Ice was thrown into the air. A swinging lampshade that had been given an almighty whack by a barman almost struck me in the head.
"What on earth?" I uttered to my friend. As a knee-jerk reaction, she stood back to avoid falling victim to the catapulting light once again heading our way... then her heel broke.
The near-full glasses of prosecco we just bought got abandoned on the bar as we made the tipsy hobble up to Primark before closing time for her to choose a new pair of shoes.
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Bar staff at BeAtOne venues across the UK have gone viral in recent months for their wild antics. Gyrating on the bar, pouring buckets of water over one another and climbing up the spirit shelves to the likes of Ginuwine's 'Pony'.
During my visit to Manchester's Deansgate, customers seemed more concerned about the choice of music, or getting selfies with one another, to pay much attention to the performance being held by those working the Saturday night shift behind the bar.
The chain bar, with multiple venues in the likes of Manchester, London, Liverpool and Leeds, has attracted attention on the likes of Instagram and TikTok for its recent theatrics.
Staff have been filmed climbing up shelves filled with expensive spirits and grinding on them, pouring full ice buckets of water over one another, launching full scoops of ice into the air and swinging low-hanging light fittings - all while their desperate customers stand and patiently wait to be served.
Now, I'm all one for a good time. And contrary to what this may sounds like, I do love a laugh.
I always chat to hospitality staff and like a giggle as much as the next person, but for me it felt totally over the top and a little insulting when I was spending my hard-earned money, and all I wanted was to have a drink with friends, be served quickly and have a boogie... but maybe I missed the memo.
Instead I looked up to a towering man straddling the bar and feared that I may come under attack from a lampshade taking flight or an army of small ice cubes hurtling my way.
But its clear from their usually packed-out venues that going to a bar for a drink is only one of the reasons for their visit, and that they in fact welcome the wild and often slightly X-rated performances.
Each BeAtOne venue seems to manage their own social media page, posting clips to their Instagram and TikTok accounts, showing staff singing and dancing with one another; serving a drink with one hand and pretending to use a microphone in the other.
It's a spectacle I didn't go much on and found pretty irritating. But maybe that's just me being grumpy. There's clearly a huge market for it.
It's traction online can't be questioned. The Manchester bar has almost 40,000 followers on TikTok, with some videos amassing one MILLION views. This social media success is duplicated at their venues across the UK.
A recent video shared to the BeAtOne Manchester page was titled 'bartenders gone wild'. It showed a group hurling ice into the air repeatedly as queues of customers patiently watched on.
'Oh you want a drink? Give me a sec...' another video was titled, as two male bartenders were seen climbing on the bar and grinding on the spirit shelves.
Dubbed by the bar as a 'soaking tradition', multiple other clips showed staff members drenching one another with ice buckets filled with water or showering each other with bar hoses.
Meanwhile, other bartenders were seen clambering on top of the bar and clinging onto its frames as they gyrated their hips to the music and sang along with the DJ's music.
Hundreds of viewers have left comments under the videos revealing their amusement at the staff's antics - with others poking fun about the wait for drinks.
"I would just duck down and hide til it's all over" one person quipped as another wrote: "Where is this bar? I've seen it all over TikTok and I NEED TO GO!!"
"Loved it in here last night amazing place," said a third. "Wait this looks FUNNNNNN I'd love a bar like this" another posted.
Responding to one comment about a suggested wait for drinks, the bar responded: "Making sure our guests are served is always our number one priority".
"I'm still cringing," one person commented as another joked: "Can I have a vodka and coke with ice?... no, we have got no ice left sorry."
"All I can think about is the clean up at the end of the night," another suggested, as a fourth comment read: "I just want my drink, man."
"I'd rather get the drinks served over this, I'm at a bar not a show," commented another user on TikTok. Another response read: "I just want a glass of coke with ice in the cup, not thrown at me."
"Why is everyone so mad? This looks like a blast?" another comment read online.
I suppose that depends what you're idea of a 'blast' is.
There are different bars and venues out there for all audiences and tastes, but beyond the frankly insane performances, it's worth mentioning that BeAtOne is also well known for its extensive cocktail menus and late night opening hours.
If you want to be served quickly and scurry off to sit in a dimly-lit corner, then a Saturday night at BeAtOne may not be for you. But for a fleeting visit to what feels like a budget-version Cirque du Soleil, with all the theatrics and an affordable drink, it may be right up your street.
