Club of the Week: The Masque

The Masque keeps itself to itself

There’s something… different about this week’s choice. Situated on Seel Street, The Masque keeps to itself in the swirling Liverpudlian cesspit of bright neon signs and overly friendly club promoters, often seen selling false promises of £1 Jägerbombs and “too many girls” on their dance floors.

A club that’s been open 50 years, it’s certainly far from a modern set-up. There are just two discreet signs hanging outside, an unremarkable front door and no official Facebook page (social media suicide these days). Couple this with their only known advertising strategy being to cover Liverpool in posters, and your first steps through the doors are usually tentative.

Dark. Confusing. Somewhat damp. No, I’m not talking about losing my virginity – These are just some of the words people use to describe The Masque. You’ll struggle to see decorations anywhere inside, the owners instead opting for the highly underrated “put posters up every night”. On top of this, the labyrinthine stairs set-up means finding what you want at 3am can be tough.

In terms on layout, there’s three main rooms – in ascending order (both preference and altitude), there’s the theatre, the bar and the loft. The theatre is the main choice of room, having hosted anyone from Annie Mac to the Maccabees.

Due to the uneven flooring, one of the most entertaining ways to spend your time there is to stand near the back and watch girls in heels struggle to maintain balance. Upstairs, the imaginatively named loft usually contains the chosen support acts for the night, as well as toilets with flimsy wooden walls.

Due to its rather unpredictable nature, there’s no ‘regular’ night to recommend. If it’s electronic music you’re into, this is the place to go. Most weekends there’s Chibuku, Abandon Silence or Circus ready to charge you £10+ for the biggest names in electronic music.

Rarely a bad night out

I feel like I’ve given The Masque a bad rap with this description – it has to be said, you’ll rarely have a bad night there. Most events sell out, and the atmosphere is always great. The sound system is very loud, matched only by the groans at £4 Red Stripe (the water’s free though, if you’re into that sort of thing…).

Manchester has Sankeys, Leeds has Mint Club, and we have our Masque. Is it as good? Almost. I feel with just a bit care and attention, it could be up there. For now though, Liverpool seems happy enough.