The Cooler

Considering the dancefloor part of this place is basically just a black hole it does alright in terms of atmosphere. The DJ’s selection of indie tunes from the turn of the century (& a bit before that) was right up my street but for some reason he’d a problem playing any Ride so he got mooned by one of our group at the end of the night. Otherwise no complaints about the door staff (although they weren’t that vigilant so leaving your coat at the cash desk is not maybe as safe as you’d hope), bar staff or the 4am closing time. £5 for a gin or vodka & mixer is steep though.

I don’t go in night clubs but if that’s what this is I can’t see it as a particularly inspiring one as it’s just four walls with a low stage at one end and a bar up some steps at the other. Décor, in so far as there is any, appears to be based on a boiler room or ship’s engine room concept. It has bands on quite a lot, but these tend to be kiddy acts that I wouldn’t want to see. Having said that, I must admit that when I went to see the Business here recently I had a thundering good time. The sound was as clear as a bell and you were eyeball to eyeball (or as much as you’d want to be!) with the band. Service at the bar was quick too, so I wouldn’t object to ever coming in here again if they ever put another act on suitable for grown ups.

Had a bad experience here on the weekend. The doorman and DJ were so rude that it almost completely spoilt my sister’s hen night. The doorman actually man-​handled me and shoved me inside the venue as I was holding the door open for my friends. My sister tried to request a song and the DJs actual response was «get the f** off my stage, f* off, f* off, f** off».
Thankfully the bar maid was nice and smiley but I begrudged paying £4 for a bottle of cider. The music at this venue was hit and miss, some classics but dancing was spoilt by the extremely sticky floor! I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than go to the The Cooler again.

When I first moved to Bristol I walked past this place on Park Street and instantly thought, that is my kind of place. It looked just like the indie club back home that I’d spent the best part of my teenage years in. There were band posters in the window, DJ promo material with the names of all the indie bands I’ve come to know and love in recent years and just a bit of an imitation San Francisco feel about it. One might ask why then I’ve only just made it there (like this weekend just gone?) Even my film buff husband made it before his music loving wife. I can’t really answer this but I know I shall be going back. I saw a band there and if you’re short and can grab a rare spot on the steps it is awesome, otherwise it’s the usual back or head view which I have become so accustomed to. Another tip for the Cooler is make sure that if you have any sniff of a hearing problem that you take some earplugs for it is bloody loud in here. Recent acts to play there include The XX, Wax Fang and Marina and the Diamonds.

The Cooler is quite an unassuming live gig venue; when you pass it you don’t really hear it scream out at you as a place in town to catch pretty good gigs. But it is! I would say that the majority of the gigs they put on here are rock/​metal ones. Which is funny for when they have cheesy student nights as well; sometimes directly after a heavy rock gig.
I was at a heavy metal night here last night, and it was pretty good. Sticky floors, a small but dedicated crowd, and good music. The drinks here though, are quite pricey, but perhaps that is just Park Street prices. Most gigs I’ve been to here draw quite a small crowd; never more than about 60 people, which makes me think that they should do abit more to really draw the crowds in, because they have a great little venue here that would be even better if there were bigger crowds at their gigs to up the anti.

Yay Cooler! Ah hazy memories of twirling on the dance floor to The Smiths…
The Cooler is a good venue to see gigs in, it has a nice small club feel and they are pretty loud because you are usually stood in front of a speaker or two. But really its Saturday nights here that kept me coming back. The Indie Disco as it were.
It is not a tiny club at all, I think it has a really great size dance floor, which takes up most of the club, and that’s about all you want from a club that plays great music. Entry is cheap enough; usually around a few quid and although this club is not for everyone, they play music I love and that’s all I need really. My girlfriend, not so easily pleased. But there really isn’t much else here to comment on, it is just a shell to play and listen to music in.
I have even spent a night dressed a Peter Pan (in tights) face down on the dance floor here, most of which I regret but I am glad they are hosting Dot to Dot again this year. More of the same I imagine.

I was a bit disappointed when we went in here on a classic student pub golf night. Drinks were a little high for my liking and the actual building is pretty small. Is it a club, is it a bar? It seems like it’s stuck in the middle which means you get a mixture of people inside. Not really my type of music either so I don’t think I would return. Having said that, if you like Indie and are not a fan of Propaganda at Syndicate on Wednesdays then I reckon this might be a good alternative.

A nightclub on Park Street for the skinny jeans brigade, and by that I mean those dedicated followers of anti-​fashion who think the Kings of Leon have sold out and gone commercial.
As you can probably guess, this place is geared almost exclusively towards indie types who are simply too cool for skool, or in the case of The Cooler, dancing. If you’re not a long haired hipster then you might feel slightly out of place as you enter this club, but you’ll probably also notice how boring the place is as most of the clientele are so concerned with posing in their over priced rags that the atmosphere feels a little stale.
Quite a small nightclub where the price of the drinks matches the price of the your painted on jeans.

Whether you’re a bit too cool for school music or just someone who likes their indie music, then The Cooler might be fore you. Half way up Park Street, this is one of Bristol’s trendier nights out. Whilst the rest of Park Street seems pretty much set on getting paraletic and stumbling around the clientèle of the cooler (whilst still drinking pretty heavily) like to concentrate on looking cool.
They have an indie club night on the weekend and gigs during the week. The gigs are better in my opinion, people dance more here than on the club nights and some live music is usually the right antidote to the indifferent attitude cultivated by some people that come here.
Drinks are pretty expensive and when you consider some of the drinks deals you can get on and around Park Street. Maybe head to somewhere like Green House or The Berkeley (if you can bear it) and have a few there before you go here. Pretty stylish with customers to match, The Cooler can be a cool night out and is certainly somewhere if you like the sort of stuff they play.

Much to the delight of tiny Indie kids and hip-​hopsters the whole of Bristol over, The Cooler plays host to bands and club nights of the funkiest kind.
If you’re over 25 you may feel a bit on the old side, but who cares? In a sea of skinny jeans and Topman cardigans, its the music that shines through the rather bland brand of cool that emanates from the black walls. Drinks are overpriced but varied, seats few and far between. Its best just to find a location close to the wall and practice slouching in your most nonchalant manner.
The other downside is that drunkenness seems to inevitable with kids on a Park Street night out, but luckily here it proves to be lively rather than troublesome.
I saw Dan Le Sac v, Scroobius Pip here last year — demonstrating the quality of musical talent they play host to. Worth checking out — if only for that reason.

Sitting half way up Park Street, this place is best know for hosting Klub Kute every Saturday, an indie night that’s been running under various names since before the likes of the Arctic Monkeys were in short skinny jeans.
It’s largely populated by the growing number of scenesters, who are big on hair and ensuring their sunglasses and tracksuit tops match, but less keen on actually dancing or showing enthusiasm for anything other than themselves. This means it can be a slightly underwhelming experience, the sort of place you end up going if there’s nothing better on. However, cosnsidering its central position, it’s pretty trouble-​free and they put on gigs in the week.

The Cooler is a small nightclub on Park Street, it used to part of the Scream chain of student orientated pubs and clubs.
The Cooler has recently re-​opened following an extensive refurbishment. On 2 Thursdays each month The Cooler has a band night for new bands, Espionage is on Fridays with Sixty’s funk, Soul + Rock and Roll and Klub Kute, an Indie night, is on every Saturday.
I have not been to the Cooler since it was refurbished, so I don’t know how much it has changed. In the past I have found the club too busy and cramped and, as there is only one narrow staircase up to the toilets, there were often people-​jams on the stairs which was not too safe.
The Cooler is quite a good club to visit once in a while but I found that if I went too often it soon got monotonous as the same songs seemed to be played each week.