Revolver Re-Loaded - Club Review

REVOLVER RE-LOADED – SATURDAY 28TH FEBRUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN



With February coming to a speedy close and with much on offer on this last weekend of the month, we were very much looking forward to a further instalment of Revolver at it’s new home, The Fridge, so synonymous with the 90’s & the “Love Muscle” brand, although a venue perfect for the Revolver ideology of big theatre circuit style clubbing.

Our anticipation was further heightened by the inclusion of D.J. & producer Danny Verde, who has hit the big time with successful chart topping mixes “pushin to the top” and “open your heart” followed by a series of resident slots around Europe, including his native Italy, in a D.J. line up sporting some of London’s best, Paul Heron & Pagano. And as if this wasn’t enough, after the huge PA success of the January party, the Evolved Events team had lined up Spanish super drag star Diva Houston, a household name at SuperMartXe and many top Madrid club offerings. Add to that ,the entertainment cocktail was further strengthened with the wonderful & sexy Fierce International dancers, who have taken both Revolver & its bigger sister Matinee London to new heights, you couldn’t simply ask for more & with a boxing theme to boot, we were truly excited about this latest Revolver party.

So, it was with real excitement in our feet and energy pumping through our veins that we arrived at the doors of The Fridge jus before midnight to be welcomed by the bubbly & vivacious Minty, who was in her usual masterful control of entry proceedings, dressed elegantly in a long black number to fight off the chilly temperatures. As Minty sought to check our name off her extensive list, a collection of party goers soon joined us in the queue including the lovely Jeremy Precelton & partner Tim Banham, both looking so well after their recent mammoth cruise holiday. Waving us through and with the promise of a warming shot of Sambuca, we left Minty to her devices and swung into the club, quickly depositing our belongings in the coatcheck upstairs and made our way into the main room, and straight to the bar for refreshments. A crowd was already gathering and many familiar faces too, including Matt Bird, Joel Antunes and Industri pal Chris Wilcox, making us feel immediately at home.

Looking around the space, in true Evolved Events style, the team had changed around the format with the D.J booth now in with the lighting crew and looking through we spotted the familiar figure of Paul Heron, injecting his characteristic energy and passion to his set, bopping up and down in tune to the beats, a superb mix of electro and funky house, to entice revellers onto the dancefloor. We said our hello’s and then left him to his musical motions, also then spotted the effervescent “bubbles” who promised us of yet another dazzling lighting display (and if the last outing was anything to go by, we were in for a real treat). As the bar space continued to fill, D.J. Alessandro wafted by, catching & greeting us quickly as he running around organising some behind the scenes issues, although he had time to point us in the direction of Danny Verde, who was just setting up his records in preparation for his headlining set. It was so good to see him and we caught up on news of his recent party exploits.

We were also keen to get backstage to see the Fierce crew and particularly supremo Mark M Forms, who along with partner Nik Ripley had treated us so well at Matinee’s last outing, although Nik was abroad on work duty and when we found our way around the meandering corridors, back stage pass strapped to our wrist, we made it to the dressing room, to find Mark absent from proceedings, on the call of duty at Lo-Profile, we were somewhat deflated, although, with the troupe of dancers seemingly well organised & in the capable hands of Mark & Nik’s right hand lady Claire and all of them garbing themselves appropriately for the shows to come, we knew we were in good hands.

Back in the main room, we bumped into yet more friends, including go-go dancer Bepe (aka Craig) and pals, as well as D.J’s Lee Yeomans & Max Sanna and then back at the bar, re-joining our Industri pal Chris, we were further delighted by the arrival of fellow Industri faithful, Stephen, who had lead us so astray not two days ago (well we didn’t take too much persuading really!). So our “posse” now seemed complete and with Paul Heron handing over the D.J. reigns to Danny Verde, we headed onto the dancefloor to savour the unique amphitheatre style feel of this main space, lapping up the tougher euro style house tunes Danny was delivering.

Anticipation of the stage shows just kept growing and with the space still blacked out, apart from the odd flicker of lighting, it was clear a real impact was expected and we were not to be disappointed as, with a sudden change to the music pace, the stage was lit up, revealing a boxing ring which dominated the space. With seductive females sporting numbered cards standing each side of the ring, out came the sexy buffed up Fierce go-go boys, resplendent in boxing gear, two muscled guys entering the ring, to then entertain us to an enthralling and hilarious boxing/sparring routine intermixed with acrobatic dance moves, which had us truly spellbound. Yet again the Fierce crew had delivered a superb concept & stage setting, and the brainchild of the combo of Mark, Nik, Rob & Claire (what a team!).But more was to come as the lighting display went into super stratospheric mode, hailing the arrival of Diva Houston, who looking amazing and had such incredible stage presence as she performed in tune to the selected music lifting the already electric atmosphere to dizzy heights.

Now, Revolver was well and truly kicking, although it was fair to say the crowd wasn’t huge, but nevertheless what we would call a select bunch of scene faces, Matinee style Latino’s, elegantly dressed party heads & a vibrant mix of muscle queens and club kids, who just wanted to have fun. So, despite the low numbers, everyone seemed to be having just that, lapping up the superb sounds, the scintillating shows and everything that went with it. And with Diva Houston making a second stage appearance to keep up the pace, then with Danny’s brilliant set over, Pagano & Alessandro went back-to-back on the decks to keep the crowd entertained. With Minty & Paul Heron in close attendance, along with Chris & Stephen, it felt a little like an Industri gathering, behind the D.J. booth, where we saw out the rest of our stay, before retiring home to rest before our next clubbing instalment in a hectic weekend.

Well, what was the verdict of one of our most anticipated Revolver events? Well, it was fair to say that all the ingredients were in place to make it a successful party, a wonderfully prepared venue with typically superb production, the stage shows having all the impact you could expect, an amazing PA together with a top notch D.J. line up, not to mention fabulous lighting and atmosphere to match. However, the event simply lacked numbers and as a consequence struggled to meet all the expectations we had built up in our minds over the previous days & weeks of anticipation.

Catching up with promoter Oliver Mohns, it was clear he was disappointed and remains doubtful of the continuance of future parties. However, with so many great ingredients in place, it would be a shame to see Revolver’s demise, albeit that footfall is clearly what is needed, especially in the tough economic times we currently live in, although with numbers generally down across the capital, we are not sure that this is achievable, however good the party is. Nevertheless, we certainly enjoyed ourselves and will continue to give the brand all the support it truly deserves. (DISCO MATT)