First time at Berko

[Gojive]

Hmmm, maybe I should give this one a shot? I live in Staines, so I'm guessing under an hour (NCPM25 Carpark Permit notwithstanding) from here?....

[tsh]

That'd be the virtually same as Daventry then

Not for me - the music in the main room at Berko is often quite good.

[Lost Leader]

Can I add

• Lovely soft lighting

Ditto Daventry - the lighting on Saturday in the blues room was superb, certainly better than at Berko and again thanks to the efforts of Marc and others who spent the best part of 4 hours setting things up.

Look I know Dav. is a big free-style that happens 4 times a year and Berko is every Sunday so you aren't really comparing like with like. However whilst Berko undoubtedly can have a special atmosphere and attracts a great crowd of dancers I don't think you can really claim that it has this list of "unique" advantages. Then of course there are the drawbacks of Berko such as the fact that the blues room is very small and therefore often very crowded and hot. Yes Berko may be fab, but lets not get too carried away.

[Lost Leader]

Not for me - the music in the main room at Berko is often quite good.

Rob Ambridge may not be to your taste but IMO he is pretty good as a main room DJ and certainly a lot better than most.

[David Bailey]

That'd be the virtually same as Daventry then - O.k. I know the Daventry events are not every week, but still "unique" is perhaps overstating things just a little.

Well, my exact words were:

I'm not aware of any other regular venue like Berko, at least not in the London / Home Counties area.

Err... So Daventry is regular (i.e. weekly) and also in the London / Home Counties area?

Look I know Dav. is a big free-style that happens 4 times a year and Berko is every Sunday so you aren't really comparing like with like.

No, you're not. Berko is unique for a weekly venue in that area. That's what I said.

Then of course there are the drawbacks of Berko such as the fact that the blues room is very small and therefore often very crowded and hot.

Pah - being small, crowded and hot is what a Blues Room is all about - as Woody Allen said about sex, if it's not sleazy you're doing it wrong

For me, the main disadvantages of Berko are that it finishes too early, and that it's too far from North Finchley.

Yes Berko may be fab, but lets not get too carried away.

Well, obviously.

I mean, I'm famous for getting carried away with over-luvvie comments and overenthusiastic gushing about venues. I know, I really need to calm down and post some more balanced reviews with negative feedback and suchlike.

[David Bailey]

Hmmm, maybe I should give this one a shot? I live in Staines, so I'm guessing under an hour (NCPM25 Carpark Permit notwithstanding) from here?....

Google maps says 37 minutes.

Now, OK, that's round the M25, but I think that the clockwise bit should be OK - the bit we're all whingeing about was the anticlockwise part east of the A41.

[rubyred]

Well I am still a Berko virgin but hopefully not after the 21st December
Hope to see all you regulars in the hot and sweaty blues room on that occassion, and also hoping the M25 is kind to everyone going in that direction that evening.

[ant]

That'd be the virtually same as Daventry then - O.k. I know the Daventry events are not every week, but still "unique" is perhaps overstating things just a little.

Hi Lost Leader

I don't think you realise how good Berko is. The only buzz I can compare it to is after a great nights dancing in the Latin Room at Southport.

Its dark, sleazy, hot and steamy but the dancers are almost all fantastic and you just go there blink and its time to go home.

Don't get me wrong Daventry's quarterly events are good but I don't get that feeling.

[Trouble]

Well I am still a Berko virgin but hopefully not after the 21st December
Hope to see all you regulars in the hot and sweaty blues room on that occassion, and also hoping the M25 is kind to everyone going in that direction that evening.

Well ive had twirly Bird and Stokies cherry for Berko... so i shall definately have yours on the 21st Ms Red. xxx

[Trouble]

Hi Lost Leader

I don't think you realise how good Berko is. The only buzz I can compare it to is after a great nights dancing in the Latin Room at Southport.

Its dark, sleazy, hot and steamy but the dancers are almost all fantastic and you just go there blink and its time to go home.

Don't get me wrong Daventry's quarterly events are good but I don't get that feeling.

you should come down and see how hot it gets Lost Leader... <mind you, you got pretty hot at Daventry you cheeky monkey you> xxx

[rubyred]

Well ive had twirly Bird and Stokies cherry for Berko... so i shall definately have yours on the 21st Ms Red. xxx

Really looking forward to it, in fact the whole weekend is going to be great fun and looking forward to my dances with Scarface I haven't had the pleasure yet, so lots of firsts to look forward to that weekend

[scarface]

Really looking forward to it, in fact the whole weekend is going to be great fun and looking forward to my dances with Scarface I haven't had the pleasure yet, so lots of firsts to look forward to that weekend

I cant wait Ms Red,i will take your Berko cherry with pleasure

Scarface out xxx

[Rachel]

Whether Berko's unique or not, I don't know. But I do know that it's my favourite place for dj'ing. I can really push the boat out there, and know that the dancers will fully embrace whatever we play.

It's always been our testing ground for brand new tracks. At other places, we tend to 'sugarcoat' the new tracks to make them that little bit easier to digest. At Berko, there's no need for that. If we wish, we can play extremes of tempo and extremes of genre, and know that the dancers enjoy the variety.

Also, I think we have to work just that little bit harder at Berko to keep the interest in the blues room, since Ian always plays such good main room sets. It's not exactly competition, but you are always focussed on trying to keep as many dancers as possible, when defection to the next door room is so easy.

Rachel

[David Bailey]

Also, I think we have to work just that little bit harder at Berko to keep the interest in the blues room, since Ian always plays such good main room sets. It's not exactly competition, but you are always focussed on trying to keep as many dancers as possible, when defection to the next door room is so easy.

Interesting point - I never thought of it that way.

Yes, I guess that does keep you on your toes

[Easily Led]

I agree with Rachel - although it is not unique in having rooms you can easily move between - it is very special in the concentration of exceptionally good dancers in one (very small) space. The one time I went with LL, I was literally tripping over dancers such as Mr. Darcy, Spice and Easy, Gerry, Marc (naturally) and others. It seemed relatively easy to get dances (especially once you had tripped them up !) because it is such a small space. My only complaint is that it was a little too hot (it was in the summer) and too far away to go regularly ! At Daventry it is possible to miss out on people altogether because it is so big. Although I always find the music great when Rachel and Marc are playing .

[Astro]

I'm not aware of any other regular venue like Berko, at least not in the London / Home Counties area.

Basically, it's got two unique advantages:

• Layout - the main room and blues room are next door to each other so it's easy to pop in and out. Which benefits both rooms, and means you don't suffer the dreaded "Empty Blues Room" syndrome.
• DJs - Ian, Marc and now Rachel on the decks, an abundance of DJ-ing talent

Chiswick has all of the above, except the DJs rotate.

[robd]

Yes Berko may be fab, but lets not get too carried away.

Well, I've had some good nights there and some not so good nights.

On the plus side, it has excellent music most of the time.

On the downside, it has a tendency towards being unpleasantly crowded.

Ian, the franchisee shows a commendable willingnees to act on feedback regarding his venues so that's another plus.

Floorcraft is generally pretty poor (or maybe it's just exacerbated by the fact that the venue isn't really that big.) so that's another negative.

Of course, I haven't been for a while so things may be different now.

[David Bailey]

Well, just to restore my reputation:

On the plus side, it has excellent music most of the time.

On the downside, it has a tendency towards being unpleasantly crowded.

It's been OK for the past few months - but it's such a small hall, it can get crowded very quickly.

Also, because it's so easy to wander in from the main room, we do get some of the riff-raff poking their noses in - seriously, yes, it's sometimes a bit tricky to go from "main room mode" to "blues room mode", so occasionally you get over-bouncing and stuff. I've done it myself, then caught myself, remembered where I was, and swapped modes.

Ian, the franchisee shows a commendable willingnees to act on feedback regarding his venues so that's another plus.

Well, I'm not sure about that, I mean he hasn't banned men wearing hats or sleeveless T-shirts yet, despite my many heartfelt pleas

Floorcraft is generally pretty poor (or maybe it's just exacerbated by the fact that the venue isn't really that big.) so that's another negative.

Yeah, I think that's valid - again, because it's so easy to switch rooms. Plus, of course, we occasionally get those horrible WCS slotty people doing weird slotty things.

In addition, the floor quality can vary; for example, I think the venue management put some varnish on the blues floor a few weeks back ( ), so the floor got very slow - fortunately, it's back to being excellent now. But blimey, Chiswick's got way worse floor problems. I reckon it's a "Town Hall" thing.

Actually, if Chiswick did run weekly sessions with a decent set of DJs, I think it'd be a good competitor to Berko - the venue layout at Chiswick is actually better than Berko.

[Lost Leader]

(Reads from prepared statement)

Following an exchange of PM's the parties have agreed on an out of court settlement in the case of David Bailey (Berko) versus Lost leader (Daventry). Neither side admits liability. The terms of the settlement are not being disclosed and neither party will be making any further public statement or answering any questions regarding this matter which is now considered closed.

[ant]

Chiswick has all of the above, except the DJs rotate.

Come on Astro, the Blues Room at Chiswick is nowhere near as sleazy as Berko, it is a palace compared to Berko.

originally posted by Rob'd
Of course, I haven't been for a while so things may be different now

.
Rob'd, I don't think things have changed that much.

You do get quite nights but when it is a busy night it is really crowded. I think thats all part of the charm but I don't think it would lend itself to any serious WCSers.