Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Laura Keen

After what can only be described as a messy festive period, I made a resolution to get back on the straight and narrow and only go out once a week. This week we decided on Shuffle presents TEED at Plug - with cheap drinks and quality music, it’s an ideal escape for students. Starting early at Bungalows and Bears, we got the Fruli in and sat romancing about the night ahead. After reflecting on previous weeks, we decided to avoid a heavy pre-session. So we headed back, quick change, a few vodkas and onwards to our destination. 

With their usual £2.50 drinks, we stocked up and headed straight for the main room. Resident DJs Emilio Arciello and Squarehead were warming up, treating us to their latest concoction of funky house and electro. With Squarehead introducing his recently released EP, "Keep It Moving", the early revellers were certainly given a taster of the housey vibes that lay ahead. After a strong two hour set, we were introduced to TEED's support act, Stay+. With their unique live approach to house music, loosely labelled "a band", they were a diverse intro to TEED's phenomenal yet bizarre performance. Yes, performance. TEED entered wearing a full Indian Head dress, closely followed by his Dancing Dinosaurs. He lifted the roof with an epic infusion of house and electro. With a bit of everything at all the right times, it is clear to see why Orlando is such a successful producer and performer. Describing his beats as "just dance music at the end of the day", it's compelling to see such a laidback, effortless representation of music, exactly how it should be. After dropping HUGE remixes from Katy Perry and Professor Green, it became clear this was yet another example of Shuffle bringing the vibes on a Saturday night.

And it would seem that my resolution-inspired, down-sized pre drinking session had paid off. All my contemporaries were still in tow, last month's casualty was still conscious. And so we retired, whilst we were still winning.

Viva Zabiela by Laura Keen

Good Saturday nights out for a student in Sheffield are few and far between, so when the rare treat came along, we grabbed it by the horns. Not only did the rarity lie in the fact it was a Saturday (typically full of 'townies'), Shuffle was bringing us a rare House infused delight. Coming from Newcastle, a town where the House scene is rife, it is promising to see Plug gradually introducing more lead DJs from the house scene. James Zabiela is a regular at Plug, and with their epic sound system I couldn't wait to see him gig there. Tangent over, we decided that Shuffle was to be our destiny, and soon got things underway.

It's no secret that Saturday night drinking prices are astronomical, so we met at a friend's flat at 8pm to ensure we could get a good pre session in. After copious drinking games and endless vodka shots, we felt ready to attack the night. It was a pleasant surprise when we arrived and saw the drink prices - only £1.50 for a shot of Sambuca / Tequila and £2.50 for an Amaretto and Coke or Cheeky Vimto. Then we saw the line-up for the evening and things just got even better. Leeds based producer Midland was warming Zabiela up and as expected, his set didn't disappoint. All the closet House lovers were out in full force and the vibe within was incredible.

After an epic set, Zabiela took to the decks and slowed things down with his break beat approach. As the bass kicked in, and the blonde locks started bouncing, he had us on the ceiling. At several points, he was leant right into the crowd dropping tunes from his I-pad - typical of his world class, crowd pleasing style. After an hour long set, which essentially became at least 90 minutes, I was summoned to the toilets by one of my accomplices. There I found what could only be described as an exhausted, food hungry, dishevelled being slumped against the wall. And I knew that it was time our journey came to an end.

Halloween Was Deep by Shane Gilmartin

The night started like any other night really - very early. 2pm at a friend's house, and after a lot of fiendish activities we headed into town around 8pm.

We started at Boudica up at the top end of West Street; I didn't even find this place until a few weeks ago, up a side road up past Cavendish. Look out for the blonde girl who's always outside Cavendish, handing out vouchers to get you unbelievable drink offers - I can recall one is a free shot of anything, not just the usual Corky's but absinthe, sambuca, Goldshläger - whichever you're into, and buy one get one free on mixers. The only downfall in that place though is the DJ – it's just generic boring dance, nothing out of the ordinary. I like a deep house vibe personally so after finishing our drinks we moved on.

The Great Gatsby was next on the agenda but that was a no-go because my mate was wearing a hat… He refused to take it off as he'd shaved his head to look like Mr T (bit of a bummer) so we headed on down to the newly reopened Fez Club, which from my younger clubbing days was a heaven for all those underground house fiends (myself included).

However, yet again my friend's hat let us down but as the rest of the lads were already in I wasn't one to leave a trooper behind, so we headed to Dan Sane. Walking down we could already hear the music blaring out of the venue from up the road! Located behind the old Niche nightclub, around the back of Decathlon, seek and you shall find - the venue itself is an old rundown factory-looking building with a lick of white paint, but that's what gives it a purely unique feel every last Saturday of the month. The setup in there is amazing - massive soundsystem which is amazing when stood at the front but doesn't fill the whole venue; you can have a chat at the back by the bar. The bar is just a small box area but the drink prices are brilliant: £3 for a can of Red Stripe, £2.50 for a vodka mixer (including Redbull). I think this is a place where they actually care that you have enough money in your pocket to quench your thirst at any time without running out to the nearest bank machine. The night lasted until 6am - a beast. Ending with Loshea doing a sick set, we stayed until the end and were some of the last ones out.

Ibiza Bliss by Scott Wheeler

This month our party addict tells us of his sunshine tales.

2011 on the White Isle seemed to have been even more anticipated than any of the
recent years amongst regular Ibiza enthusiasts, workers and even the experienced,
party hard locals. This all this boils down to one thing....the Playa d'en Bossa born
hotel called Ushuaia, a hotel-come-day-party-venue. Being anticipated as one of the
biggest additions to Ibiza in the last decade, it had one huge question looming above
it: will it become the rebirth of daytime pool parties on the island?

On arrival, the sleek minimal exterior with pastel colour light boxes illuminating
the surrounding area was an attraction of its own. The opening had come and gone -
tickets for that were like gold-dust so I unfortunately missed the Cadenza boys such
as Reboot and Robert Dietz that day. Any lucky sod that managed to get access to the
official opening became the most annoying person on the island; it was like they were
rubbing in that they'd got the present you had always wanted.

My big cherry popping moment came. Through working here I had managed to get
on the workers' guestlist for the party but tickets were just 30 Euros anyway and,
believe me, that's a bargain in Ibiza. I was destined to see the Swedes on their regular
Wednesday residency. The moment came - moving in through the colossal doors, my
goosebumps took a recharge - I needed to scream, feeling like a young girl catching
glimpses of her biggest music idol. At one end was a massive stage fit for a festival,
where Max Vangeli was already smashing out the tracks to an already hyped audience.
Then there was the enormous pool, dancers being carried on oiled-up men's
shoulders to their podiums, light shows, water fountains... With a full capacity of
5000 it's easy to imagine the sheer stature and size of the arena. The audience seemed
to get bigger and bigger as I meandered my way through the early-bird party goers. I
eventually found a spot near the VIP beds at the back where I stood with pals for 15
minutes or so just simply picking my jaw up from the tiled floor. Planes were within
touching distance as they landed into Ibiza Aeroportia. The Swedes burst out with the
recognisable voice of Steve Angello screaming, "WE'RE SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA,
ARE YOU READY?" From that moment on I knew this one was gonna be big, and I
wasn't wrong. Come night, Ushuaia was in its full glory. It was simply unbelievable.

I was left answering that one question; did it become the rebirth of daytime pool parties?
Too f**king right it did! Ushuaia became a weekly visit in my diary.

The Smallprint: Opening times 5pm-12am. Tickets varied from 30 Euros up to 50
Euros as the season goes on. Taxis from San Antonio cost around 25 Euros but a free
bus usually comes with the ticket price.

Other Recommended Nights: CREAM & COCOON @ AMNESIA, SWEDISH
HOUSE MAFIA & CADENZA @ PACHA, CARL COX & KEHKUMA @ SPACE

Happy Birthday to me by Shaun Martin

Twas the night of my birthday and Carver Street was the penultimate location. But first it was time to invade Division Street with the lads.

Common Room with three Glitterbombs for £10.50 was first on the cards; after those three and a pint it was time to move on to Soyo. It was quite dead inside but from silence came a flurry of girls who over took the bar, and it took us over 15 minutes to get a drink with each bar staff member ignoring us till the girls had departed… The wait was worth it though, with double vodka mixes and Jägerbombs at just £1.50. The Jägerbombs were standard and decent; Soyo do a good deal of bombs and the music is always pumping with mellow house then switching up into UK funky.

The time for Carver Street came. The Sheffield Parties guys sorted guestlist out for us and as it was my birthday they sorted me free entry! BEAST! We went straight into Beg Borrow and Steel where I went straight to a clear bar and ordered two Blue Lagoons off the menu (two for £5.50). I was innocently expecting two standard cocktails, but the two biggest/gayest looking cocktails popped up from behind the bar - 50% ice, 40% juice, 10% vodka. Tasted nice but I've never felt as feminine as I did drinking those… but it was my birthday so who cares - I was going to get wrecked. The company from DJ Super K (Storm Parties) behind the decks and a birthday drink off him sorted me out. After some UK funky/ RnB we moved down to Paris. I can't remember much after a few more bombs, just waking up at Stalker Lees (March issue 2011) with a can of 4 Stripe in my back pocket and one of my best mates passed out next to me...

He's Had a Beer by Shaun Martin

Normally I wake up on a Saturday feeling as rough as a badger's ass, but I'd not been out for a few weeks. So I thought to myself, "Herve at Plug is going to be a fiend of an event I cannot miss".

Meeting my cousin in Varsity, we got some munch down us. Dog's Dinner only £5.95; chips, beans, sausage and bacon - what a beast! After two pints and a pitcher of Woo Woo at £6.99 (cheaper if you have a Vcard), we were definitely starting to get tipsy. Supping up and moving on to Wetherspoons (which for those who don't know is a hidden gem on the way to Plug for a cheap drink), we weren't after a quiet tipple. For me, its all about the double Sailor Jerry's and Coke, plus a Double Vodka Monster - I think from my recollection it was around £8 for these two.

We'd already had a few by this point and were ready to venture to Plug, thus we reached the bottom of our glasses and decided it was time to move on. LJ Freeman sorted guestlist out for us (cheers Lee, if you're reading this) and the second we walked through those doors, the bass filled our head with noises that can only be described as: "DIRTY DIRTY DUB FLEXING TREMBLING SOUNDS". From this we knew our night was just about to begin. Pretty lucky to arrive just after Herve started his set, Cheeky Vimtos it was, which sorted me out all night. £2 for a drink as good as those must be a crime - I was getting well and truly trouted. Check out the Pound Run between 1am and 2am; certain shots are only £1 – awesome. After Plug had died down we headed to Lion's Lair then the rest, as they say, is history. I woke up Sunday feeling as rough as I should have done the Saturday morning… great.

Stalker Lees Adventure 2 by Shaun Martin

It was one of those events you only find out about three days before, but if it was anything like the last one, I knew it was a definite must. Last time it went on until five and I still can't remember most of it - shows it must have been good.
9pm saw the start of the night and the journey to Eccy began. Picking some beers up from One Stop, we found you can't go wrong with eight bottles of Carlsberg, working out at about £9.

Off we went to the Stalker Lees residence – dead but the constant reminder that, "It's only early", reassured me it would get busier. The sound system supplied by Matt from Soyo was a beast (check out the photo below to see what I'm on about) for a room which could possibly only hold 50 peeps.
When the night started to kick off with people turning up, the real DJs came out. A sick DJ I remember winning a competition at Ruby Lounge went off the same at this party - a little musical genius, mixing deep House into Dubstep into RnB; integrating genres together like it was nothing.

After some shimmying on the dancefloor/ living area, it somehow turned from 10pm into 3am and the alcohol supplies were running dry, so we, being the only people in there with actual jobs, got a taxi up to Spa for supplies. DJ Dave Venn from Plug had turned up after playing a set with MZ Bratt at Covert (apparently he was trying to persuade her to come but she wasn't having any of it - maybe next time...).
After Dave finished his set, the place near enough cleared out - the only thing I can really say about this night is that Scott Wheeler, you are a mess mate (the way you nearly face planted that bird was legendary). And until the next Stalker Lees adventure – ciao.

Stalker Lees thanks to:
Dan Oshea
Dan Dixon
Scott Wheeler

February by Shaun Martin

With the hangover from the night before haunting me, somehow I still have the sudden urge to start typing to tell all you nosey students the tall tales I've got about the weekend I've just endured.

Ringing the "Goonies" (as we call them), we started off in the Common Room; decent. The music wasn't loud enough (but that's probably because it was full), the snooker hall was heaving but after taking advantage of three Glitterbombs (Goldshläger and Redbull) for £7.50, I was getting well on the way to one of those nights.

Next: Rise on West Street. Seems to be quieter since they took the double vodka Redbulls off at £3, replacing them with two VK's for £3.50; still not bad but I wasn't one to be getting cherry VK spilled all over a white Alex Christopher vest, sticking to the Peroni. After here we ventured over to Bia Hoi, crammed the second I walked in. Losing everyone, I could here the Goonies giggling over the price of the vodka buckets (£5). "Bargain", I thought at first; until I clocked the amount of ice the bartender was packing into the bucket. Hmm.

We moved on to Alibi on Trippet Lane - never heard of it to be honest but glad I went. It's defo going to be a regular haunt in my adventures - heaving and I actually knew quite a lot of people in there which surprised me. The massive pints you get for £3.50 looked like a pint and half in one glass, although the music wasn't the best… they could do with a mellow house DJ cracking out some classics in there.

And so it came time for the club. Stumbling like new born cattle, we "strolled" down to Steel House to see what the deal was. The dance floor looked to be falling like a lead balloon - must have had just ten people on all night, so as you would we left. I carried on the night in Embrace, which I have come to regret - not only was it full of the same goons and locals but the music was terrible with songs repeated every hour (CD on loop?).

I guarantee from now on I won't be going out on Fridays; why should I when I can go to Shuffle on Saturday and listen to some decent house and tech?! To top it off I woke up with a massive bruise on my leg - anyone who knows how this happened feel free to contact me…