[ Review] - Polysexual vs Insomniacz (by Blink)

[James]

So, it is Boxing Day, over 24 hours without being able to go out, you have been nice to relatives, opened some disappointing presents, eaten and drunk too much of everything, and there is still nothing to watch on TV. What should you do? If you were in the Midlands (and even further afield), the choice was obvious, "the second installment of the Polysexual V's Insomniacz championship battle" Two of the bigger names from the "afterparty" scene, catering for the clubber with a taste for the harder side of life. And it was being held at Code, home of Godskitchen, and self-proclaimed "Superclub".

 

9pm finally arrives and I am suited, booted, and looking & smelling good (some presents were useful). I am the taxi for the night, so we do the rounds and we arrive at Code to find a queue of cars for the small car park, and a long queue of clubbers at the door. A bit of creative driving gets us to the head of the car park queue, and in to a space (and at £3 that isn't too bad for all night parking). There were 3 queues at the door., one for ticket holders, one for internet bookings and one for "pay on the door" - which was the longest, thank god for the internet. The queue for bookings moved quickly, and as we got to the front of the queue there was the usual cry of empty your pockets please. I was given my ticket, moved on, and somehow I ended up inside without being searched or anything, not sure if that was friendly staff, or just me being lucky. (As an aside, plenty of other people had their chewing gum confiscated, so be warned)

We are in, it is about 10.45, and the night has started.

 

This was my first visit to Code, so a description of the place would not go amiss. My first impression was dark, small and crowded, not quite what I expected from a "superclub". The layout of the club was simple, a main dancefloor, with walkways around the side, a bar, and then walkways/stairs going up either side of the dancefloor to a mezzanine level, with another bar, some seating, and a second room off it (which for tonight's festivities hosted a Funky Lounge). The lighting was still an issue, very little ambient light, other than a deep blue/purple, and then spots playing out over the dancefloor. Throughout the entire evening I never really got used to the lighting, but that is only a small complaint. The first 2 points of call when entering a club are the bar, for liquid refreshment, and the toilets. The bar staff were friendly, and getting served didn't take long, but £3.50 for a bottle is a bit steep. Once I found the men's rooms (poor signage), I found that of the four stalls, only 2 had doors, for those requiring a bit of privacy, and once in these, we were back to the blue/purple ambient light, which I am assuming was there to make life diifficult for those people wishing to partake of the more illicit side of clubbing. (I am advised that women do have doors in their cubicles, but am not sure on the lighting)

 

Having finished all the formalities, let us now move on to what we go to any club for, the music. I must pay compliment to the sound system at Code. It had power and presence throughout the room, you could feel the music embracing you like a warm blanket, but at no point did you ever think that your ears were going to start bleeding. It was only when you tried holding a conversation that you realised how loud it was!

 

Hinsley started the evening. There is a buzz around this man, and he definitely got the evening off to a good start and there were soon people on the dance floor. Next with the decks was Mr Rafferty who, although he kept the mood going, I didn't feel he moved it up a level.

 

Then up step the Tidy Boys. I got the impression that for some people, the Tidy Boys were the main event of the evening, and they soon got the crowd going. You know exactly what you are going to get with the Tidy Boys, and as always they delivered. For me, the set of the night was to follow. Phil Reynolds. I thought his set moved the entire evening up a level, there was more of an edge to the tunes he was playing, STORMING. Following that set was going to be difficult, and I had not seen the next man play before, but you have to have high hopes for the man who produced THE tune of the year "Revolution". BK. He hit the spot, need I say more?

 

By now the club was starting to empty a bit, as they always seem to do around 4.30 am, which meant that some people had left before the man himself Mr Farley, probably my favourite DJ, stepped up to the decks. I love Mr Farley's style of dark and hard, but if I had to make one criticism of him, it is that sometimes I find he gets a bit too dark, and takes some of the energy out of the evening, and tonight was one of those nights. I loved everything he played, but did wonder a bit about he direction he took us in. I must confess that my knowledge of dance music isn't what it should be, but drawing on my background of industrial, I thought his set had a very German flavour. I loved the music, but was it the right choice for a closing set on Boxing Day? There were still plenty of people "having it" on the dance floor, so I will bow to Mr Farley's greater knowledge and experience and say yes, it was.

 

So, in summary, how was the evening? It may seen that I didn't like Code, but once you have got used to the layout, it is a good club, the sound is good everywhere and there is actually plenty of space to dance. As for the lighting, could be better, it was too dark, and then bringing it up to bright white on the builds is a)blinding, and b)unflattering to everyone at 5am. I didn't make it into the funky room, as it was operating on a 1 out, 1 in policy, which must be testament to the quality of the music being played in it.

 

As for the main event, yes, it was everything it promised to be.

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