REVERSE SUNRISE AT PARAMOUNT – FRIDAY 15TH MAY
REVIEW FOR DISCO MATT WEBSITES
With the club scene littered with launches that failed to deliver, even in the best of times, the competition is well and truly tough out there, although it is refreshing to see that promoters of old try new things, but moreover the men that know most about how to please on the dancefloors, D.J’s, try their hands at the promoting game, dipping their toes into this most fiercely fought of fields, to bring us something fresh to challenge the old masters of the game and the big boys on the scene.
Guy Williams is a perfect example of the new breed of promoter, dabbling in a new area for him, but with a proven track record of dynamic D.J.’ing behind him, which, in itself has created a wealth of support drawing interest in anything he turns his hands too, we are inspired by his ingenuity. And with the successful launch of Hoof at Easter and the promise of further parties to come at the spectacular venue Ghost in Farringdon, when news came our way of another new venture named Reverse, we were well and truly enticed, not least that the core principles of the club were based on lofty locations & mind blowing music, why wouldn’t we be?
So, as the news became reality and our excitement increased to fever pitch, the location of this first party, named “Sunrise”, was certainly at a lofty location no less. Paramount club on the 31st floor has got to be the highest club we have partied in and being bang slap in the centre of the West End, right at the top of Centrepoint, it was the centre piece of this spectacular club launch, which had been so fastidiously planned to entice to incredible effect. With the promise of being a metrosexually mixed club, it still grabbed the gay glitterati’s attention, the news being spread across all the well know rags and it was no surprise, as with 360 degree views of London below, and the very best space to see the sun rise (well why else would it be called Sunrise?!?!) , there is nothing that us gays love more than glamorous & exclusive spaces to party the night away, but moreover see the sun come up while we continue to dance beyond the dawn and into the day.
Now you can see why we were so excited about Reverse and coupled with celebrating friend Robb’s birthday, it was certainly looking as though it was going to be a Friday to remember rather than a Friday to forget, well that was the expectation anyway. So, having already worked ourselves into paralytic party mood at The Box, we arrived at Centrepoint and a considerable queue. Having visited the building during the day, it was confusing as to how our entrance would be planned, but clearly having done it all before, the clubs organisers were a well oiled machine, albeit a little brusque in their approach and as we advanced to the front of the queue, promising to get a gaggle of Boyz boys into the club, clutching Minty in close quarters, we sought to find our space on the guestlist, although to no avail. Not to worry said our plethora of posse as we were released up the entrance, past the security check and into the speedy lifts which would ascend us to the 31st floor in a trice.
Once at our lofty destination, virtually everyone apart from us smoothly succeeded to enter the club, leaving us bereft at the entrance, shocked that the female on the door was determined not to let us in, simply because were weren’t on the list!! With our surprise turning into fuming furore, we were rescued by none other than birthday boy Robb, who managed to get us through and into the amazing space that was Paramount. And what an interestingly rectangular space it was, with an elongated bar in the middle facing one way and with a dance floor and D.J. booth mirroring it facing the other way, each one looking out on the breathtaking view of London town at midnight, the best view of everything you wanted to see, and way beyond the usual sights of St Paul’s in the East, Buckingham Palace in the West, to Wembley Stadium in the north and Crystal Palace in the south, you could see literally for miles, and the very reason why this venue is so stunningly spectacular.
Having soaked up the view on each side, we retired to the bar to mingle with our mates, Oliver, Robb, Alessandro, Jeremy & Steve with the rest of the party posse in tow occasionally glancing over to the view and spotting the Boyz boys reclining on the floor in the corner waiting for the action to begin. Within a matter of moments more & more familiar faces appeared, not least the cheeky & lovely Jamie Head, who we hadn’t seen for ages, with pals present and then Guy Williams appeared in true apologetic mood for the problems we encountered on the door. Mind you, it wasn’t the first we had done so and we suspect it won’t be the last either, but we were in and beginning to savour the amazing atmosphere of this special space and it a was great see see the excitement written all over Guy’s face.
With the light headed house music turned dynamic disco pumping out on the other side, we popped round to see Serge Santiago in charge of the decks doing his best to entice the crowd onto the dancefloor, although it was clear that the draw of both views and socialising were proving difficult to break, but break them he did as the space began to fill to the melodic music sounds. Choosing to continue our socialising around the other side, we stood at the bar for a while picking up on conversation points with Steve, Alessandro & Minty, where we had left off in the Box and then spending extra special time with Oliver & birthday boy Robb, it was only when Guy Williams took to the decks that we were dancefloor bound, boogying away to the dancing future disco dipped delights that he was dishing out. With the view still in sight and dancing away while looking at London below us, was a surreal experience, one we have never enjoyed before, but one we really hoped we would savour again and we hadn’t yet seen the sun come up!
However, with issues afar playing on our minds and a hard days work on top of the excesses of Robb’s birthday bash taking its toll, we were sadly destined not to see the sun come up, not least as the forecast was for a cloud filled start to Saturday, our time was well and truly up at Reverse. So waving goodbye to Steve, Minty, Oliver, Alessandro & Robb, who were still giving it some, we headed down to put our feet firmly back on the ground and head home to reflect on a party with a real difference.
So what made Reverse different, was it a success and were we as delighted with the reality as opposed to the expectation? Well, it is fair to say that the venue is amazing in terms of the views alone, but for us that was about it. The space is a converted office and in reality that’s just what it felt like. It was sparse of seating, short on toilet facilities, enough for an office yes, but woefully short for a club flowing with booze and full of party people. The dancefloor lighting was not much better than school disco standard and with our less than impressive entry to the club, there was much to lament on. However, where Reverse truly excelled, was in the music which was definitely different but delightfully so and one of the cornerstones of the Reverse psychology. The other element was in the lofty location and Paramount delivered that without question, providing the most spectacular views we have seen from any club, truly incredible.
With the turnout to the club and the amazing feedback following the event, there was no doubt that Reverse was a success and the ideology was certainly met in every way. However, in looking at the reality compared to the expectation for us, it didn’t quite hit the mark. Yes the views were awesome, yes the music was great and even the gay glitterati we mixed with made it for us, but the lack of club production which would have transformed the sterile office like space & the lack of atmosphere detracted from overall experience. Will Reverse survive? Well it certainly deserves to, just for the concept alone and with a planned party at Century in Shaftesbury Ave on the forthcoming Bank Holiday Monday, when sunrise will become sunset, we are sure it will. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR DISCO MATT WEBSITES
With the club scene littered with launches that failed to deliver, even in the best of times, the competition is well and truly tough out there, although it is refreshing to see that promoters of old try new things, but moreover the men that know most about how to please on the dancefloors, D.J’s, try their hands at the promoting game, dipping their toes into this most fiercely fought of fields, to bring us something fresh to challenge the old masters of the game and the big boys on the scene.
Guy Williams is a perfect example of the new breed of promoter, dabbling in a new area for him, but with a proven track record of dynamic D.J.’ing behind him, which, in itself has created a wealth of support drawing interest in anything he turns his hands too, we are inspired by his ingenuity. And with the successful launch of Hoof at Easter and the promise of further parties to come at the spectacular venue Ghost in Farringdon, when news came our way of another new venture named Reverse, we were well and truly enticed, not least that the core principles of the club were based on lofty locations & mind blowing music, why wouldn’t we be?
So, as the news became reality and our excitement increased to fever pitch, the location of this first party, named “Sunrise”, was certainly at a lofty location no less. Paramount club on the 31st floor has got to be the highest club we have partied in and being bang slap in the centre of the West End, right at the top of Centrepoint, it was the centre piece of this spectacular club launch, which had been so fastidiously planned to entice to incredible effect. With the promise of being a metrosexually mixed club, it still grabbed the gay glitterati’s attention, the news being spread across all the well know rags and it was no surprise, as with 360 degree views of London below, and the very best space to see the sun rise (well why else would it be called Sunrise?!?!) , there is nothing that us gays love more than glamorous & exclusive spaces to party the night away, but moreover see the sun come up while we continue to dance beyond the dawn and into the day.
Now you can see why we were so excited about Reverse and coupled with celebrating friend Robb’s birthday, it was certainly looking as though it was going to be a Friday to remember rather than a Friday to forget, well that was the expectation anyway. So, having already worked ourselves into paralytic party mood at The Box, we arrived at Centrepoint and a considerable queue. Having visited the building during the day, it was confusing as to how our entrance would be planned, but clearly having done it all before, the clubs organisers were a well oiled machine, albeit a little brusque in their approach and as we advanced to the front of the queue, promising to get a gaggle of Boyz boys into the club, clutching Minty in close quarters, we sought to find our space on the guestlist, although to no avail. Not to worry said our plethora of posse as we were released up the entrance, past the security check and into the speedy lifts which would ascend us to the 31st floor in a trice.
Once at our lofty destination, virtually everyone apart from us smoothly succeeded to enter the club, leaving us bereft at the entrance, shocked that the female on the door was determined not to let us in, simply because were weren’t on the list!! With our surprise turning into fuming furore, we were rescued by none other than birthday boy Robb, who managed to get us through and into the amazing space that was Paramount. And what an interestingly rectangular space it was, with an elongated bar in the middle facing one way and with a dance floor and D.J. booth mirroring it facing the other way, each one looking out on the breathtaking view of London town at midnight, the best view of everything you wanted to see, and way beyond the usual sights of St Paul’s in the East, Buckingham Palace in the West, to Wembley Stadium in the north and Crystal Palace in the south, you could see literally for miles, and the very reason why this venue is so stunningly spectacular.
Having soaked up the view on each side, we retired to the bar to mingle with our mates, Oliver, Robb, Alessandro, Jeremy & Steve with the rest of the party posse in tow occasionally glancing over to the view and spotting the Boyz boys reclining on the floor in the corner waiting for the action to begin. Within a matter of moments more & more familiar faces appeared, not least the cheeky & lovely Jamie Head, who we hadn’t seen for ages, with pals present and then Guy Williams appeared in true apologetic mood for the problems we encountered on the door. Mind you, it wasn’t the first we had done so and we suspect it won’t be the last either, but we were in and beginning to savour the amazing atmosphere of this special space and it a was great see see the excitement written all over Guy’s face.
With the light headed house music turned dynamic disco pumping out on the other side, we popped round to see Serge Santiago in charge of the decks doing his best to entice the crowd onto the dancefloor, although it was clear that the draw of both views and socialising were proving difficult to break, but break them he did as the space began to fill to the melodic music sounds. Choosing to continue our socialising around the other side, we stood at the bar for a while picking up on conversation points with Steve, Alessandro & Minty, where we had left off in the Box and then spending extra special time with Oliver & birthday boy Robb, it was only when Guy Williams took to the decks that we were dancefloor bound, boogying away to the dancing future disco dipped delights that he was dishing out. With the view still in sight and dancing away while looking at London below us, was a surreal experience, one we have never enjoyed before, but one we really hoped we would savour again and we hadn’t yet seen the sun come up!
However, with issues afar playing on our minds and a hard days work on top of the excesses of Robb’s birthday bash taking its toll, we were sadly destined not to see the sun come up, not least as the forecast was for a cloud filled start to Saturday, our time was well and truly up at Reverse. So waving goodbye to Steve, Minty, Oliver, Alessandro & Robb, who were still giving it some, we headed down to put our feet firmly back on the ground and head home to reflect on a party with a real difference.
So what made Reverse different, was it a success and were we as delighted with the reality as opposed to the expectation? Well, it is fair to say that the venue is amazing in terms of the views alone, but for us that was about it. The space is a converted office and in reality that’s just what it felt like. It was sparse of seating, short on toilet facilities, enough for an office yes, but woefully short for a club flowing with booze and full of party people. The dancefloor lighting was not much better than school disco standard and with our less than impressive entry to the club, there was much to lament on. However, where Reverse truly excelled, was in the music which was definitely different but delightfully so and one of the cornerstones of the Reverse psychology. The other element was in the lofty location and Paramount delivered that without question, providing the most spectacular views we have seen from any club, truly incredible.
With the turnout to the club and the amazing feedback following the event, there was no doubt that Reverse was a success and the ideology was certainly met in every way. However, in looking at the reality compared to the expectation for us, it didn’t quite hit the mark. Yes the views were awesome, yes the music was great and even the gay glitterati we mixed with made it for us, but the lack of club production which would have transformed the sterile office like space & the lack of atmosphere detracted from overall experience. Will Reverse survive? Well it certainly deserves to, just for the concept alone and with a planned party at Century in Shaftesbury Ave on the forthcoming Bank Holiday Monday, when sunrise will become sunset, we are sure it will. (DISCO MATT)
No comments:
Post a Comment