Carpe Diem
It's goth in the afternoon!

Carpe Diem was our monthly Saturday afternoon get-together over a few beers and some good music.

Running for two and a half years, from October 2002 to April 2005, in the cosy brick vaults of The Exchange in the centre of Bradford, it was basically our excuse to meet up with people (and each other) away from the busier and noisier environs of the Carpe Noctum club night, play some different tunes, and (usually) drink too much. In return, we provided the venue with a good atmosphere and some solid drinkers at what was originally a relatively quiet time.

We occasionally expanded our remit into the evening with some live sets, including some very early gigs from Rhombus. Good times.

By 2005, we'd become something of a victim of our own success. The pub was now heaving on our Saturday afternoons, but it felt much less like "our" crowd. Bored of fielding requests for "something heavy ... like Bon Jovi" (I think we gave them Atari Teenage Riot, out of spite), and wary of some of the pond life that was starting to move in, we signed off with a final bash headed up by the Screaming Banshee Aircrew. Endings are at least as important as beginnings.

Whilst we've mulled the idea of a revival from time to time - and Nonemoreblack ran a series of similar, but more low-key, afternoons at the 1 in 12 Club under the banner of "The Eclectic Banana" - we've no plans at the moment, and are broadly content to let the "Carpe Diem" name be carried forward by an unrelated pub over Leeds way...