Why I won't be going out in Sheffield much this year

[funkymiss]

We already have Tuesday Club and Bass Bar on a weekly basis. Granted, not at the weekend. However, Detonate, Feedback and Flux are monthly and all at the weekend, so 12 DnB nights per month isn't bad going. Plus there's the stuff that Junglist Alliance get up to.

 

What more do you want?

 

Don't think Bass Bar is weekly anymore. Used to go every week!

[Penelopes]

To be fair I think the problem lies with the venues more than the nights that are on. It's all very well listing these events, but at the end of the day the only thing that makes one night different to the other in a set venue is the noise that comes out of the speakers.

 

The venues blow in Sheffield, changing the music won't help.

 

Good Morning Mholey,

 

I'm pleased you might pop down to Penelopes sometime, when you do, make yourself known to me and we can have a good old chinwag. Listening to what customers have to say is always a useful and productive excersize. It provides us (Venue Operators and Promoters) with an opportunity to address directly, first hand the very essence of what we spend much of our time and efforts trying to second guess....What will make the customer happy, and that is the goal we are all working towards.

 

In part i agree that a change of music does not change a venue. Things like the friendliness of the satff, cleanliness, choice and availability of drinks offer etc. Getting all those thing right provides the basic foundation for a successful event. But utilising lighting and decor any venue can be adapted to generate the desired atmosphere, appropriate to the event, given that the scale of the event matches the capacity. Several times over the last few months people have said to me 'i don't remember it (Penelopes) being like this when i came to such and such event, it seemed bigger or smaller or a different shape' . That's great to hear, we want to maintain customers interest, and one of the ways in which we do that is dressing the venue.

 

I also agree with Discos point about getting the music right being a key issue. The 'type' of music does determine to a large degree the 'type' of crowd. If people feel comfortable, surrounded by thier peers and indulging a common appreciation of the music, then the experience of those individuals, at any given event will be enhanced.

 

Earlier in this thread, (i think it was Jake, Hello Jake ) laid out the basic formula for promoting an event and suggested someone should start a night if they don't like what is on offer. I'm all for people giving it a go!, but event promotion is a skill, time consuming and sometimes soul-destroying and thankless so perhaps an easier route would be for such people to speak with venues and established promoters about what they feel is lacking. Not everyone will take it on board but if the ideas are genuinely good someone just might!

 

It is unrealistic to expect that everyone will like everything you do (as a venue or promoter) so we (venues and promoters) can only do what we can do to the best of our abilities and hope that we're hitting the mark for at least some of the people all of the time. And that is why threads like this are invaluable!

 

So getting back to your post quoted above, it's not very helpful to say the problem is with the venues rather than the nights that are put on, What is helpful is if you could expand upon that and quantify exactly what the problem is, in your opinion. I think venues should do XYZ, I don't think venues should do XYZ is much more specific and gives us all a fighting chance of addressing our customer needs, which is, afterall, what we seek to do.

 

Penelope x