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)
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