Flash@TMB

Ross... The idea is not to post the answer here but that the first person to come up to me in person and say ********* tonight - I'll buy them a drink. Leslie Nielsen??? Tell you what though - I'll give you a hint, there is a strong link to suicide.

Who wrote and originally recored the track "Without You" as in "Can't live, if living is without you"? First person to approach me tonight with the correct answer wins a free drink. I'll be wearing either the Jagermeister or Jack Daniels bandana and pissed as a newt.

yes that's them Yeah those are the guys.

Unfortunately Unfortunately it is likely to be a condition HJBs license that they have doormen. There's not a lot they can do about that. In my opinion the standard of doormen has improved noticably since the governing regulations were introduced. However things are never going to be perfect. Both doormen and bar staff have to face drunk people as part of their job. The vast majority of people are great... but there are a small minority that become obnoxious once they've had a drink... then there are the even smaller minority that become agrressive or even violent. One of a bars duties is to provide a safe environment for people to have a good time. This means limiting the nuisance. The easiest way to do this is not to admit them in the first place. This can be dauting - imagine facing down a boozy stag night of 18 guys looking for trouble? Even if there are 2 or more bouncers this takes guts. Should a nuisance slip through the net, then it presents a bigger problem because there is the issue of any drinks that have been purchased (and they may be holding glassware in their hand) then trying to persuade them to leave peacefully, and manouvering them toward the door. No ammount of training can mitigate for how a drunk person will behave, so there is always the danger of things getting out of hand. This job takes a lot of patience and careful phrasing. I'm not commenting on the incident mentioned in this thread because i wasn't there. All I'm trying to do is help impart my experience of this type of problem. As time marches on you are likely to see the nuisance factor reduce as the neds come to realise that HJBs is an alternative bar and not somewhere that caters for their ilk. On the subject of underagers, like I stated above, a bar may choose to admit anyone 14 and older, but they must ensure that they do not sell drink to anyone under 18. I'm not exactly sure how this applies to a club but I believe clubs can apply for childrens certificates, where they must demonstrate practices that would ensure those under 18 were not served alcohol. I don't believe that bars should make a blanket over 18 policy because it is good practice for bar staff to ID people that appear under 18 regardless of whether they gained entry to the premises or not! If someone aged under 18 entered the Moorings and attempted to get served alcohol we would escort them to the door. However if they approached the bar and volunteered the fact that they were 14 or over, but under 18 and would only be drinking soft drinks, then provided their behaviour was judged appropriately mature we'd consider letting them stay. There are circumstances where certain activity may be considered Cert 18 (mosh pits for instance) where it may be inappropriate to admit people under 18. Hope this helps to build some understanding between you the valued customers and us the (hopefully) loved venues.

This Saturday we have: M.I.N.E. (music is now everything) ex Chimera These guys sound a lot like the band 'Live'. AND Atrium Atrium is a new band formed by some of the guys that also play in King Voodo, my understanding is that they are contemorary rock, not rock 'n roll like Voodoo. This is one of their first gigs since forming. Not sure who is up first. Kick off is approx 9pm. The stage will be up and admission is free as always. Shutdown is 1am. We're also open all day with jukebox, pinball, arcade machine etc. We discount the drink during the day.

Absinthe We only run 1 type of Absinthe, but this one is made to the original Czeck recipie with the highest permitted wormwood content and no artificial colourings, sweetners, or flavourings. Most of the stuff you see around these days is 120 proof ethanol flavoured with aniseed ester 6, dyed with green dye number 374, sweetened with aspartimane, and containes trace essence of wormwood. Ugh! However along similar lines we stock: Pernod - which is absinthes little sister and contains no wormwood extract other than the aniseed flavour. Chartreuse - this tastes similar and is very strong but is in fact a compeltely different drink. Jaegermeister - this is like cross between absinthe and cough mixture. If you like exotic spirits then we stock: 5 bourbons + JD (which isn't reallt bourbon) 3 Tequilas (and no pish tequila) Sotol - this is tequilas sexy little sister Mezcal - this has the worm in it, and makes the world turn yellow if you drink enough. 13 rums - including W&N the worlds most dangerous drink, we serve this with a plastic bucket because people frequently chuck it straight back up. 3 gins and I recommend the export strength Tanquery at least 6 different vodkas many of them flavoured and some are under-the-counter specials that we don't advertise. On draught we have Budvar, Addlestones, and Hoegarden in addition to the usual suspects. Proper McEwens Export too, something that's becoming an endangered species. We among the finalists for Scottish pint of the year for our Tennants Lager. There are usually 2-3 real ales on hand pump, and these change every 5 days or so. Gee this reads like a course in inebriation engineering.

Punters The punters are all ages but the vast majority are 20-30 years old. You can generally expect to see a few older people though, but most of those have been part of the scene for years and stuck with it. We eject dodgy old men as a matter of routine, and won't permit any 'pestering'. The best night to come along is probably a Friday when we host The Wrecking Ball. At first glance you'd think you were in a students union. Please be aware that we are alternative with extra cheese as opposed to regular heavily salted.

flyers Well the bar was first a coaching inn in the 16th century, however only the original cellar remains from that time. The new building was built over 100 years ago, and we know that it had become a bar called Simon McLeod's by the 30s, perhaps sooner. It lay vacant for a little while in the early 60s after Simon died, before becoming The Moorings Bar in the mid 60s under the legendary Shep. Bach then it was the first bar in Aberdeen to have a fully rock 'n roll jukebox and has been associated with rock ever since. The place also acquired a reputation for being raucous. In 1976 Shep sold the bar to John Porter who maintained the rock connection and also introduced regular live music (usually the heaviest stuff around at the time). The jukebox went CD in '87 (we still hand write all the inlays). Such was the reputation of the place for corrupting youth that my mother didn't speak to me for 2 weeks when she first found out I'd been going there. John sold the bar to Laura and myself in March 2002. Since then we've been putting a lot of effort into 'restoring' it whilst retaining much of the original style and character. It's always been very dark inside, and we like it that way because it makes everyone better looking. The main reason we haven't flyered yet is that we don't have things 100% the way we'd like them. The toilets especially leave a lot to be desired... One last thing - the bar is really haunted. Used to freak the shit out of us, but we're getting used to it. We're located about 50yards from Drakes on the quay front next to Richard's Tattoo.

FYI definition of underage It may not be common knowledge but people of 14 years and over are legally permitted to be in a bar provided they are not drinking alcohol. Personally I prefer not to have doormen, so we don't. There has only been 1 incidence of violence in the past year, although I do occasionally errr... persuade arseholes to leave. Quickly. Or famous quote: "You could at least have given us a warning1" "That was the warning. What part of it are you struggling to come to terms with?" We also display the following legally required notice in a prominent place: "The bar staff reserve the right to beat the shit out of you." After hours down the harbour - different rules apply. We would certainly not resort to beating anyone up unless we'd run out of quick dry cement or the tide was out. Concrete jeans, cyanide, TNT BTW this post is entirely tongue in cheek. Nearly.

Friday Night - The Wrecking Ball Well I made peace with Ross, so no fire extinguisher antics this week. Cee Jay and I had our usual drunken fall out though Apart from that I was so bleezin I can't remember much else. Saturday Mayhem Inept 303 were roped in at the last minute as Black Atom couldn't make it. Unfortunately their regular bassist wasn't available but Robbie stepped in and did a remarkably good job despite just 1 rehersal. Keilan and Ross are brilliant to watch! Understandibly Robbie hid behind one of the speaker stacks! Their performance was first rate, and quickly won over the crowd. I've asked Inept 303 to play a stint as a resident band on Sunday's from 8pm-9pm now that 48K's tenure has been sadly cut short due to their drummer moving away from town. 7 Stoner Under Were up next and also played a stormer. They remind me a lot of Alice in Chains. They are a very tight band, and the lead vocal has an excellent voice. I certainly intend inviting them back again for another gig. The crowd gave them a very enthusiastic response and it's apparent that they have a big local following. From a sound perspective I found them a joy to work with. I need contact details, so if you're reading this guys... Risatonia These guys have been drinking in the bar for years. In fact probably before they were legal to do so. Whenever I asked them about playing they'd make some excuse about being shit, or too thrashy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like 7SL they are incredibly tight, only much thrashier, reminicent of early Metallica. They first played The Moorings a couple of years back before we took over. Apparently it was a bit of a nightmare - not surprising given the state of the place back then. But things have changed at the bar, and our crowd is now younger and more receptive to this type of music. Risatonia blew everyone away and even persuaded Rocker John to get up for a song. It felt good to watch them slay the ghosts of the past! As predicted this was a very busy night and unfortunately we had to turn people away at one point. Sunday - The Munsters of Rock No resident band this week due to 48K losing their drummer. I have Inept 303 lined up for next week though. Very busy night at the Jam Session with lots of jammers but a distinct lack of drummers. Fanny in a Boot fired up with a cracking rendition of Highway Star. We also have a new regular Jammer (sorry can't remember his name yet AAARGH I need to stop drinking on Fridays) with a great voice and thus the Darkness cover was finally nailed. The Fox arrived towards the end and once again went down exceptionally well so I booked them as support for the following Saturday.

Hi The only other club worth visting is Drakes. I tend to make it there more often than Moshulu because it's closer and I can only nip out for 30mins at a time. I was in there watching Black Atom last Friday. Ace! The younger more energetic members of the bar team usually hit Moshulu after we close. The other thing I'd suggest is (surprise) that you start your evening at The Moorings Bar. We are within in easy reach of both Drakes and Moshulu AND it's possible to get to Moshulu from the Moorings via a secret shorter route through the Green, and up the stairs under the Trinity Centre meaning you can avoid running the Gauntlet of hate that is Union Street on weekend nights. The Moorings Bar is an alternative venue but a little different in approach. We're a little broader spectrum, but that doesn't mean more mainstream, it just means you'll encounter more diversity of culture. The atmosphere is VERY friendly and the emphasis is on fun. We're very serious about not taking ourselves too seriously. Big tip is to sample the specials. This is our good quality liquer. These'll get you drunk much more pleasantly, and it takes a lot less of them. the specials should be a lot more expensive but we discount them heavily. Whatever you do - don't buy bottles of Miller MGD. This is a neds drink so we crank the price up to unbelievable levels to (sucessfully) discourage Neds from frequenting the bar. Our other bottle beers come in at 1.80 to 2.00 and students get 10% off. Miller comes in at 2.50. Heh heh heh. Let's face it, it tastes like pish anyway. Friday Nights we do a Rock Night called The Wrecking Ball. Pretty much every rock subtype is given decent representation. If you bring something in then Cee Jay will probably play it. Especially if you are nice and buy her a drink. We close at 1am on Fri & Sat and midnight the rest of the time. There are always contingents that head up to Drakes and Moshulu (safety in numbers) at some point towards the end of the evening.

Be first to approach me IN PERSON tonight (Friday 14th Nov) from 1800 onwards with the correct answer and I'll buy you a drink Which artist recorded the definative version of "Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In"? Hint - this track featured in a 1997 Cohen brothers movie. Tonight I'll mostly be wearing an orange Jaegermeister bandana - a gift from Jaegermesiter for being their top outlet in the UK. No cheating. Flash

inclusive We try and cater for every genre. This means 20-30mins of the harder metal during the course of our Friday evening. This approach is deliberate as we're a bar as opposed to a club and we have to keep Mon-Thurs clear for regular (albeit recok orientated) trade. Sat and Sun are taken up with live music. The advantage to our Friday approach is that it gives people the chance to broaden their horizons. I now like certain elements of nu metal that I wouldn't otherwise have gotten into. Lately my tastes are getting much heavier than they've ever been. I'm even re-evaluating old Megadeath stuff that I didn't used to 'get', but now I realise what I missed out on. That wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for Cee Jay playing System of a Down, Linkin Park, and Ramstein. So ultimately the softening of Rock Nights may serve to introduce more people to your type of music. Funny as it may seem looking back, I remember the first time I listened to Iron Maiden Piece of Mind, AC/DC Highway to Hell, and The Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks - this must have been back around '83 - I had the phones on an old getto blaster and jeez I thought my brain was going to explode. Back then that was HEAVY shit... then my cousin played me some Metalica and it just sounded like someone shouting over the top of a nuclear explosion. Today it sounds tame, and I can make out all the words.

Addlestones A couple of pints of Addlestones AKA: adrenaline moorings marching fluid Should get you at least halfway drunk. I find that mixing it with Russky Standart AKA painkiller or Polish Pepper vodka AKA anesthetic, or Jaegermeister AKA medicine pretty much doubles the effect. Flash

7 Stone Under Risactonia Black Atom First band on stage ~8:30pm. Every 14 years and over welcome but bring ID or we might mistake you as a kid. That's right - please see my main post under events. Also on Friday we have The Wrecking Ball with DJ Cee Jay, and on Sunday there is our famous Jam Session known as The Munsters of Rock. If you play and instrument bring it along. If you sing, then come along. If you are in a band bring some/all of them along. We kick off at 9:00pm and go through till midnight. Lately there has been some contention for the chance to play so get there early if you are serious. The guys in the house band will fill in for any missing band members but be warned they are shit hot! If anyone aspires to a gig at The Moorings Bar then this is the place to start. Flash

Where: do you not have to pay to get in? do students get discount? can you try all wierd and wonderful drinks? hosts The Wrecking Ball every Friday night? are the barstaff paid 7.50 per hour? does the jukebox hold 100 rock albums that haven't been over played? can advise a person on how to get drunk yet still have change from 15? is so dark that nobody sees you make a complete idiot of yourself? was recently descibed by The Gaudie as "Aberdeen's premier rock venue"? First person to walk up to me tonight with the correct answer - I'll buy them a drink. I plan being there from 1800 and will be sporting my usual hash leaf bandana. Flash