ENTER
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Pit. On the Friday 27th of February Diamond Live Lounge opened it’s doors for a new weekly alternative club night. Hosted by BBC Radio Sheffield’s ‘Introducing’s’ Christian Carlise and Kyle Tranter of ‘This Party Sucks’, our former sweaty Goth kid Rachel Horne went down on the night to check it out. Like some people reading this, I was a little cynical about the idea of a new alternative night starting up in Donny, but being an eternal optimist and wanting to see more nightlife on offer, I knew I had to be down there on the night to check things out. I haven’t been a club kid for quite a while. Fun tends to get lost somewhere as you move through your twenties, buried under the responsibilities of ‘grown up’ life. Still, this is Donny and so I’m getting my Karisma Tuesday Night circa 2003 vibe on. I wonder if, like me, you were a little apprehensive as to how this would go down? Is Doncaster really ready for an alternative Friday night with a DJ playing everything from Pantera to Taylor Swift? I’m a sucker for nostalgia, but taking a trip back in time always runs the risk of stirring up ghosts and I’m suddenly haunted by my 18-year-old self. 12 years on, I remember the day I got pelted with stones by a group of 12-year-old ‘sweaty bashers’. I’m sorry if my PVC flares and black lipstick offended you. In the spirit of my former self, I fashioned my outfit from charity shop items and things given to me. The great words of
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Photography: Tom Tranter ©2015
Vivienne Westwood are ringing in my ears – “Don’t buy my clothes, make them”. The night began in Anarchy Hair around 5.30pm. Unlike my 17-year-old self, who glued plastic hair to make something that can only be described as Sonic the Hedgehog stuck to my head, I was channelling grown-up alternative realism. I wasn’t the only person getting my wig done for a night in Donny. Behind sat a boyo with amazing curls and an undercut. I salute you. Like me, you were putting in the effort for this night in the Donx. Alas, the only thing alternative about my look these days are the scars left by all my facial piercing. Yes, if you look close enough I’ve got a face like a pin cushion, courtesy of the Blue Banana piercings and tattoo parlour circa 2012. Ready at last, I made my way to the Hallcross to see Kosy’s newest mural, an image of Tank Girl. I was surprised to see the pub full of new generation skinhead kids who looked like extras from This Is England. From the Hallcross we made our way over to Diamond Live Lounge. The night is young but the venue is packed. People are shocked. No-one, not the venue or the promoters, really expected it. And yes, by 1.00am Doncaster you drank the bar dry. Most people had been on it before they arrived, so people were hitting the dancefloor hard like we were back upstairs at Karisma drinking snakebite and black. I made a new friend, Michelle. Wherever you are, I hope you are reading this as I don’t know why but I was sure that we’ve met in a past life, perhaps on a Saturday night above the Visage, when shots were 50p and VKs were buy one get five free. Michelle and I were certainly miffed that there was no vodka, so when I said, “I don’t think anyone expected this many people”, she replied, “Well, I booked this night off six weeks ago”. What can I say? #GirlBoss. I have to confess, I haven’t listened to a lot of the tracks played since I left Donny to discover new shizzle. But Christian Carlise and Kyle Tranter, I salute you. You
curated this night with a lot of heart, so that the old sweaties like me could crawl out of our wormholes to reminisce that once upon a time nu metal was really nu and not old skool. My favourite bit of the night had to be when Christian declared over the mic, “Doncaster, you asked for it, so now you’ve got it.” While She Sleeps kicked in as a massive mosh pit broke out and people were having it like they were at Download. Outside the main entrance for a breather we discussed that universal forces were at play. Maybe the divine goddess was out in all her pagan debauchery. We watched a black cat cross our paths outside Diamond Live Lounge. It was witching hour. I needed to see if there was anything left behind the bar. There’s not much, but a bottle of Corona sufficed. The people kept piling in and I kept bumping into all my favourite creatures of the sweaty demographic. Maybe we don’t have the dreadlocks we once adorned, maybe we wear Vans instead of New Rocks, maybe we like tech house and Philip Glass instead of Blink 182, and maybe we’re drinking mojitos instead of snakebite and black, but we’re still sweaty club kids at heart. Christian, Kyle and all the others who made this event happen, you gave the freaks, artists, musos and tattooed beardies a home for the night. Long may it reign. #seeyouinthepit Diamond Live Lounge on Wood Street is Doncaster’s newest and largest live music venue with 700 standing capacity. The Pit is a regular alternative club night which takes place every Friday. diamondlive.co.uk @diamondliveDn1 @thepitdoncaster End For other alternative nights in Doncaster why not check out: The Leopard - Historic music venue and cosy pub. Tut ‘n’ Shive - Notoriously good juke box. Cask Corner - Free entry live music venue, from blues, punk, ska, reggae, indie, folk. Social Bar - Free entry live music venue with DJs playing everything from indie to rock and metal. Wool Pack Live - Free entry live music venue, expect an eclectic mix of punk, ska, blues, indie, rock and metal. Hallcross - live music venue with a mix including classic rock, punk and goth.