The Pubs Are Quieter, But the Dancefloor Isn’t Dead Yet

The other evening a discussion with some friends turned to the Douglas nightlife scene and how much it has changed in the 20 years or so since we’ve been legally allowed to venture out for a pint.

We could all rattle off half a dozen different pubs or indeed clubs that have disappeared in that time.

It was quite depressing, as we traded battle stories of Thursday evenings in Strand 58, Fridays in Jimmy B’s or Saturdays in the Venue to name but three of the fallen.

My mood fell further on a recent Friday evening as I ventured out for a few drinks with colleagues. Douglas was quiet to say the least with the pubs and streets noticeably unpopulated. Granted, I’ve not been out for a while so can’t compare it to the norm, but it was not what I expected on payday weekend and as we enter the season of merriment and often over indulgence.

I get it people don’t go out now as much as they used to for various reasons from the seemingly never ending ‘cost-of-living crisis’ to society’s changing relationship with alcohol and its consumption.

Add this to other factors effecting the wider hospitality industry like wages and the issues recruiting and retaining staff and it makes running a pub or venue a tough task.

Less than 24 hours later after my sojourn into Douglas, I was heartened to see perhaps a little bit of light at then end of the tunnel for the beleaguered sector of our economy.

My wife had booked us tickets to go two Mad Jack’s 90s and 00s R’n’B evening. One of the main appeals has been it would be finished by 10 and we could be home to relieve the babysitter (our eldest) at a reasonable hour. This isn’t the first time the South Quay venue has moved away from the prescribed, with similar format evenings running throughout the year.

The venue itself, and the team behind it, are certainly nothing if not versatile – an attribute needed in the current climate. Indeed the last two times I have been there prior to the weekend’s trip was axe throwing and then to a K-Pop Demon Hunters disco with my four-year-old daughter.

This meant I had know idea what to expect heading into the evening.

Spoiler alert, it was tremendous and reminded me a lot of the nights I’d nostalgically waxed lyrical about, not least the music.

The venue was busy if not mobbed, making trips to the bar a treat rather than a chore.

The dance floor was filled for the majority, with a succession of bangers from the likes of Jay-Z, TLC, Montell Jordan, Kanye West (before he went weird) and J-Lo.

There’s something quite special about catching the eye of another middle-aged straight white male as you both recognise the opening bars of ‘Jenny from the Block’.

With events like this and Neil Cowie’s afternoon discos proving very popular, organisers should be praised for thinking out the box and trying something new for the island.

Hopefully they will continue to thrive and as the Queen (J-Lo) said herself in her 2015 hit ‘Feel the Light’: ‘Feel the light/Shining like the stars tonight/Remember what we forgot/I know it’s a long shot/But we’re bringing it all back’.