The Fringe Club
Fri 26 Feb 2010
So – earlier in the Fringe, I’d managed to snaffle a couple of season passes to the Fringe Club – the artists-and-guests-only gathering spot in Rymill Park. I’d kept my eye on the super-secret entertainment schedule for the Club; this Friday night had DJ Tr!p inked in for a set, so I figured it’d be a good night to drop on by.
After meeting up with Irene outside the Stag – it’s stupidly busy, of course, with people everywhere – we wander into the ‘Club with barely a glance given to my pride-and-joy pass by the security guard. Inside, there’s a whole lot of people milling about… and then I realise that today was pretty much the last day of APAM, meaning that the Fringe Club was awash with a whole heap of performers happy for the opportunity to shop their talents to another receptive audience.
And that, of course, was bloody brilliant for us… because we got to see tons of top-flight performers for free.
There appeared to be an impromptu MC of sorts on the mike, announcing acts just before they performed and managing slots for the performers. The standouts for me were a fabulous a cappella group and an absolutely astonishing magician / mind reader; in between acts, there was more drinking and talking and meeting people (including Shelley and her cohorts).
We managed to migrate around the ‘Club until we settled in a couple of armchairs, just in time for DJ Tr!p’s laid-back and surprisingly un-bleepy set. And it provided the perfect backdrop to a happy sozzled evening, though I was surprised that the ‘Club closed at 3:30am. Still, it was a bloody brilliant night…