Hey Now, Hey Now Now
June 19, 2011 1:08 AM Subscribe
We all know Mefites throw a bitchin' party, so help me out here. I'm contemplating running a club night in lieu of a birthday party for my thirtieth birthday next year. Protips?
I've had a crappy few years in the leadup, and I turn 30 in February of next year. I really want a massive bash but would also like to be able to hit the town and dance my backside off too. Given that the amount of effort required to throw a truly epic party is not much more than what I have seen thrown into a good club night, I figure why not combine the two?
I have no illusions that running a club is easy - I know it requires a lot of planning and forethought. I work flexible hours so it doesn't matter if it's a bit of a drain on my time. I have a large circle of friends, with a fair bit of in-scene politics to manage too, so I like the flexibility of a big venue where people can come and go as they please without having to worry about offending me. So is hiring a venue and not having to deal with drinks, clean-up, security, all that jazz. I'd run it as an open club (no invitation list or door list to check off) with as low a cover charge as possible. Since this is a one-off, and a party, I don't mind it "losing money". Really, for a regular party I'd be paying for venue hire anyway so I may as well go all out.
It would be a goth night, heading towards darkwave, in Brisbane, Australia. I know a lot of DJs (and am willing to pay them for their services) so that part is less tricky than you'd think.
What else do I need to know to plan this sort of an event? So far I know I need to find a venue and do any decorations I fancy, organise DJs, do publicity and maybe source some lighting and DJ equipment too. I'd rather a venue that has its own lights and sound but we'll see how we go.
I'd love to hear from Mefites who've run clubs in Brissy before, though any tips are appreciated. What's a good venue, especially in regards to alternative crowds? How exactly do you go about negotiating the door take percentages, or bar take percentages, or whatever? What's a reasonable price range for venue hire? I'd prefer City/Valley, though somewhere easy to get to (West End for example) would be fine too if the venue was right.
Let's do this, Metafilter! If I'm going to get old I may as well do it with a bang.
I've had a crappy few years in the leadup, and I turn 30 in February of next year. I really want a massive bash but would also like to be able to hit the town and dance my backside off too. Given that the amount of effort required to throw a truly epic party is not much more than what I have seen thrown into a good club night, I figure why not combine the two?
I have no illusions that running a club is easy - I know it requires a lot of planning and forethought. I work flexible hours so it doesn't matter if it's a bit of a drain on my time. I have a large circle of friends, with a fair bit of in-scene politics to manage too, so I like the flexibility of a big venue where people can come and go as they please without having to worry about offending me. So is hiring a venue and not having to deal with drinks, clean-up, security, all that jazz. I'd run it as an open club (no invitation list or door list to check off) with as low a cover charge as possible. Since this is a one-off, and a party, I don't mind it "losing money". Really, for a regular party I'd be paying for venue hire anyway so I may as well go all out.
It would be a goth night, heading towards darkwave, in Brisbane, Australia. I know a lot of DJs (and am willing to pay them for their services) so that part is less tricky than you'd think.
What else do I need to know to plan this sort of an event? So far I know I need to find a venue and do any decorations I fancy, organise DJs, do publicity and maybe source some lighting and DJ equipment too. I'd rather a venue that has its own lights and sound but we'll see how we go.
I'd love to hear from Mefites who've run clubs in Brissy before, though any tips are appreciated. What's a good venue, especially in regards to alternative crowds? How exactly do you go about negotiating the door take percentages, or bar take percentages, or whatever? What's a reasonable price range for venue hire? I'd prefer City/Valley, though somewhere easy to get to (West End for example) would be fine too if the venue was right.
Let's do this, Metafilter! If I'm going to get old I may as well do it with a bang.
Last time I did a party like this (and this is a while back) we just got a 'function room' (above the Tote, in Melbourne), and brought our own lights and PA (which was just a couple of JBL powered speakers, CDJs and mixer). As to percentages, the room was free as long as a certain amount of dosh went over the bar. We paid a deposit, which I collected a couple of days later.
In terms of dosh, I paid for the rental of the PA, borrowed some lights, and called it good. The hardest thing was to pack up and get all the kit into a cab at the end of the night (because I sure as hell wasn't driving...). If you're not trying to make money, it's not tricky.
posted by pompomtom at 1:57 AM on June 19, 2011
In terms of dosh, I paid for the rental of the PA, borrowed some lights, and called it good. The hardest thing was to pack up and get all the kit into a cab at the end of the night (because I sure as hell wasn't driving...). If you're not trying to make money, it's not tricky.
posted by pompomtom at 1:57 AM on June 19, 2011
The tank of medical-grade nitrous was always a hit at my parties.
posted by WhitenoisE at 12:03 PM on June 19, 2011
posted by WhitenoisE at 12:03 PM on June 19, 2011
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posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 1:18 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]