Special Review Trade 18th Birthday - Pre-party @ Revolver & Trade Evolution @ The Arches - Club review

SPECIAL REVIEW FOR TRADE’S 18TH BIRTHDAY
PRE PARTY @ REVOLVER & TRADE EVOLUTION @ THE ARCHES
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
SUNDAY 26TH OCTOBER 2008


On coming out on the scene, one of the first clubs we visited way back then, was Trade. At the time, it was in it’s infancy, a mere 10 months old, yet from the day we stepped into Turnmills, we loved every minute, the music, the people, the atmosphere everything, so much so it became a weekly pilgrimage for nearly 10 years. However, it was a sad day indeed when news came through that Turnmills was to close and the (by now occasional) Trade parties would end.

However, when we heard that Trade was to come of age, celebrating 18 glorious years in this world, it simply had to be on our agenda. Obviously not being at its ancestral home, but at The Arches in Southwark, we were a little uncertain of the venue choice, for us a club has its roots and has difficulty sometimes translating from one venue to the other. Nevertheless as the time drew closer, we began to get quite excited about savouring another Trade party and with the news that Revolver was to be the official pre-party destination (they moved venue didn’t they!), well the “writing was on the wall”.

So, it was off to the pre-party first and arriving at Astoria, we could feel that Revolver wasn’t going to be quite as busy as the launch, just a week ago. Mind you, the huge queue outside seemed to say something else and whilst word that the G.A.Y. organisers had tried to sabotage the evening, it was clear once we had got inside that there were plenty of clubbers looking to enjoy, what for many was a mere warm up to the main event of the weekend.

As with the launch, all guns were blazing, Revolver aiming & shooting in just the right direction, serving up amazing visuals, superb lighting and some of the best music you could ask for. With Guy Williams getting the evening rocking, delivering some amazing hard edged & diet techo-esk tracks, Antoine 909 followed and simply blew us away with his characteristically tough sounds, all of which had us glued to the dancefloor. Being a fan of his since the Crash days, it was great to see him where he belongs, behind the D.J. booth pumping out huge tunes.

By this time the main room had filled quite well, admittedly not packed, but plenty enjoying themselves, we spotting a few of our friends in the crowd, new & old and as the show continued & camera’s flashed, we sank into the brilliance of Antoine’s set, dancing continuously until he handed the reigns over to Pagano. Did we stop there? not at all, as we had so much enjoyed his set the previous week, how could we resist. The only momentary things that interrupted our stay on the dancefloor, were stepping off to chat with Oliver M & Guy Williams, then Paul Coles & Wayne Shires, as well as our customary dash to Minty’s aid armed with Sambuca.

Nevertheless, as good as the pre-party was, the main focus was Trade itself and it seemed that many thought the same, we suspect a lot saving themselves for just that party. So, we waved our goodbye’s to Revolver and with a stop off for a refreshing coffee, arrived at The Arches at about 5.15 a.m. Typical of all those years ago, the queue was absolutely massive, no-one wishing to miss out on what was potentially one of the biggest events of 2008. With the queue seemingly not moving anywhere & the rain coming down, it felt just like the long waits outside Turnmills and as hoards of people kept adding to the snake of bodies, what seemed like an eternity passed (actually about 30 mins.) until we finally got inside, being greeted by the lovely Craig Daniels & Ramon, who thrust a Trade CD and a flyer/pass for the after party into our mitts.

Yet another queue ensued as we dropped off our belongings in the coatcheck (but then we are used to this), the area around adorned with classic TradeMark” posters, increasing our itchiness to get onto the dancefloor, so we quickly armed ourselves with refreshments and hit the main room. Clearly the organisers had been “drip feeding” the club as there was space to move, although we like a good dancing area! and it was only moments before we got into the vibe that had already built in the main room. Even now, we began to feel the heat, so stripped down to our waists and gyrated to the sordid sounds of Kamisshake, soon followed by Trade regular & legend Malcolm Duffy, knowing that soon the pace would take a serious techno stride. The team had spared no effort to give the room the “Trade” feel with yet more TradeMark posters and characteristic mobiles hanging from the ceiling, although despite this, for us, the room didn’t quite have that Turnmills magic.

But, being relative virgin’s to The Arches (especially after our last short experience) we wanted to investigate, so wandered down into the next arch, which looked a little different and was split definingly in two, the right hand side sporting The Gutterslut crew. We popped our heads in to find Nic Fisher behind the decks, with Elliot J Brown in close quarters & XXL supremo Mark Aimes holding court. The feel of this room was entirely different to the main floor and quite right too, we love it when a club provides totally different sounds in separate areas (something we enjoyed at Egg just last week). Having lost our pals at the end of Revolver, we were pleased to catch up again with Lee Yeomans & Max Sanna, who had been joined by J.C. and also Tamsin Roberts, so it seemed there & then, jut like a repeat of last Sunday morning, fab!

Moving on further, we stumbled on the third (or was it fourth) arch which was altogether lighter, meaning light lighter, although we soon realised for good reason as this was the lite lounge. In reality, our timing couldn’t have been better, as Guy Williams was about ready to take over from Gary H, so we hit the bar for more refreshments and headed for the front of the space by the makeshift D.J. booth. This was clearly a popular room as it was full to brimming and when Guy took control, pushing out chunky hard and diet techno styled tunes, bigger & better than at Revolver, we simply couldn’t resist the call of his music, dancing furiously right through his set. We asked ourselves why we had missed out on this talent through all the years of the lite lounge at Turnmills, but decided to savour every moment & record, rather than lament on the past.

By now the main room was a distant memory, although having seen the line up on the wall, we knew great things were to come there, in the form of Pagano, followed by a superb back-to-back set by Steve Thomas & Nick Tcherniak, not to mention Lady Bianca & Nik Denton and classic guest Ian M. But it was the lite lounge that was doing it for us and when Brent Nicholls assumed the decks, stepping up the pace (it was speeding already), we went into seventh heaven as he delivered a series of funtastically tough tracks, some familiar, others new to our ears, all of which had us simply mesemrised on our spot. By now the space was getting very hot, only rivalled by the hotter music we had thus far experienced from Guy & Brent, so we slipped briefly into the garden space adjacent, to cool down.

But it wans’t long before we were back and lapping up the last of Brent’s set, we then being delighted to see Paul Heron arrive to take over. To have Guy followed by Brent was something, but to then have Paul was something else and he certainly failed to disappoint, taking us on a dream trip of ecstatic music, pumping sensational energy into a packed lite lounge. This drew in more and more people, including the scrumptious Jamie Head (& posse), Antoine 909, Minty and even Lee Yeomans who had been trading spaces in all the rooms for most of the night. Mr Heron’s enthusiasm behind the decks was clearly evident and with superb hard hitting & mind blowing tunes, one after the other, we were going no-where else.

So good had been the music in the lite lounge and having such a good time, we soon realised that time had moved on quickly and with our legs tiring, we caught a glimpse our watch which read 1 p.m. (yes we had been dancing for 12 hours), so set about winding down before deciding to head off. The venue, even at this time was still brimming full and with the planned end of 4 p.m. we could have willed ourselves to stay on, but our legs cried out no more!. So, saying our goodbyes to everyone we could find, we hit a dank grey London day and sauntered off to relax in one of our favourite Soho watering holes.

Well, what was our verdict on Trade at The Arches? Well, despite earlier reservations, we were actually impressed by the space. It seemed to work well in the main room, the Gutterslut lounge had a uniquely different feel, but for us the lite lounge was fantastic in every way, the feel of it, the people in it, the D.J. choice, but most of all the music. In our Trade youth, we swore by the main room only, but here, well it is fair to say we were lite lounge converts (we are getting on a bit now!). We are sure & indeed heard that Pagano was brilliant, Lady Bianca great & Nik Denton awesome on the main floor, but the combination of Guy Williams, Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron did it for us (think the “lite” equivalent of Tony De Vit, Pete Wardman & Fergie!). But then, with such a wide range of D.J’s across three rooms, there was something for everyone, very rare in a club these days.

With reports coming in, after we left, of ambulance incidents, conflicting stories about fatalities and heavy police presence, it was a sad end to what had been a truly magnificent Trade party. Further rumours that the after-party was cancelled as a result, spoilt what could have been the “coming of age” party to end all. Regardless of the excessive heat in the venue & inspite of warnings (and they were posted everywhere in the club) it seems that the dreaded curse of GHB/GBL may have had something to do with it. Why can’t people learn that this is a horrendous chemical, should never be used and needs to be eradicated from our clubs.

That said, the Trade collective should be proud for putting on such a wonderful night. It is so true that this iconic club brand/idea is “often copied, never equalled” and that was definitely the case. If this marks Trade’s so called Evolution, we want more, more and even more. Long live Trade and all who sail (club) in her. (DISCO MATT)

G0-Go Brazil at Heaven - Club Review

GO-GO BRAZIL @ HEVEAN – SUNDAY 19TH OCTOBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


On a scene that either seems to rely on tried & tested themes or regurgitate old club brands, it is refreshing to see new ideas & concepts coming through, even if they seem to have the need to fall back on existing venues that have the risk of taking the edge off the freshness of the innovation. So when we first caught news of the launch of a Sunday night club with a difference, we were not only intrigued but very excited and despite some doubts in our minds, were determined to give this opening our support.

Styled as a seductive & sexy outing bringing the world famous Ipanema beach party feel to London, Go-Go Brazil, as it’s name suggested, had a central theme around go-go dancers, with those gorgeous hunks brave enough to enter the lined up competition and show their wears, up for bagging a holiday to the heavenly Brazilian destination, Rio De Janeiro. With the promise of a handsome and stylish crowd to match, we called on all our energy reserves, after succumbing to over 12 hours of fun at BCS, Revolver & Breakfast at Egg, in the hope of rounding off our weekend in true latino party fashion.

So, arriving at Heaven at just turned 8.30 p.m., admittedly a little later than the opening time of 6 o’clock, we were directed to the guest list entrance, only to find our name mysteriously absent. Experience of the (miss) management of lists in recent new club ventures left us unsurprised, so we paid our way and wandered into the familiar space of this iconic club, dropping our bits off in the coat check & arming ourselves with energy boosting refreshments, heading directly for the main room. We were immediately and literally dazzled by the white bright strobe lighting and juddered by the floor vibrating from the incredibly loud sounds emanating from the huge speakers to our side. Glancing around the massive main room, it was scantly clad with a mix of muscle queens, latino boys & their admirers attempting to fill the space, dancing away to the delightful house infused tunes being delivered by D.J. Luke Hope.

Deciding to momentarily investigate the temptations of room two, where it was rumoured the genius talent that is Paul Heron was waving his magical musical wand, we were stopped at the door, not being one of the privileged with the illusive green wristband. So, we returned to the main room where the crowd were beginning to build in anticipation of the go-go performance to come, the giant screen on the stage encouraging everyone to place their votes in favour of the sexiest & best dancer on show. As Luke Hope handed over the D.J. decks to scene favourite Brent Nicholls, it wasn’t long before there was a sudden halt to the music, with the entrance on stage of a glorious looking & magnificently dressed male accompanied by the event host, who proceeded to rouse the crowd and explain the format of the approaching go-go competition.

And the bevy of ten beauties appeared on the stage and then, with the lights dropping and the music, much funkier & dancier than before being pumped out, the go-go’s then swooped into the crowd and, in twosomes, ascended the podiums staged around the main room, effectively inviting the adoring throng of latino enthusiasts to make their vote by placing provided Brazilian Dollar effect paper notes into the shorts of their favoured dancer. In the wonderful hype that this caused, we caught Paul Heron in the crowd, clutching a huge bunch of notes. After exchanging hugs and recollecting our Revolver incident, we both selected our favourite hunk (strangely the same) and stuffed the notes in excitingly (think we made the right choice Paul). It was all in aid of fun and was quite amusing, if a little arousing in such close contact to bare flesh! With some of the go-go’s shorts bulging (yes with notes!) the array of dancing hunks slipped off backstage, giving way to a sparkling & spectacular Brazilian infused carnival style procession through the amassed crowd on the main dancefloor. With drums beating and feathers from jaw droppingly fantastic head-dresses fluttering, a collection of performers hit the stage and began to delight their audience with a series of solo dances, curvy girls belly popping, muscle-bound guys cutting a stride and cameras flashing, the show captivating everyone and providing a superb highlight to the night’s entertainment.

With stage proceedings over, Brent Nicholls assumed the decks and let rip with his trademark funky, latin infused house mixes which always get us going. However, as good as the music was, the crowd thinned out after a while, although it was fair to say it wasn’t huge to begin with, even during the shows. We suspect that some decided to return to the more intimate space of the second room, where Brazilian D.J. Dannie was in charge of proceedings, although Heaven’s main space, it has to be said, is one of the most difficult to build a decent atmosphere, for many reasons.

Catching the attention of Chris Jepson out front of the main room, we discussed the merits of the night as a concept and agreed that the idea was great, the shows were entertaining, but with the lack of people, the blame could be laid on the choice of venue. Back on the main floor, all effort was being made to keep the party going, but with our energy levels having taken a beating from previous clubbing exploits, we made our invited way to behind the D.J. booth to exchange thoughts and catch up on the weekend’s news before retiring home.

So, what did we think of Go-Go Brazil as a clubbing venture? Well, there was no doubt where it succeeded. In the shows which were magnificent, in the idea of the go-go competition which was novel if a little dated with the “note packing” concept, fun yes (but at £1 a time what were they thinking!?!), in the music delivery in the main room (we couldn’t speak for room 2) which was well matched to the latino theme and normally that would have been enough. But with a crowd sadly lacking in numbers and the décor in the club falling way short of Ipanema beach party expectations, for us, Go-Go Brazil didn’t have the magical feel that we were expecting.

The question therefore remains, where did it go wrong? Well, in truth, with everything said, it can only be the venue. Heaven was too big and not suited to this venture. Questions over the success of the 6 p.m. till 2 a.m. format on Sunday’s can be quickly dispelled by other club nights, Salvation comes to mind, therefore leaving only one reason why. The dated lighting, the shabby look of the main room, the disproportionately distorted sound (no fault of the D.J.’s) and the “old hat” smoke system all sum it up for us. For Go-Go Brazil to thrive on its planned monthly excursions, we believe it needs to find a venue to suit. Where, we are not sure. We have a few suggestions, but one of them is not Heaven. (DISCO MATT)

"Breakfast" at The Egg Club Review

“BREAKFAST” AT THE EGG – SUNDAY 19TH OCTOBER
REVIEW FOR DISCO MATT WEBSITES &
FOR SEENQUEEN.COM



Ever since we had been speaking about fitting in a trip to The Egg, post the Revolver re-launch party, with our D.J. friend, Lee Yeomans, we were not sure exactly what to expect. Egg has the reputation of being quite “straight” but with definite gay undertones and very different in style & feel to our usual after hours destination, Beyond at Area in Vauxhall.

However, we are always game for new experiences, so it was with little persuasion required, that we made our way, with Lee, Max Sanna, J.C. & Tamsin Roberts, up to this unique venue north of Kings Cross. Having negotiated a cab outside The Astoria, we spent the journey listening to one of our favourite compilations, Live at Industri 2, just to get us in the mood. And that it did, as we swung in-front of Egg’s doors, we clung hold of Lee, negotiating the amazing array of security and paying our way into the club.

Having only been to The Egg twice, we were at the mercy of our friends, who knew the venue like the back of their hands and soon, found ourselves winding up the labyrinth of stairs and into the main room. It was fair to say that the crowd here was very straight, although with Lisa German on the decks, the music was a superb mixing of techno beats with hard house tunes to get “Breakfast” well and truly started. The room was so hot, we were close to stripping down to our waists, but not one person had their tops off, we realising, it just doesn’t seem to be done here.

Taking a moments respite from the incredible heat of the dance floor, we popped back down the stairs for some fresh air and bumped into Elliot J Brown on our way, who immediately invited us to the top room, where he, Per Q.X. and other Gutterslut folk were taking care of proceedings. Away from the “straightness” of the main room, we soon found our place in this much more gay environment, the crowd very typical of the peeps that frequent Gutterslut. Fresh from their party at Images, it was clear Per & Elliot were in the mood to entertain and what can only be described as top notch beats sounded out across this heavenly space right at the top of the venue (it felt like being very close to heaven too!). With Elliot behind the decks, Per added to the now electric atmosphere, sounding out noises from his trademark megaphone, also allowing some of the revellers a go.

It was clear that Lee, J.C. & Tamsin were also enjoying the music up here and when Max eventually joined us, the troupe was complete as Elliot handed over to Per, who played an awesome set, keeping us glued to our dance spot, but trading sexy moves in true go-go fashion. By now the main room was a distant memory and we could have stayed in the top room all night, but rather found ourselves taking regular “chill out” trips to the open area and engaging in plenty of chat with fellow clubbers, all intent of making the most of the whole experience.

When we found ourselves back on the main room floor, we spotted that Lisa had handed over to the superb Guy Williams who set about delivering a fantastic mix of what we will describe as diet techno, chunky hard house and energetic mixes (is that O.K. Guy?) that simply transformed the main room. The feel of “straight” had changed towards an altogether more gay vibe as the genius behind the decks had everybody moving and shaking to their hearts content. Out of the corner of our eye, we spotted scene face Ramon and said our hello’s, also catching a moment of Guy’s attention to praise his arrival and toast some fabulous music.

Now our allegiances were torn between the main room & the top floor, do we do Gutterslut or stick with Guy? It was such a difficult choice, we shared our time between the two, savouring everything that was brilliantly gay about both floors in this supposed straight venue. Mind you even the heterosexual’s looked a tad gay, but far removed from the crowd we are used to in our after hours haunt Beyond (apart from Jamie Head of course!). And speaking of Beyond, as we were having such an amazing time, all plans to vacate Egg in search of hedonistic gay partying in Vauxhall were dispelled in an instant.

With Max retiring for the day, it was down to Lee, Tamsin & J.C. to keep the party atmosphere alive and we succumbed fully, wearing our energy levels down close to breaking point, the pilgrimages to the outside space providing the relief our legs needed. However, the inevitable happened and when the Gutterslut boys hung up their boots and Guy handed the reigns of the main room, a pumping one at that, to Lady Bianca, we had to pull on all our energy reserves to see us through to our final curtain call at just after 10.30. Tamsin kept us going on the main floor, her brilliantly red (literally) hair making her easily recognisable in the crowd, but even her exploits couldn’t hold us in position.

So waving goodbye to our crew, to the Gutterslut boys and other familiar faces, we staggered out of The Egg and a short walk to our adopted bed for the morning to rest our weary bones after two wonderful parties, Revolver at The Astoria and “Breakfast” at The Egg.

Well, what was our verdict on The Egg? There is no doubt it is predominantly a straight club and in the main attracts that sort of crowd. But with enough of a smattering of gay folk, and with Per Q.X, Elliot J Brown & Guy Williams adding to the gayness, it was about enough for us to savour & enjoy. All three delivered pristine sounds and made the night for us. We think, without them, the club would have been too straight for us and for this reason, whilst we really enjoyed the whole evening, we would need to carefully consider a re-visit.

So a special thanks to these guys, as well as Lee Yeomans, Max Sanna, J.C. & Tamsin Roberts for making our trip to “Breakfast” at The Egg great. In such company, we would definitely see ourselves visiting again. (DISCO MATT)

Revolver Re-launch party at The Astoria

REVOLVER, RE-LAUNCH PARTY AT THE ASTORIA –
SATURDAY 18TH OCTOBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN



Ever since it’s first party back in May, Revolver has held a firm place in our clubbing calendar, previously at Scala in rejuvenated Kings Cross, which has always put on spectacular visuals, production and stage shows to match. However, there was always the sense that for latino queens, muscle mary’s & devoted clubbers, that Kings Cross still holds a bit of a stigma and in some ways this reflected on the numbers through the doors.

So when Oliver Mohns, Evolved Events No 1 man, announced that Revolver was aiming shooting and firing its machine gun on London’s West End, expectations were high for a much improved turn-out. Moving to Astoria seemed a strange choice, although with G.A.Y taking up weekly residence in Heaven, the resultant synergy with Revolver D.J.’s & “ex” Heaven crew was a marvellous move and with a gap appearing at Astoria following the demise of OMO, and news of the Hippadrome becoming a casino, it seemed the only rational choice.

So, we were certainly not going to miss this party and having warmed ourselves up with camp foolery at Barcode Soho, we descended on Charing Cross Road at not long after midnight and the re-launch of Revolver. Before we even got inside, it had the feel of turning out to be a very popular night. And we were not to be disappointed, after negotiating the huge VIP queue and conducting our customary chat with door hostess extraordinaire, Minty, we soon found ourselves in Astoria’s main room.

Despite having only been to the venue a mere handful of times before, we quickly familiarised ourselves with the space and what a huge space it was! Mind you, the Evolved Events team had applied “full make-up” on the venue, with massive visuals across four gigantic screens, a superb wall on neon flashing lights both on and behind the D.J. booth (think Matinee at Coloseum but much better), Revolver signage hanging from the highest ceiling we have seen in a club for ages and a lighting show to match. Focussing on the D.J. booth, we spotted supremo and new Revolver resident, Paul Heron, in charge of the decks, pumping out his trademark chunky and hard edged house tunes to a incredibly diverse mix of Revolver regulars, latino’s, scene faces, interspersed with what can only be described as G.A.Y waif’s and stray’s, strangely uncharacteristic of Revolver parties of old, but nevertheless an interesting crowd!

Arming ourselves with refreshments for Paul, an over zealous security guard managed to trip us over on the huge stage as we made our may to Paul, not really the start we wanted, but finding a slot at the back of the room, we immediately bumped into part of our Matinee posse, including Max Sanna, so this began to get us well and truly warmed up on our spot, dancing away and spellbound by the incredible visuals on display. With Paul Heron handing over to the Italian Stallion, Pagano, the music pace stepped up even more, as he set about sending the crowd into seventh heaven with his amazing music mixes. By now Revolver had definitely aimed, fired and struck target on both our biceps, penetrating so much that the bullet shots rang through our body as we savoured the magic of, it has to be said, the best set we have experienced of Pagano, simply brilliant!

Then, the stage filled with a sparkly array of go-go’s heralding the arrival of the PA for the evening, Luca, in direct from Ibiza, who then performed his smash hits “A chance to be free” and “Push the pressure”, sending the already mesmereric crowd delirious with excitement, truly wonderful and all on the back drop of London’s biggest stage. It was clear our little posse were enjoying it too, swinging their pants in true Revolver style.

With the PA done, the team of go-go’s continued to perform as Pagano carried on where he had left off, delivering track after track of wonderful hard beats, meaning our short excursion up into room two as well as dashing Sambuca shots to the aid of Minty, was short lived, as we re-assumed our slot on the packed main room dancefloor, gyrating to the incredible sounds. As if by magic, our D.J. friend Lee Yeomans arrived to join our posse and this signalled a turn to hedonistic heights as Pagnao finally finished the most amazing of sets to massive cheers, appreciation & adoration of the crowd, handing the reigns over to Nick Tcherniak, who had an incredibly hard act to follow.

By now, our thoughts were diverting to our next clubbing instalment, Breakfast at The Egg and whilst Nick was playing out some wonderful tunes & beats, it was evident that Lee, Max & JC were in the mood to hit our next venue. Looking behind us however, we spotted the man himself, Oliver M, with cutie Eduardo De La Torre as well as Pagano and we engaged in lots of hugs & kisses with them all, reflecting on what an awe inspiring party Revolver had been. Oliver looked very pleased and the huge turnout certainly vindicated his decision to pick The Astoria as its new home, albeit going weekly rather than monthly (or so). We are so pleased for Oliver, for us, the friendliest and caring promoter we know on the scene. It is always a pleasure to meet him and he makes us feel so special every time.

So, with Egg firmly on our minds, we departed the Revolver party, the main room still packed & pumping, collecting our bits and falling out of the club into the clutches of a cab to Kings Cross, still buzzing from our experience and reflective of what can only be described as the biggest and best Revolver yet.

Well, it goes without saying that we enjoyed it all, the stunning visuals, the jaw dropping go-go’s, the fantastic production and the fabulous music. For us the crowd was far from classic Revolver, being more of a west end collision of folks, we are still not that keen on The Astoria as a venue, but the Evolved Events team did transform the space and all the promised “wild circuit style clubbing” was in huge chunks of party time, never seen before. For this reason, Revolver is now incomparable with, not only its sister event, Matinee, but with any across London, so really deserves all the success coming to it.

Does it have longevity as a weekly event, we are not so sure. The acid test will be possibly next week, when the hype of the re-launch has died down, although weekly events, in the main, are struggling, except after parties like Beyond, which continue to pull the crowds week in week out. Whether Revolver can achieve this, remains to be seen. We genuinely hope that it will and on the quality of this re-launch alone, there is no reason to suggest it won’t. The absence of Logan was noticeable (you don’t know what you are missing babe! Put your differences aside and re-join the team), but the dancers on display were incredible nonetheless. So, absent friends aside, Revolver, we toast your continued success. We will be back for more that is for sure! (DISCO MATT)

Matinee Marineros Review

MATINEE MARINEROS – SATURDAY 11TH OCTOBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Having firmly established itself back south of the river at super club Colosseum in Vauxhall, Matinee London has quickly proven, even to it’s fiercest critics, that it is one of the most popular Saturday/Sunday club outings on the gay monthly calendar, with a superb reputation for putting on huge parties, just like it’s Spanish cousin!!

It was therefore a given that we had booked our place on the latest instalment, Matinee Marineros, although as usual, sandwiching our homage between work duties. But it has always proven worthwhile in the past and this time was no exception as we made the usual trip to our favourite venue of the moment, arriving at Club Colosseum at just turned midnight. Greeting us at the door were the friendliest threesome you could ever wish to meet, Evolved Events supremo Oliver Mohns, the incomparable door hostess Minty and the delectable Marky B, fresh from his exploits overseas (we had missed him). To say we got the “royal” treatment while we waited for our posse to arrive, was an understatement and truly flattering.

And arrive they did, resplendent in a total mix of outfits, some most appropriate for the “all things nautical” theme and having sorted out entrance tickets we all swung into the club and gathered in the balcony bar to arm ourselves with refreshments. Amongst our gorgeous posse was the lovely & handsome DJ/Producer Danny Verde, who had flown in from Italy especially for the event. Being his first trip to Matinee London, he was curious with questions which we were happy to oblige with a run down of the venue, we all soon finding ourselves wedged onto the packed main room dancefloor. In charge of the decks was the magnificent Guy Williams who was pumping out a true mix of classic & commercial funky house/electronica tunes (who says we don’t talk music styles!!) to a sexy crowd who were up for a great party. Track after track had the audience captivated and to add to the already brilliant atmosphere, Logan’s troupe of go-go's, boys & girls came out to entertain us, all assuming positions on podiums in amongst the crowd & across the elevated area at the back of the room, in front of the dazzling wall of neon lights, which were flashing in superb reaction to the music beats Guy was delivering. It was great to see Industri favourite Dilmar on stage not to mention Logan himself, who can certainly cut an impressive stride and enthral the crowd.

It was clear to us all that Danny was enjoying the experience, judging by his reactions as we introduced him to people and indeed as he found friends of old, and with our pals succumbing to the whole atmosphere, including our very own gorgeous & “off-duty” dancer Craig (Beppe to our Italian buddy’s), who instinctively ascended the elevated area to perform an impromptu routine (the boy just couldn’t resist), we also slipped into full Matinee mode, stripping off our newly purchased “sailor blue” top and dancing deliriously on our spot as Guy handed over the decks to special DJ guest Lydia Sanz, in from Barcelona to add a uniquely different feel to the usual suspects, Jordi Lights & Brad. It was fair to say that Lydia performed really well but dished out an eclectic mix of hard edged house tunes backed up against commercial affairs like Matinee track favourite “Toca’s Miracle”, so diverse were her record choices.

Departing the main room briefly, we armed ourselves with shots of Sambuca and rushed to the aid of Minty on the door, timing our arrival perfectly as she sunk the shot before you could say shot! And having got the taste, we grabbed more & shared our favourite liqueur with Danny when we arrived back in the main room, where we spent the majority of our stay. Looking around, the Evolved Events team had once again adorned the space with Matinee production magic, signage, hanging from the ceilings and bright white taught sheets with the Matinee logo impressed on them, back-dropping the stage & lit from behind, creating a second focal point to the neon lit wall of lights opposite. Cute life like red & white rubber rings were also dangling temptingly from above and we were close to jumping through one, but even our energetic escapades forbid such a feat.

A short excursion into the VIP room, found it full of revellers although absent of a D.J., rather the sounds from the main room pumping out and, strangely, the entrance link between the two spaces closed off. The team had opted to use the area downstairs as the second room for this spectacular “Marineros” extravaganza, so it was inevitable that we made our way down there, to find D.J. Alesandro entertaining a select crowd to a lighter mix of classic Matinee funky house tunes. This provided a respite from the mix of styles in the main room where the handsome Eduardo De La Torre had gone “back-to-back” with Lydia, keeping the dancefloor rammed.

As the late night became early morning and we heralded the arrival of the Italian Stallion himself Pagano to the main arena, waving at & greeting us in his usual friendly manner, we pulled on our energy reserves for what ended up being our final stint on the dancefloor, still surrounded by our posse and Danny, who all had far more energy than us, not to mention age on their sides. Pagnao pushed out a chain of much tougher edged house sounds characteristic of his style, but our energy soon sapped again and when our pals dragged us to the outside area for some fresh air, we heard the call of work, and decided to call it a day.

So saying our goodbyes, we left a still packed main room and headed down the stairs to collect our belongings. There we bumped into main man, Oliver M, who gave us a reassuring hug before our trip home. He is such a kind and generous man and is always most caring towards us, in a truly compassionate way and being genually concerned about our well-being. This in itself rounded off yet another fabulous Matinee party and one of the most sociable ones we have enjoyed.

Reports in, after we left, indicated that the club remained busy for hours more and with Pier Morrocco taking charge in the main room, also going “back-to-back” with Eduardo & playing our own Danny Verde’s no 1 mix “pushin to the top” ,which lifted the roof off the venue, those remaining were ensured of a wonderful end to their evening.

So, was Matinee Marineros a success? Undoubtedly so. Club Colosseum is clearly a firm favourite with the faithful and the wonderful atmosphere, the gorgeous crowd it attracts, the superb production & a truly stellar line up of D.J’s, ensure Matinee London remains our top choice of clubs. To compare with the last party, Matinee Viva would not be fair as Viva was an awesome experience and would be extremely difficult to excel for many reasons. However, the absence of a D.J. in the VIP room was disappointing, although the reasons for moving the “official” second room downstairs were understandable. Nevertheless this space seemed too far removed from the main room for us & divorced some of the crowd simply by the journey required between the two floors. Lydia Sanz is obviously a very talented D.J., but her eclectic mix of music styles left us a little confused, even though we spent most of her set on the dancefloor. All that said, we thoroughly enjoyed our Matinee outing, in such great company and congratulate Oliver, Logan & the Evolved Events team on yet another superb party. We will definitely be at the next one, there is no doubt! (DISCO MATT)