One of Geelong’s favourite club destinations, UNO Danceclub is set to celebrate its second birthday this month with two headline acts Cyril Hahn and Secondcity as well as a slew of local acts. We had a chat with Adam Metwally, one of the masterminds behind the event. If you see him around, swing a slice of cake his way.
Congrats on two years of UNO, how are you feeling reaching the second year?
It’s an odd feeling, with not much lasting long in this town it’s nice to say that we’ve been able to provide something for people that has bucked the trend. Really excited for what’s to come, as we are constantly aiming to improve every aspect of our product.
With kids there’s a lot of stigma about the “terrible twos” but the club is already set for what looks to be a great year. Are there big plans in the works for the second year?
Nothing too crazy going on in 2nd year, we are working hard to constantly improve the space and the product, as well as delivering some new pop-up concepts around the UNO Presents branding.
Two years down have you found that you’ve created your own little community? Are there many regulars and familiar faces you’ve seen develop over the two years?
Definitely! It’s nice to see some new faces coming into the scene, developing their musical taste through the directive of the acts we book acting as a catalyst for growth. There are plenty of regular faces, but with anything, some come, some go, nothing stays the same in this world. Always happy to see a familiar face however.
What’s been a highlight for you over the club’s history?
Claptone playing on Jan 7 this year. That was the highlight to my promoting career to date. Having him leave the stage after playing a two hour set to the sweatiest crowd ever (sold out show, 30 degree evening), and say that it was one of the best of his tour was something else.
A lot of people talk about the changing club culture, due to things like Tinder, drugs etc, but as far as we can tell UNO is booming. What do you think are the things that you’ve just “got” to keep UNO going?
Club culture is changing for the better, I think. People are learning to differentiate between the good and the bad better. I think our main thing is our customer focus, always trying to listen to what the punters have to say, improving things based on recommendation and delivering a safe environment for people to escape the day to day grind. Outside of that, the rest is a bit up to fate.
If someone could get UNO the ultimate birthday present, what would it be?
Carl Cox.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt from running the club?
Not so much from running the club, but being exposed to my first serious business venture to date. There is a lot of noise – everybody has an opinion but sometimes you just need to stick to your guns and go with your gut.
And has running the club and seeing the “other side” of operations changed the way you attend and go to clubs?
The love for good music hasn’t changed, if anything I just go for quality over quantity when I’m a punter now.
What do you think is the best way to get the most out of a newbie’s UNO experience?
Follow the music, do some research on who’s coming up. You’ll gain a much greater appreciation for what we are about. But if not, just come in early, rinse some drink specials and have fun, because life should be fun.
What would you like to see happen most at UNO?
I would have said an addition of another room to allow us to play hip hop / rnb / trap / bass, but that has happened now so I need to think of the next Wishlist item.
You’ve said to “expect the unexpected” for the b’day celebrations, are you able to give readers a clue of what that will be?
We got a little excited with the bookings for this one so we don’t have any money left, but we do have a couple of surprises in store over the course of the night.
When & Where: UNO Danceclub, Geelong – March 18
