MATINEE EROTICA – SATURDAY 14TH MARCH
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With every month in gAyland London heralding some parties that have incredible anticipation, Matinee is one such event which has really found its feet, secure in its new home at super club Colosseum in Vauxhall. On the back of a superb Masked Ball party in February, what could we expect from this months outing? Well, quite a lot actually and as it turned out one of the best we have been to so far.
Styled “Erotica” and with the promise of hot XXX rated shows, it was interesting that the competition chose to follow suit with Love Muscle heading the trend to copy what was clearly an inspired idea, although if previous Matinee performances were anything to go by we were definitely going to be in for a treat and with the involvement of Mark M Forms, Nik Ripley & the Fierce International crew, we were definitely going to be in good hands.
So, arriving in Vauxhall, a little later than planned as a disco nap turned into a disco snooze, we made haste to Colosseum to be greeted by door hostess Minty looking absolutely stunning in a full military uniform, mixing strict with seductive in superb style, just the ticket for the erotica theme. Fellow door host Marky B was mysteriously absent although we were blessed to bump into both Nik & Mark who were gathering their dancers to prepare for the party ahead. With pleasantries over, we entered the club and joined the coatcheck queue, which was, for two weeks in a row, being efficiently whittled down and as we got to the foot of the stairs, Evolved Events co-promoter Rob, bounded up and saw us through the check and with refreshments in hand then gave us the royal treatment with a guided tour of the club. And what an amazing job the team had done in transforming Colosseum, with delicious drapes, seductive spaces, & passionate props on the main stages, which were the real focal points, restrictive railings removed to make both spaces much more accessible. As we ventured round with Rob, we caught up on news of plans for Easter, Revolver, new afterhours venture BPM and lots of other matters, including all the shenanigans that still seem to be ravaging the scene, promoters at loggerheads, ideas being stolen and more, although there is no escaping that the Evolved Events team continue to keep things fresh and do what it says on the packet, evolve their events superbly.
With our tour over, we just had to escape behind the D.J. booth to welcome back Guy Williams who had literally flown in from the other side of the world, straight into an opening Matinee set. And what a set it was, characteristic Guy, with lots of chunky tech infused tunes intermixed with future disco tracks which he is spearheading and which is becoming more and more popular. Quite how this legendary D.J. had the energy to fulfil his set, we don’t know, but it is a real testament to his professionalism and talent, that had the main room packed and pulsating to his sounds, getting Matinee Erotica off to the start it deserved. To further excite the by now packed main room, the Fierce International dancers rolled out in revealing costumes, showing off muscles and curves to perfect proportions, ascending the stages to dance away to Guy’s tunes, which then melted seamlessly into Matinee resident D.J. star J Louis’s, who took hold and sent the main room manic as familiar Matinee anthem, one after the other, was blasted out. With breathtaking lighting setting off the whole room in glorious effect, controlled by the talented & experienced Bubbles, the scene was set for yet another scintillating affair with this clubbing brand giant.
We had to visit the other parts of the club, to check out proceedings, and Messer’s Saki, then Lee Yeomans were keeping matters in check downstairs and the V.I.P room was being looked after in style, first by Nathan 6 and then by talent Alessandro, who was doing a mammoth 5 hour set, which saw the room packed for most of the night, providing a fabulous escape from the main floor mania. But it was this main space that was the focus for us, as we hooked up with Industri pals Chris & Stephen, jockeying places between the two stages, the back one superbly decorated with chain curtains & makeshift cages, housing first the gorge & sexy Fierce boys and then some (shall we say) interesting strippers! Over on the other stage, a most revealing show was being played out, which had the transfixed crowds eyes popping out and us wincing, as positions we could only imagine were being achieved by this stripper extraordinaire.
We were intent on dancing away but were struggling to find a spot and our stride, which wasn’t much helped as Clington Forbes held a brief stint on the decks, although as J Louis reassumed his spot, the music took on a much tougher slant, no doubt in warm up for the line up to come and it wasn’t then long before Italian stallion Pagano arrived and the whole atmosphere of the club took a giant leap forward, rose to the challenge and started playing out a humungous mix of progressive tech house heaven which we have come to love & adore. This D.J. really makes a difference to any party and his purple patch performances continue unabated, which had the glamorous mix of muscle queens, Latino’s disco boys & scene stars dancing deliriously. Keep him Matinee, it will not be the same without him.
Familiar faces, including the sexy Steven Artis, Matt’s Bird & Kruger, the walking tall Enrico, the handsome & hunky Dimitrios, and many more past us by, even Marky B who had turned up, giving us a massive hug in the process, but moreover seeing and sharing in all the fun with Evolved Events supremo Oliver Mohns, was delightful, as was rubbing shoulders with the Fierce boys Mark & Nik, who have been wonderful friends and along with the many people involved with Matinee, make it feel like a real family. But the best was yet to come, as Pagano continued to pump out the tracks, the crowd suddenly parted & Brazilian wonder Deni appeared, full of energy as always and beaming, grabbing us in charismatic embrace and then dancing furiously with us for most of the rest of the night, truly making it memorable. With friend Stephen also in close call, we fell headlong into the whole experience and had an awesome time, continued in superb style by the ever popular Paul Heron, who had us hopping, bopping and swinging our pants past dawn, until we drew breath for our next clubbing escapade across the other side of Vauxhall.
So it was at about 7.30 that our friend Deni accompanied our leave of Matinee at the Colosseum, not before saying our goodbyes, to Pagano (off to rest before heading to Rapido in Amsterdam), to Nik who was also off to rest his dancing bones, to Stephen & Chris who always make our outings special and to Paul Heron, who remained, injecting his enthusiasm & passion into a set that still had a good size crowd dancing away.
So, was Matinee Erotica a success? With a resounding yes, it was. Not only was the production of the club absolutely amazing (the Colosseum has never looked better), not only was the music brilliant, with extra special efforts from Guy, Pagano & Paul, not only were the stage shows wonderfully seductive & sexy in the hands of the magnificent Fierce International crew, not only were the crowd exactly the quality you come to expect from matinee outings, but moreover the company we enjoyed was extra special, especially in the hands of Deni, who’s excitement & energy lifted us onto cloud nine for which we have only now floated off.
We were asked, after the event, whether Erotica surpassed our most favourite Matinee party, Viva, and the answer is, well not quite, but it came very close. There is no doubt that settling on Colosseum was the best thing that this brand has done, with a crowd much bigger than the last event and with massive plans for a trio Easter outings, including the infamous LaLeche, the team continue to push the boundaries and offer London a taste of Spain & the Mediterranean to bring a smile to our faces. All we can say is, may you continue to do just that, marvellous Matinee. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With every month in gAyland London heralding some parties that have incredible anticipation, Matinee is one such event which has really found its feet, secure in its new home at super club Colosseum in Vauxhall. On the back of a superb Masked Ball party in February, what could we expect from this months outing? Well, quite a lot actually and as it turned out one of the best we have been to so far.
Styled “Erotica” and with the promise of hot XXX rated shows, it was interesting that the competition chose to follow suit with Love Muscle heading the trend to copy what was clearly an inspired idea, although if previous Matinee performances were anything to go by we were definitely going to be in for a treat and with the involvement of Mark M Forms, Nik Ripley & the Fierce International crew, we were definitely going to be in good hands.
So, arriving in Vauxhall, a little later than planned as a disco nap turned into a disco snooze, we made haste to Colosseum to be greeted by door hostess Minty looking absolutely stunning in a full military uniform, mixing strict with seductive in superb style, just the ticket for the erotica theme. Fellow door host Marky B was mysteriously absent although we were blessed to bump into both Nik & Mark who were gathering their dancers to prepare for the party ahead. With pleasantries over, we entered the club and joined the coatcheck queue, which was, for two weeks in a row, being efficiently whittled down and as we got to the foot of the stairs, Evolved Events co-promoter Rob, bounded up and saw us through the check and with refreshments in hand then gave us the royal treatment with a guided tour of the club. And what an amazing job the team had done in transforming Colosseum, with delicious drapes, seductive spaces, & passionate props on the main stages, which were the real focal points, restrictive railings removed to make both spaces much more accessible. As we ventured round with Rob, we caught up on news of plans for Easter, Revolver, new afterhours venture BPM and lots of other matters, including all the shenanigans that still seem to be ravaging the scene, promoters at loggerheads, ideas being stolen and more, although there is no escaping that the Evolved Events team continue to keep things fresh and do what it says on the packet, evolve their events superbly.
With our tour over, we just had to escape behind the D.J. booth to welcome back Guy Williams who had literally flown in from the other side of the world, straight into an opening Matinee set. And what a set it was, characteristic Guy, with lots of chunky tech infused tunes intermixed with future disco tracks which he is spearheading and which is becoming more and more popular. Quite how this legendary D.J. had the energy to fulfil his set, we don’t know, but it is a real testament to his professionalism and talent, that had the main room packed and pulsating to his sounds, getting Matinee Erotica off to the start it deserved. To further excite the by now packed main room, the Fierce International dancers rolled out in revealing costumes, showing off muscles and curves to perfect proportions, ascending the stages to dance away to Guy’s tunes, which then melted seamlessly into Matinee resident D.J. star J Louis’s, who took hold and sent the main room manic as familiar Matinee anthem, one after the other, was blasted out. With breathtaking lighting setting off the whole room in glorious effect, controlled by the talented & experienced Bubbles, the scene was set for yet another scintillating affair with this clubbing brand giant.
We had to visit the other parts of the club, to check out proceedings, and Messer’s Saki, then Lee Yeomans were keeping matters in check downstairs and the V.I.P room was being looked after in style, first by Nathan 6 and then by talent Alessandro, who was doing a mammoth 5 hour set, which saw the room packed for most of the night, providing a fabulous escape from the main floor mania. But it was this main space that was the focus for us, as we hooked up with Industri pals Chris & Stephen, jockeying places between the two stages, the back one superbly decorated with chain curtains & makeshift cages, housing first the gorge & sexy Fierce boys and then some (shall we say) interesting strippers! Over on the other stage, a most revealing show was being played out, which had the transfixed crowds eyes popping out and us wincing, as positions we could only imagine were being achieved by this stripper extraordinaire.
We were intent on dancing away but were struggling to find a spot and our stride, which wasn’t much helped as Clington Forbes held a brief stint on the decks, although as J Louis reassumed his spot, the music took on a much tougher slant, no doubt in warm up for the line up to come and it wasn’t then long before Italian stallion Pagano arrived and the whole atmosphere of the club took a giant leap forward, rose to the challenge and started playing out a humungous mix of progressive tech house heaven which we have come to love & adore. This D.J. really makes a difference to any party and his purple patch performances continue unabated, which had the glamorous mix of muscle queens, Latino’s disco boys & scene stars dancing deliriously. Keep him Matinee, it will not be the same without him.
Familiar faces, including the sexy Steven Artis, Matt’s Bird & Kruger, the walking tall Enrico, the handsome & hunky Dimitrios, and many more past us by, even Marky B who had turned up, giving us a massive hug in the process, but moreover seeing and sharing in all the fun with Evolved Events supremo Oliver Mohns, was delightful, as was rubbing shoulders with the Fierce boys Mark & Nik, who have been wonderful friends and along with the many people involved with Matinee, make it feel like a real family. But the best was yet to come, as Pagano continued to pump out the tracks, the crowd suddenly parted & Brazilian wonder Deni appeared, full of energy as always and beaming, grabbing us in charismatic embrace and then dancing furiously with us for most of the rest of the night, truly making it memorable. With friend Stephen also in close call, we fell headlong into the whole experience and had an awesome time, continued in superb style by the ever popular Paul Heron, who had us hopping, bopping and swinging our pants past dawn, until we drew breath for our next clubbing escapade across the other side of Vauxhall.
So it was at about 7.30 that our friend Deni accompanied our leave of Matinee at the Colosseum, not before saying our goodbyes, to Pagano (off to rest before heading to Rapido in Amsterdam), to Nik who was also off to rest his dancing bones, to Stephen & Chris who always make our outings special and to Paul Heron, who remained, injecting his enthusiasm & passion into a set that still had a good size crowd dancing away.
So, was Matinee Erotica a success? With a resounding yes, it was. Not only was the production of the club absolutely amazing (the Colosseum has never looked better), not only was the music brilliant, with extra special efforts from Guy, Pagano & Paul, not only were the stage shows wonderfully seductive & sexy in the hands of the magnificent Fierce International crew, not only were the crowd exactly the quality you come to expect from matinee outings, but moreover the company we enjoyed was extra special, especially in the hands of Deni, who’s excitement & energy lifted us onto cloud nine for which we have only now floated off.
We were asked, after the event, whether Erotica surpassed our most favourite Matinee party, Viva, and the answer is, well not quite, but it came very close. There is no doubt that settling on Colosseum was the best thing that this brand has done, with a crowd much bigger than the last event and with massive plans for a trio Easter outings, including the infamous LaLeche, the team continue to push the boundaries and offer London a taste of Spain & the Mediterranean to bring a smile to our faces. All we can say is, may you continue to do just that, marvellous Matinee. (DISCO MATT)
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