The Bussey Building
4 Years of Kartel ft. The Busy Twist Friday 13th January 2017 £4-6
My friends had often been to the Bussey building, and for whatever reason at the time I couldn't attend. I had only heard good things, the usual night attended being Soul Train which I am still eager to try out.
The first thing which struck me about Bussey building is how friendly the door staff were, a rarity amongst London clubs these days. Drinks prices were reasonable, neither especially cheap or eyebrow raisingly steep £6 single mixer, £5 beer. The venue itself is shabby, an old warehouse in Peckham, but surprisingly impressive in regards to the night's, events and meetings it hosts. Seen with such high regard by locals, The Bussey Building is now on Peckham's conservation area, meaning it will hopefully not fall victim to the current London club curse anytime soon.
Usually boasting 3 floors and a roof terrace, Bussey building only allowed us to witness one floor that evening, probably due to an underselling of tickets. This was a shame as I had never been before and would have liked to get the full experience. The toilet situation was not terrible, however I think would have been a lot worse had the night been busier - four cubicles was all that was available for the ladies and when we arrived someone I was with warned me that Bussey wasn't the place to be if you were a lady in need of a wee.
The night overall had a really nice feel to it, the people there were friendly, door staff and party-goers. No one felt too 'cool' or like they were taking themselves too seriously, another massive part of today's London club culture (yawn). The venue was original and small enough to feel comfortable in whilst also being spacious enough to have boogie space. The ONLY downside I have of the evening was unfortunately the music.
Whilst the DJ's spinned some great songs, they also repeated A LOT of tunes. Luckily, it was the best ones they played which were repeated, but still I don't want to feel like I'm listening to Capital FM where they've hit the hour mark and start to recycle all the songs they've just played. What's more, I do not recall The Busy Twist being there. Now, I'm not a die hard fan or anything and I don't know them well at all but I do know two of their biggest songs, neither of which were played. Sadly, all the music of the night seemed to blur into one, making the evening lack a differentiation which it seemed to promise on the advertisement.
As a venue, Bussey Building was more than satisfactory and I left knowing that I had enjoyed my night. I am still keen to go again, but will attend one of the bigger tried and tested nights, such as Soul Train where hopefully the music will be slightly more promising.
OVERALL RATING: ****
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