Soul Out @ Barca NYE 2007 - Review 1
Review - Paula
Thanks to the Soul Control website the people of Manchester had an informed choice of where to ‘shake their bodies’ over the festive season, and I think we can safely say that there was a great selection of excellent gigs to attend, all of which ensured there was something for everyone. However, New Year’s Eve at Barca had to be the climax...
“We have decided to really push the boat out and bring in 2008 in style.” That was Wadey’s statement before this massive event. Well, you certainly did push the boat out Wade. What a magnificent way to see out 2007 and bring in 2008; and if this is what Manchester has to look forward to for forthcoming Soul Out events then we’re in for a nice little ride...
This night was not to be missed, predominantly because of the variety on offer (no ladies, not the men I mean the music)! RnB, Old Skool Soul, Modern Soul AND Reggae/Lovers. There was a wicked feel good party factor and friendly atmosphere most of the night, what more could we ask for? Everybody was there to have a good time whether they were single, with a partner or in a group. There were nuff faces from back-in-the-day and the ambience was just right for everyone to catch up with each other.
The first thing that I observed was the meticulous organisation of the event. On arrival, people were directed upstairs if they had tickets and downstairs to pay on the door. This meant that there was a steady flow of people entering the gig in a nice orderly fashion. As we arrived at 11.45pm, I half expected to be queuing up at the strike of twelve and for everybody to be wishing each other a Happy New Year outside in the cold! But no, the organisation was professional and when we arrived Wadey was there to greet us and wish us a Happy New Year.
It seemed as though everybody was in the RnB room to bring in the New Year. Tiny G started the countdown, everyone joined in and so we ‘got the party started’. At the top of the hour Tiny played the traditional Auld Lang Syne (which means old, long ago in case you didn’t know) - everyone sang along and the hugging and the kissing and the greetings commenced. The atmosphere was happy and vibrant putting the partygoers in a proper party mood. At this stage of the night the other rooms were empty but soon began to fill up as more and more bodies began to arrive. Before long all the rooms were at a comfortable capacity and we were all ready to “reggae n soul” (sorry, as in not rock n roll...)
My friend spent most of the night in the reggae room with her other half, dancing to new and reminiscing with old time reggae and lovers including Janet Kay’s Silly Games, to which everyone sang along in true Manchester style. The RnB room was rockin’ all night long with the head-noddin’ crew drinking their champagne and going with the flow. The modern soul room, complete with settees, was nice n chilled, with Martin, Tim and Tom spinning some nice connoisseur/two-step soul, including Martine Girault’s Revival (choon!). Meanwhile in the 80’s room Alex, Dr D and Fingers did an excellent job of playing some “Bad Ass” classic tunes that we could all sing along and shock out to, such as Twisted by Keith Sweat and Come into my Life, Joyce Simms.
May I say that everyone was elegantly dressed, stylish and smart and true to the theme of the night, the ladies were clad in black and silver and the gentlemen were dressed in black and grey. Another contributing factor to the success of the night was that getting served at the bars was ‘fluid’, considering half of Manchester was in the joint.
Soul Control Verdict:
All in all, a superb venue with enough room for everybody, ensuring that we didn’t have to queue too long for drinks or toilet facilities. The staff were polite, there was a variety of wicked music and a buzzin’ party atmosphere. Huge thanks to Wadey et al for a spectacular NYE part - if you missed it, you missed out. Just make sure you’re at the next Soul Out event.
Have a peaceful 2008!
Sweet P x
Soul Control Rating:
Soul Out @ Barca NYE 2007 - Review 2
Review - Mellisa
Having Barca as a venue for a New Year’s Eve celebration seemed a good idea, the expectation from most people was that having three different rooms would mean a good variety of music, RnB in one room, Revival Soul in another and Lovers Rock in the room downstairs, but unfortunately the night lacked the party atmosphere which one would expect for New Years Eve. It felt as though the organiser anticipated a huge turn out in order to fill the three rooms adequately which sadly was not the case as Barca was as sparsely populated as you could imagine!!!
As a regular attendee of Barca’s Soul nights, New Year’s Eve 2007 felt no different musically or clientele-wise from any other regular Soul night at Barca!!!! There are only so many times you can take going out and listening to the same old tunes and seeing the same old people time after time and sadly this is what I and the party I was with had to endure at Barca!!!! The only saving grace was that the Lover’s Rock / Reggae room brought something a little different to the night but ultimately even that lacked atmosphere and was half empty!!!
There were four bars open across the venue which was more than adequate although judging by the stressed-out look of the bar-tenders, the bars could have been better staffed. The lack of adequate bar staff was brought more sharply into focus when you consider that Barca was nowhere near full capacity and that they should have been able to cope with such small numbers!!!! Depending on which bar you went to determined how long you would have to wait, with the average waiting time being 10-20mins.
Soul Control Verdict:
On the whole I found the night to be very disappointing and not worth the £20 entrance fee. In comparison to the Soul night on the 30th at Relish, it was no contest!!!!
Soul Control Rating:
