REVOLVER – SATURDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Now, we love a great clubbing experience, surrounded by gorgeous people, superb production, a stunning venue and amazing music, but despite the plethora of clubbing events across gay London, for some reason it is very difficult to score on every count. However, in the case of Revolver, this monthly outing aims fires & hits the target in all theses departments.
So, it was inevitable that the latest Revolver instalment had to be included in our social calendar, squeezing the event between horrendously busy work commitments, thus burning the proverbial candle, tempted even more with the inclusion in the line up of the international superstar DJ & producer, Tom Stephan, aka Superchumbo. Well who could resist?, not us!
Arriving uncharacteristically (rather than fashionably) late at just turned 1 a.m. we were immediately greeted by Revolver promoter & Evolved Events top cheese Oliver Mohns (M for magnificent) who was taking a moments respite from the action inside. Exchanging hugs & catching up on news, we soon swung through the entrance and fell upon the hostess with the mostest, Minty, who was just about to escape her duties on the door to do what she does best inside the club, making everyone feel part of the whole Revolver clubbing experience.
We ascended the stairs and at the top bumped into DJ Pier Morocco, who gave us a insight into the party that was unfolding in the main room, prompting us to head straight to the dancefloor, only pausing briefly for refreshments. Once into the main room we found it packed with the usual mix of Revolver hunks, good looking latino’s off duty scene workers & a perfect blend of party boys & girls soaking up the atmosphere. Sweeping past the “old” DJ booth at the back of the room, we dropped down onto the dancefloor itself and peered up onto the stage area in front of us and spotted the man himself, Mr Superchumbo, in charge of the decks. And who else could it have been, as the music booming out in the main room was classic Tom Stephan, whose sounds we had enjoyed all those years ago in the heady early days of Crash.
Tom had taken over from fellow international DJ star Paul Heron, who we were hoping to catch up with, but a quick search around the club did not bear any fruit, apart from stumbling back onto Minty and indulging in shots of Sanubuca (sounds familiar!). But it was the main room where all the action was, so it wasn’t long before we were back in the thick of it on the dancefloor, rubbing shoulders with Industri pals and revelling in the amazing selection of underground tunes being served up by Tom. Adding to the excitement were the constant arrivals on the stage by Logan’s team of beauties, gogo boy’s & girls, including Industri’s own Dilmar, all suitably adorned in sexy outfits befitting the atmosphere that is Revolver. Our favourite choreographer, Logan, also made regular appearances armed with a huge smoke cannon and sexily dressed in an eye popping leather number, prancing towards the audience and shooting his loaded cannon of smoke high into the air, turning up the already electric vibe generating around the room.
Looking up above & across the expanse, The Evolved Events team had gone into production hyperdrive, adorning the massive Scala main room with giant Revolver signs, flags & show pieces, also making full use of the huge screens with Revolver visuals leaving us spellbound, momentarily stopping in our tracks. They really know how to impressively transform a space & this was Evolved Events work at its phenomenal best. But the music was so good that we had to get back to it & followed many others by stripping down to our waists and sliding deeply into the irresistible chunky sounds belting out from the enormous speakers.
By now the dancefloor was full to capacity with gay paparazzi in situ, snapping away at the crowd from the stage, also catching the Revolver dancers in film on their podiums, who were performing excellently. This heralded an impromptu and alternative production display, as we pulled out from our jeans the exclusive Revolver London CD, craftily mixed by Paul Heron, wedging it at the top of our rear waistline, with the Revolver emblem peaking out over our multi coloured belt, then bending over for all to see (how naughty!!). With Paul closer to our cheeks than we could ever imagine, the camera’s clicked and our unique display was caught for posterity.
The music continued to gather pace as Tom Stephan delivered an extra long set and we have never seen the main room so full for so long. Our antics sent our Industri pals wild and others joined in the party to make it an unforgettable experience, with the temperature at boiling point and the venue rocking. Oliver M was poised to take over and joined us on the dancefloor for a short boogie before assuming the decks and taking us on a more uplifting house direction & journey with tracks including our favourite of the moment, J Verde’s Sunday’s at Heaven, amongst others, so ensuring our stay just beyond 5 a.m.
Worn out from our playful actions, we departed the dancefloor, saying our goodbyes to Oliver & his boyfriend at the DJ booth, collecting our bits from the coatcheck, waving off our handful of chums that were left and melting into the Kings Cross dawn to sleep off the experience, still buzzing from a brilliant night out.
So what was our verdict on the evening’s proceedings? Well, there is no doubt that Tom Stephan brought a much tougher edged sound to Revolver, not really experienced at previous parties, but we loved it and with the main room packed it was clear others did too. He is a superb addition to the band of resident DJ’s and we hope a permanent one. The recent inclusion of both Minty & Paul Heron in the Revolver team, further add to the glamour & a-listing deserved of this wild circuit style clubbing event, giving it a truly continental style & feel.
As for Scala, yes it is a stunning venue, but a huge one to boot and difficult to fill, especially when the club is run on the last Saturday of the month, coupled with the current bite of the credit crunch. Despite this, Revolver did very well to pull the bigger than usual crowd that it did, but there seems to be the inevitable need to change the venue, perhaps opting for a west end location (we would recommend the Hippadrome) and moving the event to the first Saturday of the month. This is our view but in no way detracts from the fantastic time we had on this occasion. Revolver remains within our exclusive & small list of firm favourite clubs and given this performance is biting at the heels of its bigger sister, Matinee London.
So well done to Oliver, Logan, The Evolved Events team & all involved in delivering a truly awe inspiring party. Bring on the next one wherever & whenever it is. (DISCO MATT)
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Monday, 15 September 2008
Matinee Viva Club Review - September 2008
MATINEE VIVA – SATURDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Despite enduring yet another dreadful U.K. summer, there is always one event that is sure to inject a bucket load of warmth & Mediterranean magic into our lives, Matinee London being the perfect antidote to wet weather blues, which barely two weeks after the huge bank holiday weekend party, swung open its doors once again to an adoring public.
Having successfully moved from it’s recent ancestral home at Fabric in Farringdon, to the ever popular super club Colleseum in Vauxhall, Oliver M & The Evolved Events team also took the bold decision to return this most popular of club nights back to Saturday’s, thus ensuring that the lions share of the gay glitterati had no excuse to miss out on what has become THE must visit party on the monthly London clubbing calendar.
Add to this, two recent additions to the Matinee London team. The first in the form of hostess extraordinaire, Minty, who not only brings order & precision to the sometimes chaotic and historically badly run door at Colleseum, but injects her special magic on making our arrival at the club a special event in itself. Secondly & brilliantly conceived, we were thrilled with the arrival of the truly international D.J. talent, Paul Heron, who, not before time, has parted company from The Orange group & the arresting clutches of Fire, thus freeing up this superbly popular & favourite star to roam freely across the scene, joining a band of well known as well as up-coming D.J.’s that grace the decks at Matinee and its sister event, Revolver.
So arriving fashionably late at just turned 12.30, having been warmed up & raring to go by the man himself at Barcode Vauxhall, we landed at Club Colleseum to find a massive queue of hopefuls who, unprepared, had followed the advice of others and shunned the comparatively unglamorous alternative, Horizon at Fire, rather to savour pure latino heaven in the form of Matinee’s latest instalment, Viva. Armed with a pre-pay ticket, we effectively jumped the queue & having been greeted by the effervescent Minty, fantastically dressed in an amazing leather number, a la “cat woman”, we safely negotiated the by now hectic door and ascended the stairs and up into the club itself.
There, we immediately came across organiser & promoter Oliver M, who having just returned from a stint at the Matinee mothership in Ibiza, looked amazingly tanned & healthy, sporting a sexy white Matinee t-shirt, showing off his newly bronzed body. In customary fashion, he threw his arms around us and indulged us in refreshments at the bar before being enticed away by an increasing band of Matinee regulars craving for his attention. We then fell upon our smaller than expected posse of work colleagues who lead us into the main room, which was already packed with a glorious mix of shirts off muscled hunks, party girls & boys and a bevy of eye candy beauties, intent on lapping up the Matinee magic before them. The music was already pumping, supplied by the rather cute & handsome Spanish resident star, Jordi Lights, who was in complete control of the decks, delivering classic Matinee styled tunes to add to the already superb atmosphere. With the D.J. booth backdrop of a brilliant wall of multi coloured L.E.D. lights, combined with impromptu podiums in amongst the revellers on the dancefloor, topped by gorgeous go-go’s, provided & choreographed by the lovely Logan, we soon realised that this was going to be one hell of a Matinee mash-up. And we not to be disappointed, as we soon found ourselves elevated on the stage, stripping down to our waists & gyrating to the sounds of Jordi. Looking around, the Evolved Events team had gone to real effort in adorning the club with a brilliant array of Matinee signage, a collection of Spanish flags and the sort of production we have come to love & enjoy from this lot, setting the club off tremendously.
We then decided to meander through the crowd and bumped into the delightful Pier Morocco who had saved the day at Rome, the previous week. It was great to see him this side of the decks, in the company of his scrumptious boyfriend, both clearly enjoying the Viva party. Then, as if by magic, the Italian Stallion, D.J. Pagano appeared, taking over the reigns behind the decks from Jordi Lights, leading the crowd on an altogether tougher style & journey of sound, leaving us spellbound on our spot before once again ascending the stage to compete with the flamenco garbed go-go’s entertaining the throng of Matinee hedonists, truly rocking the main room.
After falling over a collection familiar faces and scene friends, we then decided to investigate the other parts of the club and soon found ourselves in the intimacy of the VIP room, which we gained via a new entrance right off the main room. It is fair to say that this is one of our most favoured spots, not only in Club Colleseum but of any dancefloor across London and it was clear that others thought the same. The room was brimming with scantly dressed males & their admirers, savouring the delights of DJ Alessandro who was serving up a delicious mix of hard edged sounds intertwined with the odd commercial floor filler, which had the VIP room well and truly alive. This up-coming talent ensured our stay in this space, virtually uninterrupted, and by the time he handed over the D.J. decks to scene favourite Brent Nicholls, we were going no-where else, save the occasional quick dash to the bar to relive our bodies of the incredible heat that had built up in the room.
As if this space wasn’t busy enough, with Brent turning up the musical notches, delivering his unique blend of latino influenced vibes, hands in the air house tunes and dancefloor delirium, even more people crammed in, as we went into seventh heaven, burning up our spot, trading moves with an ever increasing crowd who simply couldn’t resist what was an amazing atmosphere. Many, like us, even decided against savouring the special talents of Matinee newcomer, Paul Heron, who was firing up his after-hours set in the main room, although as we dashed momentarily to welcome him to the Matinee crew, it was clear he had a huge crowd of his own. As we fully succumbed to the superb feel of the VIP room in the hands of Brent, it was, in some ways, as though we had stepped back in time to the fantastic days of Beyond, where we had enjoyed this space so often. Robbing ourselves of the unfolding party in the main room, we saw the rest of our night away until nearly 9 a.m. in the seclusion of this special spot, rounding off an amazing Matinee event, unrivalled by any we have been to thus far.
Having danced so much, with our legs cramping & giving way from underneath us we congratulated Brent on his superb set, said our goodbyes to both him & Oliver M and took our leave of Club Colleseum, ignoring the temptations of the sexy Eduardo De La Torre, who was finishing off Matinee Viva in the main room, rather finding our way out and limping into the Vauxhall mid morning sunshine to meander home to collapse in a heap.
So, was Matinee Viva a success, undoubtedly so!! The move back to a Saturday combined with re-housing the event to Vauxhall has proven both popular and inspired. It is fair to say that the feel of Matinee in the hands of Club Colleseum is different to that of Fabric, the crowd not quite as glamorous and as “a-list” as before, not that is was the gutter trashed filled lot that frequent Fire, but very much more of a Vauxhall crowd, although there is nothing wrong in that. We do feel that the “big” club atmosphere is not as evident & obvious as before, but in some ways we prefer the new Matinee over the old.
Feedback from others, following the Viva event was such that we weren’t the only ones having a fantastic time and with a plethora of photo images and video clips to remember the night by, it will be a long time before we forget this wonderful party. Roll on the next Matinee, we cannot wait! (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Despite enduring yet another dreadful U.K. summer, there is always one event that is sure to inject a bucket load of warmth & Mediterranean magic into our lives, Matinee London being the perfect antidote to wet weather blues, which barely two weeks after the huge bank holiday weekend party, swung open its doors once again to an adoring public.
Having successfully moved from it’s recent ancestral home at Fabric in Farringdon, to the ever popular super club Colleseum in Vauxhall, Oliver M & The Evolved Events team also took the bold decision to return this most popular of club nights back to Saturday’s, thus ensuring that the lions share of the gay glitterati had no excuse to miss out on what has become THE must visit party on the monthly London clubbing calendar.
Add to this, two recent additions to the Matinee London team. The first in the form of hostess extraordinaire, Minty, who not only brings order & precision to the sometimes chaotic and historically badly run door at Colleseum, but injects her special magic on making our arrival at the club a special event in itself. Secondly & brilliantly conceived, we were thrilled with the arrival of the truly international D.J. talent, Paul Heron, who, not before time, has parted company from The Orange group & the arresting clutches of Fire, thus freeing up this superbly popular & favourite star to roam freely across the scene, joining a band of well known as well as up-coming D.J.’s that grace the decks at Matinee and its sister event, Revolver.
So arriving fashionably late at just turned 12.30, having been warmed up & raring to go by the man himself at Barcode Vauxhall, we landed at Club Colleseum to find a massive queue of hopefuls who, unprepared, had followed the advice of others and shunned the comparatively unglamorous alternative, Horizon at Fire, rather to savour pure latino heaven in the form of Matinee’s latest instalment, Viva. Armed with a pre-pay ticket, we effectively jumped the queue & having been greeted by the effervescent Minty, fantastically dressed in an amazing leather number, a la “cat woman”, we safely negotiated the by now hectic door and ascended the stairs and up into the club itself.
There, we immediately came across organiser & promoter Oliver M, who having just returned from a stint at the Matinee mothership in Ibiza, looked amazingly tanned & healthy, sporting a sexy white Matinee t-shirt, showing off his newly bronzed body. In customary fashion, he threw his arms around us and indulged us in refreshments at the bar before being enticed away by an increasing band of Matinee regulars craving for his attention. We then fell upon our smaller than expected posse of work colleagues who lead us into the main room, which was already packed with a glorious mix of shirts off muscled hunks, party girls & boys and a bevy of eye candy beauties, intent on lapping up the Matinee magic before them. The music was already pumping, supplied by the rather cute & handsome Spanish resident star, Jordi Lights, who was in complete control of the decks, delivering classic Matinee styled tunes to add to the already superb atmosphere. With the D.J. booth backdrop of a brilliant wall of multi coloured L.E.D. lights, combined with impromptu podiums in amongst the revellers on the dancefloor, topped by gorgeous go-go’s, provided & choreographed by the lovely Logan, we soon realised that this was going to be one hell of a Matinee mash-up. And we not to be disappointed, as we soon found ourselves elevated on the stage, stripping down to our waists & gyrating to the sounds of Jordi. Looking around, the Evolved Events team had gone to real effort in adorning the club with a brilliant array of Matinee signage, a collection of Spanish flags and the sort of production we have come to love & enjoy from this lot, setting the club off tremendously.
We then decided to meander through the crowd and bumped into the delightful Pier Morocco who had saved the day at Rome, the previous week. It was great to see him this side of the decks, in the company of his scrumptious boyfriend, both clearly enjoying the Viva party. Then, as if by magic, the Italian Stallion, D.J. Pagano appeared, taking over the reigns behind the decks from Jordi Lights, leading the crowd on an altogether tougher style & journey of sound, leaving us spellbound on our spot before once again ascending the stage to compete with the flamenco garbed go-go’s entertaining the throng of Matinee hedonists, truly rocking the main room.
After falling over a collection familiar faces and scene friends, we then decided to investigate the other parts of the club and soon found ourselves in the intimacy of the VIP room, which we gained via a new entrance right off the main room. It is fair to say that this is one of our most favoured spots, not only in Club Colleseum but of any dancefloor across London and it was clear that others thought the same. The room was brimming with scantly dressed males & their admirers, savouring the delights of DJ Alessandro who was serving up a delicious mix of hard edged sounds intertwined with the odd commercial floor filler, which had the VIP room well and truly alive. This up-coming talent ensured our stay in this space, virtually uninterrupted, and by the time he handed over the D.J. decks to scene favourite Brent Nicholls, we were going no-where else, save the occasional quick dash to the bar to relive our bodies of the incredible heat that had built up in the room.
As if this space wasn’t busy enough, with Brent turning up the musical notches, delivering his unique blend of latino influenced vibes, hands in the air house tunes and dancefloor delirium, even more people crammed in, as we went into seventh heaven, burning up our spot, trading moves with an ever increasing crowd who simply couldn’t resist what was an amazing atmosphere. Many, like us, even decided against savouring the special talents of Matinee newcomer, Paul Heron, who was firing up his after-hours set in the main room, although as we dashed momentarily to welcome him to the Matinee crew, it was clear he had a huge crowd of his own. As we fully succumbed to the superb feel of the VIP room in the hands of Brent, it was, in some ways, as though we had stepped back in time to the fantastic days of Beyond, where we had enjoyed this space so often. Robbing ourselves of the unfolding party in the main room, we saw the rest of our night away until nearly 9 a.m. in the seclusion of this special spot, rounding off an amazing Matinee event, unrivalled by any we have been to thus far.
Having danced so much, with our legs cramping & giving way from underneath us we congratulated Brent on his superb set, said our goodbyes to both him & Oliver M and took our leave of Club Colleseum, ignoring the temptations of the sexy Eduardo De La Torre, who was finishing off Matinee Viva in the main room, rather finding our way out and limping into the Vauxhall mid morning sunshine to meander home to collapse in a heap.
So, was Matinee Viva a success, undoubtedly so!! The move back to a Saturday combined with re-housing the event to Vauxhall has proven both popular and inspired. It is fair to say that the feel of Matinee in the hands of Club Colleseum is different to that of Fabric, the crowd not quite as glamorous and as “a-list” as before, not that is was the gutter trashed filled lot that frequent Fire, but very much more of a Vauxhall crowd, although there is nothing wrong in that. We do feel that the “big” club atmosphere is not as evident & obvious as before, but in some ways we prefer the new Matinee over the old.
Feedback from others, following the Viva event was such that we weren’t the only ones having a fantastic time and with a plethora of photo images and video clips to remember the night by, it will be a long time before we forget this wonderful party. Roll on the next Matinee, we cannot wait! (DISCO MATT)
Rome Club Review - September 2008
ROME @ LO-PROFILE – SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
This eagerly awaited event, which was the brainchild of DJ Fabio White and launched with massive success over a year ago, has found a niche spot in the gay London clubbing calendar. The plans were always to make Rome special and as such the organisers didn’t want to saturate the scene with it, rather choosing to pick random Sunday dates throughout the year, ending up in 2007 holding just four events.
This in itself gave the club night an air of exclusivity and with the added bonus of being far removed from the Vauxhall scene, Fabio settling on the gorgeously decant and stylish CC Club in Piccadilly, the night was expected to and indeed did attract a true “A” list class of clubber, something little or no club night has or can achieve to such an extent, the possible exception being The Shadow Lounge.
We were privileged enough to be invited to the Christmas party on 16th December last year and were truly impressed, not just by the venue, but by all the efforts the team had gone to inject some Rome magic production, not only in the décor, not only in the sumptuous atmosphere, but moreover, the fantastic stage shows throughout the evening, truly rivalling anything we have seen at Matinee London, yes that good!! O.K, the venue was expensive, but being only an occasional event, you have to treat yourself don’t you!? And with THE most stylish crowd we had seen all year, it was well worth it.
So, seemingly having taken a breather, we were very much excited about Rome returning to the scene, albeit at a new home, Lo-Profile, which up until Saturday we had not seen. Furthermore, our anticipation was heightened with the publishing, via our favourite social networking site, of a video interview with the co-organiser, Romane, where a real taster of the expected style, exclusivity, music and clientele was set out by him & laid before our eyes, so wow, yes we were expecting big things of this previously billed “talk of the town” event, with the cream of the crop of London gay socialites rubbing shoulders with the masses & no “Fire faces in sight. Well such was the hype!
With all of this in mind and having seen Lo-Profile in it’s “raw” state just the night before, we summoned all our energies, despite having indulged in over twelve hours of hedonistic clubbing including a trip to Beyond, to make the journey back into town and to a party night we had been looking forward to for weeks. Arriving at Lo-Profile’s door at just after 7.30, we were greeted by a clipboard clutching Romane, suitably waving us through meaning it was only moments before we paid our way & found ourselves in the club. Looking around, it was immediately obvious to us that despite all that we had heard regarding the plans to transform the venue, it actually looked almost identical to the previous night, save some cheap and nasty looking stickers that had been placed on the array of multi coloured & shaped lights around the room. We saw no evidence of drapes, no evidence of flowers and no evidence of any sort of Rome style production, which we had so much praised at the CC Club.
Looking at the scant crowd, they, whilst not quite the trashy Fire lot we were promised wouldn’t be around, were not really “A” list, more a similar collection of good looking muscle boys and bright faced latino's intertwined with some regular scene faces, that we had grown accustomed to in the busy days of Sunday’s at Barcode Vauxhall. Despite the venue having been open nearly two hours, by the time we had refreshed ourselves at the bar, the club was still far from brimming, with only a handful of hopefuls on the dancefloor. This was no surprise, as glancing over to the DJ booth, we spotted Fabio White, who looked far from happy with his lot and not surprising, as to compare the Rome crowd, the atmosphere & the ambiance with that with which we enjoyed at the CC Club, well there was no comparison. So who could blame him for looking well and truly miserable.
To add insult to injury, we were completely ignored by the team of Rome staff who were supposed to take down names & details of the lions share of the gathering throng of up-market gay clubbers, to ensure a continued interest an turn out to this Sunday soiree, as so prompted by the lovely Romane on the door when we arrived, they rather wandering around the venue and chatting amongst each other as like naughty school children disobeying their masters instructions, truly infuriating!
We were so close to fleeing the Lo-Profile by this stage but were rescued by two scene stalwarts in the form of Chris Jepson & Pier Morocco. Chris shared with us his woes of the change from the CC Club to Lo-Profile, although we both agreed that in the nine months since the last outing, Sunday’s on the gay scene has become a difficult nut to crack. And as for Pier Morocco, well taking over the decks from Fabio White was just the reprieve we were looking for and in many ways saved the day as he delivered just exactly the music we expected from Rome, up-to-date, hard hitting and gorgeous house tunes which held us and the crowd perhaps longer than could have been expected, under the circumstances.
Well, what can we say? In the highs & lows of our clubbing experience, we are sorry to say that Rome, on this occasion, hit an all time low. Never have we anticipated a club event so much, to then be well and truly let down. Now, is there a way forward for Rome as an entity? Well yes, we think so, but the promoters need to take heed! Change the venue! It simply didn’t work, if not make certain sure you deliver what you promise, a transformation. You said in your promotion video that it would not feel like a regular Lo-Profile night, but in our humble experience it did!, Either this, or go back to you roots (the CC Club) and deliver what you were clearly capable of, because if you don’t, Rome as a venue is dead in the water and such a shame that would be for all concerned.
We have never yet had to be so forthright in our views of a club night, but with so much expectation followed by so much disappointment, how can you blame us. We sincerely hope that the powers that be within the Rome organisation listen to what we have said, as we love you as a club concept but you have to get it right! (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
This eagerly awaited event, which was the brainchild of DJ Fabio White and launched with massive success over a year ago, has found a niche spot in the gay London clubbing calendar. The plans were always to make Rome special and as such the organisers didn’t want to saturate the scene with it, rather choosing to pick random Sunday dates throughout the year, ending up in 2007 holding just four events.
This in itself gave the club night an air of exclusivity and with the added bonus of being far removed from the Vauxhall scene, Fabio settling on the gorgeously decant and stylish CC Club in Piccadilly, the night was expected to and indeed did attract a true “A” list class of clubber, something little or no club night has or can achieve to such an extent, the possible exception being The Shadow Lounge.
We were privileged enough to be invited to the Christmas party on 16th December last year and were truly impressed, not just by the venue, but by all the efforts the team had gone to inject some Rome magic production, not only in the décor, not only in the sumptuous atmosphere, but moreover, the fantastic stage shows throughout the evening, truly rivalling anything we have seen at Matinee London, yes that good!! O.K, the venue was expensive, but being only an occasional event, you have to treat yourself don’t you!? And with THE most stylish crowd we had seen all year, it was well worth it.
So, seemingly having taken a breather, we were very much excited about Rome returning to the scene, albeit at a new home, Lo-Profile, which up until Saturday we had not seen. Furthermore, our anticipation was heightened with the publishing, via our favourite social networking site, of a video interview with the co-organiser, Romane, where a real taster of the expected style, exclusivity, music and clientele was set out by him & laid before our eyes, so wow, yes we were expecting big things of this previously billed “talk of the town” event, with the cream of the crop of London gay socialites rubbing shoulders with the masses & no “Fire faces in sight. Well such was the hype!
With all of this in mind and having seen Lo-Profile in it’s “raw” state just the night before, we summoned all our energies, despite having indulged in over twelve hours of hedonistic clubbing including a trip to Beyond, to make the journey back into town and to a party night we had been looking forward to for weeks. Arriving at Lo-Profile’s door at just after 7.30, we were greeted by a clipboard clutching Romane, suitably waving us through meaning it was only moments before we paid our way & found ourselves in the club. Looking around, it was immediately obvious to us that despite all that we had heard regarding the plans to transform the venue, it actually looked almost identical to the previous night, save some cheap and nasty looking stickers that had been placed on the array of multi coloured & shaped lights around the room. We saw no evidence of drapes, no evidence of flowers and no evidence of any sort of Rome style production, which we had so much praised at the CC Club.
Looking at the scant crowd, they, whilst not quite the trashy Fire lot we were promised wouldn’t be around, were not really “A” list, more a similar collection of good looking muscle boys and bright faced latino's intertwined with some regular scene faces, that we had grown accustomed to in the busy days of Sunday’s at Barcode Vauxhall. Despite the venue having been open nearly two hours, by the time we had refreshed ourselves at the bar, the club was still far from brimming, with only a handful of hopefuls on the dancefloor. This was no surprise, as glancing over to the DJ booth, we spotted Fabio White, who looked far from happy with his lot and not surprising, as to compare the Rome crowd, the atmosphere & the ambiance with that with which we enjoyed at the CC Club, well there was no comparison. So who could blame him for looking well and truly miserable.
To add insult to injury, we were completely ignored by the team of Rome staff who were supposed to take down names & details of the lions share of the gathering throng of up-market gay clubbers, to ensure a continued interest an turn out to this Sunday soiree, as so prompted by the lovely Romane on the door when we arrived, they rather wandering around the venue and chatting amongst each other as like naughty school children disobeying their masters instructions, truly infuriating!
We were so close to fleeing the Lo-Profile by this stage but were rescued by two scene stalwarts in the form of Chris Jepson & Pier Morocco. Chris shared with us his woes of the change from the CC Club to Lo-Profile, although we both agreed that in the nine months since the last outing, Sunday’s on the gay scene has become a difficult nut to crack. And as for Pier Morocco, well taking over the decks from Fabio White was just the reprieve we were looking for and in many ways saved the day as he delivered just exactly the music we expected from Rome, up-to-date, hard hitting and gorgeous house tunes which held us and the crowd perhaps longer than could have been expected, under the circumstances.
Well, what can we say? In the highs & lows of our clubbing experience, we are sorry to say that Rome, on this occasion, hit an all time low. Never have we anticipated a club event so much, to then be well and truly let down. Now, is there a way forward for Rome as an entity? Well yes, we think so, but the promoters need to take heed! Change the venue! It simply didn’t work, if not make certain sure you deliver what you promise, a transformation. You said in your promotion video that it would not feel like a regular Lo-Profile night, but in our humble experience it did!, Either this, or go back to you roots (the CC Club) and deliver what you were clearly capable of, because if you don’t, Rome as a venue is dead in the water and such a shame that would be for all concerned.
We have never yet had to be so forthright in our views of a club night, but with so much expectation followed by so much disappointment, how can you blame us. We sincerely hope that the powers that be within the Rome organisation listen to what we have said, as we love you as a club concept but you have to get it right! (DISCO MATT)
Beyond Club Review - September 2008
BEYOND – SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With the rollercoaster rise & fall of afterhours clubbing across London, the legendary Trade, failed attempts to replace Beyond at Colleseum with many a club idea, including Future, not to mention Crash’s, at the time, inspired switch in trading times, this was soon replaced & dominated by huge 12 hour clubbing experiences at Fire in the form of Juicy & Horizon, which strangled any other attempts to move into this lucrative slot between 5 a.m. & mid-day, accommodating, those, like us, who don’t know when to stop, but fancy a change during our mammoth clubbing excursions.
Area, previously brought to us by the man who started the whole Vauxhall phenomenon, Wayne Shires, tried to compete with Fire with the early morning offering Ultra, not to mention offerings like Coco Latte late & other post club parties, but the popularity & dominance of Fire killed off any chance of this alternative superclub securing a place in the afrerhours market.
To our surprise and in an unprecedented move, not only did Fire owner Craig Elder resurrect the fortunes of Area, but moreover took the brave decision, at the time with the aid of Wayne, to re-launch what can only be described as THE afterhours club of this century so far, Beyond, this with the backdrop of a failed attempt to bring it back onto the gay scene circuit at The Fridge in Brixton. We, like many others, were sceptical of this iconic club night working in Area, rather than its ancestral home at Club Colleseum, but were pleasantly surprised, indeed impressed by both the opening party and a hugely successful Pride event in July.
So, it was with little encouragement, that we decided on a trip to Area, helped by the weekend off work and the magical draw of Beyond. Arriving at 6 a.m. & being privileged to have been kindly put on his guest list, we entered via the revised entrance through the Embankment bar & found the man himself, D.J Steven Gellar, eager to get the party going. The main part of the venue was still being cleared of a previous party, which restricted the quickly swelling Beyond crowd to this small bar space and then soon the aptly named “black” room accessed by a mirror lined corridor, already full with revellers. Anticipating the opening of the main floor, we paced between the black room and the embankment bar, bumping into familiar scene faces, many of whom had clearly taken advantage of earlier clubs, but like us didn’t want their night to end.
We didn’t have to wait long, as the Area team had swung into action to get the space ready in no time at all. By the time we found ourselves in there, it was packed with clubbers, many in full swing soaking up the Beyond experience. Where had they all come from?!?! Squeezing our way through the crowd towards the D.J. booth, we were greeted by the familiar faces of D.J.’s Steve Pitron & Jamie Head together with their posse of regulars, with whom we had enjoyed many a night at Crash as well as the old Beyond at Colleseum. It was great to see them all and so good to catch up with Steve & Jamie, two of our favourite scene D.J.’s, as well as seeing friend Andrew who was carrying on his birthday celebrations to true style.
Looking over and up into the slightly elevated D.J. booth which we now found ourselves next to, we immediately recognised the figure of Mikey D, another favourite (how many can you have), who was delivering a familiar mix of house hits to an ever increasing crowd of hopeful hedonists intent on having a fantastic time. And Mikey failed to disappoint them & us, pumping out amazing track after track, leaving us completely spell bound, dancing furiously on our spot, then occasionally trading spaces with others as well as rubbing dancefloor shoulders with Steve, Jamie & the crew. For the next three brilliant hours we hardly left our corner by the D.J. booth and so good was the music, so much fun we were having and being in such great company, we even passed up our usual temptations to ascend the podiums dotted around the main room. Mikey was like a musical magician behind the decks and when he played a new mix of our favourite tune of the moment, J Velarde’s Sundays at Heaven (or is that Beyond!), we went into stratospheric ecstasy, as did everyone around us.
By now the atmosphere was electric, helped along by the incredible lighting and laser systems, not to mention regular explosions of ticker tape from the arches above the dancefloor as well as ice cold air cannons shooting their loads into the air above us. Added to the atmosphere was the presence of a drummer in front of the D.J. booth, cleverly complimenting Mikey’s music choice with subtle additions of symbol sounds and bongo drum beats, far removed from the overpowering ones which tend to interfere with D.J.’s sets when they have been deployed in other clubs. We really didn’t want Mikey to stop, rather find the energy to play right through till close, so superb was his performance. But with his time up, Mikey gave way to Fire resident D.J. Stevie B, who immediately took us on a more commercial route, changing the atmosphere in an instant.
Praising and thanking Mikey for his set, when he joined Jamie Head & Co, we decided a rest was in order and left the main room behind, seeking refuge outside on the terrace past the Embankment bar space. It was just as packed out here, as it had been in the main room, shirts off hunks & pretty faced latino’s dancing on the tables and generally having a wonderful time. Like us, Jamie’s crew had also retreated from the main room and with other familiar scene faces dotting the area, clearly this was the place to be seen, we like that!
With over twelve hours of partying under our belt, it was soon time to call a halt to proceedings and we waved goodbye to friends a plenty, slinking quietly into a gloomy Vauxhall morning and home to chill & reflect on a truly exceptional Beyond party.
Well, did we have a good time? what do you think! With subsequent reports that recent Beyond turnouts have been very average, with no afterhours offering in the form of the new “love” party at Union, perhaps we were lucky to be part of a rammed Area. But if this night has anything to go by, it won’t be long before we grace its doors again. Beyond, we love you now like we always used to. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With the rollercoaster rise & fall of afterhours clubbing across London, the legendary Trade, failed attempts to replace Beyond at Colleseum with many a club idea, including Future, not to mention Crash’s, at the time, inspired switch in trading times, this was soon replaced & dominated by huge 12 hour clubbing experiences at Fire in the form of Juicy & Horizon, which strangled any other attempts to move into this lucrative slot between 5 a.m. & mid-day, accommodating, those, like us, who don’t know when to stop, but fancy a change during our mammoth clubbing excursions.
Area, previously brought to us by the man who started the whole Vauxhall phenomenon, Wayne Shires, tried to compete with Fire with the early morning offering Ultra, not to mention offerings like Coco Latte late & other post club parties, but the popularity & dominance of Fire killed off any chance of this alternative superclub securing a place in the afrerhours market.
To our surprise and in an unprecedented move, not only did Fire owner Craig Elder resurrect the fortunes of Area, but moreover took the brave decision, at the time with the aid of Wayne, to re-launch what can only be described as THE afterhours club of this century so far, Beyond, this with the backdrop of a failed attempt to bring it back onto the gay scene circuit at The Fridge in Brixton. We, like many others, were sceptical of this iconic club night working in Area, rather than its ancestral home at Club Colleseum, but were pleasantly surprised, indeed impressed by both the opening party and a hugely successful Pride event in July.
So, it was with little encouragement, that we decided on a trip to Area, helped by the weekend off work and the magical draw of Beyond. Arriving at 6 a.m. & being privileged to have been kindly put on his guest list, we entered via the revised entrance through the Embankment bar & found the man himself, D.J Steven Gellar, eager to get the party going. The main part of the venue was still being cleared of a previous party, which restricted the quickly swelling Beyond crowd to this small bar space and then soon the aptly named “black” room accessed by a mirror lined corridor, already full with revellers. Anticipating the opening of the main floor, we paced between the black room and the embankment bar, bumping into familiar scene faces, many of whom had clearly taken advantage of earlier clubs, but like us didn’t want their night to end.
We didn’t have to wait long, as the Area team had swung into action to get the space ready in no time at all. By the time we found ourselves in there, it was packed with clubbers, many in full swing soaking up the Beyond experience. Where had they all come from?!?! Squeezing our way through the crowd towards the D.J. booth, we were greeted by the familiar faces of D.J.’s Steve Pitron & Jamie Head together with their posse of regulars, with whom we had enjoyed many a night at Crash as well as the old Beyond at Colleseum. It was great to see them all and so good to catch up with Steve & Jamie, two of our favourite scene D.J.’s, as well as seeing friend Andrew who was carrying on his birthday celebrations to true style.
Looking over and up into the slightly elevated D.J. booth which we now found ourselves next to, we immediately recognised the figure of Mikey D, another favourite (how many can you have), who was delivering a familiar mix of house hits to an ever increasing crowd of hopeful hedonists intent on having a fantastic time. And Mikey failed to disappoint them & us, pumping out amazing track after track, leaving us completely spell bound, dancing furiously on our spot, then occasionally trading spaces with others as well as rubbing dancefloor shoulders with Steve, Jamie & the crew. For the next three brilliant hours we hardly left our corner by the D.J. booth and so good was the music, so much fun we were having and being in such great company, we even passed up our usual temptations to ascend the podiums dotted around the main room. Mikey was like a musical magician behind the decks and when he played a new mix of our favourite tune of the moment, J Velarde’s Sundays at Heaven (or is that Beyond!), we went into stratospheric ecstasy, as did everyone around us.
By now the atmosphere was electric, helped along by the incredible lighting and laser systems, not to mention regular explosions of ticker tape from the arches above the dancefloor as well as ice cold air cannons shooting their loads into the air above us. Added to the atmosphere was the presence of a drummer in front of the D.J. booth, cleverly complimenting Mikey’s music choice with subtle additions of symbol sounds and bongo drum beats, far removed from the overpowering ones which tend to interfere with D.J.’s sets when they have been deployed in other clubs. We really didn’t want Mikey to stop, rather find the energy to play right through till close, so superb was his performance. But with his time up, Mikey gave way to Fire resident D.J. Stevie B, who immediately took us on a more commercial route, changing the atmosphere in an instant.
Praising and thanking Mikey for his set, when he joined Jamie Head & Co, we decided a rest was in order and left the main room behind, seeking refuge outside on the terrace past the Embankment bar space. It was just as packed out here, as it had been in the main room, shirts off hunks & pretty faced latino’s dancing on the tables and generally having a wonderful time. Like us, Jamie’s crew had also retreated from the main room and with other familiar scene faces dotting the area, clearly this was the place to be seen, we like that!
With over twelve hours of partying under our belt, it was soon time to call a halt to proceedings and we waved goodbye to friends a plenty, slinking quietly into a gloomy Vauxhall morning and home to chill & reflect on a truly exceptional Beyond party.
Well, did we have a good time? what do you think! With subsequent reports that recent Beyond turnouts have been very average, with no afterhours offering in the form of the new “love” party at Union, perhaps we were lucky to be part of a rammed Area. But if this night has anything to go by, it won’t be long before we grace its doors again. Beyond, we love you now like we always used to. (DISCO MATT)
Barcode's Soho & Vauxhall + Lo-Profile Club Review - September 2008
BARCODE’S SOHO & VAUXHALL + LO-PROFILE
SATURDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER 2008
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With so many of the larger clubs across London swinging their doors open on what remains the most popular night of the social week, you could forgive yourself for overlooking the smaller venues, many of whom are never considered as offering a great clubbing night out. However, in the form of both Barcode’s Soho & Vauxhall as well as newcomer Lo-Profile, you are very much mistaking for only identifying these as swish and swanky bars.
Whilst, in terms of size, these offerings cannot hold a stick to venues like Astoria, Heaven, Fire & Area, they have plenty of surprises in the form of a great mix of stylish surroundings, superb music offerings provided by top scene D.J.’s, reasonably priced drinks compared to their larger rivals and despite their humbler spaces, deliver a clubbing experience to be remembered, thus attracting a better quality & more discerning crowd, looking to fulfil their evenings entertainment without being out well past dawn.
So, with a rare weekend off, we hastily made plans to head down to Barcode Soho with our friend Benoit, who was keen to see the new look club downstairs, which he had not yet visited since its transformation back in May. Rolling up just before 10 p.m., we found the upstairs bar rammed with party hopefuls, some simply out to indulge in drinks and chat, but many others anxious to strike a pose on the dancefloor downstairs. And they were not to be disappointed as, suddenly, the music pace stepped up, signalling opening of the club, followed immediately by a rush down the stairs and into this revamped, improved and surprising space.
We followed suit and once into the club space, spotted Brent Nicholls behind the decks, warming the gathering crowd up with his unique mix of latin flavoured twists combined with more commercially styled popular tunes, very much akin to the crowd attracted to Barcode. Grabbing refreshments from the bar, we were soon joined by our friend, who appeared through the quickly amassed clubbers to savour the fabulous atmosphere already building. The Barcode team have done a superb job with the club, increasing the space considerably, offering additional seating areas, a much bigger dancefloor, a vastly improved lighting system including an amazing combination of lasers which blew us away when we first saw it, not to mention far better facilities for the D.J., this person, we believe, being an integral part of the success of any clubbing event. With the ability to both socialise & dance away our evening, there was little more we could ask of our visit & despite the 1 a.m. finish, Barcode Soho fills a gap in the clubbing offering, virtually unrivalled across London.
Or so we thought, as we were then tempted across Soho to the more recently launched bar/club Lo-Profile on Wardour Street. Having undergone a metamorphosis from previous guises including the doomed Sweet Suite, with the backing of Gaydar Radio, the venue has quickly made it’s mark on the clubbing scene, like Barcode, attracting many top notch D.J.’s interspersed with up-coming talent, thus providing the quality of music you can expect in all the larger clubs in London. Arriving at the doors, we were soon whisked through by the larger than life door host Vanity and meandering down the long corridor, lighted by unique if but quite garish multi coloured and shaped lights sunk into the walls & ceiling, we descended some stairs and swung into the club space. With a bar in the far left corner beyond the conveniently sized dancefloor and a much larger bar to the right, surrounded by sumptuous seating areas, it is clear the Profile team have made the most of creating a very stylish & swanky feel to this venue, so attracting a similar crowd, far removed to the “G head” and gutter trash who frequent places like Fire in Vauxhall. Like the entrance areas, the whole club has been adorned in the unique lighting, setting it aside from any other and whilst not to our taste, does serve to add to the atmosphere. Recent & rising D.J. star Allesandro was in control of the decks, having taken over from veteran Guy Williams, delivering a popular mix of up-to-date house floor fillers.
After grabbing refreshments at the bar, we decided to avoid the dancefloor, rather heading for the elevated seating area to the side and making every effort to succumb to the clubbing experience on offer. However, it is fair to say, that having had such an amazing time at Barcode, Lo-Profile had a very hard act to follow and for us failed to deliver. With only a smattering of dancefloor lighting spots, an excessive amount of space given away to seating areas, some roped off in some “VIP/Royal enclosure” style affair, this meant that the crammed dance space lacked the feel of Barcode and larger clubs. Yes it was pleasantly refreshing to mix with well mannered, dressed & stylish party seekers, combined with a clean & refreshing environment as well as engaging & friendly staff, Lo-Profile just didn’t float our boat. However, it was clearly popular with many and like its Barcode rival delivers a clubbing experience worth enjoying.
So, with the need to fulfil our evening and on the promise of a trip to Beyond, we headed south of the river to Barcode Vauxhall, tempted by the extended opening time of 6 a.m. and the tried & tested club space at the rear of the venue which is currently set aside for the popular Friday’s & Saturday’s the venue enjoys. On arrival, we were waved through the door by the ever friendly Emilio and headed through the busy front room intent on dancing our way to dawn in the club space. Once there we found a packed room, full of revellers, some more akin to the Vauxhall set, others familiar from our exploits at its sister venue earlier. The gorgeously sexy Mattias was in charge behind the D.J. booth, pumping out huge house tunes & firing up the amazing mirror ball enthused lighting & laser system, now that’s how to do it! Bumping into off duty D.J’s, club promoters & scene faces, we quickly got into our stride and spotted Brent Nicholls who had entertained us earlier, he soon taking over from Mattias, delivering an altogether harder edged set than his earlier offering, similar to that we have come to love in clubs like Crash, Beyond & Hard-on. This ensured we hardly failed to stop dancing almost right up to the finish time, with the dancefloor still packed when we eventually threw in the towel.
So, what are we saying here? Well the message is clear. If you are looking for a genuine clubbing experience, without extortionate drinks prices, an out of control drug enthused crowd and massive queues to use facilities, rather to savour clean & sumptuous surroundings, a stylish mix of people, reasonably priced drinks and great large club style music supplied by top DJ scene names, you can do a lot worse than choosing either one of the Barcode’s venues or Lo-Profile to see out your Saturday clubbing yearnings. Each venue in its own way provides every much as good an experience as their “classic” clubbing peer choices and in some ways much more, for all the good & right reasons. (DISCO MATT)
SATURDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER 2008
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With so many of the larger clubs across London swinging their doors open on what remains the most popular night of the social week, you could forgive yourself for overlooking the smaller venues, many of whom are never considered as offering a great clubbing night out. However, in the form of both Barcode’s Soho & Vauxhall as well as newcomer Lo-Profile, you are very much mistaking for only identifying these as swish and swanky bars.
Whilst, in terms of size, these offerings cannot hold a stick to venues like Astoria, Heaven, Fire & Area, they have plenty of surprises in the form of a great mix of stylish surroundings, superb music offerings provided by top scene D.J.’s, reasonably priced drinks compared to their larger rivals and despite their humbler spaces, deliver a clubbing experience to be remembered, thus attracting a better quality & more discerning crowd, looking to fulfil their evenings entertainment without being out well past dawn.
So, with a rare weekend off, we hastily made plans to head down to Barcode Soho with our friend Benoit, who was keen to see the new look club downstairs, which he had not yet visited since its transformation back in May. Rolling up just before 10 p.m., we found the upstairs bar rammed with party hopefuls, some simply out to indulge in drinks and chat, but many others anxious to strike a pose on the dancefloor downstairs. And they were not to be disappointed as, suddenly, the music pace stepped up, signalling opening of the club, followed immediately by a rush down the stairs and into this revamped, improved and surprising space.
We followed suit and once into the club space, spotted Brent Nicholls behind the decks, warming the gathering crowd up with his unique mix of latin flavoured twists combined with more commercially styled popular tunes, very much akin to the crowd attracted to Barcode. Grabbing refreshments from the bar, we were soon joined by our friend, who appeared through the quickly amassed clubbers to savour the fabulous atmosphere already building. The Barcode team have done a superb job with the club, increasing the space considerably, offering additional seating areas, a much bigger dancefloor, a vastly improved lighting system including an amazing combination of lasers which blew us away when we first saw it, not to mention far better facilities for the D.J., this person, we believe, being an integral part of the success of any clubbing event. With the ability to both socialise & dance away our evening, there was little more we could ask of our visit & despite the 1 a.m. finish, Barcode Soho fills a gap in the clubbing offering, virtually unrivalled across London.
Or so we thought, as we were then tempted across Soho to the more recently launched bar/club Lo-Profile on Wardour Street. Having undergone a metamorphosis from previous guises including the doomed Sweet Suite, with the backing of Gaydar Radio, the venue has quickly made it’s mark on the clubbing scene, like Barcode, attracting many top notch D.J.’s interspersed with up-coming talent, thus providing the quality of music you can expect in all the larger clubs in London. Arriving at the doors, we were soon whisked through by the larger than life door host Vanity and meandering down the long corridor, lighted by unique if but quite garish multi coloured and shaped lights sunk into the walls & ceiling, we descended some stairs and swung into the club space. With a bar in the far left corner beyond the conveniently sized dancefloor and a much larger bar to the right, surrounded by sumptuous seating areas, it is clear the Profile team have made the most of creating a very stylish & swanky feel to this venue, so attracting a similar crowd, far removed to the “G head” and gutter trash who frequent places like Fire in Vauxhall. Like the entrance areas, the whole club has been adorned in the unique lighting, setting it aside from any other and whilst not to our taste, does serve to add to the atmosphere. Recent & rising D.J. star Allesandro was in control of the decks, having taken over from veteran Guy Williams, delivering a popular mix of up-to-date house floor fillers.
After grabbing refreshments at the bar, we decided to avoid the dancefloor, rather heading for the elevated seating area to the side and making every effort to succumb to the clubbing experience on offer. However, it is fair to say, that having had such an amazing time at Barcode, Lo-Profile had a very hard act to follow and for us failed to deliver. With only a smattering of dancefloor lighting spots, an excessive amount of space given away to seating areas, some roped off in some “VIP/Royal enclosure” style affair, this meant that the crammed dance space lacked the feel of Barcode and larger clubs. Yes it was pleasantly refreshing to mix with well mannered, dressed & stylish party seekers, combined with a clean & refreshing environment as well as engaging & friendly staff, Lo-Profile just didn’t float our boat. However, it was clearly popular with many and like its Barcode rival delivers a clubbing experience worth enjoying.
So, with the need to fulfil our evening and on the promise of a trip to Beyond, we headed south of the river to Barcode Vauxhall, tempted by the extended opening time of 6 a.m. and the tried & tested club space at the rear of the venue which is currently set aside for the popular Friday’s & Saturday’s the venue enjoys. On arrival, we were waved through the door by the ever friendly Emilio and headed through the busy front room intent on dancing our way to dawn in the club space. Once there we found a packed room, full of revellers, some more akin to the Vauxhall set, others familiar from our exploits at its sister venue earlier. The gorgeously sexy Mattias was in charge behind the D.J. booth, pumping out huge house tunes & firing up the amazing mirror ball enthused lighting & laser system, now that’s how to do it! Bumping into off duty D.J’s, club promoters & scene faces, we quickly got into our stride and spotted Brent Nicholls who had entertained us earlier, he soon taking over from Mattias, delivering an altogether harder edged set than his earlier offering, similar to that we have come to love in clubs like Crash, Beyond & Hard-on. This ensured we hardly failed to stop dancing almost right up to the finish time, with the dancefloor still packed when we eventually threw in the towel.
So, what are we saying here? Well the message is clear. If you are looking for a genuine clubbing experience, without extortionate drinks prices, an out of control drug enthused crowd and massive queues to use facilities, rather to savour clean & sumptuous surroundings, a stylish mix of people, reasonably priced drinks and great large club style music supplied by top DJ scene names, you can do a lot worse than choosing either one of the Barcode’s venues or Lo-Profile to see out your Saturday clubbing yearnings. Each venue in its own way provides every much as good an experience as their “classic” clubbing peer choices and in some ways much more, for all the good & right reasons. (DISCO MATT)
Industri Club Review - September 2008
INDUSTRI – THURSDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
For those un-initiated to this now regular Thursday weekly soiree, it all takes place at the ever popular and swish Barcode Vauxhall, which in the two years since it was established has attracted a mix of locals and party goers from much further afield, all wishing to get a slice of the slightly more stylish side of this “mini gay village” action.
Industri sits neatly at the head of Barcode’s busy weekend activities and rather than being a hedonistic madhouse, is very much more of a friendly gathering of likeminded folk who crave great music, enthralling company and the kind of warm up to your weekend that puts you in pole position rather than leaving you drained & worn out. Hosted by the goddess of the clubbing scene, Minty and with probably one of the best D.J. combo’s around there is little more you could ask of a night, now having earned a firm place in our “must do” calendar.
So, it was yet another Thursday at just turned 10 p.m. that we found ourselves south of the river and in the clutches of Industri. Before we could even draw breath on entering, Minty appeared, running up and grabbing us in a huge embrace, immediately showering us in welcoming & supportive gestures, wiping away the stresses & strains of our emotional last week in an instant. This gal certainly knows how to party & was clearly already in the mood as we indulged in our now customary shots of Sambuca, to get our night under way, although Minty seemed well fuelled already!
A crowd full of a mix of regular Industri socialites, intertwined with clubland faces, off-duty D.J.’s and scene workers, had already gathered, many of whom we have grown to become friendly with over the months & all of them greeting us with open arms, soon sharing their weekly news & catch-up, very much setting this evening aside from many others we know. It is also fair to say that Industri attracts the friendliest crowd thus adding to the most relaxed & comfortable atmosphere you will find and certainly the best we have experienced in our long history out on the gay scene in London. This all with the backdrop of brilliantly selected house music tunes, played out by the popular duo Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron, who, along with Minty, are the faces of Industri personified.
Catching Brent’s attention, we disappeared behind the decks to exchange news of events since we had last seen each other, but were cut off in our prime by Minty, who had ascended one of the podium’s in front of the D.J. booth, then entertaining us and the crowd to an eye popping dancing display like no other, receiving a rip roaring reaction from the amassed Industri faithful's, aghast with her antics. We said this gal can party & so she can, as her actions soon caused an impromptu rush to the vacant podium, all hopefuls wanting to emulate Minty’s display if not in such an audacious fashion.
And so this social soiree scene was well and truly set as we assumed our place in amongst our friends, engaging in great conversation interspersed with regular dancing stints , which with the quality of music this “back-to-back” duo were delivering, was simply irresistible. As if all of this wasn’t enough, one of our favourite club promoters, and man of the moment, Wayne Shires appeared and we quickly rushed to the bar for more refreshments with him, rekindling memories of days of old as well as new, toasting his return to the helm of the venue which started it all in Vauxhall, Crash (now called Union).
With the evening seemingly flying by as an ever increasing amount of familiar faces wafted in and out and the atmosphere continued to gain on the momentum already built before our arrival, we saw out the rest of our stay, rubbing shoulders with Minty, Paul, Brent Wayne and other scene faces including D.J.’s Tim Mclone & Steven Geller, before retiring in the Vauxhall early morning at just before the 2 a.m. finish.
Industri, since it’s launch back in February has very much stamped it’s mark on the Thursday gay scene and amidst all of the stiff competition, particularly from the Embankment bar next door to Barcode in Vauxhall, not to mention the plethora of offerings in Soho, many of whom have followed the trend set by Industri in making Thursday the “new” Friday, this unique and most social of party nights continues to not only survive, but thrive in what can only be described as an extremely tough trading environment for gay venues across London.
So, if you haven’t yet savoured the experience of a trip to Industri, where superb music, fabulously friendly company & a truly memorable experience are the order of the day, get yourselves down to Barcode Vauxhall. And with the imminent return of our favourite go-go dancer, Dilmar, this social soiree can only get better. We salute Minty, Brent & Paul, for serving up a slice of partying magic, long may it continue. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
For those un-initiated to this now regular Thursday weekly soiree, it all takes place at the ever popular and swish Barcode Vauxhall, which in the two years since it was established has attracted a mix of locals and party goers from much further afield, all wishing to get a slice of the slightly more stylish side of this “mini gay village” action.
Industri sits neatly at the head of Barcode’s busy weekend activities and rather than being a hedonistic madhouse, is very much more of a friendly gathering of likeminded folk who crave great music, enthralling company and the kind of warm up to your weekend that puts you in pole position rather than leaving you drained & worn out. Hosted by the goddess of the clubbing scene, Minty and with probably one of the best D.J. combo’s around there is little more you could ask of a night, now having earned a firm place in our “must do” calendar.
So, it was yet another Thursday at just turned 10 p.m. that we found ourselves south of the river and in the clutches of Industri. Before we could even draw breath on entering, Minty appeared, running up and grabbing us in a huge embrace, immediately showering us in welcoming & supportive gestures, wiping away the stresses & strains of our emotional last week in an instant. This gal certainly knows how to party & was clearly already in the mood as we indulged in our now customary shots of Sambuca, to get our night under way, although Minty seemed well fuelled already!
A crowd full of a mix of regular Industri socialites, intertwined with clubland faces, off-duty D.J.’s and scene workers, had already gathered, many of whom we have grown to become friendly with over the months & all of them greeting us with open arms, soon sharing their weekly news & catch-up, very much setting this evening aside from many others we know. It is also fair to say that Industri attracts the friendliest crowd thus adding to the most relaxed & comfortable atmosphere you will find and certainly the best we have experienced in our long history out on the gay scene in London. This all with the backdrop of brilliantly selected house music tunes, played out by the popular duo Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron, who, along with Minty, are the faces of Industri personified.
Catching Brent’s attention, we disappeared behind the decks to exchange news of events since we had last seen each other, but were cut off in our prime by Minty, who had ascended one of the podium’s in front of the D.J. booth, then entertaining us and the crowd to an eye popping dancing display like no other, receiving a rip roaring reaction from the amassed Industri faithful's, aghast with her antics. We said this gal can party & so she can, as her actions soon caused an impromptu rush to the vacant podium, all hopefuls wanting to emulate Minty’s display if not in such an audacious fashion.
And so this social soiree scene was well and truly set as we assumed our place in amongst our friends, engaging in great conversation interspersed with regular dancing stints , which with the quality of music this “back-to-back” duo were delivering, was simply irresistible. As if all of this wasn’t enough, one of our favourite club promoters, and man of the moment, Wayne Shires appeared and we quickly rushed to the bar for more refreshments with him, rekindling memories of days of old as well as new, toasting his return to the helm of the venue which started it all in Vauxhall, Crash (now called Union).
With the evening seemingly flying by as an ever increasing amount of familiar faces wafted in and out and the atmosphere continued to gain on the momentum already built before our arrival, we saw out the rest of our stay, rubbing shoulders with Minty, Paul, Brent Wayne and other scene faces including D.J.’s Tim Mclone & Steven Geller, before retiring in the Vauxhall early morning at just before the 2 a.m. finish.
Industri, since it’s launch back in February has very much stamped it’s mark on the Thursday gay scene and amidst all of the stiff competition, particularly from the Embankment bar next door to Barcode in Vauxhall, not to mention the plethora of offerings in Soho, many of whom have followed the trend set by Industri in making Thursday the “new” Friday, this unique and most social of party nights continues to not only survive, but thrive in what can only be described as an extremely tough trading environment for gay venues across London.
So, if you haven’t yet savoured the experience of a trip to Industri, where superb music, fabulously friendly company & a truly memorable experience are the order of the day, get yourselves down to Barcode Vauxhall. And with the imminent return of our favourite go-go dancer, Dilmar, this social soiree can only get better. We salute Minty, Brent & Paul, for serving up a slice of partying magic, long may it continue. (DISCO MATT)
Matinee Superbowl Club Review - August 2008
MATINEE SUPERBOWL @ COLLESEUM & MATINEE PRE-PARTY AT BARCODE VAUXHALL – SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having missed out on much of the bank holiday offerings, we were definitely not going to forgo a visit to what can only be described as our favourite club outing of the moment, the Spanish brand extraordinaire having made itself right at home in the heart of the London gay clubbing scene, due in no part to the brilliance and hard work of Oliver Mohns, Logan Schmitt & The Evolved Events team.
As an added bonus, Matinee London have teamed up with Barcode, throwing a superb pre-party at their Vauxhall venue, this proving a perfect launch pad for the full blown affair at the much loved superclub, Colleseum, the new home of Matinee London following chequered fortunes at Fabric in Farringdon.
So, wishing to take full advantage of the Matinee experience, we arrived at a packed Barcode Vauxhall just before 11 p.m. for the pre-party and were greeted on the door by the ever welcoming Emilio, who waved us past the crowd of hopefuls looking to get a piece of the action inside. The front bar was brimming full with a mix of Barcode regulars rubbing shoulders with Matinee clubbing enthusiasts, we bumping into familiar faces, one after the other, as we headed for the bar and refreshments. Even our Industri pals were there and we soon indulged in chat & catch up.
Having planned to meet up with our newly found friend, Kieran, who was yet to succumb to the delights of a Matinee night out, not to mention a trip to Barcode Vauxhall, we wandered whether he would find his way, but with a call to our mobile from the nearby tube station, we ran out briefly to guide him to the pre-party and once in, introduced him to our other pals, who like us, were impressed with his glamorous outfit & looks.
With the main party already in full swing, it wasn’t long before we made the short trip across Vauxhall to Colleseum and on arrival were aghast with the huge crowd queuing patiently to get in. Being fortunate ones, we were on the guestlist and were quickly spotted by the fabulous Minty who has just recently been brought onto the Evolved Events team, providing a familiar scene face to the London clubbing fraternity making the trip to their latest clubbing instalment. It was clear that she & sidekick Marky B had their hands full managing the huge numbers anxious to get into the club, but experience tells & they were doing a magnificent job. Slapping a bright green VIP bandage around our wrists, Minty sent us on our way into Matinee heaven at our favoured venue.
As soon as we were past the coatcheck we spotted that the room (formerly the coatcheck) was open and filling with a crowd in search of the lighter side of Matinee, but we were intent on investigating the main room, our expectations high following earlier conversations with Oliver M about the transformation planned. And it is fair to say, we weren’t disappointed, as entering the main room, which was choc-a-bloc with ardent revellers soaking up the wonderful atmosphere, helped along by the presence of Matinee star DJ Enrico Argentini, who was in control of the decks in their new position against the back wall of the room, the old DJ booth space set aside for the team of eager go-go boys & girls. Behind the new D.J. booth was a bank of amazing multi coloured neon lights, which gave the room an exciting feel & look, with yet more go-go’s to the right of the booth, entertaining the audience in front of them. All the usual Matinee signage was present along with Evolved Events’ customary first class production to make us feel at home in the venue change.
Moving through towards the back area and pausing for a while outside in the smoking section, which was filling rapidly before our eyes, we spotted the old VIP room space open, which was also brimming full with people, evoking memories of all the great times we have had in there, back in the days of Beyond. We didn’t get as far as the third room, guessing that it, like the rest of the venue, was also busy, busy, busy.
Back in the main room, we were struggling to find a suitable space to dance, with the vagaries of the last few days, where in burning the proverbial candle had caught up on both us & our friend Kieran, leaving us sapped of the passion to dance the night away in usual frantic fashion, preferring to concentrate our efforts in keeping our fabulous friend as happy as possible. Soon, with Enrico Argentini giving way to yet another top Matinee DJ name, Rafa Ariza, who continued to deliver that unique sound we have come to know and love, both stars having been flown in direct from Ibiza, the evening was set to get just better & better. With the billed mega line up of a supporting DJ cast, including Blind Pig, the gorgeous Eduardo De La Torre, Alessandro & the Italian Stallion Pagano, not to mention the man himself Oliver M, on top of the ever presence of Logan’s team of beautiful dancers, the handsome crowd gathered were in for pure and unadulterated Matinee hedonism for the remaining hours of the mega blow-out with a finishing time of 11 a.m.
We really wanted to see out the whole experience, but with our energy levels dropping dangerously low, we meandered slowly through the main floor, past a mix of hunky topless latino’s, party boys &girls as well as off duty scene faces, beyond the packed bar area & down the stairs to make our exit from the club. Finally passing the first room we had come across on entering, which was still full of ravers, we stepped outside to make our way home to rejuvenate our batteries in time for work the following day. Even at this time, there was still a huge crowd queuing to enter, so proving Matinee’s popularity.
So, what did we think of our experience. Well, the transformation of Colleseum was remarkable, the music as good as it has always been at Matinee, the crowd still the most gorgeous and sexy of any club in London and the atmosphere fantastic. Yes it was probably a little too packed and sweaty for us at times, but, in the company our friend Kieran, who also made a point of commenting favourably afterwards, we had a superb time, if a shorter stay than we had anticipated.
Matinee, in moving to this Vauxhall superclub, in our view, is to set to go from strength to strength and with rumours & plans afoot to move back to its original Saturday slot, it can only get better. We are so pleased for Oliver, Logan & all involved with Evolved events, including Minty who will surely increase the popularity of both Matinee & Revolver, toasting what was a hugely successful Superbowl styled event. Bring on the next Matinee party and we promise to stay the distance next time. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having missed out on much of the bank holiday offerings, we were definitely not going to forgo a visit to what can only be described as our favourite club outing of the moment, the Spanish brand extraordinaire having made itself right at home in the heart of the London gay clubbing scene, due in no part to the brilliance and hard work of Oliver Mohns, Logan Schmitt & The Evolved Events team.
As an added bonus, Matinee London have teamed up with Barcode, throwing a superb pre-party at their Vauxhall venue, this proving a perfect launch pad for the full blown affair at the much loved superclub, Colleseum, the new home of Matinee London following chequered fortunes at Fabric in Farringdon.
So, wishing to take full advantage of the Matinee experience, we arrived at a packed Barcode Vauxhall just before 11 p.m. for the pre-party and were greeted on the door by the ever welcoming Emilio, who waved us past the crowd of hopefuls looking to get a piece of the action inside. The front bar was brimming full with a mix of Barcode regulars rubbing shoulders with Matinee clubbing enthusiasts, we bumping into familiar faces, one after the other, as we headed for the bar and refreshments. Even our Industri pals were there and we soon indulged in chat & catch up.
Having planned to meet up with our newly found friend, Kieran, who was yet to succumb to the delights of a Matinee night out, not to mention a trip to Barcode Vauxhall, we wandered whether he would find his way, but with a call to our mobile from the nearby tube station, we ran out briefly to guide him to the pre-party and once in, introduced him to our other pals, who like us, were impressed with his glamorous outfit & looks.
With the main party already in full swing, it wasn’t long before we made the short trip across Vauxhall to Colleseum and on arrival were aghast with the huge crowd queuing patiently to get in. Being fortunate ones, we were on the guestlist and were quickly spotted by the fabulous Minty who has just recently been brought onto the Evolved Events team, providing a familiar scene face to the London clubbing fraternity making the trip to their latest clubbing instalment. It was clear that she & sidekick Marky B had their hands full managing the huge numbers anxious to get into the club, but experience tells & they were doing a magnificent job. Slapping a bright green VIP bandage around our wrists, Minty sent us on our way into Matinee heaven at our favoured venue.
As soon as we were past the coatcheck we spotted that the room (formerly the coatcheck) was open and filling with a crowd in search of the lighter side of Matinee, but we were intent on investigating the main room, our expectations high following earlier conversations with Oliver M about the transformation planned. And it is fair to say, we weren’t disappointed, as entering the main room, which was choc-a-bloc with ardent revellers soaking up the wonderful atmosphere, helped along by the presence of Matinee star DJ Enrico Argentini, who was in control of the decks in their new position against the back wall of the room, the old DJ booth space set aside for the team of eager go-go boys & girls. Behind the new D.J. booth was a bank of amazing multi coloured neon lights, which gave the room an exciting feel & look, with yet more go-go’s to the right of the booth, entertaining the audience in front of them. All the usual Matinee signage was present along with Evolved Events’ customary first class production to make us feel at home in the venue change.
Moving through towards the back area and pausing for a while outside in the smoking section, which was filling rapidly before our eyes, we spotted the old VIP room space open, which was also brimming full with people, evoking memories of all the great times we have had in there, back in the days of Beyond. We didn’t get as far as the third room, guessing that it, like the rest of the venue, was also busy, busy, busy.
Back in the main room, we were struggling to find a suitable space to dance, with the vagaries of the last few days, where in burning the proverbial candle had caught up on both us & our friend Kieran, leaving us sapped of the passion to dance the night away in usual frantic fashion, preferring to concentrate our efforts in keeping our fabulous friend as happy as possible. Soon, with Enrico Argentini giving way to yet another top Matinee DJ name, Rafa Ariza, who continued to deliver that unique sound we have come to know and love, both stars having been flown in direct from Ibiza, the evening was set to get just better & better. With the billed mega line up of a supporting DJ cast, including Blind Pig, the gorgeous Eduardo De La Torre, Alessandro & the Italian Stallion Pagano, not to mention the man himself Oliver M, on top of the ever presence of Logan’s team of beautiful dancers, the handsome crowd gathered were in for pure and unadulterated Matinee hedonism for the remaining hours of the mega blow-out with a finishing time of 11 a.m.
We really wanted to see out the whole experience, but with our energy levels dropping dangerously low, we meandered slowly through the main floor, past a mix of hunky topless latino’s, party boys &girls as well as off duty scene faces, beyond the packed bar area & down the stairs to make our exit from the club. Finally passing the first room we had come across on entering, which was still full of ravers, we stepped outside to make our way home to rejuvenate our batteries in time for work the following day. Even at this time, there was still a huge crowd queuing to enter, so proving Matinee’s popularity.
So, what did we think of our experience. Well, the transformation of Colleseum was remarkable, the music as good as it has always been at Matinee, the crowd still the most gorgeous and sexy of any club in London and the atmosphere fantastic. Yes it was probably a little too packed and sweaty for us at times, but, in the company our friend Kieran, who also made a point of commenting favourably afterwards, we had a superb time, if a shorter stay than we had anticipated.
Matinee, in moving to this Vauxhall superclub, in our view, is to set to go from strength to strength and with rumours & plans afoot to move back to its original Saturday slot, it can only get better. We are so pleased for Oliver, Logan & all involved with Evolved events, including Minty who will surely increase the popularity of both Matinee & Revolver, toasting what was a hugely successful Superbowl styled event. Bring on the next Matinee party and we promise to stay the distance next time. (DISCO MATT)
Glamourous, 7 Deadly Sins Club Review - August 2008
GLAMOUROUS’ “7 DEADLY SINS” AT SIN NIGHTCLUB
SUNDAY 17TH AUGUST
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
As if we hadn’t had enough fun all day at Soho Pride, on the packed streets, the bursting venues, mixing with wonderfully beautiful people including scene celeb’s & friends, not to mention the magical atmosphere in the “Camp Gaydar” arena, especially in front of and from our privileged spot backstage at the GaydarRadio stand, could our evening get any better than this, well in short the answer was a resounding yes as we left the ravages of a still brimming Soho for the short trip to Club Sin on Charing Cross road for an “after Soho Pride!” special event.
Brought to us by Jeremy Precelton & the fabulous team at Glamorous, being their first dangerously delicious event to hit the London gay scene, 7 Deadly Sins, so named, had a huge billing including some of the best DJ’s in town spread over three floors, hosted by the infamous green goddess, Megan and all within the sexy, decadent and truly bohemian setting of Sin Nightclub, sin being the deadly name of the game!
So, entering the club just after 8 p.m. in time to escape a sudden turn in the weather outside, we were immediately struck by the gorgeousness if occasionally overstated luxury of this Sin venue and slowly finding our feet we fell on the gluttony & greed room, where the cute & lovely DJ Mikey D was in charge of the decks, drawing the crowd in with a delicious mix of cool house tunes to tempt us into committing our first sin of the evening. Resisting such a temptation in favour of searching out more of the nightclub, we ascended some stairs, passed through a chill-out area with huge comfy sofas, after finding our way onto a magnificent outside area which was cleverly moulded between adjacent buildings, so creating a fantastic courtyard truly unique to the West End.
Back inside and up some further stairs with an ever increasing buzz of people and music, we entered the lust lounge where an expectant crowd of stunning party goers had already gathered to make the very best of this glamorous event. The music tones sounded familiar and it was no surprise when we found scene favourite and busy boy Brent Nicholls in the DJ booth, enticing the crowd with a scrumptious mix of laid back electro & latin styled beats laced with up front dance tunes to really get the party going. With more of this cavernous venue still to see, we simply couldn’t move on from the lust lounge as the atmosphere was already superb, with scene celeb’s, off duty DJ’s and familiar faces, many of whom we had seen during the day, clearly having the same thoughts as us and were ready to be downright sinful.
Just as we were getting into our stride, a tap on the shoulder saw Sin’s General Manager Ian in our presence, delighted to see us and immediately offering refreshments and a guided tour of access all areas, including a climb into the back of the venue and onto the roof, where we were blown away, not only by the scale & size of this West End gem, but the night time view from these dizzy heights was a sight to behold. It is such a shame that come January next year Sin will be no more, like Astoria opposite, being demolished to make way for Crossrail, a sin indeed!
Back inside, Ian showed us down into the VIP room, introduced us to friends of his and it was no surprise we then committed our first deadly sin of the evening, the first of many more to come, not that we are easily led astray you must realise!!. Soon, leaving Ian to it, we dropped back down into the lust room, which by now was packed and pumping. We quickly realised that this space reminded us much of the legendary VIP room area at Club Colleseum, enjoyed many years previously at Beyond events where Brent Nicholls had, like here at Sin, entertained us so often.
A sudden noise caught our attention signalling the arrival of Gutterslut DJ’s Per Q.X. & Elliot J Brown, fresh from their exploits at the Q.X. music stage in Soho Pride, Per clutching a megaphone and naughtily uttering nonsense to the huge amusement of us and many around. This only added to the brilliant atmosphere with revellers having now spilled out into the pride ballroom, with sexy muscular go-go dancers on the elongated bar top strutting their stuff to the rapturous applause of the crowd in front of them. We concentrated our sinful efforts on the lust room, seeing out the full extent of Brent’s set and only occasionally disappearing out onto the courtyard to commit yet more sins with the likes of Megan, Minty & megaphone maestro Per QX with whom we have high regard, he many a time playing out with us over the years and especially recently at our other sinfully decadent trip to Gutterslut.
Not necessarily time watching but being conscious of an early start to work the following morning, all combined with the hectic full filled and ultimately tiring & emotional day we had sustained, not to mention seemingly running way over our quota of sins, we said our goodbyes to Per, Minty, Ian, other friends & faces as well as Brent Nicholls and slipped into the comparative calm of the West End & then home, resisting the temptations of the Camp Gaydar antics at Lo-Profile for which we had an invitation.
So, did we feel the event 7 Deadly Sins was a success, well yes, without question. We had a great time & it definitely rounded off a perfect day for us. It is true that only one of the three floors was busy, that perhaps in reality the huge billing was too ambitious and some may have been put off by the high door price of £15 which we got stung with, all combined with so many other after pride events on offer. However, reports that Encore at Café De Paris was not busy at all, Ghetto was quiet, the once hugely popular DTPM was, quote “intimate” and Exquisite was too exclusive for many, the Glamorous team can be proud of the crowd they pulled and a superbly gorgeous crowd it was too.
Reflecting with Sin’s G.M. Ian at our gaff a couple of days later, we affirmed our love of his venue as had done the Glamorous team. They are hopeful of making it their home for as long as they can, perhaps going weekly on a Sunday from very soon. If they do, we will certainly give them our support. (DISCO MATT)
SUNDAY 17TH AUGUST
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
As if we hadn’t had enough fun all day at Soho Pride, on the packed streets, the bursting venues, mixing with wonderfully beautiful people including scene celeb’s & friends, not to mention the magical atmosphere in the “Camp Gaydar” arena, especially in front of and from our privileged spot backstage at the GaydarRadio stand, could our evening get any better than this, well in short the answer was a resounding yes as we left the ravages of a still brimming Soho for the short trip to Club Sin on Charing Cross road for an “after Soho Pride!” special event.
Brought to us by Jeremy Precelton & the fabulous team at Glamorous, being their first dangerously delicious event to hit the London gay scene, 7 Deadly Sins, so named, had a huge billing including some of the best DJ’s in town spread over three floors, hosted by the infamous green goddess, Megan and all within the sexy, decadent and truly bohemian setting of Sin Nightclub, sin being the deadly name of the game!
So, entering the club just after 8 p.m. in time to escape a sudden turn in the weather outside, we were immediately struck by the gorgeousness if occasionally overstated luxury of this Sin venue and slowly finding our feet we fell on the gluttony & greed room, where the cute & lovely DJ Mikey D was in charge of the decks, drawing the crowd in with a delicious mix of cool house tunes to tempt us into committing our first sin of the evening. Resisting such a temptation in favour of searching out more of the nightclub, we ascended some stairs, passed through a chill-out area with huge comfy sofas, after finding our way onto a magnificent outside area which was cleverly moulded between adjacent buildings, so creating a fantastic courtyard truly unique to the West End.
Back inside and up some further stairs with an ever increasing buzz of people and music, we entered the lust lounge where an expectant crowd of stunning party goers had already gathered to make the very best of this glamorous event. The music tones sounded familiar and it was no surprise when we found scene favourite and busy boy Brent Nicholls in the DJ booth, enticing the crowd with a scrumptious mix of laid back electro & latin styled beats laced with up front dance tunes to really get the party going. With more of this cavernous venue still to see, we simply couldn’t move on from the lust lounge as the atmosphere was already superb, with scene celeb’s, off duty DJ’s and familiar faces, many of whom we had seen during the day, clearly having the same thoughts as us and were ready to be downright sinful.
Just as we were getting into our stride, a tap on the shoulder saw Sin’s General Manager Ian in our presence, delighted to see us and immediately offering refreshments and a guided tour of access all areas, including a climb into the back of the venue and onto the roof, where we were blown away, not only by the scale & size of this West End gem, but the night time view from these dizzy heights was a sight to behold. It is such a shame that come January next year Sin will be no more, like Astoria opposite, being demolished to make way for Crossrail, a sin indeed!
Back inside, Ian showed us down into the VIP room, introduced us to friends of his and it was no surprise we then committed our first deadly sin of the evening, the first of many more to come, not that we are easily led astray you must realise!!. Soon, leaving Ian to it, we dropped back down into the lust room, which by now was packed and pumping. We quickly realised that this space reminded us much of the legendary VIP room area at Club Colleseum, enjoyed many years previously at Beyond events where Brent Nicholls had, like here at Sin, entertained us so often.
A sudden noise caught our attention signalling the arrival of Gutterslut DJ’s Per Q.X. & Elliot J Brown, fresh from their exploits at the Q.X. music stage in Soho Pride, Per clutching a megaphone and naughtily uttering nonsense to the huge amusement of us and many around. This only added to the brilliant atmosphere with revellers having now spilled out into the pride ballroom, with sexy muscular go-go dancers on the elongated bar top strutting their stuff to the rapturous applause of the crowd in front of them. We concentrated our sinful efforts on the lust room, seeing out the full extent of Brent’s set and only occasionally disappearing out onto the courtyard to commit yet more sins with the likes of Megan, Minty & megaphone maestro Per QX with whom we have high regard, he many a time playing out with us over the years and especially recently at our other sinfully decadent trip to Gutterslut.
Not necessarily time watching but being conscious of an early start to work the following morning, all combined with the hectic full filled and ultimately tiring & emotional day we had sustained, not to mention seemingly running way over our quota of sins, we said our goodbyes to Per, Minty, Ian, other friends & faces as well as Brent Nicholls and slipped into the comparative calm of the West End & then home, resisting the temptations of the Camp Gaydar antics at Lo-Profile for which we had an invitation.
So, did we feel the event 7 Deadly Sins was a success, well yes, without question. We had a great time & it definitely rounded off a perfect day for us. It is true that only one of the three floors was busy, that perhaps in reality the huge billing was too ambitious and some may have been put off by the high door price of £15 which we got stung with, all combined with so many other after pride events on offer. However, reports that Encore at Café De Paris was not busy at all, Ghetto was quiet, the once hugely popular DTPM was, quote “intimate” and Exquisite was too exclusive for many, the Glamorous team can be proud of the crowd they pulled and a superbly gorgeous crowd it was too.
Reflecting with Sin’s G.M. Ian at our gaff a couple of days later, we affirmed our love of his venue as had done the Glamorous team. They are hopeful of making it their home for as long as they can, perhaps going weekly on a Sunday from very soon. If they do, we will certainly give them our support. (DISCO MATT)
Soho Pride Special Event Review - August 2008
SOHO PRIDE – SUNDAY 17TH AUGUST
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Still recovering from our trip to Vauxhall and the Crash Reunion party at Union, we peered out into the Sunday daylight, pleased to see that the sun was shinning and the weather seemed set fair if not that warm, for what has become the must visit Pride event of the year, held on the streets and open spaces of Soho in Central London.
With expectations high and this day likely to be more popular than London Pride held six weeks before, we gathered ourselves together and headed off from home on the relatively short trip into town, making our entrance into the massive cordoned off Soho Pride area via Barcode at just after 2.30 p.m. The streets around Barcode and then the familiar Q.X. music stage were quieter than we had seen in previous years, so we headed into Rupert Street Bar to arm ourselves with refreshments. In the short time we were there, we spotted the crowd outside beginning to swell and activity on the adjoining streets gathering pace, with the arrival of the Wig Party go-go dancers, adorned in extrovert white wigs otherwise scantly clad, heading to the Q.X. music stage to join the wonderful DJ line up including Alan X & Per QX (it’s all in the “Q.X.”).
Leaving the temptations of Rupert Street, we decided to investigate the whole Soho Pride area, not just to get our bearings on the slightly revised layout of this billed coolest UK pride event, now in its 6th year, but to see where the real hotspots were. Walking past around past bars Escape and then Village, all seemed peaceful, soon to be shattered by an amassed crowd on Old Compton Street and swelling out of Compton’s, which every year has proven to be one of the most popular gay bar/pub venue at this event. Fighting our way past the crowd and moving further down Old Compton Street, it was clear that each and every business, cafés, bars & restaurants, were taking advantage of the pink pound and the closed off roads, with tables out on the streets enabling alfresco dining and drinking, although these spots were soon to be like gold dust as these normally motor filled arteries were set to be packed with revellers.
Glancing up Dean Street, we spotted the community market, in a new spot further up from it’s previous years position on Frith Street, although we continued to head for the new stage, also sponsored by QX Magazine, wedged between famous Soho eateries Ed’s Diner and The Stockpot, pausing briefly to figure out what the advertised fresh, fruity bubbling pop sounds and PA appearances on this new entertainment stand were all about. With not too much happening, we turned tail and headed up Frith Street, arriving at Profile Bar, which was clearly almost as popular as Compton’s, but with an altogether more glamorous crowd of muscle hunks, party queens and scene faces soaking up what proved to be one of the most glorious places to be seen and to succumb to the whole Soho Pride experience. With Gaydar backing this venue and in close proximity to the main stage within Soho Square itself, we soon found ourselves wandering up to the jewel in the Soho Pride crown, “Camp Gaydar”.
In association with XXL, GaydarRadio were the major sponsors of this impromptu camp (in more ways than one) area within the confines of Soho Square and at 3 p.m., it was already brimming full with an amazing mixed crowd of passionate & outrageous folk all out for a great time. For sure, the area certainly failed to disappoint, being so popular that a huge queue had already developed, enveloping around the square and past Edge bar. It was difficult to estimate the waiting time to get into the real hotspot of the Soho Pride and with the amazing DJ line up on the GaydarRadio Stage as impressive as any we have seen, getting better and stronger as the day went on, we were determined to get in, although we hate queuing for anything, being far from British in this pursuit. Fortunately, we were rescued from this potential plight with a backstage pass, being so grateful to & appreciative towards the kind and generous scene star that bequeathed this ticket to Soho Pride heaven and movement freedom.
Finding ourselves back outside Profile Bar more and more people were gathering and as we forced our way inside to arm ourselves with more refreshments we bumped into the fabulous Johnny Hooley and door host extraordinaire Wayne, both resplendent in glamorous outfits, perfectly matched to the classy & sexy crowd around. With camera’s clicking and expectant hunky bar staff, go-go’s & drag queens craving for their photo’s to be taken, we headed back towards Soho Square bumping into our fabulously fierce partner in crime Lexi, who was buttering up the brilliant Powder Puff Girls. These entertainers love being in the limelight and before you could say cheese, they were in front of the camera’s posing magnificently.
With our backstage pass now firmly glued to our bicep, we were now into Camp Gaydar in a trice, mixing with the party crowd and slowly meandering our way towards, then round the main stage. The sponsors had spared no effort to dress the whole area just like a makeshift campsite, fabulous, but after just a short trip round, we headed swiftly backstage to get our breath. There we found a smattering of scene faces including DJ’s Wayne G & Jamie Head as well as the talented Andrew Harris, all clearly enjoying the luxury of the crowd free area, like us soaking up the fantastic atmosphere. However, we were tempted to venture back out into the crowd and leaving our camera clicking pals for a moment, headed off to the bar to find the engaging Minty, perching on a high stool behind the beavering staff, overseeing proceedings and in charge of the all important back bar logistics. Seeing her in action, we simply couldn’t resist in Tequila and poked our head round the makeshift bar toasting Soho pride with Minty, in an all too familiar habit we enjoy together.
But it was back behind the stage where we found our scene photographer pals having taken full advantage of front stage positions to click pictures of the massive crowd, the PA on stage, the gorgeously muscled dancers and the scene celeb's around to further compliment the already huge number of photo’s taken, only then taking their short leave of Camp Gaydar to rejuvenate energy levels in time for the magical DJ line up that was to come on the main stage. We too briefly took our leave, wandering slowly back down the bursting at the seams streets towards Barcode, bumping into so many familiar faces, all loving the day that was clearly Soho Pride. Eventually working our way past the QX Music stage area, which was now rammed with people, we dropped in on Barcode to find the energetic DJ Steven Geller behind the decks. This cute young talent throws everything into his sets and today was no different, with favourite electro twisted house beast, one after the other pumping out, just brilliant.
But time was drawing on and we had a date back in Camp Gaydar and the GaydarRadio stage and arrived back to catch the last part of DJ Jamie Head’s set which had clearly lifted the crowd and atmosphere considerably higher than when we had left. Jamie is one of our favourite DJ’s and it was great to see him in action again, also being a pleasure to have the opportunity of catching up with him backstage. With a short PA following it was then the turn of Brent Nicholls to assume the decks and he immediately sent the amassed audience in Soho Square into stratospheric mood with one major latest house hit after the other followed by classic hands in the air dance tunes sending all around wild. We just had to savour this fabulous feeling, so left our privileged spot behind the main stage and joined the crowd out front to benefit the full effect of what was happening. With Brent Nicholls’ time up before we knew it, it was Paul Heron’s turn to finish off proceedings, and he took up right where Brent had left off, so ensuring the atmosphere remained electric right through to the close at 8 p.m.
Leaving Camp Gaydar behind, we made a final walk around Soho before heading off to one of many aftherhours parties on offer, our choice being Glamorous at Club Sin. This was our excuse to carry on what for us ended up being THE party of the year so far.
So what of Soho Pride 2008, well what we can say is this, yes, at times the huge crowd was a little too much for us, yes the weather deteriorated as the day went on, yes drinking out of plastic and having to accept higher than usual prices for just about everything were annoying consequences, but these were far outweighed by the wonderful atmosphere, the fabulous music the constant stream of friendly & familiar faces, the gift of a backstage pass and the chance of rubbing shoulders with some of the scene’s most fabulous celeb's which well and truly made our day and will ensure that this is one Soho Pride we will never forget.
With so many businesses, sponsors and organisations involved and working so tirelessly to make Soho Pride the clear success it was again, we sincerely hope they get the praise and reward they deserve. In working hard to ensure that we as revellers, party goers, what ever you want to call us, enjoy ourselves, we cannot say thank you enough, not just for us but on behalf of everyone who had the privilege of attending. To all the artists scene faces, DJ’s & promoters, also a huge thanks to you for contributing to this spectacular event and making it so special for us. Soho Pride has once again demonstrated that London can put on a fabulous party, London pride take note and has shown the country and perhaps the world how it should be done. We will be back next year that is for sure. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Still recovering from our trip to Vauxhall and the Crash Reunion party at Union, we peered out into the Sunday daylight, pleased to see that the sun was shinning and the weather seemed set fair if not that warm, for what has become the must visit Pride event of the year, held on the streets and open spaces of Soho in Central London.
With expectations high and this day likely to be more popular than London Pride held six weeks before, we gathered ourselves together and headed off from home on the relatively short trip into town, making our entrance into the massive cordoned off Soho Pride area via Barcode at just after 2.30 p.m. The streets around Barcode and then the familiar Q.X. music stage were quieter than we had seen in previous years, so we headed into Rupert Street Bar to arm ourselves with refreshments. In the short time we were there, we spotted the crowd outside beginning to swell and activity on the adjoining streets gathering pace, with the arrival of the Wig Party go-go dancers, adorned in extrovert white wigs otherwise scantly clad, heading to the Q.X. music stage to join the wonderful DJ line up including Alan X & Per QX (it’s all in the “Q.X.”).
Leaving the temptations of Rupert Street, we decided to investigate the whole Soho Pride area, not just to get our bearings on the slightly revised layout of this billed coolest UK pride event, now in its 6th year, but to see where the real hotspots were. Walking past around past bars Escape and then Village, all seemed peaceful, soon to be shattered by an amassed crowd on Old Compton Street and swelling out of Compton’s, which every year has proven to be one of the most popular gay bar/pub venue at this event. Fighting our way past the crowd and moving further down Old Compton Street, it was clear that each and every business, cafés, bars & restaurants, were taking advantage of the pink pound and the closed off roads, with tables out on the streets enabling alfresco dining and drinking, although these spots were soon to be like gold dust as these normally motor filled arteries were set to be packed with revellers.
Glancing up Dean Street, we spotted the community market, in a new spot further up from it’s previous years position on Frith Street, although we continued to head for the new stage, also sponsored by QX Magazine, wedged between famous Soho eateries Ed’s Diner and The Stockpot, pausing briefly to figure out what the advertised fresh, fruity bubbling pop sounds and PA appearances on this new entertainment stand were all about. With not too much happening, we turned tail and headed up Frith Street, arriving at Profile Bar, which was clearly almost as popular as Compton’s, but with an altogether more glamorous crowd of muscle hunks, party queens and scene faces soaking up what proved to be one of the most glorious places to be seen and to succumb to the whole Soho Pride experience. With Gaydar backing this venue and in close proximity to the main stage within Soho Square itself, we soon found ourselves wandering up to the jewel in the Soho Pride crown, “Camp Gaydar”.
In association with XXL, GaydarRadio were the major sponsors of this impromptu camp (in more ways than one) area within the confines of Soho Square and at 3 p.m., it was already brimming full with an amazing mixed crowd of passionate & outrageous folk all out for a great time. For sure, the area certainly failed to disappoint, being so popular that a huge queue had already developed, enveloping around the square and past Edge bar. It was difficult to estimate the waiting time to get into the real hotspot of the Soho Pride and with the amazing DJ line up on the GaydarRadio Stage as impressive as any we have seen, getting better and stronger as the day went on, we were determined to get in, although we hate queuing for anything, being far from British in this pursuit. Fortunately, we were rescued from this potential plight with a backstage pass, being so grateful to & appreciative towards the kind and generous scene star that bequeathed this ticket to Soho Pride heaven and movement freedom.
Finding ourselves back outside Profile Bar more and more people were gathering and as we forced our way inside to arm ourselves with more refreshments we bumped into the fabulous Johnny Hooley and door host extraordinaire Wayne, both resplendent in glamorous outfits, perfectly matched to the classy & sexy crowd around. With camera’s clicking and expectant hunky bar staff, go-go’s & drag queens craving for their photo’s to be taken, we headed back towards Soho Square bumping into our fabulously fierce partner in crime Lexi, who was buttering up the brilliant Powder Puff Girls. These entertainers love being in the limelight and before you could say cheese, they were in front of the camera’s posing magnificently.
With our backstage pass now firmly glued to our bicep, we were now into Camp Gaydar in a trice, mixing with the party crowd and slowly meandering our way towards, then round the main stage. The sponsors had spared no effort to dress the whole area just like a makeshift campsite, fabulous, but after just a short trip round, we headed swiftly backstage to get our breath. There we found a smattering of scene faces including DJ’s Wayne G & Jamie Head as well as the talented Andrew Harris, all clearly enjoying the luxury of the crowd free area, like us soaking up the fantastic atmosphere. However, we were tempted to venture back out into the crowd and leaving our camera clicking pals for a moment, headed off to the bar to find the engaging Minty, perching on a high stool behind the beavering staff, overseeing proceedings and in charge of the all important back bar logistics. Seeing her in action, we simply couldn’t resist in Tequila and poked our head round the makeshift bar toasting Soho pride with Minty, in an all too familiar habit we enjoy together.
But it was back behind the stage where we found our scene photographer pals having taken full advantage of front stage positions to click pictures of the massive crowd, the PA on stage, the gorgeously muscled dancers and the scene celeb's around to further compliment the already huge number of photo’s taken, only then taking their short leave of Camp Gaydar to rejuvenate energy levels in time for the magical DJ line up that was to come on the main stage. We too briefly took our leave, wandering slowly back down the bursting at the seams streets towards Barcode, bumping into so many familiar faces, all loving the day that was clearly Soho Pride. Eventually working our way past the QX Music stage area, which was now rammed with people, we dropped in on Barcode to find the energetic DJ Steven Geller behind the decks. This cute young talent throws everything into his sets and today was no different, with favourite electro twisted house beast, one after the other pumping out, just brilliant.
But time was drawing on and we had a date back in Camp Gaydar and the GaydarRadio stage and arrived back to catch the last part of DJ Jamie Head’s set which had clearly lifted the crowd and atmosphere considerably higher than when we had left. Jamie is one of our favourite DJ’s and it was great to see him in action again, also being a pleasure to have the opportunity of catching up with him backstage. With a short PA following it was then the turn of Brent Nicholls to assume the decks and he immediately sent the amassed audience in Soho Square into stratospheric mood with one major latest house hit after the other followed by classic hands in the air dance tunes sending all around wild. We just had to savour this fabulous feeling, so left our privileged spot behind the main stage and joined the crowd out front to benefit the full effect of what was happening. With Brent Nicholls’ time up before we knew it, it was Paul Heron’s turn to finish off proceedings, and he took up right where Brent had left off, so ensuring the atmosphere remained electric right through to the close at 8 p.m.
Leaving Camp Gaydar behind, we made a final walk around Soho before heading off to one of many aftherhours parties on offer, our choice being Glamorous at Club Sin. This was our excuse to carry on what for us ended up being THE party of the year so far.
So what of Soho Pride 2008, well what we can say is this, yes, at times the huge crowd was a little too much for us, yes the weather deteriorated as the day went on, yes drinking out of plastic and having to accept higher than usual prices for just about everything were annoying consequences, but these were far outweighed by the wonderful atmosphere, the fabulous music the constant stream of friendly & familiar faces, the gift of a backstage pass and the chance of rubbing shoulders with some of the scene’s most fabulous celeb's which well and truly made our day and will ensure that this is one Soho Pride we will never forget.
With so many businesses, sponsors and organisations involved and working so tirelessly to make Soho Pride the clear success it was again, we sincerely hope they get the praise and reward they deserve. In working hard to ensure that we as revellers, party goers, what ever you want to call us, enjoy ourselves, we cannot say thank you enough, not just for us but on behalf of everyone who had the privilege of attending. To all the artists scene faces, DJ’s & promoters, also a huge thanks to you for contributing to this spectacular event and making it so special for us. Soho Pride has once again demonstrated that London can put on a fabulous party, London pride take note and has shown the country and perhaps the world how it should be done. We will be back next year that is for sure. (DISCO MATT)
Crash Renuion Club Review - August 2008
CRASH REUNION @ UNION – SATURDAY 16TH AUGUST
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Just the mere mention of Crash gets us extremely excited, as it was this very club night that started the gay underground clubbing movement in Vauxhall, way back in 1998 and one that holds so many fabulous memories for us, right from the heady days when it began through to the emotional “finale” party last December. So much so, we treasure all the great album mixes that have come out of the club, not to mention having screensaver images on our mobiles as well as continuing to sport now rare key fobs & original T-Shirts (not quite Crash obsessive!!).
When the curtain fell on this historic Saturday night excursion, which through evolutionary changes during it’s lifetime, including the infamous (& our more favourite) switch to “Crash Afterhours” then back to it’s regular slot of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., from mixed gender to male only and back again, all in, sometimes successful, attempts to fend off the imposing dominance of Fire & The Orange group, we thought this true phenomenon had finally laid down and died. So to hear of a sort of resurrection in the form of a reunion party became an unmissable event in our calendar. This on the back of the news that the legendary club promoter, Wayne Shires, had reassumed full control of the venue, now named Union, formerly renamed Crash, formerly known as Depot, formerly known as Crash (confused? – all will become clear), breaking amicably from his association with Craig Elder, we were even more excited that one of our most favourite venues in London was about to be given a new and better lease of life.
So, being joined by our very good friend Benoit, with whom we had warmed and revved up our evening via a short excursion to Barcode Vauxhall & the delights of DJ Faye Lanson, it was just a hop skip & jump past the clutches of Glendora at The Embankment bar and to the welcoming charm of THE door hostess to beat them all, Minty who was holding court at the entrance to Union. In true fashion, she greeted us with open arms, dressed resplendently in a smart “military uniform” jacket & customary designer black shades contrasting amazingly with her trademark blonde locks, thus immediately taking us back to all those brilliant days of her greeting us week in-week out at Crash.
Waving us through in usual fashion we entered Union (as now called – got it?) and deposited our excess clobber in the coat check, unchanged from the days of Crash. However, then entering the club and being given a guided tour, it was evident that since our last visit in December, things had changed somewhat. The “back” room as we knew it had been transformed with a brand new bar on the left-hand-side, the DJ booth elevated up high in a position never used in it’s ten year history, although a few small elements remained recognisable, the middle staircase unchanged, the escape exit to the outside area the same and the more recent refurbished toilet facilities identical. However, the entrance to the “main” room has changed, now accessed via a twisting corridor chill area which is completely new and once in, this looked different too, with imposing screens along one side, a massive video wall at one end, new lighting & new sound speakers in the form of the notorious “Avalon” system, which had been first introduced to Area by Wayne Shires over a year ago, supposedly rescued from the “skip” a second time & deservedly so as the sound pumping out from the minute we entered was incredible as well as easy on our eardrums..
Looking high up we spotted DJ San Diego in charge of the decks, delivering an enticing mix of chunky house tunes to a building crowd of familiar faces, but like the back room, the DJ booth was in a far too elevated position for our liking and therefore in our view, missing that unique feel and vibe we had been so used to at the Crash of old, where fun filled interaction with the DJ’s was possible and for us and important part of our clubbing experience. With the tour nearly over and most other character spots of the club unchanged, we popped outside to toast our arrival at the Crash Reunion party with Minty, devouring customary shots of Sambuca & Tequila, pausing briefly to have a chat over the railings to Brent Nicholls, who had arrived to take up an earlier than expected slot in the main room. This signalled our immediate return via the back room to find Wayne Shires in situ, immediately greeting us and asking us for our views on the revised club layout, which we were happy to impart. We have to say that the clear lack of a myriad of lasers and bright lights on both dancefloors is remarkably refreshing, different to so many of Union’s contemporaries, giving it a unique and, for us, truly underground feel.
Without wishing to dwell on this moment & some of the changes not to our liking, more to sink and succumb to the superb feeling of being back amongst clubbing friends & faces, also experiencing a little of the old Crash magic, we plummeted into and onto the main dance floor soaking up the whole brilliance & extent of Brent Nicholls’ set, which was only briefly interrupted by return trips to the bar in the back room where, by now, another Crash DJ legend, Tasty Tim was in charge, his selected tunes & individual look bringing memories flooding back. The promise of old Crash DJ names playing the reunion party was honoured, as complimenting Brent & Tim at this special party, were two more familiar Crash residents of old, Paul Heron & Ben Jamin, both playing out in the main room.
Being eventually joined on the dancefloor by Minty and with even more pals from the Crash days coming & going, not to mention the ever present Wayne Shires, we thoroughly enjoyed the reunion experience, but with the inevitable dawn arrival in our minds, we finally took our leave of Union, escaping the draw of Beyond in Area, which would have always been a post Crash visit when it was at Colleseum, rather slumping home to bed to reflect on a night filled with memories of old.
It is clear that the old Crash is no more, Wayne Shires determined to move the newly named Union forward rather than dwelling on the past, with more nights planned and the venue expecting to trade 7 days a week soon. However, it is also fair to say that in some small way that Crash magic does actually live on and we hear that more reunion parties are on the cards, we hope bringing back such names as Steve Pitron, Jamie Head & even Tom Stephan, to further compliment the great DJ’s who entertained us at this party. Wayne, his team and the venue, Union, gets our general thumbs up and with so much history behind them & it, with so much expectation ahead and the promise of new club nights & events to come, we will certainly be supporting and gracing the doors of this venue again & again. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Just the mere mention of Crash gets us extremely excited, as it was this very club night that started the gay underground clubbing movement in Vauxhall, way back in 1998 and one that holds so many fabulous memories for us, right from the heady days when it began through to the emotional “finale” party last December. So much so, we treasure all the great album mixes that have come out of the club, not to mention having screensaver images on our mobiles as well as continuing to sport now rare key fobs & original T-Shirts (not quite Crash obsessive!!).
When the curtain fell on this historic Saturday night excursion, which through evolutionary changes during it’s lifetime, including the infamous (& our more favourite) switch to “Crash Afterhours” then back to it’s regular slot of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., from mixed gender to male only and back again, all in, sometimes successful, attempts to fend off the imposing dominance of Fire & The Orange group, we thought this true phenomenon had finally laid down and died. So to hear of a sort of resurrection in the form of a reunion party became an unmissable event in our calendar. This on the back of the news that the legendary club promoter, Wayne Shires, had reassumed full control of the venue, now named Union, formerly renamed Crash, formerly known as Depot, formerly known as Crash (confused? – all will become clear), breaking amicably from his association with Craig Elder, we were even more excited that one of our most favourite venues in London was about to be given a new and better lease of life.
So, being joined by our very good friend Benoit, with whom we had warmed and revved up our evening via a short excursion to Barcode Vauxhall & the delights of DJ Faye Lanson, it was just a hop skip & jump past the clutches of Glendora at The Embankment bar and to the welcoming charm of THE door hostess to beat them all, Minty who was holding court at the entrance to Union. In true fashion, she greeted us with open arms, dressed resplendently in a smart “military uniform” jacket & customary designer black shades contrasting amazingly with her trademark blonde locks, thus immediately taking us back to all those brilliant days of her greeting us week in-week out at Crash.
Waving us through in usual fashion we entered Union (as now called – got it?) and deposited our excess clobber in the coat check, unchanged from the days of Crash. However, then entering the club and being given a guided tour, it was evident that since our last visit in December, things had changed somewhat. The “back” room as we knew it had been transformed with a brand new bar on the left-hand-side, the DJ booth elevated up high in a position never used in it’s ten year history, although a few small elements remained recognisable, the middle staircase unchanged, the escape exit to the outside area the same and the more recent refurbished toilet facilities identical. However, the entrance to the “main” room has changed, now accessed via a twisting corridor chill area which is completely new and once in, this looked different too, with imposing screens along one side, a massive video wall at one end, new lighting & new sound speakers in the form of the notorious “Avalon” system, which had been first introduced to Area by Wayne Shires over a year ago, supposedly rescued from the “skip” a second time & deservedly so as the sound pumping out from the minute we entered was incredible as well as easy on our eardrums..
Looking high up we spotted DJ San Diego in charge of the decks, delivering an enticing mix of chunky house tunes to a building crowd of familiar faces, but like the back room, the DJ booth was in a far too elevated position for our liking and therefore in our view, missing that unique feel and vibe we had been so used to at the Crash of old, where fun filled interaction with the DJ’s was possible and for us and important part of our clubbing experience. With the tour nearly over and most other character spots of the club unchanged, we popped outside to toast our arrival at the Crash Reunion party with Minty, devouring customary shots of Sambuca & Tequila, pausing briefly to have a chat over the railings to Brent Nicholls, who had arrived to take up an earlier than expected slot in the main room. This signalled our immediate return via the back room to find Wayne Shires in situ, immediately greeting us and asking us for our views on the revised club layout, which we were happy to impart. We have to say that the clear lack of a myriad of lasers and bright lights on both dancefloors is remarkably refreshing, different to so many of Union’s contemporaries, giving it a unique and, for us, truly underground feel.
Without wishing to dwell on this moment & some of the changes not to our liking, more to sink and succumb to the superb feeling of being back amongst clubbing friends & faces, also experiencing a little of the old Crash magic, we plummeted into and onto the main dance floor soaking up the whole brilliance & extent of Brent Nicholls’ set, which was only briefly interrupted by return trips to the bar in the back room where, by now, another Crash DJ legend, Tasty Tim was in charge, his selected tunes & individual look bringing memories flooding back. The promise of old Crash DJ names playing the reunion party was honoured, as complimenting Brent & Tim at this special party, were two more familiar Crash residents of old, Paul Heron & Ben Jamin, both playing out in the main room.
Being eventually joined on the dancefloor by Minty and with even more pals from the Crash days coming & going, not to mention the ever present Wayne Shires, we thoroughly enjoyed the reunion experience, but with the inevitable dawn arrival in our minds, we finally took our leave of Union, escaping the draw of Beyond in Area, which would have always been a post Crash visit when it was at Colleseum, rather slumping home to bed to reflect on a night filled with memories of old.
It is clear that the old Crash is no more, Wayne Shires determined to move the newly named Union forward rather than dwelling on the past, with more nights planned and the venue expecting to trade 7 days a week soon. However, it is also fair to say that in some small way that Crash magic does actually live on and we hear that more reunion parties are on the cards, we hope bringing back such names as Steve Pitron, Jamie Head & even Tom Stephan, to further compliment the great DJ’s who entertained us at this party. Wayne, his team and the venue, Union, gets our general thumbs up and with so much history behind them & it, with so much expectation ahead and the promise of new club nights & events to come, we will certainly be supporting and gracing the doors of this venue again & again. (DISCO MATT)
Barcode Vauxhall 2nd Birthday Club Review - July 2008
BARCODE VAUXHALL – 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY – SATURDAY 19TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having been regular attendees to this sophisticated and up-market bar & club since it launch, we were certainly not going to miss out on this “must” party event, which had been on everybody’s lips for weeks.
So with their doors swung open we made our entrance to our favourite & popular Vauxhall venue, early at 9 p.m., knowing that if we were going to make it right through to the extended opening time of 8 a.m. the following morning, some serious pacing would be required.
Already a crowd of hopefully party goers were gathering, all eager for proceedings to kick off and it wasn’t long before the lighting was adjusted in the front room, hailing the arrival of Saki behind the decks. This talented and charming guy, who is part of the Barcode management team, has successfully branched out into D.J.’ing and we were soon entertained to a fun filled mix of uplifting house & dance to get the growing and captive audience in the mood.
Peering down beyond the front room, we saw a hive of activity as the club bar opened and advancing down and into this fabulous space, caught D.J. D’Johnny taking up his familiar position in the elevated booth. D’Johnny has been a regular behind the decks at both Barcode Vauxhall & Soho, where we had first come across this Swedish sensation, so it was great to see him back where he belonged.
Just as we were getting into our stride, work interruptions forced us to make an unplanned departure from Vauxhall and by the time we had managed to sort them out, on our way back south, found ourselves being tempted to drop in on Barcode Vauxhall’s sister venue in Soho. What should have been a short excursion from the main event, lasted a little longer than we had planned, but with fabulous music on offer, played by one of our favourite scene D.J.’s, combined with the lovely bar staff in the club, as well as a great atmosphere, we simply couldn’t resist.
However, it the party in Vauxhall where we should have been, so were back over the river and having been whisked through the doors by friendly door staff, we found ourselves back in Barcode Vauxhall’s front room, which was now bursting at the seams. While we had been absent, Saki had handed over proceedings to turned D.J. Faye Lanson, also a Barcode regular, who was taking the room by storm, injecting her amazing energy into a marvellous collection of house favourites, which had the huge crowd dancing & jiving in what little space they could find. We have been fans of Faye for some time and couldn’t be better pleased that she is landing more and more gigs having bloomed into her D.J. mantle.
Tearing ourselves away and down into the club bar, which looked just as busy as the front, we peeked into the D.J. booth and saw the gorgeous Mattias behind the decks, pumping out a harder edged sound to a superb mix of hunky boys, party girls, scene faces and off duty bar & club workers, savouring the magical atmosphere that had clearly built while we had been absent. Familiar face after face wandered by as we secured a precious dancing spot by the D.J. booth only momentarily departing to the bar for refreshments, served by the sexy shirts off staff.
It was so good the see the venue as packed as it was on launch night and so the scene was set for an altogether spectacular party night, with us trading trips between the front room and the club at the rear, continuing to bump into friends and faces, some of which we hadn’t seen for ages. Troy was ever present, being as engaging as always, even hostess extraordinaire, Heidi Liscious was mixing with the crowd, adding a truly colourful edge to the evening.
As the night wore on, Faye, who had proved so popular in the front room, handed over the decks to Paul Coles, who’s music took us on a different direction, while in the club, the scrumptious Mattias eventually gave way to D.J. Mikey D, who we know well from our many trips to the legendary and sorely missed Crash. His arrival meant that we settled on the club bar to see out the remainder of our evening, which by now was more like early morning. Mikey D’s choice of tracks, like Mattias before him, had us dancing furiously on our spot, as did those around us, also ensuring the dancefloor remained rammed with a beautiful mix of people, who, like us, just didn’t know when to stop.
However, stop we had to, as our plans to pace ourselves fell apart. So, being exhausted we threw in the towel in on what was one hell of a party, slinking into the Vauxhall dawn and home to rest our weary legs, shunning the temptations of Beyond which was firing up in Area next door and a still packed Barcode which had two more hours to run.
Well, a resounding happy 2nd birthday to Barcode Vauxhall, once again proving that it still remains a popular venue in the gay village south of the river and certainly showing that despite a recent drop in numbers, it can still pack a punch and draw a crowd. With the unique and stylish soiree weekly on Thursday’s, Industri, with top notch scene D.J.’s on Friday’s & Saturday’s not to mention superb drinks offers on Sunday’s & Monday’s, there is always a great reason to visit. Hats off to Troy & his fabulous team, you definitely have our support. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having been regular attendees to this sophisticated and up-market bar & club since it launch, we were certainly not going to miss out on this “must” party event, which had been on everybody’s lips for weeks.
So with their doors swung open we made our entrance to our favourite & popular Vauxhall venue, early at 9 p.m., knowing that if we were going to make it right through to the extended opening time of 8 a.m. the following morning, some serious pacing would be required.
Already a crowd of hopefully party goers were gathering, all eager for proceedings to kick off and it wasn’t long before the lighting was adjusted in the front room, hailing the arrival of Saki behind the decks. This talented and charming guy, who is part of the Barcode management team, has successfully branched out into D.J.’ing and we were soon entertained to a fun filled mix of uplifting house & dance to get the growing and captive audience in the mood.
Peering down beyond the front room, we saw a hive of activity as the club bar opened and advancing down and into this fabulous space, caught D.J. D’Johnny taking up his familiar position in the elevated booth. D’Johnny has been a regular behind the decks at both Barcode Vauxhall & Soho, where we had first come across this Swedish sensation, so it was great to see him back where he belonged.
Just as we were getting into our stride, work interruptions forced us to make an unplanned departure from Vauxhall and by the time we had managed to sort them out, on our way back south, found ourselves being tempted to drop in on Barcode Vauxhall’s sister venue in Soho. What should have been a short excursion from the main event, lasted a little longer than we had planned, but with fabulous music on offer, played by one of our favourite scene D.J.’s, combined with the lovely bar staff in the club, as well as a great atmosphere, we simply couldn’t resist.
However, it the party in Vauxhall where we should have been, so were back over the river and having been whisked through the doors by friendly door staff, we found ourselves back in Barcode Vauxhall’s front room, which was now bursting at the seams. While we had been absent, Saki had handed over proceedings to turned D.J. Faye Lanson, also a Barcode regular, who was taking the room by storm, injecting her amazing energy into a marvellous collection of house favourites, which had the huge crowd dancing & jiving in what little space they could find. We have been fans of Faye for some time and couldn’t be better pleased that she is landing more and more gigs having bloomed into her D.J. mantle.
Tearing ourselves away and down into the club bar, which looked just as busy as the front, we peeked into the D.J. booth and saw the gorgeous Mattias behind the decks, pumping out a harder edged sound to a superb mix of hunky boys, party girls, scene faces and off duty bar & club workers, savouring the magical atmosphere that had clearly built while we had been absent. Familiar face after face wandered by as we secured a precious dancing spot by the D.J. booth only momentarily departing to the bar for refreshments, served by the sexy shirts off staff.
It was so good the see the venue as packed as it was on launch night and so the scene was set for an altogether spectacular party night, with us trading trips between the front room and the club at the rear, continuing to bump into friends and faces, some of which we hadn’t seen for ages. Troy was ever present, being as engaging as always, even hostess extraordinaire, Heidi Liscious was mixing with the crowd, adding a truly colourful edge to the evening.
As the night wore on, Faye, who had proved so popular in the front room, handed over the decks to Paul Coles, who’s music took us on a different direction, while in the club, the scrumptious Mattias eventually gave way to D.J. Mikey D, who we know well from our many trips to the legendary and sorely missed Crash. His arrival meant that we settled on the club bar to see out the remainder of our evening, which by now was more like early morning. Mikey D’s choice of tracks, like Mattias before him, had us dancing furiously on our spot, as did those around us, also ensuring the dancefloor remained rammed with a beautiful mix of people, who, like us, just didn’t know when to stop.
However, stop we had to, as our plans to pace ourselves fell apart. So, being exhausted we threw in the towel in on what was one hell of a party, slinking into the Vauxhall dawn and home to rest our weary legs, shunning the temptations of Beyond which was firing up in Area next door and a still packed Barcode which had two more hours to run.
Well, a resounding happy 2nd birthday to Barcode Vauxhall, once again proving that it still remains a popular venue in the gay village south of the river and certainly showing that despite a recent drop in numbers, it can still pack a punch and draw a crowd. With the unique and stylish soiree weekly on Thursday’s, Industri, with top notch scene D.J.’s on Friday’s & Saturday’s not to mention superb drinks offers on Sunday’s & Monday’s, there is always a great reason to visit. Hats off to Troy & his fabulous team, you definitely have our support. (DISCO MATT)
Hook'd Club Review - July 2008
HOOK’D – SUNDAY 27TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having torn ourselves away from the Revolver party in King’s Cross, we headed south over the river, but not to our usual retreats in Vauxhall, but to Southwark and the venue known as The Arches, home to well known club XXL. Being only our second visit, we were unsure of our bearings but were pleasantly surprised to find it with relative ease.
Arriving at the stroke of 5 a.m., being the billed starting time, a small crowd was gathering by the main entrance to the venue, some faces we had seen at Revolver earlier, although it was clear from the thumping sound of music, that XXL was still winding down. After a short while, the larger than life character, Mark Aimes, promoter of XXL, appeared at the door recognising us immediately waving both us and the growing crowd through into the venue.
It was clear that the team promoting Hook’d had much preparation to do, as XXL signage was still adorning the walls & ceilings of the bar area & main dancefloor and we sat watching as XXL banners were taken down and replaced by Hook’d ones, huge red balloons were blown up and suspended from the rafters & DJ’s were arriving and ascending the stairs to the elevated booth in the main arch.
So, after being patient for just over an hour, the club finally swung into action, the familiar sounds of hard house/techno that we had been used to enjoying on a weekly basis all those years ago in Trade pumping out from the huge speakers. Billed as a celebration of the life of THE legend, Tony De-Vit, Hook’d failed to disappoint in this regard, literally from the first record on, as virtually every tune took us back to the heady days when the maestro himself commanded the decks at Trade. Whilst The Arches was a very different feel to Tony de Vit’s & Trade’s familiar home, Turnmills, closing our eyes on the dancefloor, the sounds made us feel as though we had gone back ten years, dancing on the spot we used to choose week in week out and whilst far removed from the mellower funky house we have become accustomed to more recently, we fell straight back into the faster paced sounds, just like riding a bike!
By now the crowd was building nicely and familiar faces and scene followers were wandering past us, including DJ’s Fidel & Faye Lanson, Faye bounding up to us and giving us a huge hug and thanking us for our review comments on her work, flattery indeed. This signalled the need for a short break, so moving back into the bar, we bumped into the hunky figure of Oliver M, who had just arrived after throwing the superb party, Revolver, at Scala. Indulging in refreshments, we had a good old chat and catch up with him, reassuring him of many things to do with Revolver, Matinee & Evolved Events and accepting similar praise to that adorned on us from Faye only moments before. Oliver is an enigmatic person and a true professional when it comes to club promoting and in our view, sets a superb philosophical example which many a club promoter would benefit from following.
But, as nice as it was to chat about other events, it was Hook’d we were here for and to celebrate the life of a truly great D.J. So it was back onto the main floor to the resounding sounds of familiar techno beats, blasted out by a collection of familiar D.J. names, including Karim, Andy Farley, Mark Jewell and two names that were synonymous to Trade like Tony De Vit, Ian M & Fat Tony. By now the second room was firing up, with Faye Lanson in charge of the decks, playing out an altogether slower paced musical vibe to the high octane techno sound of the main floor, so it wasn’t long before we were back in the main room and ascending the podium to gyrate and swivel to the De Vit era music tunes.
With further billed D.J’s including Jo Public, Simon Wallis, Phil Hewson and one of our favourite D.J.’s of the moment, Brent Nicholls, whom we had missed at Revolver and who was not due on the decks until midday, we were determined to pace ourselves and enjoy the complete journey of celebration. However, in the excitement of the moment a sudden slip on the podium caused us to fall against the railings, slipping off the stand and onto the floor. Then, while dusting ourselves off, our actions had caught the eye of an overzealous security guard, who approached us as asked us to step outside. Still dazed from our fall, we were the amazed to be told we were unable to re-enter the club, the reason being “our behaviour was suspicious”. Failing off a podium suspicious!!
Through the whole of this embarrassing end to our night, friends and scene faces were pouring into the club, wandering why we were standing where we were and after trying to reason with the door supervisor, it was clear they weren’t going to budge. So, collecting our belongings we limped into the mid morning sunshine of a London Sunday only later realising that our fall from grace on the podium had resulted in injuries including cracked ribs.
Whilst our night had come to a crashing & crushing end, for the period that we were there, we had fantastic time. The Arches, for us, was probably not the best style of venue to celebrate the life of a man, whom for us the cavernous feel of a venue like the legendary Turmills would have been more appropriate and certainly the treatment subjected to us by the security guard, was dreadful. Missing out on the whole of the party was disappointing and especially missing out on our favourite scene D.J. twice in 24 hours was gutting. However, by all accounts the party was a huge success, went on well into the early afternoon and was a fitting tribute to Tony de Vit. Will we visit the next party, of course, although if it is at The Arches, after our treatment there, we may have to think twice. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having torn ourselves away from the Revolver party in King’s Cross, we headed south over the river, but not to our usual retreats in Vauxhall, but to Southwark and the venue known as The Arches, home to well known club XXL. Being only our second visit, we were unsure of our bearings but were pleasantly surprised to find it with relative ease.
Arriving at the stroke of 5 a.m., being the billed starting time, a small crowd was gathering by the main entrance to the venue, some faces we had seen at Revolver earlier, although it was clear from the thumping sound of music, that XXL was still winding down. After a short while, the larger than life character, Mark Aimes, promoter of XXL, appeared at the door recognising us immediately waving both us and the growing crowd through into the venue.
It was clear that the team promoting Hook’d had much preparation to do, as XXL signage was still adorning the walls & ceilings of the bar area & main dancefloor and we sat watching as XXL banners were taken down and replaced by Hook’d ones, huge red balloons were blown up and suspended from the rafters & DJ’s were arriving and ascending the stairs to the elevated booth in the main arch.
So, after being patient for just over an hour, the club finally swung into action, the familiar sounds of hard house/techno that we had been used to enjoying on a weekly basis all those years ago in Trade pumping out from the huge speakers. Billed as a celebration of the life of THE legend, Tony De-Vit, Hook’d failed to disappoint in this regard, literally from the first record on, as virtually every tune took us back to the heady days when the maestro himself commanded the decks at Trade. Whilst The Arches was a very different feel to Tony de Vit’s & Trade’s familiar home, Turnmills, closing our eyes on the dancefloor, the sounds made us feel as though we had gone back ten years, dancing on the spot we used to choose week in week out and whilst far removed from the mellower funky house we have become accustomed to more recently, we fell straight back into the faster paced sounds, just like riding a bike!
By now the crowd was building nicely and familiar faces and scene followers were wandering past us, including DJ’s Fidel & Faye Lanson, Faye bounding up to us and giving us a huge hug and thanking us for our review comments on her work, flattery indeed. This signalled the need for a short break, so moving back into the bar, we bumped into the hunky figure of Oliver M, who had just arrived after throwing the superb party, Revolver, at Scala. Indulging in refreshments, we had a good old chat and catch up with him, reassuring him of many things to do with Revolver, Matinee & Evolved Events and accepting similar praise to that adorned on us from Faye only moments before. Oliver is an enigmatic person and a true professional when it comes to club promoting and in our view, sets a superb philosophical example which many a club promoter would benefit from following.
But, as nice as it was to chat about other events, it was Hook’d we were here for and to celebrate the life of a truly great D.J. So it was back onto the main floor to the resounding sounds of familiar techno beats, blasted out by a collection of familiar D.J. names, including Karim, Andy Farley, Mark Jewell and two names that were synonymous to Trade like Tony De Vit, Ian M & Fat Tony. By now the second room was firing up, with Faye Lanson in charge of the decks, playing out an altogether slower paced musical vibe to the high octane techno sound of the main floor, so it wasn’t long before we were back in the main room and ascending the podium to gyrate and swivel to the De Vit era music tunes.
With further billed D.J’s including Jo Public, Simon Wallis, Phil Hewson and one of our favourite D.J.’s of the moment, Brent Nicholls, whom we had missed at Revolver and who was not due on the decks until midday, we were determined to pace ourselves and enjoy the complete journey of celebration. However, in the excitement of the moment a sudden slip on the podium caused us to fall against the railings, slipping off the stand and onto the floor. Then, while dusting ourselves off, our actions had caught the eye of an overzealous security guard, who approached us as asked us to step outside. Still dazed from our fall, we were the amazed to be told we were unable to re-enter the club, the reason being “our behaviour was suspicious”. Failing off a podium suspicious!!
Through the whole of this embarrassing end to our night, friends and scene faces were pouring into the club, wandering why we were standing where we were and after trying to reason with the door supervisor, it was clear they weren’t going to budge. So, collecting our belongings we limped into the mid morning sunshine of a London Sunday only later realising that our fall from grace on the podium had resulted in injuries including cracked ribs.
Whilst our night had come to a crashing & crushing end, for the period that we were there, we had fantastic time. The Arches, for us, was probably not the best style of venue to celebrate the life of a man, whom for us the cavernous feel of a venue like the legendary Turmills would have been more appropriate and certainly the treatment subjected to us by the security guard, was dreadful. Missing out on the whole of the party was disappointing and especially missing out on our favourite scene D.J. twice in 24 hours was gutting. However, by all accounts the party was a huge success, went on well into the early afternoon and was a fitting tribute to Tony de Vit. Will we visit the next party, of course, although if it is at The Arches, after our treatment there, we may have to think twice. (DISCO MATT)
Revolver Shake, Rattle & Roll Club Review - July 2008
REVOLVER – SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL – SATURDAY 26TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
It seems hardly a month since the last instalment of what has become for us, a must visit event, when Scala opened it’s doors to the brilliance of Oliver Mohns & Logan Schmitt in the form of Evolved Events and their recent venture Revolver. The hype surrounding this month’s outing was amazing and expectations for a fantastic party were high, knowing the reputation of Oliver & Logan for putting on spectacular parties.
So, it was just before midnight that we graced the doors of Scala to the welcoming tones of Door Host Mark, who ironed out a small technicality with our guestlist inclusion and whisked us through the doors and into the reception area. There we were greeted by the enigmatic Minty, who had been brought into the Revolver team, as hostess, so we were somewhat surprised to see her stuck behind the desk. Nevertheless, she looked resplendent in a slinky white and silver number, which was screaming to be showed off in the club, sadly to no avail.
With Minty waving us through, we ascended the stairs and entered the foyer bar, where a collection clubbing boys & girls as well as familiar scene faces were gathering, all seemingly arming themselves with refreshments for the long night ahead. Sneaking in amongst the crowd, we indulged in our customary shots of Sambuca, then colliding back down the stairs, toasted Minty’s magnificent arrival on the Revolver team.
Back up the stairs, we entered the main room and looking across to the regular D.J. booth saw it distinctly void of Eduardo de La Torre, who we had exchanged greetings in the foyer bar upon our arrival. To our amazement and surprise, looking over to the stage, saw the team had dealt an inspired move by placing the DJ’s & booth centre stage, thus creating a whole new atmosphere to the main room and, for us, being the focal point that we believe the D.J’s should be.
It wasn’t long before the crowd began to swell and friends of previous Matinee & Revolver parties soon amassed, including our fierce partner in crime Lexi, whom we had shared a fun evening only recently at Gutterslut. Eduardo had assumed the decks and was pumping out his familiar set of harder edged house tunes to an ever increasing and adoring audience. With the realisation that only the main room looked open, we spent no time searching the labyrinth of corridors up and down the venue, rather concentrating our energies on the main room.
As always, the Evolved events team had gone to town, adorning the walls of Scala’s cavernous spaces with Revolver banners & signage and with the huge plasma screen flicking slides of casino tables & 007 shots, really set the scene for the shake, rattle & roll theme, which we had seen plastered on all the promotion and advertising days & weeks before.
It wasn’t long before we immersed ourselves into the electric atmosphere of Revolver at Scala, which we have come to love & adore, positioning ourselves just above the main dancefloor and with friends by our sides, we were in the perfect vantage point for the show that was to come. And what a show it was, with seamless music precision by Eduardo, blended in the arrival of the superb Powder Puff Girls who performed their latest record release to massive cheers and whoops from the captivated crowd. Moving in complete harmony, these girls just blew us away and in doing so, gave the best performance we have seen at any Revolver party so far.
With the show over, Eduardo resumed control of the decks and continued to woo us with his music choices and style, sending us crazy on our spot, hands waving in the air & spinning around as we sought to compete with the sexy go-go’s who had taken situ on the stage and main floor podiums.
A brief respite saw us returning to the foyer bar, where Alessandro was spinning some fabulously scrumptious house tunes to a select crowd, clearly intent on partying away, so bumping into yet more friends we extended our stay here, dancing and soaking up what was a very different atmosphere to the main floor.
But it was the main room where we saw out the rest of the party, enjoying the lovely Oliver M on the decks, he then going back to back with Eduardo de La Torre. Some other DJ’s billed were noticeably absent, but it didn’t detract too much from the evenings proceedings, as we slid gently towards dawn & the five o’clock finish.
So, was the party a success? Well, it is fair to say that it wasn’t as busy as we had expected & despite the fabulous show, and the alternative post show go-go performances, refreshingly different to Revolver’s sister party, Matinee London, there was something a little amiss, although we still can’t put our finger on it. The crowd were as scrumptious as ever, it wasn’t that, but maybe the numbers, or maybe people are not just used to partying in Kings Cross yet.
Oliver & Logan work extremely hard on laying on a great party and despite what we have said, they certainly achieved it again. Speaking to Oliver after the event, it is clear that he is passionate about what he does and in our view is a fantastic club promoter who deserves all of our respect & support.
With so much competition around, the last Saturday of the month appears to be a “hard nut to crack” but if there is anyone that can achieve it, it is the Evolved Events team. The inclusion of Minty can only make for even better parties to come and we will continue to support this monthly outing as best & as much as we can. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
It seems hardly a month since the last instalment of what has become for us, a must visit event, when Scala opened it’s doors to the brilliance of Oliver Mohns & Logan Schmitt in the form of Evolved Events and their recent venture Revolver. The hype surrounding this month’s outing was amazing and expectations for a fantastic party were high, knowing the reputation of Oliver & Logan for putting on spectacular parties.
So, it was just before midnight that we graced the doors of Scala to the welcoming tones of Door Host Mark, who ironed out a small technicality with our guestlist inclusion and whisked us through the doors and into the reception area. There we were greeted by the enigmatic Minty, who had been brought into the Revolver team, as hostess, so we were somewhat surprised to see her stuck behind the desk. Nevertheless, she looked resplendent in a slinky white and silver number, which was screaming to be showed off in the club, sadly to no avail.
With Minty waving us through, we ascended the stairs and entered the foyer bar, where a collection clubbing boys & girls as well as familiar scene faces were gathering, all seemingly arming themselves with refreshments for the long night ahead. Sneaking in amongst the crowd, we indulged in our customary shots of Sambuca, then colliding back down the stairs, toasted Minty’s magnificent arrival on the Revolver team.
Back up the stairs, we entered the main room and looking across to the regular D.J. booth saw it distinctly void of Eduardo de La Torre, who we had exchanged greetings in the foyer bar upon our arrival. To our amazement and surprise, looking over to the stage, saw the team had dealt an inspired move by placing the DJ’s & booth centre stage, thus creating a whole new atmosphere to the main room and, for us, being the focal point that we believe the D.J’s should be.
It wasn’t long before the crowd began to swell and friends of previous Matinee & Revolver parties soon amassed, including our fierce partner in crime Lexi, whom we had shared a fun evening only recently at Gutterslut. Eduardo had assumed the decks and was pumping out his familiar set of harder edged house tunes to an ever increasing and adoring audience. With the realisation that only the main room looked open, we spent no time searching the labyrinth of corridors up and down the venue, rather concentrating our energies on the main room.
As always, the Evolved events team had gone to town, adorning the walls of Scala’s cavernous spaces with Revolver banners & signage and with the huge plasma screen flicking slides of casino tables & 007 shots, really set the scene for the shake, rattle & roll theme, which we had seen plastered on all the promotion and advertising days & weeks before.
It wasn’t long before we immersed ourselves into the electric atmosphere of Revolver at Scala, which we have come to love & adore, positioning ourselves just above the main dancefloor and with friends by our sides, we were in the perfect vantage point for the show that was to come. And what a show it was, with seamless music precision by Eduardo, blended in the arrival of the superb Powder Puff Girls who performed their latest record release to massive cheers and whoops from the captivated crowd. Moving in complete harmony, these girls just blew us away and in doing so, gave the best performance we have seen at any Revolver party so far.
With the show over, Eduardo resumed control of the decks and continued to woo us with his music choices and style, sending us crazy on our spot, hands waving in the air & spinning around as we sought to compete with the sexy go-go’s who had taken situ on the stage and main floor podiums.
A brief respite saw us returning to the foyer bar, where Alessandro was spinning some fabulously scrumptious house tunes to a select crowd, clearly intent on partying away, so bumping into yet more friends we extended our stay here, dancing and soaking up what was a very different atmosphere to the main floor.
But it was the main room where we saw out the rest of the party, enjoying the lovely Oliver M on the decks, he then going back to back with Eduardo de La Torre. Some other DJ’s billed were noticeably absent, but it didn’t detract too much from the evenings proceedings, as we slid gently towards dawn & the five o’clock finish.
So, was the party a success? Well, it is fair to say that it wasn’t as busy as we had expected & despite the fabulous show, and the alternative post show go-go performances, refreshingly different to Revolver’s sister party, Matinee London, there was something a little amiss, although we still can’t put our finger on it. The crowd were as scrumptious as ever, it wasn’t that, but maybe the numbers, or maybe people are not just used to partying in Kings Cross yet.
Oliver & Logan work extremely hard on laying on a great party and despite what we have said, they certainly achieved it again. Speaking to Oliver after the event, it is clear that he is passionate about what he does and in our view is a fantastic club promoter who deserves all of our respect & support.
With so much competition around, the last Saturday of the month appears to be a “hard nut to crack” but if there is anyone that can achieve it, it is the Evolved Events team. The inclusion of Minty can only make for even better parties to come and we will continue to support this monthly outing as best & as much as we can. (DISCO MATT)
Gutterslut Club Review - July 2008
GUTTERSLUT – SATURDAY 12TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Tearing ourselves away from the brilliance of Brent Nicholls in the club at Barcode Soho, which proved the perfect warm up, we headed east to Bethnal Green and the monthly club extraordinaire that is Gutterslut.
Having been excited about our first adventure to this warped and wacky club night, to make it even better we were joined by our long standing friend and fierce partner in crime, Lexi, who was the ideal partner for this trip into gutterslutiness. So, in what became a taxi journey tour of London, we caught up on all our gossip, then arriving at Images on the Hackney Road at just turned midnight.
Once out of the cab we were immediately greeted by birthday boy Elliot J Brown, dressed resplendently in a swanky check shirt & tie complimenting his jeans perfectly and looking just the part for this soiree out east. The queue amassed was huge, although been privileged to be on Per QX’s guestlist, it wasn’t long before we were whisked inside the club.
There we found a packed Images, with the man himself, dressed in his trademark cap, vest shirt & shorts, in control of the decks, pumping out a spectacular combo of face-lifting rave, diet techno and ghetto electro to a delirious audience. MC Johnny Woo was ever present, working the pole, positioned on the stage next to the DJ booth, gyrating round like some over stimulated spinning top, contributing fabulously to the already electric atmosphere.
As Images virgin’s, we, along with Lexi, decided to take a quick tour, also dropping our unwanted clothes layers off at the coatcheck the same time. Down some narrow stairs we found a further space, known as the DiscoSlut room, an altogether different feel to the manic space above, where a select crowd were dancing to the delights of special guest Jon Sizzle. Then, moving back upstairs, we found a superb if compact outside space, brimming with an amazing mix of boys & girls, seeking relief from the action inside.
It was moments only before we were drawn back to the musical madness of Per QX and wedged ourselves at the edge of the DJ booth, getting down and dirty to the monstrous mash up that was developing. Lexi is a legend in our lifetime for boogying dancefloor fierceness and it was truly awesome to be strutting our stuff with him again. The crowd was a cosmopolitan mix of outrageously garbed, make up clad & truly indie style males & females, with only the occasional glamorous & jaw droopingly gorgeous look we are used to in our regular club haunts (such as Matinee & Revolver), so no shirts off here, if you get our drift! However, it was a crowd seriously up for partying and that they certainly did.
Per soon handed over the decks to Elliot J Brown, who continued the music trend laid out before, with Johnny Woo giving way to others attempting, but not succeeding, where he had, to take control of the pole. We were tempted to try but resisted bravely and danced away to Elliot’s track selection which ripped up the room and ensured the atmosphere remained at fantastically high proportions.
In the dizzy malaise of the action we managed to loose out friend Lexi, who we were sure, was being a dirty birdie somewhere and with dawn fast approaching, took our leave of Images, heading back across London to familiar territory at Barcode Vauxhall and the DJ talents of Faye Lanson.
So what was the outcome of our first venture to Gutterslut. Well, there is no doubt the atmosphere within the small Images venue was amazing, the music was very much our cup of tea, although we did feel some what out of place with the diverse crowd, clearly unique to Gutterslut and it’s sister outing Trailer Trash. Nevertheless, if this is your bag, then we thoroughly recommend a trip to this monthly downright dirty mash up & with so many mainstream gay clubs trying to do the same, it is refreshing to see there is something completely different on offer. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Tearing ourselves away from the brilliance of Brent Nicholls in the club at Barcode Soho, which proved the perfect warm up, we headed east to Bethnal Green and the monthly club extraordinaire that is Gutterslut.
Having been excited about our first adventure to this warped and wacky club night, to make it even better we were joined by our long standing friend and fierce partner in crime, Lexi, who was the ideal partner for this trip into gutterslutiness. So, in what became a taxi journey tour of London, we caught up on all our gossip, then arriving at Images on the Hackney Road at just turned midnight.
Once out of the cab we were immediately greeted by birthday boy Elliot J Brown, dressed resplendently in a swanky check shirt & tie complimenting his jeans perfectly and looking just the part for this soiree out east. The queue amassed was huge, although been privileged to be on Per QX’s guestlist, it wasn’t long before we were whisked inside the club.
There we found a packed Images, with the man himself, dressed in his trademark cap, vest shirt & shorts, in control of the decks, pumping out a spectacular combo of face-lifting rave, diet techno and ghetto electro to a delirious audience. MC Johnny Woo was ever present, working the pole, positioned on the stage next to the DJ booth, gyrating round like some over stimulated spinning top, contributing fabulously to the already electric atmosphere.
As Images virgin’s, we, along with Lexi, decided to take a quick tour, also dropping our unwanted clothes layers off at the coatcheck the same time. Down some narrow stairs we found a further space, known as the DiscoSlut room, an altogether different feel to the manic space above, where a select crowd were dancing to the delights of special guest Jon Sizzle. Then, moving back upstairs, we found a superb if compact outside space, brimming with an amazing mix of boys & girls, seeking relief from the action inside.
It was moments only before we were drawn back to the musical madness of Per QX and wedged ourselves at the edge of the DJ booth, getting down and dirty to the monstrous mash up that was developing. Lexi is a legend in our lifetime for boogying dancefloor fierceness and it was truly awesome to be strutting our stuff with him again. The crowd was a cosmopolitan mix of outrageously garbed, make up clad & truly indie style males & females, with only the occasional glamorous & jaw droopingly gorgeous look we are used to in our regular club haunts (such as Matinee & Revolver), so no shirts off here, if you get our drift! However, it was a crowd seriously up for partying and that they certainly did.
Per soon handed over the decks to Elliot J Brown, who continued the music trend laid out before, with Johnny Woo giving way to others attempting, but not succeeding, where he had, to take control of the pole. We were tempted to try but resisted bravely and danced away to Elliot’s track selection which ripped up the room and ensured the atmosphere remained at fantastically high proportions.
In the dizzy malaise of the action we managed to loose out friend Lexi, who we were sure, was being a dirty birdie somewhere and with dawn fast approaching, took our leave of Images, heading back across London to familiar territory at Barcode Vauxhall and the DJ talents of Faye Lanson.
So what was the outcome of our first venture to Gutterslut. Well, there is no doubt the atmosphere within the small Images venue was amazing, the music was very much our cup of tea, although we did feel some what out of place with the diverse crowd, clearly unique to Gutterslut and it’s sister outing Trailer Trash. Nevertheless, if this is your bag, then we thoroughly recommend a trip to this monthly downright dirty mash up & with so many mainstream gay clubs trying to do the same, it is refreshing to see there is something completely different on offer. (DISCO MATT)
Matinee London Gay Pride Party Club Review - July 2008
MATINEE GAY PRIDE 2008 – SUNDAY 6TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
As if our weekend hadn’t been busy enough in celebration of Pride in London, with trips to Soho & then south of the river to Vauxhall, not to mention a brief excursion to a new club venture in Kings Cross, all these being sandwiched by work commitments, when Sunday night arrived, we had to call on all our reserves of energy for the one event we were most looking forward to.
Styled as the official closing party to Pride 2008 & billed as the sexiest club night of the weekend, Matinee, for us, always signals a time to really let our hair down amongst one of London’s best looking clubbing crowds, with the atmosphere and music to match. So, despite having pushed the boundaries over the previous 48 hours, we soon found the resolve to hit Farringdon and the wonders of Fabric.
Arriving early for us at just after 11 p.m., there was a small queue to negotiate and once through the doors we made our usual descent down the winding stairs and into the main room. There, we found a select crowd of stylish boys & girls in amongst hunky Latino’s and ardent clubbers, all looking forward to sampling a piece of the Matinee magic.
As we hit the bar for refreshments, we were greeted by the ever present and charming co-promoter of Matinee in London, Oliver M, who had just handed over the reigns in the DJ booth to the cute Eduardo De La Torre. We have said this before, but we find Oliver one of the friendliest and approachable promoters we know and a great DJ talent to boot.
Heading towards the dancefloor, which by now was filling towards capacity, we bumped into a fair few familiar faces as we surveyed the territory from our, by now, customary spot next to the DJ booth. Never disappointing, was the fantastic production that always goes into Matinee at Fabric, with superb signage around the walls and a massive illuminated sign on the stage, creating a brilliant & bright focal point for all to see. As Eduardo pumped out one hard edged tune after the other, the atmosphere continued to build, as did the crowd.
With the Latin influence clearly in evidence, Eduardo handed over to special guest DJ Jordi Lights, who assumed control of the decks and sent us wild with his incredible & trademark euphoric summer sounding music. He pulled out fantastic record after record, including a track synonymous with our trips to Matinee, Toca’s Miracle, which got an amazing reaction from the amassed dancing hunks & party goers revelling in the atmosphere which we have come to love and adore at Fabric.
As if that wasn’t enough, Oliver’s co-promoter Logan then brought out his famous troupe of tanned & chiselled dancers who performed a collection of routines, some dressed in revealing swimwear, others in an assortment of fashions to really catch the eye. Without doubt, each and every time we visit Matinee, we are blown away by the shows which are head and shoulders above any other club offering similar entertainment. So, as with previous occasions, we were spellbound by the action on stage.
With Jordi pumping out sounds well into the 8 hour party, we spotted the Italian Stallion himself, DJ Pagano arrive and knew that he was going to be the perfect end to yet another fantastic Matinee party. And that he was, assuming the decks for the couple of hours remaining and taking us on a journey with his unique blend of hard hitting euro-style techno-esc but nevertheless seriously danceable music.
By the close we were well and truly partied out, so struggling back up the winding stairs of Fabric, we disappeared into the malaise of an early Monday morning Farringdon and home to our bed to dreamily recapture the whole experience.
So, was it the closing Pride party we had expected? With only the main room open and numbers considerably down on what we were expecting, perhaps not. However, you have to consider that this may have been due to regular Matinee Latino’s, some of which we had spoken to previously, deciding against London, instead heading for the fabulous pride event in Madrid. The planned PA was noticeably absent, but that said, you cannot take away each & every one of the following facts, the fantastic music, the scrumptious Matinee dancers, the sexy & good looking crowd, the brilliant atmosphere and not forgetting the most engaging host who looked after us so well. What more could you ask for. In our books, Matinee rules. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
As if our weekend hadn’t been busy enough in celebration of Pride in London, with trips to Soho & then south of the river to Vauxhall, not to mention a brief excursion to a new club venture in Kings Cross, all these being sandwiched by work commitments, when Sunday night arrived, we had to call on all our reserves of energy for the one event we were most looking forward to.
Styled as the official closing party to Pride 2008 & billed as the sexiest club night of the weekend, Matinee, for us, always signals a time to really let our hair down amongst one of London’s best looking clubbing crowds, with the atmosphere and music to match. So, despite having pushed the boundaries over the previous 48 hours, we soon found the resolve to hit Farringdon and the wonders of Fabric.
Arriving early for us at just after 11 p.m., there was a small queue to negotiate and once through the doors we made our usual descent down the winding stairs and into the main room. There, we found a select crowd of stylish boys & girls in amongst hunky Latino’s and ardent clubbers, all looking forward to sampling a piece of the Matinee magic.
As we hit the bar for refreshments, we were greeted by the ever present and charming co-promoter of Matinee in London, Oliver M, who had just handed over the reigns in the DJ booth to the cute Eduardo De La Torre. We have said this before, but we find Oliver one of the friendliest and approachable promoters we know and a great DJ talent to boot.
Heading towards the dancefloor, which by now was filling towards capacity, we bumped into a fair few familiar faces as we surveyed the territory from our, by now, customary spot next to the DJ booth. Never disappointing, was the fantastic production that always goes into Matinee at Fabric, with superb signage around the walls and a massive illuminated sign on the stage, creating a brilliant & bright focal point for all to see. As Eduardo pumped out one hard edged tune after the other, the atmosphere continued to build, as did the crowd.
With the Latin influence clearly in evidence, Eduardo handed over to special guest DJ Jordi Lights, who assumed control of the decks and sent us wild with his incredible & trademark euphoric summer sounding music. He pulled out fantastic record after record, including a track synonymous with our trips to Matinee, Toca’s Miracle, which got an amazing reaction from the amassed dancing hunks & party goers revelling in the atmosphere which we have come to love and adore at Fabric.
As if that wasn’t enough, Oliver’s co-promoter Logan then brought out his famous troupe of tanned & chiselled dancers who performed a collection of routines, some dressed in revealing swimwear, others in an assortment of fashions to really catch the eye. Without doubt, each and every time we visit Matinee, we are blown away by the shows which are head and shoulders above any other club offering similar entertainment. So, as with previous occasions, we were spellbound by the action on stage.
With Jordi pumping out sounds well into the 8 hour party, we spotted the Italian Stallion himself, DJ Pagano arrive and knew that he was going to be the perfect end to yet another fantastic Matinee party. And that he was, assuming the decks for the couple of hours remaining and taking us on a journey with his unique blend of hard hitting euro-style techno-esc but nevertheless seriously danceable music.
By the close we were well and truly partied out, so struggling back up the winding stairs of Fabric, we disappeared into the malaise of an early Monday morning Farringdon and home to our bed to dreamily recapture the whole experience.
So, was it the closing Pride party we had expected? With only the main room open and numbers considerably down on what we were expecting, perhaps not. However, you have to consider that this may have been due to regular Matinee Latino’s, some of which we had spoken to previously, deciding against London, instead heading for the fabulous pride event in Madrid. The planned PA was noticeably absent, but that said, you cannot take away each & every one of the following facts, the fantastic music, the scrumptious Matinee dancers, the sexy & good looking crowd, the brilliant atmosphere and not forgetting the most engaging host who looked after us so well. What more could you ask for. In our books, Matinee rules. (DISCO MATT)
Beyond - London Pride Special Event Club Review - July 2008
BEYOND – PRIDE SPECIAL – SUNDAY 6TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having escaped the hectic pace that was London Pride in late night Soho, we ventured south of the river and after a brief interlude at Barcode Vauxhall, we took the short step next door to Beyond at Area.
Since it’s re-launch (not for the first time) on the May Day bank holiday weekend, the fortunes of this icon clubbing night have been mixed, but being Pride and on the back of Juicy closing earlier than usual, Beyond was set to be truly rocking and rammed with a gorgeous crowd up for some afterhours entertainment.
By the time we had negotiated the queue to get in and having deposited our bits and bobs into the coatcheck, we entered the main room, which was brimming full of scantly clad hunks and their admirers, gyrating to the sounds pumping out across the packed dancefloor. Squeezing our way past body after body, we got nearer and nearer to the DJ booth to see The Sharp Boys, George and Steven, in control, playing their usual & familiar mix of commercial “hands in the air” house tunes to a captive audience, lapping up record after record.
Wanting to see just how busy it was across the venue, we ventured next door into the black room, so named because it has an altogether darker feel from the pyrotechnically bright main room, this space also brimming with eager afterhours party goers. Not recognising the DJ behind the decks, we moved into the embankment bar area, also pretty full with a true mix of avid clubbers, off duty DJ’s and other folk savouring the unique vibe of this bar area, which has direct access onto the outside terrace. This was also full to capacity with guys and gals chilling from the festivities within the club, although the atmosphere was just as good outside as in, with Gonzalo holding court on the impromptu decks next to the terrace, delighting us with house classics combined with latin twisted vibes.
It wasn’t long before we found ourselves returning back to the main room, the daylight being a little too bright for us at 7 a.m. and having bumped into lots of friendly and familiar faces, including the enigmatic DJ Steven Geller, we hit the dancefloor and then the long elevated podium which gave us a magnificent view of the room and crowd before us. The Sharp Boys were still in command of proceedings and whilst we normally prefer slightly harder edged sounds, we succumbed to the delights of their more commercial tunes, dancing away on the podium for what seemed like hours.
With horny go-go’s coming and going on the other podium, the customary blasts of chilling ice cannons, together with the awesome lasers & fierce lighting of the main room, we only occasionally left our spot on the podium, sucking up the atmosphere of Beyond at Area, certainly a different feel to Beyond at Club Colosseum, but in some ways just as good to those legendary days of old. Whilst the new Beyond should be proud of it’s history, Area as a venue has given it a new life & direction and one that we like very much indeed, blocking out all thoughts of it’s association with Fire which is no longer in our favour.
With the call of work at 11 a.m. not to mention our weary feet, we waved goodbye to the dizzy heights of Area, Beyond and the whole Pride experience and slid into the normality of a mid Sunday morning (if there is one) Vauxhall.
So did Beyond deliver a great Pride night out, well yes it did actually. Despite some of its more familiar DJ’s in the guises of Steve Pitron and Paul Heron not being present, we did enjoy the music choices right across the whole club and whilst getting us on the podium doesn’t take much, the music has to be good to keep us there and it did. Yes it was packed and probably down to being Pride weekend, but Beyond continues to hit the spot for us and no doubt we will be visiting again soon. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Having escaped the hectic pace that was London Pride in late night Soho, we ventured south of the river and after a brief interlude at Barcode Vauxhall, we took the short step next door to Beyond at Area.
Since it’s re-launch (not for the first time) on the May Day bank holiday weekend, the fortunes of this icon clubbing night have been mixed, but being Pride and on the back of Juicy closing earlier than usual, Beyond was set to be truly rocking and rammed with a gorgeous crowd up for some afterhours entertainment.
By the time we had negotiated the queue to get in and having deposited our bits and bobs into the coatcheck, we entered the main room, which was brimming full of scantly clad hunks and their admirers, gyrating to the sounds pumping out across the packed dancefloor. Squeezing our way past body after body, we got nearer and nearer to the DJ booth to see The Sharp Boys, George and Steven, in control, playing their usual & familiar mix of commercial “hands in the air” house tunes to a captive audience, lapping up record after record.
Wanting to see just how busy it was across the venue, we ventured next door into the black room, so named because it has an altogether darker feel from the pyrotechnically bright main room, this space also brimming with eager afterhours party goers. Not recognising the DJ behind the decks, we moved into the embankment bar area, also pretty full with a true mix of avid clubbers, off duty DJ’s and other folk savouring the unique vibe of this bar area, which has direct access onto the outside terrace. This was also full to capacity with guys and gals chilling from the festivities within the club, although the atmosphere was just as good outside as in, with Gonzalo holding court on the impromptu decks next to the terrace, delighting us with house classics combined with latin twisted vibes.
It wasn’t long before we found ourselves returning back to the main room, the daylight being a little too bright for us at 7 a.m. and having bumped into lots of friendly and familiar faces, including the enigmatic DJ Steven Geller, we hit the dancefloor and then the long elevated podium which gave us a magnificent view of the room and crowd before us. The Sharp Boys were still in command of proceedings and whilst we normally prefer slightly harder edged sounds, we succumbed to the delights of their more commercial tunes, dancing away on the podium for what seemed like hours.
With horny go-go’s coming and going on the other podium, the customary blasts of chilling ice cannons, together with the awesome lasers & fierce lighting of the main room, we only occasionally left our spot on the podium, sucking up the atmosphere of Beyond at Area, certainly a different feel to Beyond at Club Colosseum, but in some ways just as good to those legendary days of old. Whilst the new Beyond should be proud of it’s history, Area as a venue has given it a new life & direction and one that we like very much indeed, blocking out all thoughts of it’s association with Fire which is no longer in our favour.
With the call of work at 11 a.m. not to mention our weary feet, we waved goodbye to the dizzy heights of Area, Beyond and the whole Pride experience and slid into the normality of a mid Sunday morning (if there is one) Vauxhall.
So did Beyond deliver a great Pride night out, well yes it did actually. Despite some of its more familiar DJ’s in the guises of Steve Pitron and Paul Heron not being present, we did enjoy the music choices right across the whole club and whilst getting us on the podium doesn’t take much, the music has to be good to keep us there and it did. Yes it was packed and probably down to being Pride weekend, but Beyond continues to hit the spot for us and no doubt we will be visiting again soon. (DISCO MATT)
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