MATINEE “MASKED BALL” – SATURDAY 14TH FEBRUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Falling bang slap on THE love day of the year and corner stoning our “love weekend”, we simply couldn’t resist the temptations of yet another Matinee party, our top choice amongst equals and certainly outweighing the fierce competition for the hard earned pounds of many in what always proves to be a tricky month, even in pink pound land.
Add to this the prospect of a real party atmosphere with not one, not two, but three birthday celebrations, Evolved Events big cheese, Oliver Mohns, stellar D.J. star Pier Morrocco and lighting specialist extraordinaire “Bubbles”, not to mention the exciting prospect of being taken backstage (we’ll tell your more of that in a minute), there was simply no way we were going to miss this one.
So, meeting up with friend Benoit, just after midnight, we strolled up to super club Colosseum to be greeted by the effervescent Minty, nay Hrh Minty and the gorge Marky B, who were in complete command of the door. Meeting these two and the rapturous welcome they always give us, really gets Matinee parties off to a good start and after a brief chat, we were whisked through the entrance to be faced with a considerably busy foyer and a winding queue for the coatcheck. However, never fear as to our rescue came birthday boy Oliver M, who gave us the red carpet treatment and took us straight to the heart of the club and behind the D.J. booth in the main room, to store our bits.
On the way, we were given a guided tour and it was clear that no effort had been spared to glamorise the venue, with sumptuous red drapes adorning the whole of the main room, the stage at the back being no exception and the front elevated dancing area dressed with a luxury chez longe and accompanying furniture to really set off the space. The theme ran through the rest of the club and with two large screens each side of the main room floor, showing Matinee encrusted video scenes, not to mention extra special lighting in all the rooms, the amazing look was complete.
Arriving at the D.J. booth, we were greeted by the second birthday boy, D.J. Pier Morrocco, who was in command of the decks and warming the crowd up brilliantly, with a delightful mix of vocal tipped house tunes intermixed with tougher electro twisted vibes to get the party going and with the main floor filling rapidly, we quickly armed ourselves with drinks and goodies, joining the masses in the main room to soak up the atmosphere. With plenty of familiar faces wandering by, the final piece in the birthday jigsaw was found in the form of “bubbles” and we compared notes with him on this latest wow of a Matinee look and the superb show at Revolver a couple of weeks before, before letting the man go to inject his magic on the clubs lighting system.
With our short trip down to the test lounge to support and encourage our friend and Matinee virgin behind the decks, D.J. Saki, we were back in the main room and wedging ourselves into a dancing space, when a tap on the shoulder found us in the welcoming arms of Fierce International boys Mark M Forms and Nik Ripley who were hastily preparing themselves and the team for the shows to come, but had spared to time to come and say hello. With camera’s flashing, we were caught in motion with these two, although the best was yet to come, as it wasn’t long before Mark re-appeared, grabbing our hand and taking us backstage to meet the whole crew. And a more welcoming bunch you couldn’t have found, with many ready to go in the most fabulous costumes we had seen in a long while, so appropriate to the Masked Ball theme, truly spectacular. With Oliver’s boyfriend and co-promoter joining the fray, yet more photo’s followed and the troupe were then ready to begin, filing out into the main space to assume their positions as Matinee Spanish resident star D.J. Taito Tikaro hit the decks. With the dancers in place around the room and on the two stages, receiving massive cheers from the crowd, they laid down a serious of breathtakingly sexy and revealing shows that blew us away and keep drawing us back throughout the night.
But, it is fair to say that our Matinee experience of late is never complete without a trip into the VIP room and with Brent Nicholls arriving and catching us on the main dancefloor, we squeezed past the maze of people and through the entrance behind the D.J. booth into this special space, which had a scant crowd lapping up the sounds of Nathan 6. Catching up on news with Brent, we had completely forgot our friend Benoit, who we had left stranded in the main room, so we went back in search of him, to no avail, only to find him in situ in the VIP room with Brent behind the decks. “Where else” was the response, when we asked where he had gone and where else indeed as we sank into the familiar latino twisted, funky house and harder edged tunes with the odd dancefloor anthem thrown in for good measure of this D.J. talent, as Brent worked this superb if but sometimes difficult room to play. One of the things we adore about this space is the intimacy and the fact that we always end up bumping into friends a plenty with tonight being no exception, pals Matt Bird, Lee Yeomans, Chris Wilcox and a superbly dressed Stephen Davies (to mention a few) all wafted through to say hello as we spent out the next 3 hours of our time at Matinee, with only occasional trips back to the main room the check out the Fierce crew.
With D.J. Alessandro taking up the reigns for the final set in the VIP room, we became strangely restless, but ended up back on the main floor with Pagano delivering yet another characteristic progressive set of amazing tech house tracks that had the audience captivated and held the lions share of revellers who soaked up a brilliant performance by this Italian Stallion who always greets us in friendly fashion, this time being no exception. With other D.J. pal Hugh Stevenson in attendance among the rest of our pals, including Benoit, this was now clearly the space to be and with Paul Heron catching us behind the booth just before taking over from Pagano, to continue the amazing music in his charismatic style and energy behind the decks, our night was now complete. So it seemed we had no choice but to see out the remainder of our stay in the main room, with Brent also enjoying proceedings and the plethora of Fierce boys letting their hair down with us for one last push.
But by 7.30 a.m. our time was up and with the prospect of needing to freshen our legs in time for the Love Child party at Pacha later that Sunday, we decided to wave goodbye to Matinee for another month, slipping out of the Colosseum and home to rest off a hectic yet fun filled evening, reflecting on some incredible moments that set this party aside from all others before it.
So, did Matinee’s Masked Ball fulfil expectations? The answer is absolutely yes, yes, yes. The production in the club was the best we have ever seen, a glowing tribute to the Evolved Events team who pulled out all the stops. The music was yet again the best we could ever wish to find, in the hands of one of the strongest D.J. line up’s around, with glittering A1 performances from Pier Morrocco, Brent Nicholls, Pagano and Paul Heron, combined with one of the friendliest crowds we know, who could ask for more? But there was more for us and what truly set this night apart from any other, the Fierce International crew, who laid on not just brilliant shows, but in the welcoming hands of the handsome & capable Mark M Forms, together with gorge partner Nik Ripley, made our night so special, by treating us so kindly and giving us the royal treatment, well we were lost for words (what us, never!!).
If there is one thing that sets Matinee aside from any other offering, it is the people. From Minty & Marky B on the door, through the stellar D.J.’s, through all the organisers including Oliver & Co, but also to the Fierce crew, a true bunch of wonderful people that give us the sense of “family”, what more can we say? Well, simply, we want more, more, more, bring on the next event, it can’t come quickly enough. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Falling bang slap on THE love day of the year and corner stoning our “love weekend”, we simply couldn’t resist the temptations of yet another Matinee party, our top choice amongst equals and certainly outweighing the fierce competition for the hard earned pounds of many in what always proves to be a tricky month, even in pink pound land.
Add to this the prospect of a real party atmosphere with not one, not two, but three birthday celebrations, Evolved Events big cheese, Oliver Mohns, stellar D.J. star Pier Morrocco and lighting specialist extraordinaire “Bubbles”, not to mention the exciting prospect of being taken backstage (we’ll tell your more of that in a minute), there was simply no way we were going to miss this one.
So, meeting up with friend Benoit, just after midnight, we strolled up to super club Colosseum to be greeted by the effervescent Minty, nay Hrh Minty and the gorge Marky B, who were in complete command of the door. Meeting these two and the rapturous welcome they always give us, really gets Matinee parties off to a good start and after a brief chat, we were whisked through the entrance to be faced with a considerably busy foyer and a winding queue for the coatcheck. However, never fear as to our rescue came birthday boy Oliver M, who gave us the red carpet treatment and took us straight to the heart of the club and behind the D.J. booth in the main room, to store our bits.
On the way, we were given a guided tour and it was clear that no effort had been spared to glamorise the venue, with sumptuous red drapes adorning the whole of the main room, the stage at the back being no exception and the front elevated dancing area dressed with a luxury chez longe and accompanying furniture to really set off the space. The theme ran through the rest of the club and with two large screens each side of the main room floor, showing Matinee encrusted video scenes, not to mention extra special lighting in all the rooms, the amazing look was complete.
Arriving at the D.J. booth, we were greeted by the second birthday boy, D.J. Pier Morrocco, who was in command of the decks and warming the crowd up brilliantly, with a delightful mix of vocal tipped house tunes intermixed with tougher electro twisted vibes to get the party going and with the main floor filling rapidly, we quickly armed ourselves with drinks and goodies, joining the masses in the main room to soak up the atmosphere. With plenty of familiar faces wandering by, the final piece in the birthday jigsaw was found in the form of “bubbles” and we compared notes with him on this latest wow of a Matinee look and the superb show at Revolver a couple of weeks before, before letting the man go to inject his magic on the clubs lighting system.
With our short trip down to the test lounge to support and encourage our friend and Matinee virgin behind the decks, D.J. Saki, we were back in the main room and wedging ourselves into a dancing space, when a tap on the shoulder found us in the welcoming arms of Fierce International boys Mark M Forms and Nik Ripley who were hastily preparing themselves and the team for the shows to come, but had spared to time to come and say hello. With camera’s flashing, we were caught in motion with these two, although the best was yet to come, as it wasn’t long before Mark re-appeared, grabbing our hand and taking us backstage to meet the whole crew. And a more welcoming bunch you couldn’t have found, with many ready to go in the most fabulous costumes we had seen in a long while, so appropriate to the Masked Ball theme, truly spectacular. With Oliver’s boyfriend and co-promoter joining the fray, yet more photo’s followed and the troupe were then ready to begin, filing out into the main space to assume their positions as Matinee Spanish resident star D.J. Taito Tikaro hit the decks. With the dancers in place around the room and on the two stages, receiving massive cheers from the crowd, they laid down a serious of breathtakingly sexy and revealing shows that blew us away and keep drawing us back throughout the night.
But, it is fair to say that our Matinee experience of late is never complete without a trip into the VIP room and with Brent Nicholls arriving and catching us on the main dancefloor, we squeezed past the maze of people and through the entrance behind the D.J. booth into this special space, which had a scant crowd lapping up the sounds of Nathan 6. Catching up on news with Brent, we had completely forgot our friend Benoit, who we had left stranded in the main room, so we went back in search of him, to no avail, only to find him in situ in the VIP room with Brent behind the decks. “Where else” was the response, when we asked where he had gone and where else indeed as we sank into the familiar latino twisted, funky house and harder edged tunes with the odd dancefloor anthem thrown in for good measure of this D.J. talent, as Brent worked this superb if but sometimes difficult room to play. One of the things we adore about this space is the intimacy and the fact that we always end up bumping into friends a plenty with tonight being no exception, pals Matt Bird, Lee Yeomans, Chris Wilcox and a superbly dressed Stephen Davies (to mention a few) all wafted through to say hello as we spent out the next 3 hours of our time at Matinee, with only occasional trips back to the main room the check out the Fierce crew.
With D.J. Alessandro taking up the reigns for the final set in the VIP room, we became strangely restless, but ended up back on the main floor with Pagano delivering yet another characteristic progressive set of amazing tech house tracks that had the audience captivated and held the lions share of revellers who soaked up a brilliant performance by this Italian Stallion who always greets us in friendly fashion, this time being no exception. With other D.J. pal Hugh Stevenson in attendance among the rest of our pals, including Benoit, this was now clearly the space to be and with Paul Heron catching us behind the booth just before taking over from Pagano, to continue the amazing music in his charismatic style and energy behind the decks, our night was now complete. So it seemed we had no choice but to see out the remainder of our stay in the main room, with Brent also enjoying proceedings and the plethora of Fierce boys letting their hair down with us for one last push.
But by 7.30 a.m. our time was up and with the prospect of needing to freshen our legs in time for the Love Child party at Pacha later that Sunday, we decided to wave goodbye to Matinee for another month, slipping out of the Colosseum and home to rest off a hectic yet fun filled evening, reflecting on some incredible moments that set this party aside from all others before it.
So, did Matinee’s Masked Ball fulfil expectations? The answer is absolutely yes, yes, yes. The production in the club was the best we have ever seen, a glowing tribute to the Evolved Events team who pulled out all the stops. The music was yet again the best we could ever wish to find, in the hands of one of the strongest D.J. line up’s around, with glittering A1 performances from Pier Morrocco, Brent Nicholls, Pagano and Paul Heron, combined with one of the friendliest crowds we know, who could ask for more? But there was more for us and what truly set this night apart from any other, the Fierce International crew, who laid on not just brilliant shows, but in the welcoming hands of the handsome & capable Mark M Forms, together with gorge partner Nik Ripley, made our night so special, by treating us so kindly and giving us the royal treatment, well we were lost for words (what us, never!!).
If there is one thing that sets Matinee aside from any other offering, it is the people. From Minty & Marky B on the door, through the stellar D.J.’s, through all the organisers including Oliver & Co, but also to the Fierce crew, a true bunch of wonderful people that give us the sense of “family”, what more can we say? Well, simply, we want more, more, more, bring on the next event, it can’t come quickly enough. (DISCO MATT)
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