Thetownend.com

Right. Southampton. I'm going there on Saturday for the NME awrads tour gig thingy and am in need of some advice from a local (that means you, Pieman).  Will probably get down there lunch time so i need to know where to go for afternoon beers, and where is also good for an after gig experience.

Obviously Pieman might not be the only one capable of giving me such advice, so anyone else who knows stuff can also help

Ta.

well of course pieman would b the expert at that. so your going to the NME tour! whos playing? is it still the killers, kaiser chiefs, futureheads and bloc party?

That'll be the one, yeah. Looking forward to Bloc Party!

oh i envy you! i wanted to see them live to but i couldnt get tickets! the album sounds like its gunna be good though!

Yeah, ive downloaded a lot. A few decent live tracks too.

Only heard a couple of Kaiser Chief offerings and it sounds promising. And of course, The Killers. Saw them in Bristol last April, love 'em.

i hate the killers! i just dont like them for some reason! yeah ive herd 2 kaiser chiefs tracks and i like them both so they should have a good album coming out soon. what about the futreheads? i think their ok but i aint really herd many songs by em

i would say avoid these places:
1) Jesters - Really is just for the student. Grotty, dirty hell hole that's only advantage is cheap booze.
2) Ikon/Diva - The biggest nightclub in soton but full of pikeys at the weekend, hence nicknamed 'Pikon' by the locals. Out of the way as well.
3) New York, New York - Horrible, just horrible.

You won't be able to go to 'Academy' because it's student only (i think), but getting in is horrendous.

I'd say your best bets for a drink after are Orange Rooms and Mono Bar if you are looking for a classier place. Soul Cellar would be good as well and this would be quite near to the guildhall.
Nexus could also be worth a go, i'm not sure what the music is like on saturday, but there's usually something for everone (i think it's more rock and indie based at the weekend). A place called shout (formally Chicago Rock Cafe) is usually a good laugh as well. Rhinos is another place you could consider. Bambubar is probably too far out the way!

For drinks beforehand you could go to the square which will do your grub or Varsity which is near and serves cheap food!

Basically the Guildhall is right in the town centre so there are a lot of options!

oh yeh bar risa would be good both before and after. serve food as well

I'm also off to Southampton beginning of March. Whats this leisure world place like? Any good? Where are the pubs mainly situated....hopefully all together?

Denzil Avenue used to have an interesting variety on night time entertainment.

 Not sure what its like now mind.

pubs are in little groups. the town centre is quite spread out (imagine old town to bottom of new town) so only a few pubs are together. Leisure World is out of the way but has Jumpin' Jaks (small nightclub), Ikon/Diva (big nightclub) and bambuubar (a bar basically!). Ikon/Diva isn't that good at the weekend unless you like drum and bass/ house because it's full of chavs (like a night out in swindon really). Having said that i have had some really good nights in there at the weekend (randomly).Bambuubar is good for a pre-club drink. Jumpin Jaks is good fun, but more is aimed at the younger audience! There's also a place called HotShots at leisure world, which is like mega bowl on speed! good for pool, although the sound system is quite abbrasive! Go there for cheap drinks before Ikon or Jumpin Jaks (if you do go to leisure world at all).


Reg is talking about the Portswood area of Southampton (where i live). If you like it cheap, but dingy and very very messy then go for some pub golf around here! The bars/small clubs? are very varied, but do cater for the cheaper market. They do tend to me quite grotty but if you want quad vods for £3 it might be your place?

Cheap, dingy and very messy.........my kind of town.

   http://www.mysouthampton.org/southampton/fashion-redlight.htm

soapy tit wank! i don't see thst type of stuff, but to be fair you can get the number of a husssy quite easily if your A student

Cheers, Pie.

 :wink:

was it any good in the end DB?

Yeah, it was ok. I was amazed at how far apart different bars were, everywhere is spread out it seems. Went to Orange Rooms i think after the gig and it was alright. Went to The Square before hand as it was quite close to Guildhall and was cheap as chips.

The gig was really good, the Killers and Bloc Party especially. Futureheads were utter crap.

I've never seem so many Subways in one town in all my life!!

A nice local threatened to 'slice my mates kneecaps off' which was a slightly weird yet amusing end to the evening.

sound about right really. personally, i think the places in southampton do catrer for the student market and if you aren't a student it's difficult to know where the hell your gonna go. there's so many places it takes a good year to suss the place out, and even then you don't know what all the places are like!

yes i think there are about 4 maybe 5 subways, which always amazes people (and me). Glad you enjoyed the gig, that's the main thing

Im basically a student without being at Uni, so the studenty cheapo places is what we were all after, but due to not being a local, and being knackered after the gig, anywhere with beer (apart from Yates's) was good in my book!  

I dont get those lit up glass circles dotted around the place though!

nobody does!

Does this mean as a student I won't enjoy it?

no, it just depends what you are after. if you want the cheapest drinks in town and don't care about if the place is a shithole then this aint gonna be your place. on the other hand if you don't want your feet to stick to the floor.....