SPECIAL REVIEW – RAMON’S 30TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
@ THE APOTHECARY – SUNDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 2008
REVIEW FOR DISCO MATT WEBSITES
Don’t we just adore birthdays and all the celebrations they can bring. With spectacular celebrations over the months, including a superb one at Industri for our friend Chris Wilcox just weeks ago, our weekend was littered with birthday boys, Kieran (aka Sweety Pants), Michael (celebrating 40 years) and Ramon, whom we have known for many years, spanning back to the heady days of Trade.
So with the backdrop of birthdays, mixed in with clubbing on all scales and having been invited to this special bash at Lawrence Malice’s new club space, Apothecary, next to Egg in Kings Cross, we were really looking forward to a great time, with great music and fantastic company and we were not to be disappointed.
Having originally planned our arrival around 6 p.m., the call of our pal & D.J. Lee Yeomans, meant an earlier arrival at 4 p.m. Lee, as we were close to doing, had been partying all night and with text call messages, dragged us out of slumber land to his aid, rushing up to Apothecary in the most inclement of weather, to find him waiting patently for our arrival. Catching up on news of the Egg party we had missed, this was shortly followed by the arrival of birthday boy himself, Ramon (and posse) signalling our entry into the maze that is Apothecary and into the solitary main room, where hurried preparations of the space were being made.
With Ramon’s crew armed with cakes a plenty, which were soon laid out in the corner of the room, we took a moments respite in advance of what was to become a solid celebration of dancing, mingling with beautiful people and having a right old knees up with the assembling crowd & our pal Lee. Looking round the room, which had a great stage space in one corner, a dominating screen in the other, showing “Trade” visuals (so appropriate to Ramon’s recent past) and a magnificent array of lighting across the ceiling, to rival many clubs twice or more the size, we were suitably impressed by Apothecary already.
With most of us gagging for a drink to get the party well and truly underway, we soon found Ramon playing bartender, in an impromptu move that delighted us all, so much so that camera’s clicked catching him in pose behind the bar. The music had started now, supplied by the fabulous D.J. Haden Crockett, who set about delivering a superb mix of commercially (promise we won’t use this word again!) twisted house vibes that got the ever increasing audience moving. Our friend Lee was impressed by Haden’s choices, telling us that the sounds were so reminiscent of Federation, a club he plays for in Manchester.
As more & more people turned up for this special occasion celebration, Haden handed over to D.J. talent, Jonny Evans, who took the music to a new & tougher level, delivering some superb Underground sounds intertwined with techhouse meets disco beats, which had us literally bouncing on our spot. Despite his marathon 16 hours of clubbing & partying, our friend Lee couldn’t resist strutting his stuff, bouncing up and down. It was with this that we chatted and both agreed that the launch of “bouncy house” had arrived, and don’t we just love a bit of trend-setting!
By now, the party was well and truly swinging, made even more exciting by the arrival of D.J’s Malcolm Duffy and the great Guy Williams who (like all the D.J’s) had leant their time free of charge & in aid of celebrating Ramon’s birthday. Guy came over not long after arriving and shared news of recent clubbing escapades with us, refusing the offer of a drink (on the wagon Guy!?!) saying he was taking a rest after a hectic last few months (he is one of the busiest D.J’s we know, you know).
Popping outside for a quick break from proceedings, it wasn’t long before we were back inside as Guy was now behind the decks pumping out his characteristic hard house & diet techno infused sounds, so typical of recent sets we have been privileged to hear him play, at such diverse clubs as Matinee, Trade & Breakfast @ Egg. Despite claims from our pal (told you we wouldn’t mention THAT word again) we were content that Guy’s sound was far from the c word, but most similar to his set in the lite lounge in Trade just weeks ago and a cut above everything we had heard. Actually, he is a huge fan of Guy’s and quite rightly so as the man is “cutting edge” with his music style.
To make the party well and truly complete, Egg & Apothecary owner and creator of one of the worlds most infamous club brands, Trade, the great Laurence Malice, wafted in to a rapturous welcome and it wasn’t long before he grabbed the microphone, interrupting Guy’s set. Having seen him do this so much in Trade (and clearly others in the crowd had too) an immediate roar went up, as he beckoned birthday boy Ramon forward to say a few words, immediately followed by a rendition of “Happy Birthday” in rap style to Guy’s music which had fired up again.
As Guy’s superb set came to an end, for which we had danced to furiously virtually none stop, Trade veteran (well Guy is one too we guess) Malcolm Duffy took over the reigns, taking the music in yet another direction, this time very much more drum & base infused with funky techno. However, by now, as much as we wanted to carry on partying, our energy levels were shot to pieces, so we said our fond farewells to a collection of folk including Lee & birthday boy Ramon and meandered our way out of Apothecary and home to our special Singapore Fried Rice takeaway!
Well, you couldn’t have asked to be in better company on a Sunday afternoon & evening. Ramon is such a lovely guy and his collection of friends are some of the friendliest we have met. No-one was standing on ceremony and we were truly proud to be part of the whole celebration, listening to brilliant music and rubbing shoulders with greats like Laurence, Malcolm & Guy. What an end to the weekend & if only Sunday’s were always like this. We toast Ramon for reaching the “big three O”, happy birthday young man. (DISCO MATT)
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