Powerhouse Night Club (Newcastle)

...electrical retail superstore, this particular Powerhouse is actually a large night club set over two floors. Powerhouse is what I might refer to as an “old school” gay club. This doesn’t mean that it’s dirty, seedy and full of men in tight white vests, but it certainly sticks to a tried and tested recipe that reminds me quite fondly of some of the clubs in London I used to enjoy when I was first out and about on the “scene”.
...that will strike you about Powerhouse is that it is rather big. The place has a massive capacity and the downstairs dance floor alone is big enough to swallow up most gay clubs that I’ve ever visited. This, of course, makes the place rather popular, which in turn increases the number of clubbers in attendance, so at the weekend you can imagine just how busy the place gets. The overall feel of the place is quite industrial with plenty of stainless ... more

In comparison to cities like Manchester and London, Newcastle’s gay scene has got quite a way to go, but over recent years a throng of gay and gay-friendly bars and clubs has sprung up around the city’s Times Square area. If you’re in the mood for it, you can simply stagger from pub to bar and straight to club and on an average night out, the chances probably are that you’ll find yourself in Powerhouse.

Whilst it might sound like an electrical retail superstore, this particular Powerhouse is actually a large night club set over two floors. Powerhouse is what I might refer to as an “old school” gay club. This doesn’t mean that it’s dirty, seedy and full of men in tight white vests, but it certainly sticks to a tried and tested recipe that reminds me quite fondly of some of the clubs in London I used to enjoy when I was first out and about on the “scene”.

The club’s entrance leads to a small reception area, where you will be relieved of your entrance fee, ranging from £3 upwards, according to the night and whether you are a member or not. Membership offers few rewards, but you do get a £1 off most entrance fees, so if you intend to come trolling round the place on a regular basis then you might want to consider it. Notably, the door staff are actually very friendly here, which makes a change for most clubs (gay or straight) and whilst they might not approve of your sexual preferences, they’ll still smile and say hello. The place seems to be a warren of double doors when you first arrive, but before long you come out (pardon the pun) into the main part of the club.

Probably the first thing that will strike you about Powerhouse is that it is rather big. The place has a massive capacity and the downstairs dance floor alone is big enough to swallow up most gay clubs that I’ve ever visited. This, of course, makes the place rather popular, which in turn increases the number of clubbers in attendance, so at the weekend you can imagine just how busy the place gets. The overall feel of the place is quite industrial with plenty of stainless steel wall and floor coverings and dark, dirty looking corners.

To your left as you come into the club is a walkway that leads down a small incline before you end up on the dance floor. The dance floor accommodates one big area, with a small stage and a podium or two, as well as various drinking corners arranged around the enormous pillars holding the place up. Strangely enough, the dance floor somehow manages to make itself fairly private and if you’re having a drink up the other end, you are shielded from all the groovy action. There are a couple of seating areas at the back of the dance floor, complete with comfy sofas, which are equally popular with snoggers and bystanders. The lighting for the whole area is subdued, rather than completely dark, but it’s not a good place to be if the venue isn’t that busy. Just by walking across the dance floor you get the feeling that everybody is watching you and I only really enjoy it here if it’s too busy to breathe.

Behind the dance floor is a bar – stupidly placed, if you ask me because it directs people with full glasses and bottles straight onto the dance floor. From the bar, a walkway continues around behind the dance floor to one of the most outrageously seedy parts of a mainstream club that I’ve ever seen. Arranged along one wall you can find a row of six or seven padded booths, where the lighting is particularly dark. Within said booths there is just enough room for two people to stand close to one another and drink, chat or do whatever springs to mind. It’s all terribly tacky, dreadfully camp and post-midnight probably the most likely place to find me.

Directly in front of the snogging booths are the main toilets. I’ve not had need to go into the ladies (unlike a friend of mine who ended up pulling someone’s knickers down for her last night because she was too drunk to do it herself) but the gents are clean enough, at the start of the night anyway. The wash basin will be enough to confuse all but the most intelligent out there, comprising as it does a big round basin with a pedal at the bottom to activate the jets of water. Next to the toilets is a staircase, which leads upstairs to a second bar and dance floor. On busy nights, this part is opened up to allow direct access from the bar next door (Zinc). I can’t comment in great detail on this, as I never seem to make it upstairs, finding plenty to occupy me on the ground floor.

From the toilets, you follow the walkway round to the main downstairs bar. Opposite the bar are some raised seating areas where people generally sit, get drunk and take the piss out of everyone that walks past. Through the dividing wall, you can see what’s going on out on the dance floor, but the good thing is that the bar area is segregated enough to provide a separate drinking area for those of you who don’t feel quite so energetic. The bar staff members are predictable, if nothing else, and mince around in a selection of vests, sleeveless T-shirts and muscle tops. Service is pretty quick, if not rather miserable considering the prices and it could never be said that the place offers a warm welcome. Drinks prices are average - £3 for a bottle, £2.50 for a pint etc.

But enough of the staff, what about the clientele? Well, Powerhouse seems to attract a fairly wide cross-section of different people, although gay men fundamentally populate it. All the girlies like a night out with their GBFs, so of an average Friday or Saturday night, there will be plenty of girls and boys getting up to all sorts of mischief. Unlike more mixed clubs, you don’t get so many straight people in here, but you can still spot the odd straight man, dragged in against his will by some outrageous friend or colleague. The atmosphere is always pretty jolly and flirty too – the set up of the club is obviously pandering to the rather predatory nature of some of the inmates! Powerhouse is a really good place to come for a laugh though and I think that most people who enjoy a good old-fashioned night out would enjoy it here.

Music-wise, the tone of the evening varies across the week, but there will be no huge surprises. Powerhouse caters for fairly mainstream tastes, so you get a good mixture of commercial dance and R & B. One thing I will say is that the place has a pretty good sound system, and coupled with the size of the venue, this is a great place if you like loud, thumping tunes. The mixture seems to fairly similar each night that I’ve been, so the club clearly plays to a crowd-pleasing formula. The club’s size and popularity mean also that it can attract some venue-filling live acts – Girls Aloud recently played here (ick) and Westlife are currently advertised for a gig soon too (double ick.) Tickets for these nights tend to sell for around the £15 mark.

I like it here. A lot. Powerhouse reminds me of all the things I used to enjoy about clubbing and makes me feel slightly less like an old man again. The place has a good crowd, I’ve made some good friends and I’ve had some great nights out. So who’s for a Ciao meeting there then? <grin>

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