By Lukas Alemu, Third Year Mechanical Engineering
Area 404 is Boomtown’s newest venture - an immersive club experience filled with hallucinogenic lights and costume actors. As if Glastonbury's Shangri-La had been taken from its Somerset home to Bristol's Temple Meads Quarter.
Those familiar with Boomtown will be unsurprised to hear that the music at Area 404 was a rather eclectic mix of drum and bass, ska and house (with a stronger emphasis on the drum and bass – it is Bristol after all). The two main stages were taken up by live music affairs, with a large roster of small MCs and DJs. Was it any good though? The lack of any big names headliners stung a little considering the ticket prices was around £35 and there was a distinct lack of variety between the rooms for a night labelled as techno, house and DnB (3 rather different genres). Despite this - the energy in the live stages carried the night.
The venue itself is a breath of fresh air in Bristol. Full of nooks and crannies to explore, amazing décor and tons of variety. One stage had disembodied legs hanging down from the ceiling, just one example of that extra bit of effort that the organisers put into their venue. Speaking of effort, the crowd also seemed to pull out all the stocks with their apocalyptic halloween style costumes - something you don't see on your regular Triangle club night! The obvious comparison with respect to the venue is with Motion. It seems like the title of largest club in Bristol may have changed, with Area 404 making a strong case for itself. It remains to be seen if it has the same name-pulling power.
Area 404 is certainly a great night out and the team behind Area 404 seem to have big plans for the future. The question is whether the seemingly high ticket prices are worth it and if the club can pull the names it needs for some sold-out shows. What’s for certain is that Area 404 is a great addition to the Bristol club scene.
Featured Image: Jody Hartley
