Klubb Fredagsmangel the bar that keeps the old-school spirit and traditions
Name: Klubb Fredagsmangel
Location: Jakobsberg (Stockholm)
Adress: drabantvägen 11 17750 Järfälla, Sweden
This isn’t a typical review, as usual, we do with bands. Today I gonna write about a bar, yes bar.
For an immigrant from the country in east Europe, I always think about Sweden and especially Stockholm as a metal capital.
It’s normal so many bands come out from Sweden and everyone knows about the Stockholm death metal scene.
So i move to Stockholm at the end of 2013, till mid-2014 i found just 2 decent places with live music.
First was Pussy ago ( I mention this bar name because they aren’t around anymore) and one other place, that change location.
The rest of the so-called “Rock bar” is a sort of radio-friendly 20 songs (cd) place, 2015 i discover one other bar “Copperfields” ( not metal friendly anymore), and i saw so many good bands.
But like i mentioned early those 2 good places run out of business or became not metal friendly, so now we didn’t have a normal place to hang around except the radio-friendly mainstream shit.
And i preferred to go to house parties and normally for my gigs and festivals, that take place in halls.
One of the gigs that i attempt was DRI (05.08.2019) and there someone gives me a flyer about some metal bar.
A great another shitty place that promotes them as a metal bar….. Yeah right ( That’s what i thought ).
For a couple of months, i didn’t pay any attention to this bar.
Then my friend come to my place for some BBQ and metal night and told me about this metal bar, that they aren’t the usual crappy music place and some good bands play, yes small bands but good underground.
So one night we went there for some gig i can’t remember the band. We paid our entry ( something very symbolic, like 50kr~5euro ). Looks very nice, yeah little small, but it’s ok.
And now I’m walking around the bar just to see the interior and to feel the mood. Music well Exodus after Slayer, Taake, Vader…. etc ( i don’t remember the bands, just giving some examples.)
Now I’m in the bar for around 15-20 min and heard just good music for my taste, i took beer and provider to the scene, but one guy a little older than me, with a huge smile and typical thrash metal outfit,
block my way to greeting me and ask if he can take a photo of my vest for some Instagram post. This guy was Nisse one of the promoters for the bar. So we start to chat like we are best friends, then come to
another guy who gives me some shots. This guy was Micke the other promoter. What can I say….. for less than 1 hour in this bar we spoke (me, my friend, Nisse, and Micke) like we know each other for years.
Then some other customers come and they ( Micke and Nisse) go to speak with them.
I was so impressed by the warm welcoming in this bar and that the music isn’t the regular 1cd with 20 songs that you can hear in every so-called “rock or metal bar”
Before the Covid they ware opened just Friday, that’s why is Fredagsmangel. With band’s every Friday. Even Sweden didn’t have lockdown the restriction was fucked.
2020 was tough for everyone especially in the fall still Fredagsmangel managed to have some gig even with a really small amount of visitors that they are allowed to have.
Honestly, I’m surprised and impressed by them. Even in such hard times like fucking pandemic they somehow managed to stay open. Even the jump in the bandwagon with live streaming.
Definitely can say it was challenging. Because in this period I also moved in this neighborhood so i was a witness to their struggle to survive, but they did.
2021 we still have restrictions but a little bit lighter than 2020 so can have gigs but not more than 50 visitors i think and that was some relief. Fredagsmangel now starts to be open Friday and Saturday.
with live stream and bands almost every weekend because still didn’t know what gonna happen with covid. September 2021 come with huge news all the restriction gonna be lifted on the 29th of September.
Right not the club is booked every weekend till mid of February or March i don’t remember, but you can see their program in the Facebook page (link is down below).
Klubb Fredagsmangel was the host for so many bands some even international, like ” Power from hell” and ” Outlaw” from Brazil.
Also, they gonna make some festivals, but more info on their page.
I can continue to write so many good stuff about this bar, but best is if you come to Stockholm just visit the place and feel the experience 1st hand and taste very tasty food with a cold beer or some special shots
In the end just wanna mention that the Fredagsmangel is just Friday and Saturday ( one exception is the gig of a black metal band, Mork, that gonna be on Monday), the rest of the week the bar operates as Jakobs kök & bar, that play mainly hard rock and radio-friendly metal.
As usual, at the end i put also some downsides, in this case, is 2
1st the bar isn’t exactly in a very central place ( hey good for me, because I live in this neighborhood)
2ns is a little bit small like I said earlier, so if some bigger band wanna play gonna be rough.
Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/klubbfredagsmangel
https://www.facebook.com/jakobskokochbar
Youtube (live stream almost every show):https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzSfvBKd1_FrhBjzcTYxhpA
