MATINEE “IBIZA 09” – SATURDAY 13TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With the summer here, or certainly very close, it was definitely time for the sun to shine on gAylist London and combining this with the launch of the summer season of parties across Europe but moreover on the “golden isle”, Ibiza, a clubbers ultimate destiny, what better way to celebrate all of this with a special party. To give it a true Balearic feel, it wouldn’t quite be the same unless the name behind the event was truly Spanish, so the choice to host a party in the capital was limited to very few, so who would it be?
Well, of course the answer was non other than Matinee, brought to London by Oliver Mohns & his team at Evolved Events, which has enjoyed incredible success in the three years this most well known of Spanish club brands has been making waves on the scene in good old blighty. Having constantly evolved, through not just new looks, but new sounds & mostly new venues, it has been most successful at super club Colosseum in Vauxhall, parties Viva, Erotica & Masked Ball being real highlights & our top three, so the big question on our minds was, would Ibiza 09 prove to be just as good?
After a well earned break since May Day Bank Holiday, Matinee returned to its usual slot, which also heralded our usual warm up habit of a trip to Barcode Soho to get the night going with a bang and it couldn’t have been a better start as Matinee resident & scene favourite Brent Nicholls was holding fort in the club. Arranging to meet up with friend Stephen, it was no surprise that we soon got drawn into the web of excitement being woven by this D.J. maestro, so all plans to jaunt across to Farringdon for a birthday celebration were laid to waste & we really had to tear ourselves away at midnight to make our way to Vauxhall.
But make it we did, as a swift taxi journey found us at Colosseum’s doors in a jiffy and into the welcoming arms of door hostess Minty, looking absolutely gorgeous in a stunning white sequin encrusted dress, a definite change to her normal outfits, but a good one nevertheless. With the promise of our usual shots of Sambuca, we got quickly through the familiar security checks & team, who recognised us in a jot, although we were anxious to relieve our weak kidneys, so left our friend Stephen at the riverside bar while jaunting across the already packed main floor. But as is always seems to be the case, our plight had to be put on hold as we came across a multitude of friends, including Lee Yeomans & Max Sanna, then party animal Romano, whom we had shared a night of fun just 24 hours previously, Fierce International big tops Mark M Forms & Nik Ripley, then spotting Matinee’s marvellous lighting technician Bubbles, the delightful D.J. Hugh Stevenson as well as Cliff Jackson who was making his first trip to Matinee in a while, it seemed the list of familiar faces would never end.
However, with greetings exchanged & duties done, we popped quickly into the VIP room to see Nathan 6 behind the decks, so made a quick return through the main floor and looking across to the D.J. booth, spotted non other than Evolved Events supremo Oliver M behind the illuminated neon floored D.J. booth, spinning some serious sounds and whipping up a frenzy on the dancefloor. Waving and then exchanging hello’s we left him to his devices and headed back to pal Stephen to charge our glasses & sink the Sambuca shots with Minty, before finding a comfortable spot in the far corner of the main room dancefloor, next to the D.J. booth, which gave us a clear view of the stage at the other end of the space, which stretched right along the wall, making for a superb stand for the Fierce International crew of dancers, who made their way out to then perform a scintillating show, dressed in revealing sailors outfits, looking just the part and cutting a confident stride as they entertained the audience.
With superstar Matinee Spain resident Taito Tikaro taking to the decks, the music took on quite an eclectic mood with a mix of euro deep house & more mainstream dancefloor fillers which, for us, didn’t quite hit the mark, but with a couple of trips round into the V.I.P. room proving fruitless & having lost our friend Stephen in the crowd, who had gone in search of fellow Industri pal Chris, we settled back into our original spot to soak up the main room buzz, which was further enhanced by not one but two more dancing displays by the Fierce crew, garbed in scant beach wear, then back in their sexy sailors outfits, carrying explosive ticker tape guns, showering the crowd & building the atmosphere to fever pitch.
With Oliver M’s return to the decks, we felt more secure in our spot, further enhanced with Mark & Nik’s presence and then the arrival of friend Benoit, a complete surprise, but a pleasant one at that. Then to make matters even better, the Italian Stallion Pagano appeared behind the decks, to steady the musical mood with his progressive hunky chunky house and it was clear in an instant that many had been waiting for him, although his slot had been pushed further back from his usual. Nevertheless, we fell into our grove which was only interrupted by a momentarily departure to the V.I.P. room to see Alessandro and savour his more Disco tipped house, which was going down much better than his two predecessors and then having bumped into more friends, Matt Bird, Hi-Fi Sean, Paul Coles as well as a handful of other familiar faces, we settled back on the main room to see out the rest of this Matinee party in the hands of a pulsating performance by Pagano.
But with time moving on and the crowd beginning to thin, our thoughts were turning to the after-hours options on offer across the other side of Vauxhall, so saying our goodbyes to remaining friends, including Pagano, who was determined that we should see out the full extent of his set, we were eventually released into a sunny & remarkably warm 7 a.m. Sunday morning for a slow walk to further clubbing exploits with our friend Benoit, reflecting on the fact that we were still not really over our experience of two weeks ago, which had affected our ability to fully relax.
So, what was our verdict on Matinee Ibiza 09 and can it be included in our top three? Well, if we were perfectly honest it had some heavenly highs coupled with lacklustre lows, the highs being the D.J. performances by Oliver M who lifted the atmosphere on two occasions across the evening, by the stage shows in the hands of Mark M Forms’ Fierce International crew which were breathtakingly amazing, performing from both stages & the large podiums across the room and of course Pagano, who has this unique ability of drawing the best out of an adoring crowd & is clearly at home controlling Matinee’s main room. As for the lows, well our usual V.I.P. room escapades barely got off the ground with a topsy turvy D.J. line up missing a Matinee regular that is always a draw for us & many. As a result we were confined to the main room and despite the need to fill the line up with a Spanish resident, Taito Tikaro simply didn’t deliver to expectations, detracting from an otherwise incredible atmosphere.
With calls by many hinting towards the time for change, it seems that the promoters are looking to do just that with Matinee and chatting with Oliver after the event it is clear that the club is in the process of further evolution, not just in terms of style, but in terms of venue, both to keep the brand fresh and to move it forward, maintaining it’s popularity. There was no doubt that this latest instalment ticked a lot of boxes and had many of the ingredients that make Matinee magnificent, but the cornerstone of any club success, in our view, is the music and it has to be said that it failed to hit the mark where it counted, moreover for the line up & format than anything else. So, our top three remain intact, but despite that, we had a great time, in great company & will be back to see the evolution for sure. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With the summer here, or certainly very close, it was definitely time for the sun to shine on gAylist London and combining this with the launch of the summer season of parties across Europe but moreover on the “golden isle”, Ibiza, a clubbers ultimate destiny, what better way to celebrate all of this with a special party. To give it a true Balearic feel, it wouldn’t quite be the same unless the name behind the event was truly Spanish, so the choice to host a party in the capital was limited to very few, so who would it be?
Well, of course the answer was non other than Matinee, brought to London by Oliver Mohns & his team at Evolved Events, which has enjoyed incredible success in the three years this most well known of Spanish club brands has been making waves on the scene in good old blighty. Having constantly evolved, through not just new looks, but new sounds & mostly new venues, it has been most successful at super club Colosseum in Vauxhall, parties Viva, Erotica & Masked Ball being real highlights & our top three, so the big question on our minds was, would Ibiza 09 prove to be just as good?
After a well earned break since May Day Bank Holiday, Matinee returned to its usual slot, which also heralded our usual warm up habit of a trip to Barcode Soho to get the night going with a bang and it couldn’t have been a better start as Matinee resident & scene favourite Brent Nicholls was holding fort in the club. Arranging to meet up with friend Stephen, it was no surprise that we soon got drawn into the web of excitement being woven by this D.J. maestro, so all plans to jaunt across to Farringdon for a birthday celebration were laid to waste & we really had to tear ourselves away at midnight to make our way to Vauxhall.
But make it we did, as a swift taxi journey found us at Colosseum’s doors in a jiffy and into the welcoming arms of door hostess Minty, looking absolutely gorgeous in a stunning white sequin encrusted dress, a definite change to her normal outfits, but a good one nevertheless. With the promise of our usual shots of Sambuca, we got quickly through the familiar security checks & team, who recognised us in a jot, although we were anxious to relieve our weak kidneys, so left our friend Stephen at the riverside bar while jaunting across the already packed main floor. But as is always seems to be the case, our plight had to be put on hold as we came across a multitude of friends, including Lee Yeomans & Max Sanna, then party animal Romano, whom we had shared a night of fun just 24 hours previously, Fierce International big tops Mark M Forms & Nik Ripley, then spotting Matinee’s marvellous lighting technician Bubbles, the delightful D.J. Hugh Stevenson as well as Cliff Jackson who was making his first trip to Matinee in a while, it seemed the list of familiar faces would never end.
However, with greetings exchanged & duties done, we popped quickly into the VIP room to see Nathan 6 behind the decks, so made a quick return through the main floor and looking across to the D.J. booth, spotted non other than Evolved Events supremo Oliver M behind the illuminated neon floored D.J. booth, spinning some serious sounds and whipping up a frenzy on the dancefloor. Waving and then exchanging hello’s we left him to his devices and headed back to pal Stephen to charge our glasses & sink the Sambuca shots with Minty, before finding a comfortable spot in the far corner of the main room dancefloor, next to the D.J. booth, which gave us a clear view of the stage at the other end of the space, which stretched right along the wall, making for a superb stand for the Fierce International crew of dancers, who made their way out to then perform a scintillating show, dressed in revealing sailors outfits, looking just the part and cutting a confident stride as they entertained the audience.
With superstar Matinee Spain resident Taito Tikaro taking to the decks, the music took on quite an eclectic mood with a mix of euro deep house & more mainstream dancefloor fillers which, for us, didn’t quite hit the mark, but with a couple of trips round into the V.I.P. room proving fruitless & having lost our friend Stephen in the crowd, who had gone in search of fellow Industri pal Chris, we settled back into our original spot to soak up the main room buzz, which was further enhanced by not one but two more dancing displays by the Fierce crew, garbed in scant beach wear, then back in their sexy sailors outfits, carrying explosive ticker tape guns, showering the crowd & building the atmosphere to fever pitch.
With Oliver M’s return to the decks, we felt more secure in our spot, further enhanced with Mark & Nik’s presence and then the arrival of friend Benoit, a complete surprise, but a pleasant one at that. Then to make matters even better, the Italian Stallion Pagano appeared behind the decks, to steady the musical mood with his progressive hunky chunky house and it was clear in an instant that many had been waiting for him, although his slot had been pushed further back from his usual. Nevertheless, we fell into our grove which was only interrupted by a momentarily departure to the V.I.P. room to see Alessandro and savour his more Disco tipped house, which was going down much better than his two predecessors and then having bumped into more friends, Matt Bird, Hi-Fi Sean, Paul Coles as well as a handful of other familiar faces, we settled back on the main room to see out the rest of this Matinee party in the hands of a pulsating performance by Pagano.
But with time moving on and the crowd beginning to thin, our thoughts were turning to the after-hours options on offer across the other side of Vauxhall, so saying our goodbyes to remaining friends, including Pagano, who was determined that we should see out the full extent of his set, we were eventually released into a sunny & remarkably warm 7 a.m. Sunday morning for a slow walk to further clubbing exploits with our friend Benoit, reflecting on the fact that we were still not really over our experience of two weeks ago, which had affected our ability to fully relax.
So, what was our verdict on Matinee Ibiza 09 and can it be included in our top three? Well, if we were perfectly honest it had some heavenly highs coupled with lacklustre lows, the highs being the D.J. performances by Oliver M who lifted the atmosphere on two occasions across the evening, by the stage shows in the hands of Mark M Forms’ Fierce International crew which were breathtakingly amazing, performing from both stages & the large podiums across the room and of course Pagano, who has this unique ability of drawing the best out of an adoring crowd & is clearly at home controlling Matinee’s main room. As for the lows, well our usual V.I.P. room escapades barely got off the ground with a topsy turvy D.J. line up missing a Matinee regular that is always a draw for us & many. As a result we were confined to the main room and despite the need to fill the line up with a Spanish resident, Taito Tikaro simply didn’t deliver to expectations, detracting from an otherwise incredible atmosphere.
With calls by many hinting towards the time for change, it seems that the promoters are looking to do just that with Matinee and chatting with Oliver after the event it is clear that the club is in the process of further evolution, not just in terms of style, but in terms of venue, both to keep the brand fresh and to move it forward, maintaining it’s popularity. There was no doubt that this latest instalment ticked a lot of boxes and had many of the ingredients that make Matinee magnificent, but the cornerstone of any club success, in our view, is the music and it has to be said that it failed to hit the mark where it counted, moreover for the line up & format than anything else. So, our top three remain intact, but despite that, we had a great time, in great company & will be back to see the evolution for sure. (DISCO MATT)
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