1a Camden High Street,
Camden,
London,
NW1 7JE
0870 432 5527
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KOKO
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I have seen all of the following bands play amazing gigs at KOKO,
Queens Of The Stone Age - 2005
Squarepusher - 2005
Biffy Clyro - 2006
Klaxons - 2006
Prince - 2007
The Lemonheads - 2007
The Chemical Brothers - 2007
I have also been to all the Bestival club nights and not once have I had a negative experience in the place, the sound system is huge, the drinks served by friendly staff and the bouncers have actually helped my mate look for his glasses in the mosh pit at Biffy Clyro when things got a bit hectic.
So to sum up I would say don't believe the negative hype, check it out for yourself as it's all ways been a wicked night out for me and my mates.
Interesting what the reviewer said about Buttoned Down Disco at KOKO.... we turned up early after ringing KOKO and chatting to a friendly young lady who told us to turn up early as everyone get in free for the 1st hour... I imagine this is why there were queues later, a friendly doorman also lent us an umbrella. We had a fantastic night, I love the venue (my first time there) and loved the music, will definitely be back next month. WE HAD A BLAST!!!
I went to a buttoned down disco at Koko, and I thought the music was amazing, all had a great beat and was a brilliant mix (got a bit wierd for the last half hour, with stuff like singing in the rain coming on!)
But, like everyone else, the queuing for an hour in the rain and the 30mins for coats did spoil it a bit. I also thought there was no reason for the bouncers to be quite so rude to everyone, and to turn some people (who had queued for an hour) away for no reason at all!! I'd definitely go to another buttoned down disco, it was awesome, but i probably wouldn't go to one at Koko.
Went there last may, which would have been the first time i had been there. but the door staff didn't like us for some reason and said no your not coming in to whcih we had a argument for half an hour trying to find out why and all he said was try next month! so now nearly a year on i am trying again tonight to see if they will let us in, maybe this time i will beable to see what all the hype is about! Ill report back tomoz
WATCH YOUR DRINKS...
excellent night only marred by the guy collecting empty bottles. He took 2-3 full drink 3 times. I mentioned this to the bar staff and got a shrug of the shoulders for my troubles.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I was blurry eyed and slightly worse for wear then I would be able to give much more detail. Despite the state of my mind and body (not really able to stand up) I do know that it was a fantastic night as regardless of the hangover I had smile on my face! Definitely worth it!
I've been coming to Koko to see live bands ever since it reopened. To begin with it was a great new venue, lovely surroundings, handy for the tube, good gigs. They must have had a change of mangement or hired a new firm to do the door security at some point because now its a nightmare to go and see a gig there. I agree that the door staff are rude and treat you like a potential criminal. The upshot of this - and the claustrophobic tunnels to get down to the main area - is that regular gig goers turn into seething mess of pent up agression. I've seen more incidents of people refusing to allow people past, and arguments sparking here then any other venues. The shape is like a funnel with no room for people to overflow at the side near the front (unlike say the Astoria, Brixton, etc). And so its just gets more and more packed. People who wouldn't dream of behaving so agressively elsewhere seem to have no control after beinghere for half an hour.
Then the final straw - the new policy of making everyone exit via teh central stairs getting caught up the in incredible cloakroom queue, standing for 40 minutes (i am not exagerating) to get to the top of teh stairs. When this venue first opened they allowed people out via all the exits both straight out to the street and by the other stairs near the gents that came up into the front lobby. Asking why its so restricted now brings a response like the other reviwer found (you - trouble maker). My view? its to save on staff costs to only staff the one exit. The upshot? This venue is a firetrap. It is worrying that the manager did not know tha capacity - would he even know if there was an emergency that needed all the exits opened? I have tickets for one more gig here and I won;t be buying tickets for anything else here. Pity really - it started out so much better and with the right staff it would still be a great venue.
Buttoned Down Disco, Koko, Jan 12th
Astonishing interior of Koko only complimented by awesome music at this particular club night – not your usual xfm/virgin/radio1 daytime playlist mediocrity. But. That’s where the good points end.
Buttoned Down Disco Club Night was advertised as free entry before 10pm (as long as you bring an invite freely accessible to anyone) and £7 after 10 pm. Got there at 9.40 pm with friends. Only to find a stationary queue of about a thousand people. With the door wide shut. The queue only started moving slowly , just after 10 pm. Can’t think why…
After fifty minutes (and £7), I joined another huge queue. This time for the cloak room. Took on friend’s vest and sweatshirt and naturally, tied the sleeves in. The two items got automatically separated and put onto two hangers. When I asked for a reasonable explanation, I was told they “must do that”, for…umm…no reason, other than charging extra £2, of course.
Another 20 minutes later. And…another £6 (3 cloak room items) later, I ventured into the bar. Advertised offers were - £2.10 on selected beer and £1.50 on selected spirits. Since I wasn’t (don’t know anyone who would be) willing to pay £2.10 for a tiny bottle of Fosters (!) or £1.50 for some strange luminous pink shot (the only two ‘drinks’ on promotion), I decided to buy a round of usual drinks (vodka/coke/tonic, lager) for my friends. Forked out £31.50 for five drinks.
So, in 36 minutes, I had blown unexpected £44.50. Still, wanted to have a laugh... And did. Danced a lot, enjoyed the music. Merry people, flying giant balloons…
After checking with a door man that entry to the venue is until 2am, I called my close friend. Bigged it up. Made her get off the bed and come down. She arrived at 1.26 am. Was denied entry. First I asked the bouncer politely to let her in. Using words like “wrong information”, “ 2 am” and “please”.
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