Scandal - Club Review

SCANDAL - SUNDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Now you can never keep a good club promoter down, especially when they constantly try to evolve, look for new ideas, try out new venues and do their very best to bring something fresh to a gAylist scene, that in 2009, seems to be constantly needed an injection of something extra special to tempt people out. So, it came as no surprise that one of London's most longstanding & prolific promoters was right at the heart of a wave of activity around the Soho Live 09 weekend. So, who are we talking about, well Steve Elliot of course, the man behind the mighty Salvation, which in its various incarnations at Cafe De Paris, then the Hippodrome and more latterly at the Troxy, is one of those club legends that will remain in our minds and hearts for as long as we will remember. More recently, Steve has been involved with revitalising another club legend, Love Muscle and also launched Famous, earlier in the year, so there is no doubt about this man's pedigree.

So, what of Scandal? Well, it it's design it was never planned to be a Soho Live afterparty, moreover an infrequent Sunday soiree at the posh & glamorous Shadow lounge, attracting a likeminded crowd who crave sophistication in sumptuous surroundings with superb music to match. It just so happened that in the myriad of planning the dates ended up clashing, although in terms of both location & style Scandal was always going to prove a better option than the official afterparty, Paparazzi, which was way out in Wandsworth. We surprised that the Soho Live team didn't choose a central location for their afterparty, but then with the Astoria bulldozed by Crossrail, Cafe De Paris no more & even the Hippodrome demolished, the choice of large venues were next to nothing. Mind you, with the size of the Shadow Lounge, numbers were always going to be limited and as the saying goes "one man's meat is another man's poison", so would Shadow Lounge prove a popular choice?

Well, with our Soho Live day being seen out mainly in Rupert Street, after all those proceedings wound up, our choice was stark, travel down to Paparazzi at Wandsworth, to savour all the delights of a superb venue, dazzling D.J. line up and delectable dancers amidst stage shows (sounds like a no brainer, doesn't it!), but in the knowledge that there would be a lacklustre turnout, or take a small hop, skip & jump around the corner to Scandal at Shadow Lounge, which given our nine hours of duty behind the bar at Rupert Street, ended up being probably the easy option, even though our heart strings were shouting Paparazzi, Paparazzi, Paparazzi!! We had always promised Steve that we would at least pop into Scandal, but finishing as late as we did, our choice ended up being a simple one of location against overt style and seduction, so found ourselves taking that short step rather than a long journey.

Arriving at Shadow Lounge's doors just shy of midnight, having compared notes on our decision with clubbing & close friend Joel, whom we had originally made plans to hit Paparazzi together, we were still unsure as to our choice, but were nevertheless greeted by a friendly door team who waved us towards Steve Elliot who was managing proceedings in his typical hands on style. It was clear from the queue of hopefuls, that this was proving to be just the popular choice for many we had questioned and having shared pleasantries as well as views on Soho Live with Steve, we headed down into the venue, not before leaving our bits & bobs in the coatcheck. Now, it is fair to say that Shadow Lounge is far from our favourite of venues, but on entering the main space, the atmosphere was amazing, with the sunken dancefloor full of a glamorous mixture of scene faces, party goers & ex Soho Live 09'ers who didn't want their night to end and the rest of the venue pumping.

We headed to the bar to seek refreshments, passing by the D.J. booth and spotting the familiar face of Paul Coles behind the decks, who was delivering a delicious delectation of devilish dance tunes which definitely had the party in full swing. Looking around the space, people were definitely making the most of the seating booths, the elevated aisles and the club was pretty full compared with previous visits of ours and the ambiance was surprisingly relaxing and miles away from the pompous reputation that the Shadow Lounge seems to have. Moreover the mix of smart lookers with more mainstream folk was a refreshing sight, making for an altogether more pleasant experience. We slowly wandered around the elevated aisles, eventually settling on a spot, soon bumping into familiar faces, including birthday boy Ian "Pieers" Lewis, who swung by in clear party mood and then D.J. Mis-White who was really looking forward to her set following that of fellow resident Paul Coles.

And follow she did, with a whole string of uplifting house tunes which were pure delight, our tired legs from our days work now a distant memory, especially when she pulled out our favourite record of now, "Release Me" by Zoe Baldwin, which had us dancing on our spot non-stop and when Steve Elliot tore himself away from his door duties, tempting us down onto the dancefloor, we knew that our night was in full swing, Mis-White continuing with the uplifting house tune theme to keep Shadow Lounge's atmosphere & Scandal’s party going well into the early hours of Monday morning. However, our relative short stay was coming to an end, not least that we had communication with our pal Joel on our minds, but also in anticipation of a hefty week of work ahead, we had to wave our goodbye’s to Shadow Lounge & to Scandal, disappearing home to reflect on hefty hive of weekend activity.

So, what was our view of Scandal? And do we think it will be a club that will survive the test of time? Well, as we have said, with Shadow Lounge not proving our favourite venue of choice, our view of Scandal may be somewhat clouded, but you know, the crowd it attracted on this night was far more appealing than we had expected. The music was a real highlight & in the hands of Paul Coles and then Mis-White it really hit the spot and for all of Shadow Lounge's misgivings in our eyes, it was certainly a superb venue host for Scandal. We can definitely see that this club concept will work and in the hands of one of the scenes most experienced promoters we are sure it will. As of going to print, we have no news of any planned up-coming parties, but Scandal certainly showed on this outing that it was a refreshing change and one that deserves support (DISCO MATT).