Muso Mondays - Feeling Gloomy

This week this is a bit different as i'm not talking about a band i love, this time it's a club i love.
Despite being incredibly shy and awkward i absolutely love to dance. I'm no good at it, but i am passionate and over-the-top and have good stamina, i can dance for several hours non-stop, sometimes even through a broken foot (which actually happened at the club i'm about to discuss, but i was too drunk to realise until the next morning. Good fun.). Generally people either make fun of me or i form a 'circle of fear' around me where folks fear to tread. But i don't ever care because i'm having far too much fun.

I do however have a bit of a problem finding clubs that cater to my musical tastes, i generally hang around 80s or 90s clubs or other 'indie' clubs but stay well away from anything with house music or modern pop (not that i don't like any modern pop, i just dislike the majority). There are a few i frequent but probably my all-time  favourite is Feeling Gloomy.

Feeling Gloomy is a club that will basically play any genre of music, from any era, as long as it has sad, miserable or pessimistic lyrics but a beat you can dance to. So they'll play anything from Rolf Harris to Leonard Cohen to Bonnie Tyler to McFly, though generally it stays more around a modernish indie sort of sound. It's the only club i've been to that plays both the Arcade Fire and George Michael within a few songs of one another and i love it. On a good night it can be the most fun ever. Though sadly there is one DJ who i dislike more than others as he is fond of Dizzee Rascal and once called security on a friend of mine because apparently he has no sense of humour and the club did, in my opinion, go downhill a bit a while back. Can't really explain why, i just didn't have as much fun for a while, there was too much modern music and not enough songs that actually had sad lyrics (though of course songs are subjective, me and Carl have often argued about whether or not a song is sad) and not enough 'classic gloom'. I'm very happy to say i think it has gone right back up and now i am so happy whenever i get to go.

This night is run by two great blokes, Mike and Carl, who masquerade as 2 sad, lonely, nerdy muso men who live with their Mums (Phwoar!!) named Len and Cliff, who formed the club and come and dance and play on stage sometimes. These guys also have a club i used to adore, Club de Fromage, which is basically a cheaper, more fun version of Guilty Pleasures. I still love the club but some of the male clientelle really put me off going back (just a note guys, rubbing your erect penises up against a woman who has shown no interest in you whatsoever is not the way to win her heart) though i do like going on occaision if i have a big enough group to protect each other. 

 But anyway, Feeling Gloomy is just my absolute favourite club (so far) there's generally only a few songs a night i dislike and can tolerate just standing around for them, or going to pee or whatever. It can be busy but i always find a little nook where i can flail myself around like a mental patient in a padded room and if you're brave you can dance on the stage. A faux pop band called the Miserabalists lipsynch and play air guitar and give out carnations which is entertaining. There are themed nights like Mozza night or Bowie night where there will be lots of songs played by those artists, so it's good to check on the website so you don't miss out on Belle and Sebastian night, or wander in on Rolling Stones night as i did (there are only 3 stones songs i like). Also if it's your birthday (or you're pure evil and lie) you get cake! 
Drinks are pretty expensive (for a poor artist like me anyway) so i generally just get pissed before i get there. It's just pure fun for me, listening to gloomy songs really does make me feel better, and the melodrama in a lot of the lyrics really cheers me up. Also lots of the DJs are really very handsome so i can have a good perve.

If i were a DJ there (which i should be because i am cool and they need a lady DJ) here is a little sampler of what i would play which also acts as one great big playlist with most of my musical tastes for anyone interested!
Spotify Playlist
If you don't have spotify... Umm... i'll try and work out how else to post this, but i'm so bad with these things i only just got my head around spotify.

Feeling Gloomy goes on every saturday from 10:30 to about 3:30 (website says it's 4 but it's usually earlier) and costs from £4.50 to £8 depending on the time you arrive, if you have a flier or are a student etc. It's on at the 02 Islington Academy which is very near Angel tube station. Also they have just opened a once a month night in New York.




Fun Fact: Carl who runs the club was the first person i was brave enough to ask out since Robert Lever when i was 14. Poor Robert, when i asked he stared, open-mouthed in horror before shouting 'NO!' and running across the playground.