You can certainly tell when a venue is ‘cool’ if it relies on people to know what it is by its symbol, and when it does not bother to put its name in lights. Korova is ideally situated just next to the clubbers paradise, Concert Square, and is in a central position from most other venues in town; however because of its understated glass front displaying a dimly lit interior, it is quite easy to walk straight past.

This, to regulars of the bar is not necessarily a bad thing. Bleary eyed drunks tend to stumble straight past the bar making it a much pleasanter place to be. Korova is a great place for chilling out with friends in the daytime as it is quite quiet and even serves food. Some nights are also fairly chilled out depending on what gigs are playing and what other nights are on in town.

The seating is perfect for socializing, being set out in diner-type booths which seat about 6 with a table in between; however these are usually snapped up early on in the night. The crowd Korova attracts is both fresh and vibrant but simultaneously mature, and is surprisingly civilized even on a Saturday night. It is popular with students, which helps keep up its young and fashionable image, but generally the crowd it attracts is made up of music lovers, as Korova is not only a popular bar, but a venue for bands and DJ sets.

Following the staircase downstairs will lead you to a surprisingly small gig room with a tiny stage. There is only one row of seats, a small area behind them to stand up in and a small dance floor just in front of the stage. Although this can be an annoyingly hot and cramped, most of the bands do not attract a particularly big fan base, as they are usually not very well known. This, of course, blends in with Korova’s modern atmosphere; as these bands are on the cutting edge of new music; just coming onto the scene.

Although I have complained about the tiny downstairs room, on a positive note, it helps the gigs generate a good atmosphere as it is very intimate, and due to its size no gig ever really feels empty as there are always enough people to make the room feel full.

 Back up to the ground floor of Korova there is another room crazily decorated in a retro florescent pink and white colour scheme with shiny plastic chairs. It has a large screen displaying the band or DJs downstairs so that if they are very popular and the gig room cannot hold the audience, some of the late comers and overspill from downstairs can still watch the acts. This is not always open and depending on which bands are playing there may be an entrance fee to this room and downstairs. However it is often quite peaceful when there is not a band on, offering a quieter alterative to the usually buzzing main room. Throughout the bar there is, without fail, always good music playing in the background, in varying styles.

Generally Korova is known as being a venue for anything, new and somewhat eccentric, and appeals to indie, electro, rock, punk, and garage fans. Korova is also host to the popular and reputed ‘evol’ night which is also held in Liverpool’s Carling Academy, and began in the club Heebiejeebies. From its beginning evol has always been a launching pad for new bands, for instance Block Party were one of the first of the evol successes. This injects Korova with an exciting feeling of potential in the air.

Korova itself has a respectable list of past performances, including Ladytron who still DJ regularly at Korova; Hot Chip, Dead Disco and the local band, Delta Fiasco. So, if you are looking to really experience Liverpool as the Capitol of Culture, Korova is a very good place to start, as it reflects the current movements in alternative music, and hosts its performers. You can socialize, meet new and interesting people and expand your musical horizons all in one go.