Love Child - Club Review

“LOVE CHILD” AT PACHA – SUNDAY 15TH FEBRUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Well, as if we hadn’t already fulfilled our “love weekend”, with it being kick started by Industri’s party “all tied up and somewhere to go” on the Thursday, this club always proving an ideal warm up to any weekend, but especially so this time, in the hands of Minty, her boys and a band of regulars, who all seemed in the love mood, we then had a superb time on Valentines day itself, at Matinee’s Masked Ball, where birthday celebrations, breathtaking costumes & the wonderful royal treatment we received from Mark M Forms & Nik Ripley of Fierce Intl, were true highlights, but no, not enough as there was yet more on offer.

And in what form did this come? well, the sumptuous and scintillating party “Love Child” brought to us by fabulous promoter Alex Erfan, renowned for laying on fantastic parties and really pushing the boundaries. Choosing Pacha to host a gay event may have seemed brave, but add to that the Sunday T-Dance format, tricky to say the least, was a bold choice indeed but one that proved successful for many reasons.

So, arriving at shortly before 7 p.m., clutching our V.I.P. pass, we were given the characteristically warm welcome on the door by Marky B, who, like at Matinee the night before, was managing proceedings very smoothly & in complete control of his lot. This engaging and charming man works extremely hard to ensure everyone’s smooth entrance to clubs and is a familiar face from the days of D.T.P.M. and it is always a pleasure to see him.

With complimentary champagne vouchers in hand (thanks Mark) we entered the club and as Pacha virgins were somewhat surprised to be asked for ID, but with our photo card scanned we were quickly waved through and into the ground floor space, where Tony English was in charge of the decks, warming up a select crowd with some hard hitting & uplifting house tunes to build the atmosphere, Looking around, we were immediately struck by the glorious and glamorous surroundings. We were then keen to explore more and with our V.I.P band around our wrist, soon found our way up and into the exclusive space, including a separate dancefloor on the first floor where scene legend Stewart Who? was in command, laying out a characteristic set filled with retro classic’s intermixed with lounge tunes, progressing into house beats too step up the pace as only he knows best. Bounding up to say hello, we also found D.J. Wayne G holding court and immediately caught up on news with this international globetrotting talent, back to London on just a short stay in his whistlestop life, but looking as fresh as ever.

With our taste buds tingling with the thought of champagne, we carried further round and armed with bubbly, marvelled at the impressive balcony which gave us and other privileged V.I.P ticket holders a birdseye view of proceedings downstairs and not just that but the glittering surroundings, including a huge spinning mirrorball and two elegant chandeliers which dominated the space. Some had chosen to hire out special booths, with bucket loads of champagne & goodies supplied, while others simply soaked up the wonderful feel of this special space.

Back downstairs, the crowd was building quite nicely and what a good looking and sexy crowd they were too, a true mix of metrosexuals, Latino hunks, muscle queens and a plethora of scene faces and gAylisters, with a stable full of off duty D.J’s including Hugh Stevenson, Jamie Head, Steve Pitron, Alan X, Lee Yeomans, Max Sanna and even Brent Nicholls, who had entertained us so well at Matinee earlier, but was out on photocall duty, camera in hand, as we said our hello’s.

The but centre piece was the stage area and with a sudden change in music pace, a whole collection of muscled & revealingly garbed go-go’s and dancers gathered to carry out (lofted high) the first P.A. of the evening, Marcella Woods, to the stage to perform among others, her fab anthem “Hands Up”, literally lifting the crowds hands up into the air and injecting some real passion into the room. With ticker tape explosions, amazing lighting and inspired dancing performances, courtesy of Chris Geary’s troupe, the party was well and truly underway.

You could see the delight on Alex Erfan’s face behind the D.J. decks, dressed resplendently in a black outfit and matching classy hat as tip top D.J. star Michael Gray then took over the decks, continuing the uplifting theme with some immediately recognisable tracks intermixed with electro beats and house classics like Robin’s S’s “Show Me Love” (how many times can this track be remixed yet so popular). We were intent on continuing our circuit drive around the venue, bumping into yet more gorgeous and familiar faces, old & new, with the off duty D.J. list continuing to grow as the lovely Gabriele Cutrano spotted us, introducing his friends who were out to have a good time.

Back upstairs, Stewart Who? had really stepped up the pace of the music and had attracted a bigger crowd to hand over to the energetic Per QX, whom we had seen downstairs, promising us of an “all inclusive” set which her certainly delivered to magical effect, further swelling the crowd, albeit the select V.I.P lot who were settling into their comfortable surroundings. Yet more champagne followed, courtesy of Marky B (naughty boy) and we traded first floor with ground, returning downstairs in time for a brilliant show by Tara MacDonald, again performing some huge anthems and her new track “You Got Me Twisted”, a Love Child excusive, being played out for the very first time, magnificent.

With the main room well and truly buzzing, D.J. Mattias was now behind the decks, stepping up the pace even more, ensuring the already electric atmosphere could only get better and with more and more bare-chested hunks savouring the music, the party was set to rock right through to the 2 a.m. finish. However, with our legs weary from our previous exploits combined with thoughts of an early start, we faced the inevitable journey home, having rounded off an awesome “love weekend” in phenomenal style.

So what did we think of Love Child? Well, despite the slow start, the party went off in real style with quality being the buzz word of the night. Pacha proved an ideal setting, although perhaps, in our view, the V.I.P area could have been restricted to the balcony, so as to ensure the first floor dance space was as popular as the ground floor. Some inspired performances by the P.A’s and Chris Geary’s dancers were true highlights, but for us it was the gorgeous & sexy crowd, filled with so many familiar faces, (some not seen for ages and drawn out by the promise of a stylish affair) that really made the party special, so akin to Salvation events of old.

With the success of the brand around the world, especially in Moscow, which hosted a massive party just a day before, we are sure that Love Child will survive in London, T-Dance Sunday format or not and we will certainly be giving it our support. Our hats go off to Alex Erfan for bringing us yet another new, fresh and purely first class party to the scene. (DISCO MATT)