MODE

There was a time when the nightclub under the Westway was easy to find … you could spot the queues a mile off (before the council fenced off the area linking Portobello with Acklam Road, making this stretch even more of a backwater) … and when you were rewarded with a great night out for making the effort. «Subterranea» was simply one of the coolest clubs in town, when nightclubs were still cool. Its «Neighbourhood» reincarnation still had a good local pull, while the «Supper Club» concept never quite took off.
And now it’s MODE. Apart from the name, nothing much has changed, everything is still in the same place. But then again everything has changed. My office is located a bit further along Acklam Road and I often work late, never is there any sign of life — or even queues despite the serious railings and cordons and even more serious bouncers.
This is proof that running a nightclub takes more than just the basic ingredients:
— great looking space in dodgy location
— impressive looking PA system, operated by inexperienced sound engineer
— playlist heavy on Blur and Gorillaz — under the westway, geddit?!
— stock of cheap booze, sold at premium prices
— promoter filling the venue with band members, their familiy and friends
— underpaid bar staff with limited language skills, adding just the right amount of perceived rudeness to the mix
— staggered entry fees with no re-​entry makes for a captive audience
It comes as no surprise that MODE lost its glass licence a few months back (did you know that venues are licenced separately for booze and recepticles?!). A punter got angry and broke a glass, now you get served from sticky plastic glasses. Wine is decanted into plastic bottles. We almost ordered a bottle of Prosecco — luckily the £49 price tag prevented us from having this be turned flat in the process … also worth noting that the two bars charged different amounts for the same wine — worth checking before you order (£18 vs £25, just saying).
I am writing this on a Saturday morning after what should have been a fun Friday night out — I’m still angry. The reception at MODE was so unfriendly I almost walked off. Entry was free before 8 (staggered at £5 before 9 and £10 from 10pm) and involved running the gauntlet of two miserable doormen, queuing behind random guys delivering books (to a nightclub?!), being ignored by the fat bouncer until he realised he had to do a bag check and insist on ID — another side effect of having had a fight on their turf, nothing to do with underage drinking. Everyone was rude and my relaxed Friday vibe turned into a bad mood on entering MODE.
It is worth mentioning at this point that I had been here twice before on a Saturday morning when MODE hosted the West London offspring of Morning Gloryville — people from all over London were queuing to get in, you were hugged on entry and exit and everyone was smiling, i.e. it is possible to generate a positive vibe and fill this place with happy people!
But back to last night — everyone agreed that this was one of the worst nights they had. Why did we stay? Because we came to see one of the six or seven bands billed throughout the night, that’s why. The sheer number includes a heavy hint of why it was doomed to fail, the night was completely overbooked — four good acts would have been better than all those fillers. Without soundcheck and with an engineer who didn’t know what he was doing, breaks between sets were too long. This would have been OK at a pub but just looked rubbish in a night club setting with proper stage, lighting and special effects.
The result: the band we came to see had their set cut short — we suffered mainly rubbish music and bad wine for three tracks of the stuff we had come to hear! The night was completely random and ranged from grunge and old school rock, to Blur (see above) and reggae played in the gaps from the house PA — no DJ, and we left when the volume was turned up to 11 and before Don Letts took to the decks, if indeed he ever got a chance. As he was the biggest name on the bill he must have felt a bit perturbed.
Last night felt like living through the outtakes from a Spinal Tap movie — I think someone already mentioned the fire spitting organ in an earlier review, I was waiting for one of the last band’s fake fur coats to go up in flames. Now, that would have made me smile …

My view of Mode is going to be slightly slanted as I was there for a free gig so probably didn’t have the complete experience.
I agree with Jakub that it is pretty hard to find. It’s practically under the overpass and you have to cut through from the main street to find it. Door staff were friendly and even allowed me back in to get to the toilet before my journey home began.
The drinks were overpriced however that is the nature with pretty much any nightclub but the choice of spirits was poor. Lambs or Bacardi were the only options for rum.
Sound quality was very good and the layout meant that it’s really well suited for a band venue. The fire coming out of the organ is a bit of a weird touch though and I’m not sure what it offers.

Dreadful music and people. The mixing was shockingly bad, repeats of tunes throughout the night. Total lack of atmosophere.
You will be expected to have photo ID, though due to a lack of punters they allowed us through without.
Drinks are overpriced and sub standard or at best generic, ie. Bulmer’s is their cider.

First of all, the place is quite hard to find as it is located under A40. But once you know that it should be easy to find ;)
The ambience inside is very classy and depending on the night the music varies from grunge, house, EDM etc. But generally the tunes are approachable.
There is plenty of sitting inside including plush sofas and armchairs. Hint: head to the upper floor for alternative bar and plenty of comfortable sitting options.