Clubs / News
New underground music venue opens beneath shopping centre
If you’re a regular enjoyer of Bristol nightlife, you’ll know about Alfresco Disco.
Famous for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible within the city’s clubbing scene, their out of the ordinary parties in less than conventional locations have earned them a spot in the Bristol promoter hall of fame.
One such memorable location was a sprawling, 2,000-capacity subterranean car park, situated below the hustle and bustle (cough) of the Galleries shopping centre.
is needed now More than ever
The Underground is accessed via Fairfax Street underneath which flows the River Frome – photo: The Underground
And while the pop-up and once-in-a-blue-moon element of the space certainly gave it charm, a venue this size smack-dab in the middle of the city centre can now be enjoyed as a regular occurrence.
For Tom Hodgson, Alfresco’s director, the inception of a permanent Alfresco space under the Galleries has been almost a decade in the making.
“We approached the Galleries about eight years ago with the idea of putting on an event in the shopping mall, and at the time the manager bluntly said ‘absolutely not’.” says Tom.
“A couple of years later, we thought we’d try again”, and after long negotiations (and the widening of ten fire escapes) they were given the green light.
Since the first time thousands of dancers took to the industrial underground party spot fresh out of lockdown in August 2021, the space has welcomed 13,000 people over five events, most recently with Nia Archives.
And here’s the kicker: they’ve chosen to move onto other unique spaces, but from the ashes, a new venue is born. Welcome to the Underground.
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If you’ve been to a venue of this size before, you’ll know that they are rarely (at least in the UK) purpose-built club spaces.
They will often be disused factories, warehouses, car parks, you name it – industrial relics that have moved on from the business of goods to the economy of good times.
It’s a shame, though, that these industrial architects from the 19th and 20th century weren’t always taking into consideration how the space would sound with a fat soundsystem blasting through it from multiple angles.
Fortunately, though, it seems this was thought about when designing the Underground, whose original purpose was (and remains) a loading bay for the shopping centre above.
“Surprisingly, the acoustics in the space are very good,” Tom says, “due to the fire treatment in the ceiling.”
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Of course, you can’t just dump a 2,000-capacity venue in an area of the city with the highest concentration of venues and expect it to have no impact on its surroundings.
I spoke to Orion Russell, former events and production manager at the Crown, one of the more recent hotspots for rising DJs and their many friends, about the city’s venue landscape at large, and what the opening of a place like this might mean.
“While it could affect the trade of other venues, if the music is diverse and interesting, I think it will be a great addition to the scene,” he says.
Orion raises an interesting point. Following the recent closure of Propyard due to the ethical dubiosity of the then owners, the only real dance music-focused large scale venues left are Motion and the newly minted Central Warehouse (which, in fairness, seems to be more of an occasional pop-up space itself).
In a city as synonymous with partying as Bristol, this seems a missed opportunity.
Orion also recognises the difference between venues of the size he’s used to running and those that are 20 times bigger, touting the “light and sound production that larger venues can offer” as being a big pull.
But let’s not forget “that true feeling of intimacy and community” that comes with a sweaty basement – maybe the two aren’t even part of the same market.
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Looking ahead, the team behind the Underground have – to use the dreaded phrase – big things coming soon.
Their opening weekend kicks off during the May bank holiday, with a massive drum & bass party with Skepsis, P Money and more, followed up by DJ Mag and Dance Corp coming together to bring Amelie Lens to the car park beneath the shopping centre.
Let’s just hope they don’t get lost in Boots before their set.
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For more information about the Underground, visit www.theundergroundbristol.co.uk
Main photo: The Underground
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