The Hive: Buzzing With Action
Standfirst: The Honeycomb is under new management for a new era. The Skinny catches up with Kenny Breaks to find out the Hive's buzz.<br/><br/>PQ: ""The Hive should be a much sought-after club contender in Edinburgh.""<br/>
| 08 Sep 2007
After The Honeycomb closed over a year and a half ago, Edinburgh's club scene took a downturn, and was suddenly lacking a decent, mid-sized venue. This affected the scene dramatically, as around the same time several other venues decided to close their doors.
However, in June 2007 The Honeycomb was reborn as The Hive, a fabulous, newly refurbished 650 capacity gig and club venue promising to provide the best music from all genres. By hosting a diverse range of club nights ranging from drum and bass, breaks, techno, electro, and house to indie, rock, metal, nu-rave, and the odd slice of cheesy pop to boot, there's bound to be something for everyone, with cheap drinks and even cheaper entry (free on four out of six nights). A completely new sound system has also been installed, which will no doubt blow clubbers away.
One Beats-orientated night is /Slashdot., which after less than two months is already making a name for itself, and gaining a reputation as the place to be on a Saturday night for fans of electronic music. DJs from around Edinburgh have already put in an appearance, including G Mac (Manga / Bass Syndicate), Brainstormer (Breakstorm Recordings), Luka (Red Star Institite), Pyz (Split / Access) and Dave Lowe (Obscene). The back room offers a change of pace with DJs from Fast Punk, I Fly Spitfires, Goulag Beat and Dogtooth playing out indie, punk and new wave.
How does Kenny Breaks, /Slashdot.'s founder, feel it has been going so far? "I feel /Slashdot. has been very well received," says Kenny. "At a time in
Edinburgh when alternative dance music styles were thin on the ground on a
Saturday night, I feel it was just what people were looking for. Numbers
have been steady and close to capacity every week since the launch."
What are your thoughts on The Hive as a new venue? "I love the venue with its wee cavernous twists and turns. I know that The Honeycomb and The Vaults meant a lot to many people in the past, but I'm a newcomer. The layout keeps things interesting with a seated bar between the two separate rooms, which provides a kind of respite from the heaving dancefloors on either side. The rear cloakroom has been turned into a bar and the cloakroom is right at the front door now, which makes a lot of sense. We're getting the thumbs up from many of the previous regulars, and now the sound system is completely installed I feel as a venue The Hive should be a much
sought-after club contender in Edinburgh."
Band nights are now beginning to take place, and Kenny is eager to see more dance nights hold down early and mid-week residencies. "I think at the moment it's still a novelty for a lot of people: "oh the honeycomb's re-opened, let's go there," but I personally feel a difference compared with other venues because of the atmosphere; we're attracting a mixed crowd which always makes things interesting and to be honest, very pleasant. The Hive will offer a high quality night out but keep your costs low which can be difficult to find these days, and as time goes by I hope we can build a reputation for being a high quality and good-fun venue."
With a music policy geared to mixing and mashing up various different styles, the following weekly nights are planned for September and the upcoming months. On Tuesdays there is Antics, with rotating guest DJs unapologetically serving up rock, emo, punk and metal (Free, 11pm-3am, £1 a drink). On Wednesdays there is The Pit, promising to play the rock and metal tracks you want to hear, and not just those by labels (Free, 11pm-3am, £1 a drink). On Thursdays is Siren, with filthy electro, house and breaks (Free, 11pm-3am, drink promos from £1.50); Siren offer a music policy of only playing good, underground tunes, supported by residents and co-promoters Al Majik (Az Tech) and Chubby Cox. Guest DJs for September include Will Fake (6th), Kirsty Munro from Death Disco (13th), Bradley C from Chew the Fat! (20th), and Wolfjazz from Trade Union (27th).
On Friday's is Misfits, a classic indie party moved from the recently closed Subway Cowgate (£5/£6, 11pm-3am). On Saturdays is /Slashdot. (Free b4 11.30pm/£5, 11pm-3am, drink promos from £1.50), and on Sundays is Hellraiser's Ball/Neon (Free, 11pm-3am, £1 drinks) with alternative music from grunge to 80s.
However, in June 2007 The Honeycomb was reborn as The Hive, a fabulous, newly refurbished 650 capacity gig and club venue promising to provide the best music from all genres. By hosting a diverse range of club nights ranging from drum and bass, breaks, techno, electro, and house to indie, rock, metal, nu-rave, and the odd slice of cheesy pop to boot, there's bound to be something for everyone, with cheap drinks and even cheaper entry (free on four out of six nights). A completely new sound system has also been installed, which will no doubt blow clubbers away.
One Beats-orientated night is /Slashdot., which after less than two months is already making a name for itself, and gaining a reputation as the place to be on a Saturday night for fans of electronic music. DJs from around Edinburgh have already put in an appearance, including G Mac (Manga / Bass Syndicate), Brainstormer (Breakstorm Recordings), Luka (Red Star Institite), Pyz (Split / Access) and Dave Lowe (Obscene). The back room offers a change of pace with DJs from Fast Punk, I Fly Spitfires, Goulag Beat and Dogtooth playing out indie, punk and new wave.
How does Kenny Breaks, /Slashdot.'s founder, feel it has been going so far? "I feel /Slashdot. has been very well received," says Kenny. "At a time in
Edinburgh when alternative dance music styles were thin on the ground on a
Saturday night, I feel it was just what people were looking for. Numbers
have been steady and close to capacity every week since the launch."
What are your thoughts on The Hive as a new venue? "I love the venue with its wee cavernous twists and turns. I know that The Honeycomb and The Vaults meant a lot to many people in the past, but I'm a newcomer. The layout keeps things interesting with a seated bar between the two separate rooms, which provides a kind of respite from the heaving dancefloors on either side. The rear cloakroom has been turned into a bar and the cloakroom is right at the front door now, which makes a lot of sense. We're getting the thumbs up from many of the previous regulars, and now the sound system is completely installed I feel as a venue The Hive should be a much
sought-after club contender in Edinburgh."
Band nights are now beginning to take place, and Kenny is eager to see more dance nights hold down early and mid-week residencies. "I think at the moment it's still a novelty for a lot of people: "oh the honeycomb's re-opened, let's go there," but I personally feel a difference compared with other venues because of the atmosphere; we're attracting a mixed crowd which always makes things interesting and to be honest, very pleasant. The Hive will offer a high quality night out but keep your costs low which can be difficult to find these days, and as time goes by I hope we can build a reputation for being a high quality and good-fun venue."
With a music policy geared to mixing and mashing up various different styles, the following weekly nights are planned for September and the upcoming months. On Tuesdays there is Antics, with rotating guest DJs unapologetically serving up rock, emo, punk and metal (Free, 11pm-3am, £1 a drink). On Wednesdays there is The Pit, promising to play the rock and metal tracks you want to hear, and not just those by labels (Free, 11pm-3am, £1 a drink). On Thursdays is Siren, with filthy electro, house and breaks (Free, 11pm-3am, drink promos from £1.50); Siren offer a music policy of only playing good, underground tunes, supported by residents and co-promoters Al Majik (Az Tech) and Chubby Cox. Guest DJs for September include Will Fake (6th), Kirsty Munro from Death Disco (13th), Bradley C from Chew the Fat! (20th), and Wolfjazz from Trade Union (27th).
On Friday's is Misfits, a classic indie party moved from the recently closed Subway Cowgate (£5/£6, 11pm-3am). On Saturdays is /Slashdot. (Free b4 11.30pm/£5, 11pm-3am, drink promos from £1.50), and on Sundays is Hellraiser's Ball/Neon (Free, 11pm-3am, £1 drinks) with alternative music from grunge to 80s.
Check the websites for regular listing updates.
http://www.clubhive.co.uk, http://www.myspace.com/sirenclub, http://www.myspace.com/clubslashdot