Insanely Shocking Blog Post – I Enjoyed A Night Out At Mango!

Insert shocking expletive here!

For those that are not local to Reading, Mango used to be the little club that many of my friends since 2006 were met initially, and were most friendships around 2006-2008 blossomed.

Not the most underground club in the world by far, but all we had in Reading, and there was good music at times but more noticeably a really good crowd.

Fast forward a few years and the club decided that it wanted to do everything to push the good crowd away and attempt to attract high-spending drinkers.

They succeeded in attracting dick-heads – surprise, surprise.  Has anyone not been to dick-head infested Sakura before?!

I stopped going, as did many of my friends as trouble increased to the point where they had their licensing hours cut back, the crowd became as horrid as some of the god-awful dated electro being played there at ear-bleeding distorted volumes.

A night out would last perhaps an hour before we would all find an after-party!  And eventually we gave up going full stop.

I have made a point of going back once every six months approximately, but for various reasons it would be a night of frustration and disappointment.

Anyway, I had had a good night out in town this Friday celebrating the arrival of baby Sophie who belongs to lovely good friends Ben & Carley, and a few other bits of random celebration just because it was Friday, I declined to sleep much before going out for drinks on Saturday afternoon…and despite my inevitable tiredness, I was in the mood to go out.

However the only option on the cards if I wanted some company was Mango…I took persuading from three separate people before I decided to brave it, the first two to attempt just about succeeded but then someone threw an unexpected spanner in the works of a night elsewhere, but just as I was about to change my mind, I had it twisted back again.

I was in a very good mood that day, a strange one though, one that anyone who knows me knows doesn’t come around too often where I am willing to dance to anything – where my levels of music snobbery are for some unknown reason eroded, and not for reasons of consumption of insobriety either.

I missed the majority of Ben’s warm-up so I have nothing to comment.

My good friend Paul-Jay was playing a warm-up just after and he asked me to go crazy.  I could never compete with the gurning nutcase clubbing virgin (I assume) on the dancefloor who insisted on giving everyone a headache with annoyingly loud whistling every 1 minute – I tried to look and stare at him to ask him to be quiet but he thought I just wanted to hug him – I wasn’t in that frame of mind.

Anyway, I am curious about exactly what effect musically a night at Cocoon in Ibiza had had on my friend Paul two months ago when I took him there for his first time (it took ages for us to persuade him too!), who is more known for one peak-time track after another with the same a cappellas repeated over and over (sorry!) but yes certainly for the first 30 minutes it was stripped back warm-up house, of the kind that one might hear Loco Dice play.  I was suitably impressed.  He’s changed!

Then he played a headache inducing electro-house horrifying thing to which I nearly decided to leave Mango…I went to sit in the garden, finish my vodka and to listen to some more horrid electro-dubstep thing but at least I could rest my feet.

Aaaarrggh!

I cannot argue with what Paul played though as he was doing a warm-up for the Hoxton Whores – not a warm-up for Loco Dice.  And just as I was on my way out I bumped into the Hoxton Whores, one of whom impressively recognised me from a very blue after-party at our villa in Ibiza a fair few years ago and both of whom plied me with more than enough vodka red bull to last a good while longer.  And towards the end of their set, they actually played a few from my Top Tunes Blog, which went down most well with me!  I think I might have out-danced crazy flailing arms guy, though I didn’t quite have his double-sized eyes.

So, yes I really enjoyed a night at Mango.  For the first time in at least two years.

I ain’t getting my hopes up that I finally have somewhere I can get a regular good dance in Reading, but I am going back on 19th November for my friend’s night, Time.  Or two of my friends to be exact.

Anyone dare join me to see if I can get two enjoyable nights at Mango in a month/year?