MATINEE “LA NOCHA ROJA” (THE RED PARTY) –
SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Now, let’s be honest, when it comes to a club brand that has made on indelible mark on the gAylist scene in the capital, from the early days of its life at Area, followed by institutionalisation’s at first Fabric and then Colosseum, but latterly having really found its feet at uber new club space Cable, the anticipation for each & every event laid on by the London wing of this Espaniol giant, never wanes & having been well & truly chastised for missing out on their 3rd Birthday party, the last outing “The Next Chapter” was a compulsory affair, as was this latest instalment “La Nocha Roja” (in literal translation meaning the party red”...thanks Joel!) a double whammy celebration of Christmas coming & World AIDS day just gone, everybody being urged to wear something red and dig deep into their pockets for a worthy cause.
So it was, that we made our way, a little later than planned, to Matinee’s party at Cable in London Bridge, negotiating what was a more complicated journey than expected & arriving just in time for the closure of the guestlist (yes we were that late!) at 1 a.m., but making a speedy entrance to the club and heading straight for the main room. This, after being efficiently handled through the door by the evervescent Marky B, although having been virtually over looked by Oliver Mohns & Robb Williams, whilst standing patentiently in the queue. However, with our bag safely stored, courtesy of mega D.J. star Guy Williams, who we have to say, was ripping up the main floor with a glorious collection of hard hitting, tech infused house tunes, that had the atmosphere already at fever pitch levels, it was clear the party was getting off to a great start.
Having virtually immediately bumped into Industri pals Chris & Terry, we made our excuses to carry out our now obligatory “find bearings” trip around Cable, first bumping into Pier Morrocco’s Russian boyfriend, then our bestest French friend Benoit, with fellow compatriot Cliniot present, then as we squeezed our way through the “Bar” (or is it called “Parlour”) room, yet more friendly faces presented themselves, including Stephan & Stephen, Oli from Rupert Street, Jeremy & boyf Andy, as well as a host of familiar Matinee faces (including Heidi Liscious with a hair do to end all!!), all grooving to the superb sounds being delivered by the marvellous Jonny M, who had this middle space well & truly pulsating with his pristine play choices.
But we were bound for the third space (the “bpm” room), where Pier Morrocco was playing out to a select crowd who were definitely into his upbeat yet tough sounding house and looking around, the Evolved Events team had gone to extra effort to glam up the room, with huge red drapes across the ceiling as well as turning the usual VIP area into a fabulous ruby boudoir, certainly contributing to an enhanced atmosphere, albeit that the numbers on the dancefloor were pitching & yawing. It was great to see Pier behind the Matinee decks again and we spent a moment catching up on news with him before heading back across the club to check out the impending stage show in the main room.
And we were just in time, as a sudden change in the music heralded the arrival of the Fierce International dancers, over a dozen of them on the stage, right in front of the massive & imposing neon lit Matinee sign, finding their individual spots and posing completely stationary, definitely averting the audiences eyes & attention towards the stage. As the music tempo began to speed up, the bevy of handsome hunks, dressed revealing in red tight lycra & accompanying accessories & the gaggle of girls glammed up from top to toe in amazing haute couture, sprung into life, gyrating to the music pace that maestro Mr Williams was playing. And what a collection a smashing sounds he had strung together across his extended set, which we didn’t want to end, but we were preparing for the inevitable switch over to the Spanish resident, this time to be Lydia Sanz, although glancing over to the D.J. booth, she was nowhere to be seen, rather Oliver M taking charge of the decks and firing up some hard hitting dancefloor fillers to keep the party atmosphere going.
Having congratulated Guy on his set and waved him a farewell, we decided to head off into the “bpm” room, where international megastar D.J. Paul Heron was taking over from Pier Morrocco, taking the music in an altogether tougher more tech infused direction, but seemingly just the ticket as his choices were drawing in an increasing amount of numbers, boosted by the arrival of two of the Fierce Crew, who ascended the podium in front of the D.J. booth and gave a pulsating performance below strips of red neon lighting that cleverly complimented their costumes. Paul’s incredible enthusiasm behind the decks never ceases to amaze us and this was definitely rubbing off on the crowd, who were entering into the action with gusto, frolicking in the fun that was being concocted in this third room.
By now, our curiosity was getting the better of us, as we were still puzzled as to the whereabouts of Lydia Sanz, so weaving our way back through the “bar” room to investigate, we were suddenly stopped in our tracks, as we spotted that scene favourite Brent Nicholls had assumed the D.J. decks, taking the main slot for the evening in this most popular of Cable spaces and on the back of his spectacular performance at the last Matinee party, we were definitely not going to miss this one for anything. So, quickly dashing into the main room to satisfy our curiosity and seeing Lydia in place, we charged our glasses, refreshed our energies and headed back into the “bar” room, to revel in the delight of another scintillating showing by Mr Nicholls, as he delivered some characteristic funky tunes as well as assured crowd pleasers, the hard hitting remix of Robin S’s “Show Me Love”, Serge Devant’s “Addicted” and a rendition of one of our fave “signature” tunes “Music Is The Answer”, getting rapturous roars of approval from the ever changing yet captive audience.
With Paul still playing out in the “bpm” room, Spanish resident Lydia Sanz really injecting some punch into the audacious atmosphere in the main room and Brent offering up some terrific tunes in the “bar” room, it seemed that many were well & truly spoilt for choice and the comings & goings between the three spaces carried on unabated for much of the rest of the evening. We, however, we were intent to continue to fun in the middle space, with friends Stephen, Jeremy, Andy, Stefan & Benoit also doing the same for a while, the latter scoring the D.J. a tip top 10 out of 10 for his performance (and coming from him that is praise indeed), so we didn’t stray further than our favoured spot in the “bar” room, seeing out the rest of our stay.
But with Brent’s set coming to an end, handing over the decks to Saki to carry on the party mood as he knows best and the amazing Alessandro who was more than holding his own in the main room, bombarding the crowd with magnificent music, our eyes were pointing to our next call of duty and with our D.J. pal out next to our side, comparing notes on how this latest Matinee party had gone, we eventually called a curtain on “La Nocha Roja”, saying our farewells to remaining friends and heading out into a wet & windy London morning, in the direction of Vauxhall to continue our wonderful weekend in the hands of Beyond’s Christmas shindig.
So, what did we think of this latest Matinee instalment? And did it live up to the billing it received? Well, it would be fair to say, that “The Next Chapter” party was always going to be a hard act to follow, we having said at the time that it compared with our favourite party “Viva”, which proved to be the best outing at Coloseeum for us, subsequent parties being superb but not quite reaching the dizzy heights of this trendsetter. And it seemed with “La Nocha Roja”, it was another case in point as, whilst it was a great party, for us it lacked something. The team had gone to extra lengths to decorate the venue and we do absolutely love the massive Matinee signage in the main room, but given the hints we had been given beforehand, we were expecting more. It looked like the crowd were having a great time however and we really enjoyed it, but it didn’t have the electric atmosphere of the last party.
With a star studded D.J. line up, we were never short of huge chunks of incredible music and maybe with such a strong combination playing out together (Guy vs. Pier...Paul vs. Brent vs. Lydia..etc), people felt too spoilt for choice, the traffic between the three rooms being evident of that. Add to that our view that the party seemed to be (as we described at the time) “stuck in 4th gear”, there was something lacking and lots of familiar faces missing (Minty more than anyone!). But why was that? Well, maybe the previous week had taken the impetuous out of the event, reports coming in that Soho was really quiet too. Maybe it was an extended Beyond opening that affected “La Nocha Roja”, but not so, as Area didn’t get really going until about 4 a.m. Quite what it was we still can’t say for sure, although what we can say with real conviction is that the NYD party is set to be a complete smash, so we will definitely be back for that. (DISCO MATT)
SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Now, let’s be honest, when it comes to a club brand that has made on indelible mark on the gAylist scene in the capital, from the early days of its life at Area, followed by institutionalisation’s at first Fabric and then Colosseum, but latterly having really found its feet at uber new club space Cable, the anticipation for each & every event laid on by the London wing of this Espaniol giant, never wanes & having been well & truly chastised for missing out on their 3rd Birthday party, the last outing “The Next Chapter” was a compulsory affair, as was this latest instalment “La Nocha Roja” (in literal translation meaning the party red”...thanks Joel!) a double whammy celebration of Christmas coming & World AIDS day just gone, everybody being urged to wear something red and dig deep into their pockets for a worthy cause.
So it was, that we made our way, a little later than planned, to Matinee’s party at Cable in London Bridge, negotiating what was a more complicated journey than expected & arriving just in time for the closure of the guestlist (yes we were that late!) at 1 a.m., but making a speedy entrance to the club and heading straight for the main room. This, after being efficiently handled through the door by the evervescent Marky B, although having been virtually over looked by Oliver Mohns & Robb Williams, whilst standing patentiently in the queue. However, with our bag safely stored, courtesy of mega D.J. star Guy Williams, who we have to say, was ripping up the main floor with a glorious collection of hard hitting, tech infused house tunes, that had the atmosphere already at fever pitch levels, it was clear the party was getting off to a great start.
Having virtually immediately bumped into Industri pals Chris & Terry, we made our excuses to carry out our now obligatory “find bearings” trip around Cable, first bumping into Pier Morrocco’s Russian boyfriend, then our bestest French friend Benoit, with fellow compatriot Cliniot present, then as we squeezed our way through the “Bar” (or is it called “Parlour”) room, yet more friendly faces presented themselves, including Stephan & Stephen, Oli from Rupert Street, Jeremy & boyf Andy, as well as a host of familiar Matinee faces (including Heidi Liscious with a hair do to end all!!), all grooving to the superb sounds being delivered by the marvellous Jonny M, who had this middle space well & truly pulsating with his pristine play choices.
But we were bound for the third space (the “bpm” room), where Pier Morrocco was playing out to a select crowd who were definitely into his upbeat yet tough sounding house and looking around, the Evolved Events team had gone to extra effort to glam up the room, with huge red drapes across the ceiling as well as turning the usual VIP area into a fabulous ruby boudoir, certainly contributing to an enhanced atmosphere, albeit that the numbers on the dancefloor were pitching & yawing. It was great to see Pier behind the Matinee decks again and we spent a moment catching up on news with him before heading back across the club to check out the impending stage show in the main room.
And we were just in time, as a sudden change in the music heralded the arrival of the Fierce International dancers, over a dozen of them on the stage, right in front of the massive & imposing neon lit Matinee sign, finding their individual spots and posing completely stationary, definitely averting the audiences eyes & attention towards the stage. As the music tempo began to speed up, the bevy of handsome hunks, dressed revealing in red tight lycra & accompanying accessories & the gaggle of girls glammed up from top to toe in amazing haute couture, sprung into life, gyrating to the music pace that maestro Mr Williams was playing. And what a collection a smashing sounds he had strung together across his extended set, which we didn’t want to end, but we were preparing for the inevitable switch over to the Spanish resident, this time to be Lydia Sanz, although glancing over to the D.J. booth, she was nowhere to be seen, rather Oliver M taking charge of the decks and firing up some hard hitting dancefloor fillers to keep the party atmosphere going.
Having congratulated Guy on his set and waved him a farewell, we decided to head off into the “bpm” room, where international megastar D.J. Paul Heron was taking over from Pier Morrocco, taking the music in an altogether tougher more tech infused direction, but seemingly just the ticket as his choices were drawing in an increasing amount of numbers, boosted by the arrival of two of the Fierce Crew, who ascended the podium in front of the D.J. booth and gave a pulsating performance below strips of red neon lighting that cleverly complimented their costumes. Paul’s incredible enthusiasm behind the decks never ceases to amaze us and this was definitely rubbing off on the crowd, who were entering into the action with gusto, frolicking in the fun that was being concocted in this third room.
By now, our curiosity was getting the better of us, as we were still puzzled as to the whereabouts of Lydia Sanz, so weaving our way back through the “bar” room to investigate, we were suddenly stopped in our tracks, as we spotted that scene favourite Brent Nicholls had assumed the D.J. decks, taking the main slot for the evening in this most popular of Cable spaces and on the back of his spectacular performance at the last Matinee party, we were definitely not going to miss this one for anything. So, quickly dashing into the main room to satisfy our curiosity and seeing Lydia in place, we charged our glasses, refreshed our energies and headed back into the “bar” room, to revel in the delight of another scintillating showing by Mr Nicholls, as he delivered some characteristic funky tunes as well as assured crowd pleasers, the hard hitting remix of Robin S’s “Show Me Love”, Serge Devant’s “Addicted” and a rendition of one of our fave “signature” tunes “Music Is The Answer”, getting rapturous roars of approval from the ever changing yet captive audience.
With Paul still playing out in the “bpm” room, Spanish resident Lydia Sanz really injecting some punch into the audacious atmosphere in the main room and Brent offering up some terrific tunes in the “bar” room, it seemed that many were well & truly spoilt for choice and the comings & goings between the three spaces carried on unabated for much of the rest of the evening. We, however, we were intent to continue to fun in the middle space, with friends Stephen, Jeremy, Andy, Stefan & Benoit also doing the same for a while, the latter scoring the D.J. a tip top 10 out of 10 for his performance (and coming from him that is praise indeed), so we didn’t stray further than our favoured spot in the “bar” room, seeing out the rest of our stay.
But with Brent’s set coming to an end, handing over the decks to Saki to carry on the party mood as he knows best and the amazing Alessandro who was more than holding his own in the main room, bombarding the crowd with magnificent music, our eyes were pointing to our next call of duty and with our D.J. pal out next to our side, comparing notes on how this latest Matinee party had gone, we eventually called a curtain on “La Nocha Roja”, saying our farewells to remaining friends and heading out into a wet & windy London morning, in the direction of Vauxhall to continue our wonderful weekend in the hands of Beyond’s Christmas shindig.
So, what did we think of this latest Matinee instalment? And did it live up to the billing it received? Well, it would be fair to say, that “The Next Chapter” party was always going to be a hard act to follow, we having said at the time that it compared with our favourite party “Viva”, which proved to be the best outing at Coloseeum for us, subsequent parties being superb but not quite reaching the dizzy heights of this trendsetter. And it seemed with “La Nocha Roja”, it was another case in point as, whilst it was a great party, for us it lacked something. The team had gone to extra lengths to decorate the venue and we do absolutely love the massive Matinee signage in the main room, but given the hints we had been given beforehand, we were expecting more. It looked like the crowd were having a great time however and we really enjoyed it, but it didn’t have the electric atmosphere of the last party.
With a star studded D.J. line up, we were never short of huge chunks of incredible music and maybe with such a strong combination playing out together (Guy vs. Pier...Paul vs. Brent vs. Lydia..etc), people felt too spoilt for choice, the traffic between the three rooms being evident of that. Add to that our view that the party seemed to be (as we described at the time) “stuck in 4th gear”, there was something lacking and lots of familiar faces missing (Minty more than anyone!). But why was that? Well, maybe the previous week had taken the impetuous out of the event, reports coming in that Soho was really quiet too. Maybe it was an extended Beyond opening that affected “La Nocha Roja”, but not so, as Area didn’t get really going until about 4 a.m. Quite what it was we still can’t say for sure, although what we can say with real conviction is that the NYD party is set to be a complete smash, so we will definitely be back for that. (DISCO MATT)
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