Lupo's Ring In The Spooky Season

On Saturday 27 October, Lupo’s hosted their first Full Moon Halloween Party, recognising their increasing popularity in the St Andrews nightlife scene. With a set from Thursday night favourites JazzWorks followed by DJ Grace Adesanya, an excited crowd danced faithfully through the last night before the dark closed in and clocks went back.

Lupo’s has enormous potential to rival the Union, Vic, and Rule. With its reasonable dance floor size, attractive semicircular bar and different levels, it’s enormous fun to hang out at. As well as last year’s Galentines, other events have started to crop up at the Italian restaurant, like ACS’s collaboration with DJ collectives and the Bee Society Jazz Night. As one of Lupo’s first attempts alone to curate an event, this Halloween bash certainly had expectations to live up to.

Crying out for a break from deadlines amidst Main Library’s hospital lighting, I donned an Anne Hathaway from the Princess Diaries look and headed over to Lupo’s around 10pm. Her famous dress, paired with black sunglasses and headphones were perhaps a misstep for a night of listening to music, but committed, I stumbled over, half-blind and unable to hear anything more than a foot away from me. With all the chairs cleared out, you could certainly see how it could function well as a club. After having my ticket checked by a man in an unnervingly tight Spiderman costume, I headed upstairs, where giant spiders and Halloween banners hung from the bar. This was no generic Vic event with no decor — Lupo’s had made it clear that this was a spooky night to come.

First on the menu was a condensed quartet from JazzWorks, who dominate Thursday nights at the Union. Despite their small group size, they energised the space as if they were a big band. From Vulfpeck to more traditional jazz standards, they segued between heads and improvisations with style, which was aided by their slick black tie get-ups. 

Watching this stellar performance were a troupe of attendees who had taken the Halloween theme very seriously. From people painted blue to cowboys to the inevitable sexy nurses, half the fun was observing all these weird and wonderful characters interact. Many attendees were socialising, guessing strangers’ costumes, trying on sunglasses and hats or simply complimenting others. It’s often easy at St Andrews events to arrive and leave without having ventured out of your entourage, but this was not the case here. 

At midnight, when the jazz reached its end, DJ Grace Adesanya took to the decks. Her energising and eclectic selection of tracks kept me and the rest of the crowd dancing long into the night. Throwback tunes, from Rihanna to Rizzle Kicks, were mixed expertly with more obscure club classics. The opening notes of the majority of songs drew excited cheers of recognition from the crowd. 

A flaw of the event was certainly its steep pricing. I was very fortunate to be attending on a press pass; had I paid the £15 final entry fee and bought one cocktail, this would peg the cost of one evening out at £25, and that’s without a second drink or indulging in their pizza and ice cream offerings. The cocktails themselves, costing £9, were creative and on theme, ranging from ‘Witches’ Brew’ (vodka, pineapple juice, blue curaçao and lemon) to ‘Black Widow’ (rum, blackberry, Chambord, and bay leaf). After a long wait at the bar, I was given a rather small drink from a premixed bottle. Perhaps for a classy jazz club this would have been appropriate, but for a horde of students looking to wind down over Reading Week, drinks could have been kinder to the wallet for what was given.

What was included in the ticket price was a ‘punch’ served by a ghoulish bartender, and what was effectively ‘trick or treat’ at a table choc-a-bloc with lollipops, chocolates, and other candy. As someone over a decade too old to knock on strangers’ doors, this was a nice throwback addition. 

It’s undeniable that Lupo’s put on a massively fun Halloween event. The sheer commitment to decor and costumes, alongside the tight jazz music, fostered a playful atmosphere. Seemingly pleased with the turnout of the event, the Italian restaurant is already organising other events in the space, with a Day of the Dead themed club night already coming up this week. Many have seen the potential in Lupo’s to become a big player in the nightlife scene for a while, and it’s exciting that it’s coming to fruition. With a reconsideration of pricing to make it more student friendly, the restaurant’s innovation is sure to be a future hit.

Photo: Alex Barnard