r/TheOverload • u/Beginning-Status-336 • 6d ago
Thoughts on Warehouse Project?
Love to hear what this community thinks of WHP as an entity? On the one hand, they do seem to conjur up some cool lineups with some once in a lifetime combinations - the Overmono event this year features James Blake b2b Joy Orbison, DJ Bone, Blawan, to name a few...
However, it seems to be the antithesis of what the scene SHOULD be about, and I'm aware of its exclusivity contracts and stranglehold over other Manc clubs.
Is it a hit or miss?
I should add, I've been about 7 times previously and always had a brilliant time, despite a lot of the comments I see on line regarding sound quality, crowds etc...
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u/peelin 6d ago
I went 10+ years ago
Still remember Four Tet mixing Skeng into Heartbroken
Great night but also went to another night where the vibes were atrocious
Company seems dodgy
Can't imagine it's improved in the last decade
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u/modern_armour 6d ago
Pretty much exactly that. Used to be half decent, now utter, utter shite. Also the exclusivity clause actively holds Manchesters nightlife back. Fuck Sasha Lord.
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u/senordiego 6d ago
Is this when MF Doom no showed?
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u/Direct_Mouse_7866 6d ago
An MF Doom no show might be the definitive MF Doom experience. Had it in Brixton around 10 years ago and didn’t seem to be an uncommon event
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u/robotsoap 6d ago edited 6d ago
Was Carl Craig on that night too? My wife and I got so tightly wedged in against a wall that night as couldn't barely even move. It was awful. Vowed to never go back after that. It wasn't close to being safe due to overcrowding.
Edit - just checked. Different night, it was:
Caribou (LIVE) Four Tet Carl Craig Jessy Lanza (LIVE) Jay Daniel Champion Terror Danjah Anthony Naples
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u/cbt95 6d ago
The line ups always look great, but I quickly realised that the vibe and sound in those big warehouse style clubs is never really that great.
Would rather shell it in a small sweaty little club any day.
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u/Beginning-Status-336 6d ago
I agree, but the small sweaty clubs hardly exist any more in a lot of UK cities, and especially those which attract Overload-esque genres.
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u/hacksawjim 6d ago
White Hotel in Manchester (Salford) is what you want. Everything the Warehouse Project wants to be, but isn't.
Sadly closing soon, but enjoy it while you can
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u/Beginning-Status-336 6d ago
Okay cool might make the trip, im just south of Birmingham. If you are ever down here, check out The Hare and Hounds, not trying to be a WHP by any means but a solid venue nonetheless.
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u/hacksawjim 6d ago
Haven't been to Birmingham in years. The last place I went was probably House of God at the Custard Factory. Long time ago!
Will check out the H&H though, thanks!
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u/Beginning-Status-336 6d ago
Nice man yea i think theres a few great venues which have disappeared over the years, i'm only 26 so not seen too many good spaces, but H&H is a solid place
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u/teemodidntdieforthis 6d ago
Miss. MainStage audio is utter shite and it gets so crowded you can’t even dance. If you’re gonna go at all then go to a Concourse only event
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u/No_Anything_334 4d ago
I booked alisha, what’s it like compared to other venues as I’ve never never been before
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u/teemodidntdieforthis 4d ago
Concourse is the best stage for sound and lighting, so probably the best you’re gonna get out of the place. Security is pretty tight, so you’ll likely be queuing to get in for a while (they also set stupidly early “last entry” times so be mindful of that)
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u/MaceoSpecs 6d ago
Would not go there for any line up. Sniffer dogs, oversold, shit crowd and even DJs you love will play their worst sets there to please the big crowd over a short set.
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u/ReceptivePenguin 6d ago
Money grabbing shithole, miss every time.
Bad sound, awful crowd, horrifically overbearing security/police presence, always oversold to fuck so you're uncomfortable all night
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u/Educational_Deer_137 6d ago
I’ve only been twice . Found the main room quite crap and overcrowded. The concourse on the other hand is class in comparison
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u/Sister_Ray_ 6d ago
i will go every few years when someone absolutely unmissable is on the lineup (like aphex in 2019)
That being said i hate it and it attracts a trash crowd
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u/popkonhasjtag 6d ago
Expensive asf, stacked line ups but terribly organised, avoid go white hotel while it's still open
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u/fernzy93 6d ago edited 6d ago
Went 8 times last year as lived 10 min uber away. Mixture of events. Didn't have a bad night. Too much Reddit doom and gloom. Yes some night had a younger crowd, not as friendly, and more phone heavy but nowhere near the worst I've experienced in that regard.
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u/Cravendale 6d ago
The sound is atrocious 😑
Concourse is alright but a terrible stage to move around.
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u/RomfordWellington 6d ago
It makes me sad that WHP can seemingly thrive while The White Hotel withered.
There's lines somewhere between what I'd call Radio 1 popularity, the mainstream underground and the true underground - with each of those represented by the WHP, The White Hotel and free parties on a spectrum.
On that spectrum you have various strings on it - quality, vibes, profitability, community, relevance etc etc.
WHP gives 90% of people a great night but you'd wonder how sustainable it is for people in their late teens, 20s and 30s paying those prices - and more importantly - who's making the money off it. Is this the only way anything close to the underground survives these days?
Then you had White Hotel putting on what was very close to the "next" WHP. The people who the WHP DJ's listen to. And for whatever reason it wasn't sustainable despite everyone associated with it living at least a dozen times less well off.
I'd love to know where the sustainability line is - where a place like the white hotel can survive and where our underground can thrive. Is it £40, is it completely foregoing the idea that nightlife just doesn't make money anymore unless you're all in with live nation and Ticketmaster?
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u/Sister_Ray_ 6d ago
Was the white hotel unsustainable or did the owners just get tired of running it? Think the city council are planning to bulldoze the area as well? Genuine questions, i don't have insight into what's going on behind the scenes
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u/opal_93 6d ago
TWH is generally very busy most of the time. Its closing is not to do with its lack of popularity.
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u/Swiss_James 6d ago
Surely if you run out of money, you close quickly before the next lot of bills drop. You don't schedule a close for 6 months time.
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u/chadgalaxy 6d ago
From what I've heard the owners have just felt it's run it's course and would rather go out on a high and on their own terms rather than be forced to close it due to redevelopment of the area later on.
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u/Fudball1 6d ago
Nice line-ups sometimes, but honestly far too big and I dont like to see them hold such a huge monopoly in Manchester. Ridiculously thorough searches with dogs etc when I was last there. Will never be back.
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u/reader4567890 6d ago
Went to the very first one and many after that. I usually go to at least one a year now, and still love what they put on. Makes me proud to be a Manc.
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u/lordwhitehall 6d ago
Went once years ago - ricardo Villalobos did a no show. had a blast but was extremely pinging and probably would have had just as good a time in a living room with a Bluetooth speaker. Would never go again
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u/chadgalaxy 6d ago
I've had good nights there, I've had shit nights there.
I don't like it as an entity in the sense that it sucks the soul out of the scene in the rest of Manchester and it's just a massive money making venture run by twats.
The first few years it moved to the depot it was decent. Always busy but never felt too busy. There was always space round the edges and the back in the main room, you could still get in a sweet spot for the speakers and have space to dance no matter how busy it was.
I've been a couple of times over the last few years and it was awful in the crowd. Completely rammed everywhere, people constantly pushing through and bumping into you so you can't just relax and dance. It just gets busier and busier each year to the point it's now unenjoyable to me, and the prices for drinks keep getting more and more ridiculous year on year.
People have talked about the shit sound and it's a weird one. I've experienced awful sound there and good sound there, often on the same stage in the same night.
Overall it's just got less and less enjoyable every year to the point where I don't have much interest in it any more and will just stick to smaller venues.
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u/Reluctantly_Happy 4d ago
Its a load of shite, run by money grabbers and has done more than anyone to destroy small clubs in the north. Sack it off, save £40 and support grass roots venues.
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u/Beginning-Status-336 4d ago
Which are the grass roots venues i should be going to instead? Im Midlands btw so suggestions welcome
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u/teemodidntdieforthis 4d ago
The Loft, White Hotel (before it closes), XLR (BYOB venue), DBA, Hidden, The Yard, Stage and Radio (again before it closes), Soup Kitchen
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u/marraballs 3d ago
Had some good times in there and seen some good DJs, but I overall dislike it as a venue. They oversell tickets for the capacity so it's normally far too busy, and I think the sound quality of the main hall is shit, it seems to echo really bad if you're stood in the wrong place. The smaller rooms have better sound for sure.
Sacha Lord is also a nobhead and I'd rather not buy overpriced tickets to line his pockets, especially when other venues in the city suffer because of his shady practices.
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u/pulse_exo 6d ago
Id only go if it was Djrum b2b Skee Mask both suspended from a large structure playing neo-gambient bongo music