fringe

5. Aimee McScullion, 26, Merchant City

Favourite Club? Pitchers

Favourite Bar? Boteco do Brasil

Favourite DJ? Sir Mixalot

Favourite Band? Girls Aloud

First Club? The Cavern

What You Drinking? Gin

Describe Your Dancing? Pro

6. Claire McConnochie 26, That one that’s full of hipsters

7. Pedro Lloret, 35, Gijon, La Estrella Granada

Paula Saiz, 42, Gijon Spain, "Boils," in Torrelavega