Bangers & Mash @ Punk

 

Punk, Soho’s ultra-chic retro nightclub, famed for it’s celebrity-clad Thursdays, has got a new Friday night. Bangers & Mash promises to entertain, and last week’s launch didn’t disappoint. If regular Thursday night Smash & Grab personified is a wild, dishevelled 18-year-old, dressed in the hidden gems of her mother’s wardrobe and drunkenly stumbling in borrowed shoes, then Bangers & Mash is her big sister – sophisticated and refined, yet still with a wicked streak.

Those clever brains at Punk realised that a different vibe was needed on Fridays in order to refill the dancefloor after Thursday’s debauchery, so they've called in London club gurus Met Paties to work their magic. Despite the name, Bangers & Mash emanates glamorous socialising and entertainment, chilled enough for anyone still feeling hung over from the previous night, but not missing any of that sumptuous Punk vibe.

Punk, (wonderland of sensory exuberance, retro furniture and funky pop art), feels exclusive and decadent under a pink glow and the sparkle of a huge family of glitterballs hanging from its low ceiling. I don’t arrive early enough to nab my free pair of green glowstick glasses, but the barman graciously hunts down a pair for me while making me the most impressive of shots: a Flaming Russian Quaylude sprinkled with cinnamon and sparkling like a firework in Punk’s moody glow. A street-dancing juggler with light-up balls (of the juggling kind I presume - Ed) struts his stuff on the dancefloor while wide-eyed onlookers are served Haribo and Drumsticks on a platter. Banger and Mash, you see, caters for all the senses.
 
The eclectic crowd include funky retro kids looking like part of the décor clad in gold and sparkles as well as skimpily dressed partiers more common at your regular RnB club. The crowd is predominantly female as Punk’s decadence has the potential to turn your more mainstream male clubber into an awkward wallflower, but it fits perfectly with the exclusively female selection of DJs. The night kicks off, to the delight of the RnB crowd, with a dance set sampling everything from old school hip hop to Michael Jackson and Gwen Stefani. There's a different approach here than Thursday’s ‘anything goes’ iTunes selection and it adds a polished atmosphere to the night: Big Sister is here to dance and dance she will!

Then at 12am precisely, just as a girl in her grandmother’s dress and second hand beads comments that the night is a little less 'alt' than she was expecting, the dance beats disappear like Cinderella from the ball and Blondie’s One Way or Another opens up the next two hours of booty-shaking, mish-mashing crowd pleasers. The dancefloor morphs like a catwalk quick change and skin-hugging outfits are replaced by vintage dresses just in time for the alternative tunes.

For the final set the third DJ steps it back up a gear. Chemical Brothers lead the crowd back into some serious dancing but with all the free spirit of the previous set preserved, making it a perfect mix of what had come before. The whole night ebbs and flows with... grace, and while Thursday night can be hit and miss for music, Friday night is perfect.

Following in the shadow of the epic Thursdays is no easy feat, and it must have been tempting to just settle for Smash and Grab pt. 2. But Punk has risen to the challenge and created a new, fresh event that manages to keep all the sensuous charm, and shimmering glow they are famous for. This is a big sister to really look up to.

Hannah Masters-Waage

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