Toby Prior's Student Guide2 Bristol

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Toby Prior makes sure Bristol students see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil...


After defeating fresher's flu over the weekend, I started this week with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for Bristol student life. I even enjoyed my 7:30am start the other day before getting soaked by what can only be described as a tropical rain storm on my walk to university. But don't worry there's plenty to keep the clouds at bay for Bristol students in my guide to the week!

See this Week

My number one for you all this week is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. It's Simon Amstell's gig at Colston Hall in the city centre on Tuesday 27th of October. Most of you will probably know him best from either his hosting days on ‘T4' or the ever popular cult TV quiz ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks', which arguably hasn't been the same since he left.

 

I love his style of comedy. Throughout his career he hasn't been afraid to unleash his sarcastic wit defenceless celebrities. His reputation for going ‘a little bit too far' has earned him a huge student fan base, and Bristol is no exception. In fact I would go as far as too say this is one of the biggest comedy events for a student audience in Bristol since ‘The Mighty Boosh' visited the Hippodrome last year.

 

Unfortunately the tickets are slightly more expensive than I had hoped. As far as I can tell there's no discount for being a Bristol student, which will perhaps deter some people. You can buy the tickets at the Colston Hall's website http://www.colstonhall.org/. Prices vary depending on the seats but you'll be looking at about £16-20 per ticket. Worth it? Well The Sunday Times said his show was "as close as you can get to a man emotionally and philosophically disembowelling himself on stage"...and in my view, that's money well spent!

 

 

Be aware that you won't be able to book in the last 48 hours before the gig. I don't know why, it seems stupid to me but I'm guessing it has something to do with the venue. I've booked my ticket already and can't wait, hopefully see some of you there!

 

Also this week why not go have a look at the SS Great Britain down by the waterfront? You have to see it at least once while you're a student here in Bristol. It's actually a pretty interesting ship. The tours are interactive and below decks there are even staff (well, I am hoping they are staff) in costume reminiscing about life aboard Brunel's most famous ship. There is a discount for Bristol students and a very good gift and coffee shop for when you've seen enough deck scrubbing and sail hoisting to last you for a long time.

Hear This Week
Ahead of the pack this week is the notorious Lakota nightclub presenting another of the highly regarded ‘System Feedback' nights on Saturday the 24th of October. With three rooms of rave and a closing time of roughly 7am this is one for the seasoned party animal. Anyone who has been to any of Lakota's nights will tell you it's quite an experience. The club itself is a maze of corridors and huge rooms lavishly decorated with UV paint, graffiti and wall hangings. The music should be epic with promises of some big name DJ's dropping dubstep, hardcore and drum & bass sets until the early hours. Every time I've been, the Facebook photos have been amazing. You'll see what I mean if you attend any of their busy nights.

To get the best out of a night at Lakota you should go in a fairly sizable group as it's easy to lose track of where your friends are in such a big place. At least if you're in twos and threes you won't spend your time worrying about being the only one of your group in the SuperCrazyLaserRavePit Room. Tickets are £8 on the door and £6 advance, and don't forget that it's probably not a great idea to go wandering around the back alleys of Stokes Croft in the early hours by yourself. If you're going looking for something to eat before a taxi, go with some friends.

If you're into your live music get down to FOPP in the city centre. It's a ticket/CD/record shop that does crazy discounts on live music in Bristol. I picked up some £18 Zombies tickets for just £3 and had an amazing night out at the Metropolis.

 

Speak of the week

As Bristol students, we tend to watch a lot of television. In fact they probably invented BBC iplayer and 4oD with us in mind. A popular favourite of student audiences in Bristol and around the country is Big Brother. I personally have never seen the appeal, I found the first one interesting but it's gone rapidly downhill ever since, becoming more and more ridiculous.

 

It may have just reached a new low though with a recent revelation about the American show's last winner Adam Jasinski. I have heard so many people say ‘where do they find these people?' and it never fails to make me laugh when the personalities of the contestants backfire to such an extent that it fully embarrasses the producers. Adam was arrested last week for using his $500,000 winnings to start a drug dealing operation. He could face up to 20 years in prison. I think I'm actually looking forward now to the next Big Brother, just to see what the one crazy enough to last in a house full of nutters does with the money. Have a good week!

 

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