Lakota

I think your experience of Lakota will depend on what night it is, rather than the venue itself. i went last Friday for a Psytrance night, which was full of people who, like myself, knew exactly what they were after — mad, psychedelic decorations covering the walls, loud, intense and trippy music, freaky people, a large smoking area, where you’re allowed to smoke whatever you want, and various drinks and snacks to keep energy levels topped up (the chai tea was my favourite). I actually disagree with some other reviewers about it being ‘really grimy’, I have certainly been to MUCH grimier places and this didn’t even compare. In contrast, the toilets were immaculate and there was plenty of toilet roll in each one ALL night– you don’t get that in most clubs! Go for the monthly Tribe of Frog night if you like the sound of what I’ve described ^^

I used to frequent this place back in the 90s when the likes of Carl Cox used to play here. This was a SUPER club. Unfortunately it has nose dived into a stinking sweaty turd hole of a night club. You are greeted with some of the most rude and obnoxious door staff you could ever meet, I mean they must have looked long and hard to find these people!
Drinks wise well where do I start its great if you don’t mind paying 3.50 for a can of red stripe or thatchers. Or if you fancy a watered down spirit with flat mixer served with a sneer this is for you.
It gets two stars purely based on the fact that every now and again they have street food stalls set up in the car park. I havent tried anything from them yet but ive heard that the jerk chicken is pretty good.

I’ve only been here once but it was awesome — the night was called Itchy Feet which, if you haven’t been, is old-​school music — some stuff you’ll know, bit of motown, bit of 50s… anyway it was absolutely mental, everyone dancing, even non-​dancers (although I clearly do not fall into this category).
The venue is pretty unique — I know people have said it is dingy and I can see how it could be construed in that way depending on what music was playing but in the context we were there it was awesome. Definitely worth a go.

The big outdoor garden area is a welcome addition. It gets so hot inside lakota that its nice to be able to escape into the fresh air.
I’ve been to a few Tribe of Frog nights here, the crowd at the last few Tribe of Frogs have been fun. Its a bit more young clubber nowdays, we were dressed up so got attention from some young masher clubbers who were caught in the shiny trap of glowy space guns and glo-​poi.
Sadly the music just doesn’t do it for me anymore. Moving from one room to another you are disappointed that nothing seems really different. Its also so hot that you don’t feel especially comfortable. The crowd at the drum and bass nights are a bit too edgy for me, you don’t feel like you have anywhere to escape to whereas on a Tribe of Frog night the crowd are far more bouncy and friendly. Pity the music doesn’t sound like it has evolved in the last 10 years though.

Lakota has shed its skin many times over the years. Once the spiritual home of Bristol’s thriving trip-​hop scene, an institution in its own right, next thing closed down, then reopened and overtaken by commuter clubbers dancing in yeti boots to 180bpm, its current guise lies somewhere in the middle, hosting nights of varying quality.
Lakota has always had a penchant for the dirtier side of music, which is definitely not to all tastes. Nights vary from drum and bass to dubstep to happy hardcore to house. The trick is to research the promoters and line-​up on any given night — spontaneous visits are likely to leave you dancing half-​heartedly to music which sounds like a pneumatic drill. Popular nights include student dubstep night Shit the Bed! and (albeit less and less) trance fantasy Tribe of Frog.
The cavernous space might be dark and dirty, but delightfully so. Lakota’s labyrinth of rooms only serve to add to the appeal on the better big nights out, on the worse leave you alone and unable to find your friends. Definitely approach Lakota, just remember to exercise caution or you could find yourself in an empty room with only five gurning teenage boys in hoodies for company.

All my friends rave about Lakota and i have been dragged here a few times to enjoy the ‘unique’ music that Lakota offers. I was told that the special and popular night ‘Itchy feet’ was like a mixture of the Beatles and drum and bass. It sounded interesting so i thought i’d give it a go. However, the first few hours were taken up by a crap band who couldnt sing so it was probably a good thing that the sound was so bad and the microphone kept cutting out. Some of the music was decent but it was mainly the other people i wasn#t fond of. Extremely ostentacious and prentencious — most of them all thought they e=were the quirkiest thing ont he planet when in fact they all looked exactly the same. The club itself was expensive and not worth it for such a grimy, dirty, sticky place. I won’t describe the toilets but i think you could imagine the horror!

Lakota is a large and grimy club that will appeal to music lovers only. Do expect to come home smelling a little like wee rather than roses. Do expect to see a few people chewing invisible chewing gum. Do not expect to hear Westlife or the latest X Factor wannabe, but embrace the dinginess and you will have a great night. The upstairs balcony is a great way to view the dancefloor, although it is occasionally abused by a contingent of immature people that find drink spillages/​spitting extremely humorous. The club still attracts big names so give it a try if you want to catch dubstep pioneers like Skream, Benga, Caspa and Rusko at nights like the aptly named ‘Shit the Bed’ the electro wizardry of Fake Blood or the wobbles of Jack Beats.

I visited Lakota one night as my friends hired out the place to host a Drum and Bass night here so it would be unfair to review the place based on the music as it’s probably not a true reflection as to what is usually on here. Therefore I’ll comment on everything else!
Inside it’s much larger than I expected. I was really impressed with the interior decoration which kind of feels jungle like. There is a large balcony which overlooks the main dance floor and a couple of small other rooms. Drink prices were very expensive and I couldn’t really afford more than a couple. The music was also insanely loud, to the point that you had no chance (even when pressed up against someone’s ear) of hearing anything but the music. However this may have just been due to my friend’s (apparently) deaf ears.
I can image it would be dingy, expensive and sweaty on a regular night so I don’t think I would return.

There are no two ways about it: Lakota is a grimy club. But (and it is a big but) it hosts some fantastic nights. If you are not a fan of dance music, then I suggest you stop reading now. But if you are, and you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you should drop in some time. Renowned for hosting some of Bristol’s best drum ‘n bass and hardcore nights, Lakota is not for the faint hearted. The atmosphere can be edgy and the music is sometimes uncomfortably loud. If you’re one for psy trance and garish fancy dress, Tribe of Frog is the night for you; an increasingly popular affair, it is held on the last Saturday of each month to a backdrop of psychedelic art. Expect the unexpected…

I have fond memories of this club, after a shift working as a barmaid in Bath we would come all the way here because of the line up. Late night dancing with a mars bar and cup of tea, watching my friends’ heads explode on something a little naughtier. It was happy and friendly, and I remember dancing one night with a man who left his wheelchair on the side and was avin’ it on the dancefloor.
Now however it is a victim of its own name. Frequented largely by 16 year olds with testosterone running wild with lager, the one exit is jammed with smokers and stressed bouncers trying to keep an eye on everyone — my friend came here the other day and it took her half an hour to just leave — she ended up getting a member of staff to lead her out!
It is still getting reasonably big names, but actually you can find better names in smaller and friendlier clubs in Bristol — try the Thekla for some drum and bass, Black Swan for grime and pretty much anywhere else for hardcore and acid trance!

Lakota is a truly horrific nightclub. Even if you like hardcore dance and trance I can’t see why you’d want to enter this place, unless of course you’re one of the dozens of oiks who seem to frequent this establishment with the sole ambition of either putting somebody in hospital or being put in hospital yourself. Good times.
The décor is dark, dingy and unappealing. The atmosphere is aggressive, intimidating and dangerous. The bar staff are surly and unhelpful and the drinks are expensive and uninspiring. In my humble opinion this place should be condemned.

This place used to be one of the best clubs in the country. When I was at university in Wales, my co-​students used to make 100 mile round trips to see stellar spinner such as Carl Cox.
Unfortunately it’s gone into decay since then and though there have been some improvements — such as the massive garden — it’s now, like many venues in Stokes Croft, overrun by chavs and badboys, mainly due to the relentless stream of hardcore and gabba nights they promote.
Last time I went there, to a night called Dissident, a friend and myself were jabbed repeatedly with a knife on the dancefloor for no reason, and I later encountered someone receiving treatment for an apparent slashed throat in the toilet.
It’s sad to say as this once superclub formed such an important part of my late teens, but I certainly won’t be returning.

Well as said above this isn’t a fancy club by any means and could even be called dingy! But it does depend on what you’re looking for. They play hard dance music good for stomping and good old moshing! We’ve been there for hard trance/​dance nights and also on seperate occasions psytrance nights both where the people are alternative but in a great way! Expect lots of colours/​faerie wings and furry boots and of course smiley faces! If you went in and it was quiet you food think the place is quite dark and dingy but wait until the night is in full swing and it can be full of colour, lasers, happy people and really transforms! There’s something like 5 rooms and i can seem a bit of a maze getting to some of them! The bar staff can be a bit moody and the drinks aren’t the best and pretty expenisive but they’re the only down points! The toilets are generally clean and enough of them for busy nights!

How you rate Lakota will depend on what you look for in a club — if you want LOUD hard dance music, happy party people and aren’t bothered about shiny new bars and pretty people in nice clothes, this might just be the place for you!
So assuming you like the above, you might just love Lakotachoose the right night and it’ll have wicked music (drum and bass, psytrance, techno etc. are the norm here), a wicked atmosphere and you’ll have a great night! On badly promoted nights it can be really quiet and a complete waste of moneyso hunt down a good night, take a load of good mates, and you’ll be onto a winner! (don’t expect the toilets to be clean though!)
Oh, and it is in one of the worst parts of town, so taxis to and from would be a good plan

Lakota is a large night club which plays dance music. Its situated off the Cheltenham Road near Broadmead. I haven’t been here for a few years but had some good nights at Lakota a few years ago.
There is a balcony around the top and a large dance floor, lots of top dance DJ’s have played here and when I used to go the club was always full.