- Bar Rumba has scheduled an exciting series of nights (including the likes of Bart Skils and Ed Kane spinning) to signal its first full month of reopening. Piccadilly's long-loved cosy underground club re-emerges with the intent to revive the West End scene. Admirably, new musical director James Manero, is targeting the switched-on clubber, warning that "anyone unaware of what's happening inside the club and just looking for somewhere to drink 'til 5 AM won't get in."
You have to be careful what you wish for. On a buzzing Shaftesbury Avenue, many drinkers must have been refused at the door—or no one knew it had reopened—because even the intimate Bar Rumba felt empty. It was a Friday night and the place was dead. People came in drips and drabs, some left, some stay and chatted, but no one danced, despite some hot tunes being played like Henrik Schwarz's lush, melodic remix of Ane Brun's "Headphone Silence."
The clock ticked over to 1 AM and long-awaited Leftroom techno-head Matt Tolfrey was on and dropping deep sub-bass tech-house tunes to a dance floor that was only dotted with people. If he'd been playing to a crowd, he would have destroyed the place with the bouncy grooves that had people squirming in their seats to dance. He did his best—almost urging people in, as it got louder and punchier and more insatiable. But not even Tolfrey could save Bar Rumba this night.
Next up was Zombie Ate My Brain's dark techno-lord Shane Watcha, a member of The End's Circo Loco team. I was expecting great things from him, but by then it was too torturous to watch these DJs play to a barren room. It seems bizarre—if someone had said to me that I could have had that line-up playing just for me, I would've been in dreamland. Like most dreams, though, the reality is far less interesting: Evidently music isn't as fun if you're not sharing it with a large bunch of strangers.
I still can't explain how a central London club with a stellar line-up on a Friday night doesn't fill up—a bored-looking barman said it was the worst he'd ever seen it. Bar Rumba must really be missing a trick or two on the marketing of their re-opening. The antithesis of the super-club relies a lot on word of mouth and that takes time. And let's not forget, one of Rumba's main goals is for musical excellence and that much it does achieve. Unfortunately though, these days, populating your club is also just as important.