ROBB’S BIRTHDAY BASH AT THE BOX – FRIDAY 15TH MAY 2009
SPECIAL REVIEW FOR DISCO MATT WEBISTES
With 2008 going out with a bang on the back of two mega birthday bashes and then the new year starting on the same vein, with a plethora of parties (seemingly every week), whether it be club or bar anniversary or a friends birthday, 2009 up till now has certainly been a year full of celebrations, and why not! So, it came as no surprise when yet another invitation came our way, this time an extra special birthday for an extra special friend, the choice was simple, attend, attend, attend!!
Since meeting him, Robb’s friendship was pretty much instant and genuine, always treating us like royalty when visiting him in club outings and is now very much part of the close bunch of friends we can call “family”, so it was a no brainer that we attended his special day of celebration, which started early with phone wishes and the tooting of a horn (our little secret!) which truly set the scene for a rip roaring evening of action. The question was, where? as Robb had left it to his better half to arrange, with just a couple of pre-requisites, but knowing his partner as we do, well the sky is generally the limit and we expected all the stops being pulled out.
So desperately arranging our evening ahead of a new club launch & trying our best to shake off a dreadful hangover from a wild night at Industri, we eventually made contact with Oliver to find that initial plans of grandeur, the rooftop of the Trafalgar Hotel no less, had been shunned for a V.I.P. area of audacity in The Box Bar, renowned on a Friday for having a special buzz & vibe, more akin to Robb’s liking. It was just a question whether his pre-requisites had been met as we, having well and truly cleared our hangover away at Rupert Street, sped home to change and then made a swift arrival at Box Bar’s doors, meeting friend Jeremy as planned.
The bar was already brimming with hedonist hopefuls, some using this classy & cosmopolitan space as a pre club outing, others making it an evening of entertaining sociality and with sexy staff and mesmemeric music, all in sumptuous surrounds, why not?! As Jeremy and I wandered through, well actually squeezed past the masses of people, we came across the birthday buy himself, dressed super smartly and already in the party mood, clutching a bottomless glass of champagne (just the way it should be) and greeting us in his usual friendly fashion and then pointing us in the direction of his posse of party heads in the corner of the bar. There, standing resplendent in amongst a whole collection of scene faces & friends, including the fabulous Romano, D.J. pal Alessandro, promoter extraordinaire Steve Elliot was, ofcourse, Oliver Mohns, who was clearly pleased to see us, grabbing us in a massive embrace, lifting us high into the air in a now characteristic welcome. Oliver, like Robb, has proven a real friend of friends, making us feel so special whenever we see him.
We just had to head for refreshments to kick start our evening, well put us in the party mood anyway and having been swiftly served, headed back to the corner which had been cleared for Robb’s exclusive use. With introductions to his family friends over we nestled into the circular seating space, sandwiched by Romano & Steve immersing ourselves in deep conversation with both, catching up on news of old (and new), remarking on the last Bank Holiday full of parties and looking forward to events on their way, Salvation, Matinee, but moreover our trip to Guy Williams’ in launch Reverse at Paramount which looked like the choice of many, not least as the dizzy heights of the club seemed to be a major attraction. Steve then introduced us to a friend, whom we immediately recognised from dancefloors of the past & from the days when we managed the Birdcage in Chiswick, which sprouted yet more reminiscing chat interspersed with meeting more familiar faces, including the magnificent Minty, an adorable addition to any gathering, who got the same rapturous welcome as we had had (apart for the up in the air bit!).
The Box was now well and truly alight, the music was mammoth and the bar buzzing with beautiful folk cramming into the seductive space to soak up the amazing atmosphere. Having rarely visited on a Friday, it was surprising to see how popular the place obviously was, although having been established for over 13 years, outstripping many of its competitors and offering a great alternative to the sometimes seedy style of Soho, its situation on Seven Dials, whilst a little off beaten track of choice, has an exclusive air about it and seems to draw the crème de la crème of the scene, gorgeous guys, Latino lovelies & party people out for a terrific time.
With the champagne truly flowing and the party mood at fever pitch, the only exception being a gatecrasher into our exclusive area who had the audacity of pinching our pint (well what’s one pint!), we let the night of naughtiness continue and with bottle after bottle of champagne hitting the table, with the conversation between Jeremy, Minty, Romano, Steve & us continuing at a pace, with the drink being dispensed in gigantic gulps rather than sizable sips, it was clear that if we kept up this pace we would be heading in one direction only. So, holding back and standing up we got an introduction to the Box Bar’s owner Frank, who had come across to join in the celebrations. This most interesting individual has clearly carved a quality driven niche for his bar and the whole place reeks of his character, laid back attitude and amazing attention to detail, not least in his tip top team of troops.
With the party running out of time rather than steam, the seemingly premature ending of eleven arrived far too quickly, although our excursion to Reverse was stalled by a final bottle of champagne to toast (yet again) Robb’s birthday, with Frank, Oliver & Steve & ofcourse the man of the moment raising their glasses with us, before heading off into the depths of a West End Friday to the next instalment of celebration at even more heady heights (literally).
So what did we think of The Box Bar and how did Robb’s birthday bash go down? Well, being exponents of Rupert Street & Barcode normally, it not only made a pleasant change to try something different, but we came away well and truly tantalised by the temptations of this vivacious venue on the edge of Covent Garden. Having only really visited on a Sunday, we were genuinely surprised how popular it was this Friday and seemingly so every Friday of the week, definitely the place to be seen and we like that!! As for Robb’s birthday bash, well a better place couldn’t have chosen to celebrate his special day, with compelling company & conversation, copious amounts of champagne superb surroundings mixed with magical music, we were privileged to be part of this steaming success of a pulsating party. And what better a way to see in a new decade of decadence, well Robb’s decade anyway, so all that’s left to say, if his starts the way ours did, it is definitely going to be naughty 40’s for him. (DISCO MATT)
SPECIAL REVIEW FOR DISCO MATT WEBISTES
With 2008 going out with a bang on the back of two mega birthday bashes and then the new year starting on the same vein, with a plethora of parties (seemingly every week), whether it be club or bar anniversary or a friends birthday, 2009 up till now has certainly been a year full of celebrations, and why not! So, it came as no surprise when yet another invitation came our way, this time an extra special birthday for an extra special friend, the choice was simple, attend, attend, attend!!
Since meeting him, Robb’s friendship was pretty much instant and genuine, always treating us like royalty when visiting him in club outings and is now very much part of the close bunch of friends we can call “family”, so it was a no brainer that we attended his special day of celebration, which started early with phone wishes and the tooting of a horn (our little secret!) which truly set the scene for a rip roaring evening of action. The question was, where? as Robb had left it to his better half to arrange, with just a couple of pre-requisites, but knowing his partner as we do, well the sky is generally the limit and we expected all the stops being pulled out.
So desperately arranging our evening ahead of a new club launch & trying our best to shake off a dreadful hangover from a wild night at Industri, we eventually made contact with Oliver to find that initial plans of grandeur, the rooftop of the Trafalgar Hotel no less, had been shunned for a V.I.P. area of audacity in The Box Bar, renowned on a Friday for having a special buzz & vibe, more akin to Robb’s liking. It was just a question whether his pre-requisites had been met as we, having well and truly cleared our hangover away at Rupert Street, sped home to change and then made a swift arrival at Box Bar’s doors, meeting friend Jeremy as planned.
The bar was already brimming with hedonist hopefuls, some using this classy & cosmopolitan space as a pre club outing, others making it an evening of entertaining sociality and with sexy staff and mesmemeric music, all in sumptuous surrounds, why not?! As Jeremy and I wandered through, well actually squeezed past the masses of people, we came across the birthday buy himself, dressed super smartly and already in the party mood, clutching a bottomless glass of champagne (just the way it should be) and greeting us in his usual friendly fashion and then pointing us in the direction of his posse of party heads in the corner of the bar. There, standing resplendent in amongst a whole collection of scene faces & friends, including the fabulous Romano, D.J. pal Alessandro, promoter extraordinaire Steve Elliot was, ofcourse, Oliver Mohns, who was clearly pleased to see us, grabbing us in a massive embrace, lifting us high into the air in a now characteristic welcome. Oliver, like Robb, has proven a real friend of friends, making us feel so special whenever we see him.
We just had to head for refreshments to kick start our evening, well put us in the party mood anyway and having been swiftly served, headed back to the corner which had been cleared for Robb’s exclusive use. With introductions to his family friends over we nestled into the circular seating space, sandwiched by Romano & Steve immersing ourselves in deep conversation with both, catching up on news of old (and new), remarking on the last Bank Holiday full of parties and looking forward to events on their way, Salvation, Matinee, but moreover our trip to Guy Williams’ in launch Reverse at Paramount which looked like the choice of many, not least as the dizzy heights of the club seemed to be a major attraction. Steve then introduced us to a friend, whom we immediately recognised from dancefloors of the past & from the days when we managed the Birdcage in Chiswick, which sprouted yet more reminiscing chat interspersed with meeting more familiar faces, including the magnificent Minty, an adorable addition to any gathering, who got the same rapturous welcome as we had had (apart for the up in the air bit!).
The Box was now well and truly alight, the music was mammoth and the bar buzzing with beautiful folk cramming into the seductive space to soak up the amazing atmosphere. Having rarely visited on a Friday, it was surprising to see how popular the place obviously was, although having been established for over 13 years, outstripping many of its competitors and offering a great alternative to the sometimes seedy style of Soho, its situation on Seven Dials, whilst a little off beaten track of choice, has an exclusive air about it and seems to draw the crème de la crème of the scene, gorgeous guys, Latino lovelies & party people out for a terrific time.
With the champagne truly flowing and the party mood at fever pitch, the only exception being a gatecrasher into our exclusive area who had the audacity of pinching our pint (well what’s one pint!), we let the night of naughtiness continue and with bottle after bottle of champagne hitting the table, with the conversation between Jeremy, Minty, Romano, Steve & us continuing at a pace, with the drink being dispensed in gigantic gulps rather than sizable sips, it was clear that if we kept up this pace we would be heading in one direction only. So, holding back and standing up we got an introduction to the Box Bar’s owner Frank, who had come across to join in the celebrations. This most interesting individual has clearly carved a quality driven niche for his bar and the whole place reeks of his character, laid back attitude and amazing attention to detail, not least in his tip top team of troops.
With the party running out of time rather than steam, the seemingly premature ending of eleven arrived far too quickly, although our excursion to Reverse was stalled by a final bottle of champagne to toast (yet again) Robb’s birthday, with Frank, Oliver & Steve & ofcourse the man of the moment raising their glasses with us, before heading off into the depths of a West End Friday to the next instalment of celebration at even more heady heights (literally).
So what did we think of The Box Bar and how did Robb’s birthday bash go down? Well, being exponents of Rupert Street & Barcode normally, it not only made a pleasant change to try something different, but we came away well and truly tantalised by the temptations of this vivacious venue on the edge of Covent Garden. Having only really visited on a Sunday, we were genuinely surprised how popular it was this Friday and seemingly so every Friday of the week, definitely the place to be seen and we like that!! As for Robb’s birthday bash, well a better place couldn’t have chosen to celebrate his special day, with compelling company & conversation, copious amounts of champagne superb surroundings mixed with magical music, we were privileged to be part of this steaming success of a pulsating party. And what better a way to see in a new decade of decadence, well Robb’s decade anyway, so all that’s left to say, if his starts the way ours did, it is definitely going to be naughty 40’s for him. (DISCO MATT)
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