“A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE” – 2009 IN RETROSPECT
SPECIAL REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
31ST DECEMBER 2009
Well, 2009 has been an interesting year in many respects, not least in “Disco Matt Land”, but for many club promoters old & new to the game, for D.J’s either making it big or finding it tough and for clubbers who either elected to stay at home or choose wisely how to spend their hard come by cash, as the country endured one the of biggest recessions in nearly 80 years, touching every part of the community, even leaving gAylist/land London reeling with the effects. In the midst of all this economic turmoil, some clubs have really struggled, some not even survived at all, either shelved for better days or put to rest for good, while others have not just survived but prospered, with some returning to incredible accolade. Yes, 2009 has been a truly “rollercoaster ride” for many
So, In what looks like becoming a tradition, with the curtain now closed on 2009 and with much hope & optimism for the New Year & indeed the decade ahead, we look back across the year just gone, re-capturing, re-kindling & re-capping on our memories of clubs fared well & others not quite so, picking out the best bits, the worst moments & much more in between, as well as casting our votes on what we thought came top in our choice of clubs, club nights, bars & other bits. In a journey from January to December, we highlight the outstanding points, touching on issues of the day, but also the changes both good and bad throughout this tumultuous year, also giving a little insight to the goings on of friends at various parties. So, hold on tight as we take you on that “rollercoaster ride” through the last year of the noughities.
January dawned with little optimism but with much happening on New Year’s Day, with our first of four excursions being Matinee at Colosseum in Vauxhall. Arriving at around 6 p.m., we wished we hadn’t as the pandemonium at the door was of monstrous proportions, some blaming the run over of the previous club Megawoof, others the sheer numbers that descended on the venue all at once, then having taken long enough to get in ourselves (and we were one of the lucky ones) & with reports of many turning away & heading for Beyond, Matinee failed to ignite the passion we are used to, a cold third room a too packed main room & much besides missing the mark, leaving us less than impressed. But the furore of the promoter afterwards, when we reported on the event, left scars a plenty, taking much of the month to heal. Then, to add insult to injury, it was all repeated again at Salvation, with massive queues to get into the Hippodrome & even bigger ones to get out, although, at least the bit in between was amazing. Then it was to Industri’s NYD party which was brilliant & made up for the earlier disappointments, as did SuperMartXe, the relatively new clubbing brand brought to gAylist London by Logan Schmitz, which proved to be probably close on its best event of 2009 for the sheer transformation from the first party back in November 2008. The rest of the month was a quietish affair, but once again Industri ranked high on our choice evenings, celebrating not one, not two, but three special occasions in as many weeks, Paul Heron’s birthday kicking it off with a collection of the scenes best D.J’s present to mark the occasion, in what was called “a night of a thousand D.J.’s....well almost”, followed by none other than Hrh Minty’s Birthday and then Industri’s 1st. Then to round off the month of birthdays, Matinee London threw a special party celebrating Spanish mamma’s 11th birthday, the event being a phenomenal success & putting firmly to bed all the gripes, groans, & problems of the NYD outing. Finishing off January was Revolver, which re-launched at the Fridge in Brixton to a lukewarm (at the best) reception, signalling the first of the year’s failings, with the club set to bite the dust not soon after.
February was with us and amidst all the snow & cold weather that besieged London, the controversy continued as SuperMartXe held their “Kaos City” party, regrettably slipping back into all the problems encountered at the launch three months previously, although it has to be said that the stage shows where spectacular, Therese performed brilliantly & Steve Pitron made up for all the disappointments. Then, the following week it was the turn of Matinee to show us how it should be done, as they rolled out their “Masked Ball” event, with probably the best production for a Matinee event this year, the party proving to be a resounding success, the real shining lights being Mark M Forn’s & Nik Ripley’s Fierce International crew of dancers who performed amazingly. Plus with pal Stephen dressed for the occasion, his “hat bowing” antics on the night were to prove endurable for the rest of 2009. The same weekend saw the launch of Lovechild in London, at Pacha in Victoria, the promoter Alex Erfan choosing a Sunday to stage the event at the t-dance slot timing too and whilst the party had measured success it wasn’t the smash hit that the brand has enjoyed abroad, asking questions how the chosen format would work in future. The rest of February was devoted to the Bars of Soho, as Rupert Street continued to pack them in & Faye Lanson a welcome return to the D.J. decks, plus with names like Jamie Head, Pier Morrocco, & Mikey D playing, as well as resident jock Alessandro, there was no shortage of talent playing on a Saturday night. Barcode Soho continued to reign supreme for us however, with Saturday rotation residents Brent Nicholls & Gonzalo delivering the goods, not just making for the best pre-club warm up, but a great club night in its own right. Then right at the end of the month the axe was dropped on Revolver as a regular monthly outing, with a poor turnout the promoter calling it a day, the first real casualty of the ravages of 2009.
March dawned in the best possible way, as Rapido hit town at Koko in Camden, proving that both the venue & the club brand know how to lay on a great party, magnificent music, stunning stage shows & the most jaw droopingly gorgeous collection of clubbers we have seen anywhere, getting our vote as the crowd of the year. The following weekend saw us go all butch as Megawoof held its monthly hunk fest at Colosseum in Vauxhall and whilst the music was patchy, Pagano’s performance really stood out & we had probably the most “tom foolery” time of any on a dancefloor across the year, as pal Stephen entertained us with a non- stop barrage of curtsy’s, bows & dwarf impressions (you had to be there) making Megwaoof the most hilarious club moment of 2009. The following week, the Matinee machine rolled back into town, so it was a return to Colosseum for their exceptional “Erotica” party, the whole package making it knock on the door of our best ever Matinee event, “Erotica” & made so special by pal Deni, who’s dancing enthusiasm was truly fabulous. And we continued the party at the first Beyond Belief of the year, which was a complete sell-out & packed to the rafters, but whilst it was clearly the most popular event of the month, was just too busy for us. The following week saw us do things all Barcode with visits to both Soho & Vauxhall and in the hands of pal & Fierce Intl dance partner Nik Ripley, for the first of just a couple of times during the year, hit the podium, but came crashing down on our butt (oops), although our visit proving that you don’t necessarily need to hit the big clubs to have a smashing clubbing time. Our final outing in March was on the last day of the month, when Lovechild held their second event and whilst the numbers were down on the first & the Hoxton Whores billing & performance failed to hit the mark, the shows were spectacular & the combo of Per Q.X. & Mattias made the night for us.
April, the usual month of Easter, came & with a hectic four days of activity planned & most of the big guns holding events, looked like being a question of winners & losers as the economic downturn was definitely biting in gAylist land. However, we cast all the gloom aside and started the Easter weekend as we meant to go on with first a trip to Guy Williams’ new club Hoof in Farringdon, then returned to the social soiree of the year, Industri, which was indeed the best of its outings in 2009, a packed out Barcode Vauxhall lauding it into the early hours to the super sounds of Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron, all hosted by our scene female of the year, Minty. The weekend was to take a plummet though, as we were hit by a nasty bout of food poisoning, which knocked out our plans for Matinee’s Circuit Festival, SuperMartXe’s Silicon Babies, Salvation’s first outing at its new home The Troxy and Evolved Events new afterhours event, bpm, a casualty for going head to head with Trade’s first collaboration with Orange, but we did make it to the lavish & luxurious La-Leche party, as the Matinee crew pulled out all the stops for this Easter outing at club Koko in Camden and the show was the most brilliant we had seen at any Matinee event , making it the best show of 2009. The rest of the month was a sedate affair, although Gutterslut laid on another great party at Images and then we had a brilliant outing to Beyond with an equally brilliant set from Mikey D being the real highlight, the month ending with the razzmatazz of Rupert Street’s 12th Birthday bash in the great company of friends, G.M Cathy & her team & resident D.J. Alessandro who played a stormer of a set.
May was to be our busiest month of the year, with no less than 12 reviews clocked up and with two Bank Holiday’s squeezed in for good measure. First up was the off-shoot for SuperMartXe, Logan’s Hype, which for us failed to live up to all the “hype”, but got the most ferocious reaction to a review we have ever had. Then on the same weekend, we savoured the fourth new club launch of the year Steve Elliot’s Famous, followed by Matinee’s Bank Holiday spectacular down in Vauxhall, where Paul Heron played a stunning set, for us the best of his of the year, also dropping in on the massive Hustlaball gathering at The Renaissance rooms, the highlight being a heavenly set from Phil Hewson, but the weekend was far from over as we paid a visit to Orange Summer of Love at Area, where we experienced some magnificent music, not least from Hi-Fi Sean who played a remix rendition of “Get Busy” which will probably go down as the best of his for 2009. The relentless pace of May kept going, with a friend Robb’s birthday bash at The Box, followed by Guy Williams’ Reverse, 31 floors up in Paramount. Back down to earth, SuperMartXe presented their “Peep Show” event the following weekend, the second Bank Holiday in May, it proved to be a real winner & the best SuperMartXe of 2009 for us, stunning stage shows, & superb sets from Steve Pitron & Nick Tcherniak, in contrast to Lovechild’s party on the Sunday which was disappointingly quiet but was then made up for by another Orange Summer of Love, where what ended up being the clubbing pal friendship of 2009 was established, as we connected with new found friend Joel. The month ended on high with a extra special trip to The Box, which was set to become a our favourite Friday haunt of the year, but then came crashing down with a traumatic personal experience at Salvation with pal Joel, ending with us both in the medic room.
June kind of stumbled along for us, with Matinee throwing an Ibiza party and evoking the “rollercoaster” theme of the year, with some heavenly highs yet lack lustre lows, which we followed up with bpm’s second but final outing, this time at Barcode Vauxhall, then polishing off the next weekend of the month with a trip to Beyond where Steve Pitron ended up being the star in one of many great D.J. sets of his for the year. However, it was clear the scene was now really stumbling with the effects of economic downturn, many seemingly searching for either something fresh, or nothing more than pure value for money. This was probably true of Hook’d, the hard house specialist club we visited the following weekend and whilst we had a superb time in the hands of D.J’s Ian M & Ross Homson, it seemed that even niche clubbing was feeling the pinch. But we did finish off the month in real party style, with first, Clapham’s yearly Street shindig, followed by an impromptu appearance at Logan’s garden party, then rounding it all off with some audacious action at Barcode Vauxhall’s 3rd birthday, the photographic evidence being proof of our naughty antics.
July started with London’s Pride event, which consumed the whole of the West End for the day and with lots on offer afterwards to tempt us out, we first chose a trip into Soho and to The Edge just off the square, where Brent Nicholls had the party kicking, then we popped across to The End for a collaboration event called Club Together, before hitting our main event happening for the night, SuperMartXe’s special pride party Commando, a great event that was overshadowed by a nasty pervading smell around the club. But then we always had Trade, who decided to throw their first solo event of the year at Ministry of Sound, which didn’t prove as popular as expected although the music was absolutely amazing with each & every D.J. playing their part. As the month moved on, our excitement of Matinee’s move to new state of the art venue Cable in London Bridge grew, although there was plenty of other activity as we attended the VIP launch of Profile’s new bar on Wardour Street, a glittering event, with our clubbing pal Joel really entering into the spirit. July also saw the launch of new club Onyx, the brainchild of Steven Gellar which transformed the Friday clubbing landscape & proved the most popular newcomer of 2009. But it was Matinee that took the month’s plaudits, with their move to Cable proving a huge success & their Evolution Revolution party setting the trend for others to follow.
August, in complete contrast to May, was the quietest month in Disco Matt land, with our trip to Brighton Pride shelved and our first European event review, The Circuit Festival in Barcelona, cancelled. Mind you the sun didn’t shine on Brighton as it was their wettest Pride event for years, although the second Circuit Festival was a huge success. With Pride events a plenty across good old blighty as well as the Milk Festival in Vauxhall, our August eventually came back on track, with a mesmeric Matinee at Cable, storming D.J. performances from Brent Nicholls & Danny Verde, the inclusion of this now massive DJ/Producer being an inspired step and we are so proud of the progress he has made since cementing his friendship a year ago. The month was to be polished off with one of the best club events we had been to in 2009 & what proved to be a collaborative match made in heaven, Trade/Orange, not just for the marriage of these two mega brands, but with stupendous b2b D.J. performances, first by Nick Tcherniak & Steve Thomas, then Mikey D & Jamie Head, as well as sterling sets from Pagano, Lady Bianca & Pete Wardman and was to prove to be yet another outrageous outing with clubbing pal Joel.
September started off with another club deciding on a change in venue, this time it was the turn of Megawoof, who moved across Vauxhall to Hidden, although the change in not just the D.J. line up but the format was clearly going to take a bit of bedding in. Then we simply couldn’t resist the temptation of Beyond Belief and were glad of it as the club that was destined to take top spot in our choices of the year was simply going from strength to strength with more brilliant D.J. sets coming from Steve Pitron, Mikey D & Jamie Head, as well as now Beyond regulars D’Johnny & Hi-Fi Sean, making it a close second to the best Beyond of 2009. The month saw more new club offerings, first Tabloid at Fire and then Paparazzi down in Wandsworth, as well as Scandal at the Shadow Lounge, all wrapping around the outdoor event Soho Live (the replacement for Soho Pride), but the whole weekend failed to take off anywhere near as much as people expected, once again raising questions over the impact of the recession on the gAylist scene. So we, like many, slipped out of clubbing mode for much of the rest of the month, first going all thespian to view & review the superb gay play “A Foreign Affair” & also checked out Profile again, which secured our best bar vote of 2009, ending September with a trip to our fetish side at Suzie Kruger’s Hard On!, the club celebrating its 6th birthday, but in what was a difficult choice, as Matinee was holding their 3rd birthday on the same night (we hate dilemma’s), still to this day not being sure that we made the right choice, although having said all that, we had a great time at Hidden.
October heralded another club’s anniversary which we definitely weren’t going to miss, but not before making it to SuperMartXe’s “Under The Sea” party where we sampled the best D.J. set from a whole host of Spanish imports both here & at Matinee, Hugo Sanchez playing out a brilliant extended precision performance. But then it was the big one, as Trade celebrated 19 years of hedonistic happenings at Ministry of Sound, this time ticking every box we could have wished for, each D.J. performing brilliantly and the venue working so much better, not least the outside area where we saw out an amazing 10 hours in the hands of this club brand legend, pal Joel with us all the way. The rest of the month palled into relative insignificance in comparison, although we savoured another Saturday night a Barcode Vauxhall, made it to the launch of new legendary promoter Wayne Shires’ Sunday night club Konekted at Cable, with pal Joel featuring large for good reasons as well as bad, with our final Friday run around Soho’s Bars seeing out the end of October, Brent Nicholls’ musical entertainment in Profile the stand out of the evening.
With Halloween hardly over, our first excursion was to Beyond’s celebration of all things ghostly & ghoulish with their “The Grave” party and for a change we decided to get up & go, meaning we lasted for the whole 7 hours of yet another classic afterhours, confirming Beyond as the best club of 2009 for us. However, the best club night was still to come as Matinee threw their “Next Chapter” event and having missed out on the birthday bash, this was a must visit and oh how glad we were there as literally every single thing was phenomenal about the party, the D.J.’s the dancers, the production, the people and it will remain our favourite Matinee event at Cable, thus getting top club night spot in our review of the year. But it was a close run thing as the following week we were treated to a brilliant party, as DTPM’s “The Bitch Is Back” held sway at Paramount and not only was it socially splendid, but the music was great as well, so much so that we left but returned to capture Steve Thomas play (how could we miss that), but the party also gave us the best D.J. set of the year, courtesy of Guy Williams, who was absolutely awesome. The month was rounded off by SuperMartXe’s 1st anniversary party which attracted massive numbers, so much so that we could hardly move round the club for a fair amount of the time, but Steve Pitron’s performance was the best we have seen at the Coronet.
So, we made it to December, our birth month & with prospects for it to be a busy one indeed, it failed to disappoint, with Rupert Street’s new look launch kicking it all off and Beyond playing a major part in our partying, with their fabulous Christmas party “Ice” blowing us away as well as covering us in snow, with another superb set from Steve Pitron. This was following a great Matinee “La Nocha Roja” party, that nevertheless had something missing and wasn’t a patch on the previous event. With a major eye on our birthday, we gave way the following weekend to Lovechild’s return to Fire, which we had missed in November and were surprised just how much better it was in its new home, each of the three rooms working really well and still being in the party mood we hit Beyond straight after with pal Joel tagging along in decadent mood. Having promised so much for our birthday weekend, it all kicked off to plan as we started celebrations at Industri, followed by Gravity, although our trip to Onyx failed to materialise, but things were back on track for Profile & then Lo-Profile, friend Stephen in attendance & cracking open the champagne, as well as D.J. pals, Paul Heron, Brent Nicholls, & Alessandro playing out some fab music. But with a quiet end to the evening & a self indulgent following day sacrificed for a trip to Barcode Vauxhall, where Nick Tcherniak delivered a stupendous set, it was back to Beyond for the fourth week in a row, although what better way to celebrate a birthday than in the hands of, firstly, Steve Pitron who’s early set was an absolute stormer & then Mikey D, Alan K & Jamie Head. Our birthday soiree at Rupert Street, then a visit back to Profile Bar later in the week saw us to Christmas, and then our best & sauciest trip to Hard On! followed on Boxing Day, giving us plenty to reflect on as the new decade dawned & final plans of the end to the noughties fulfilled, seeing out 2009 & 2010 in at Rupert Street, with all the gang & Brent Nicholls spinning the tunes, a perfect end to our year.
So, that was our 2009 and what was our conclusion on the year?, what were the highs & what were the lows?, who triumphed & who floundered?, and who took our choice picks of the year? Well, to say 2009 was a rollercoaster year, was very much an understatement, there was no doubt that the recession had a big effect of the gAylist scene with club launches failing to take off, others simply failing to ignite anywhere near the interest they had in previous years. But there were clubs that really captured the imagination, the real highs for us being, the success of SuperMartXe, the brilliance of Beyond and the re-kindling of our relationship with Fire, but we were saddened to see the demise of Revolver, the disappearance of Soho Pride, its replacement nowhere near as good, Salvation seemingly taking a backseat and the movement of club brands Matinee & Megawoof not taking off to the extent they had wished. But we can reflect on some amazing clubs, bars, & parties, and to recap, our best of each goes first to Beyond, which proved time after time in 2009 that it reigns supreme in the afterhours market, grabbing our club of the year. Then to Profile Bar, who’s move to Wardour Street and the whole feel & vibe of the new venue got a massive thumbs up from us, thus grabbing our best bar vote. And finally we look to Matinee for their “The Next Chapter” party, which was a stunning array of great production & scintillating performances from each & every D.J., not just being the strongest line up we have seen all year, but the best music offering in one night & the most exciting time we have had since the days of Crash, so well done Matinee.
Now, we look forward to a new year & a new decade with hope, although it seems that the clubbing landscape is set to look very different in 2010, with news hitting our desks that Matinee London is changing hands & may disappear from the capital for good, but with exciting plans for the expansion of Fire, new club Pervert being brought to London, Salvation returning better, stronger & back in Central London where it belongs, the possible re-emergence of Soho Pride and club collaborations set to be the theme of this new year, there is much to look forward to. As for us, well 2010 looks like being a busy & expansive one, with plans already in place to spread our wings beyond the capital, trips to other gay city mecca’s in the U.K. happening as early as January and European tours very much on the cards, as well as a fully fledged website in the pipeline. So, with the reflection of the past year over, it’s time to look forward to bigger & better things in 2010 and we wish each & everyone of you the best for what will hopefully prove to be a much smoother yet exciting ride. (DISCO MATT)
SPECIAL REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
31ST DECEMBER 2009
Well, 2009 has been an interesting year in many respects, not least in “Disco Matt Land”, but for many club promoters old & new to the game, for D.J’s either making it big or finding it tough and for clubbers who either elected to stay at home or choose wisely how to spend their hard come by cash, as the country endured one the of biggest recessions in nearly 80 years, touching every part of the community, even leaving gAylist/land London reeling with the effects. In the midst of all this economic turmoil, some clubs have really struggled, some not even survived at all, either shelved for better days or put to rest for good, while others have not just survived but prospered, with some returning to incredible accolade. Yes, 2009 has been a truly “rollercoaster ride” for many
So, In what looks like becoming a tradition, with the curtain now closed on 2009 and with much hope & optimism for the New Year & indeed the decade ahead, we look back across the year just gone, re-capturing, re-kindling & re-capping on our memories of clubs fared well & others not quite so, picking out the best bits, the worst moments & much more in between, as well as casting our votes on what we thought came top in our choice of clubs, club nights, bars & other bits. In a journey from January to December, we highlight the outstanding points, touching on issues of the day, but also the changes both good and bad throughout this tumultuous year, also giving a little insight to the goings on of friends at various parties. So, hold on tight as we take you on that “rollercoaster ride” through the last year of the noughities.
January dawned with little optimism but with much happening on New Year’s Day, with our first of four excursions being Matinee at Colosseum in Vauxhall. Arriving at around 6 p.m., we wished we hadn’t as the pandemonium at the door was of monstrous proportions, some blaming the run over of the previous club Megawoof, others the sheer numbers that descended on the venue all at once, then having taken long enough to get in ourselves (and we were one of the lucky ones) & with reports of many turning away & heading for Beyond, Matinee failed to ignite the passion we are used to, a cold third room a too packed main room & much besides missing the mark, leaving us less than impressed. But the furore of the promoter afterwards, when we reported on the event, left scars a plenty, taking much of the month to heal. Then, to add insult to injury, it was all repeated again at Salvation, with massive queues to get into the Hippodrome & even bigger ones to get out, although, at least the bit in between was amazing. Then it was to Industri’s NYD party which was brilliant & made up for the earlier disappointments, as did SuperMartXe, the relatively new clubbing brand brought to gAylist London by Logan Schmitz, which proved to be probably close on its best event of 2009 for the sheer transformation from the first party back in November 2008. The rest of the month was a quietish affair, but once again Industri ranked high on our choice evenings, celebrating not one, not two, but three special occasions in as many weeks, Paul Heron’s birthday kicking it off with a collection of the scenes best D.J’s present to mark the occasion, in what was called “a night of a thousand D.J.’s....well almost”, followed by none other than Hrh Minty’s Birthday and then Industri’s 1st. Then to round off the month of birthdays, Matinee London threw a special party celebrating Spanish mamma’s 11th birthday, the event being a phenomenal success & putting firmly to bed all the gripes, groans, & problems of the NYD outing. Finishing off January was Revolver, which re-launched at the Fridge in Brixton to a lukewarm (at the best) reception, signalling the first of the year’s failings, with the club set to bite the dust not soon after.
February was with us and amidst all the snow & cold weather that besieged London, the controversy continued as SuperMartXe held their “Kaos City” party, regrettably slipping back into all the problems encountered at the launch three months previously, although it has to be said that the stage shows where spectacular, Therese performed brilliantly & Steve Pitron made up for all the disappointments. Then, the following week it was the turn of Matinee to show us how it should be done, as they rolled out their “Masked Ball” event, with probably the best production for a Matinee event this year, the party proving to be a resounding success, the real shining lights being Mark M Forn’s & Nik Ripley’s Fierce International crew of dancers who performed amazingly. Plus with pal Stephen dressed for the occasion, his “hat bowing” antics on the night were to prove endurable for the rest of 2009. The same weekend saw the launch of Lovechild in London, at Pacha in Victoria, the promoter Alex Erfan choosing a Sunday to stage the event at the t-dance slot timing too and whilst the party had measured success it wasn’t the smash hit that the brand has enjoyed abroad, asking questions how the chosen format would work in future. The rest of February was devoted to the Bars of Soho, as Rupert Street continued to pack them in & Faye Lanson a welcome return to the D.J. decks, plus with names like Jamie Head, Pier Morrocco, & Mikey D playing, as well as resident jock Alessandro, there was no shortage of talent playing on a Saturday night. Barcode Soho continued to reign supreme for us however, with Saturday rotation residents Brent Nicholls & Gonzalo delivering the goods, not just making for the best pre-club warm up, but a great club night in its own right. Then right at the end of the month the axe was dropped on Revolver as a regular monthly outing, with a poor turnout the promoter calling it a day, the first real casualty of the ravages of 2009.
March dawned in the best possible way, as Rapido hit town at Koko in Camden, proving that both the venue & the club brand know how to lay on a great party, magnificent music, stunning stage shows & the most jaw droopingly gorgeous collection of clubbers we have seen anywhere, getting our vote as the crowd of the year. The following weekend saw us go all butch as Megawoof held its monthly hunk fest at Colosseum in Vauxhall and whilst the music was patchy, Pagano’s performance really stood out & we had probably the most “tom foolery” time of any on a dancefloor across the year, as pal Stephen entertained us with a non- stop barrage of curtsy’s, bows & dwarf impressions (you had to be there) making Megwaoof the most hilarious club moment of 2009. The following week, the Matinee machine rolled back into town, so it was a return to Colosseum for their exceptional “Erotica” party, the whole package making it knock on the door of our best ever Matinee event, “Erotica” & made so special by pal Deni, who’s dancing enthusiasm was truly fabulous. And we continued the party at the first Beyond Belief of the year, which was a complete sell-out & packed to the rafters, but whilst it was clearly the most popular event of the month, was just too busy for us. The following week saw us do things all Barcode with visits to both Soho & Vauxhall and in the hands of pal & Fierce Intl dance partner Nik Ripley, for the first of just a couple of times during the year, hit the podium, but came crashing down on our butt (oops), although our visit proving that you don’t necessarily need to hit the big clubs to have a smashing clubbing time. Our final outing in March was on the last day of the month, when Lovechild held their second event and whilst the numbers were down on the first & the Hoxton Whores billing & performance failed to hit the mark, the shows were spectacular & the combo of Per Q.X. & Mattias made the night for us.
April, the usual month of Easter, came & with a hectic four days of activity planned & most of the big guns holding events, looked like being a question of winners & losers as the economic downturn was definitely biting in gAylist land. However, we cast all the gloom aside and started the Easter weekend as we meant to go on with first a trip to Guy Williams’ new club Hoof in Farringdon, then returned to the social soiree of the year, Industri, which was indeed the best of its outings in 2009, a packed out Barcode Vauxhall lauding it into the early hours to the super sounds of Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron, all hosted by our scene female of the year, Minty. The weekend was to take a plummet though, as we were hit by a nasty bout of food poisoning, which knocked out our plans for Matinee’s Circuit Festival, SuperMartXe’s Silicon Babies, Salvation’s first outing at its new home The Troxy and Evolved Events new afterhours event, bpm, a casualty for going head to head with Trade’s first collaboration with Orange, but we did make it to the lavish & luxurious La-Leche party, as the Matinee crew pulled out all the stops for this Easter outing at club Koko in Camden and the show was the most brilliant we had seen at any Matinee event , making it the best show of 2009. The rest of the month was a sedate affair, although Gutterslut laid on another great party at Images and then we had a brilliant outing to Beyond with an equally brilliant set from Mikey D being the real highlight, the month ending with the razzmatazz of Rupert Street’s 12th Birthday bash in the great company of friends, G.M Cathy & her team & resident D.J. Alessandro who played a stormer of a set.
May was to be our busiest month of the year, with no less than 12 reviews clocked up and with two Bank Holiday’s squeezed in for good measure. First up was the off-shoot for SuperMartXe, Logan’s Hype, which for us failed to live up to all the “hype”, but got the most ferocious reaction to a review we have ever had. Then on the same weekend, we savoured the fourth new club launch of the year Steve Elliot’s Famous, followed by Matinee’s Bank Holiday spectacular down in Vauxhall, where Paul Heron played a stunning set, for us the best of his of the year, also dropping in on the massive Hustlaball gathering at The Renaissance rooms, the highlight being a heavenly set from Phil Hewson, but the weekend was far from over as we paid a visit to Orange Summer of Love at Area, where we experienced some magnificent music, not least from Hi-Fi Sean who played a remix rendition of “Get Busy” which will probably go down as the best of his for 2009. The relentless pace of May kept going, with a friend Robb’s birthday bash at The Box, followed by Guy Williams’ Reverse, 31 floors up in Paramount. Back down to earth, SuperMartXe presented their “Peep Show” event the following weekend, the second Bank Holiday in May, it proved to be a real winner & the best SuperMartXe of 2009 for us, stunning stage shows, & superb sets from Steve Pitron & Nick Tcherniak, in contrast to Lovechild’s party on the Sunday which was disappointingly quiet but was then made up for by another Orange Summer of Love, where what ended up being the clubbing pal friendship of 2009 was established, as we connected with new found friend Joel. The month ended on high with a extra special trip to The Box, which was set to become a our favourite Friday haunt of the year, but then came crashing down with a traumatic personal experience at Salvation with pal Joel, ending with us both in the medic room.
June kind of stumbled along for us, with Matinee throwing an Ibiza party and evoking the “rollercoaster” theme of the year, with some heavenly highs yet lack lustre lows, which we followed up with bpm’s second but final outing, this time at Barcode Vauxhall, then polishing off the next weekend of the month with a trip to Beyond where Steve Pitron ended up being the star in one of many great D.J. sets of his for the year. However, it was clear the scene was now really stumbling with the effects of economic downturn, many seemingly searching for either something fresh, or nothing more than pure value for money. This was probably true of Hook’d, the hard house specialist club we visited the following weekend and whilst we had a superb time in the hands of D.J’s Ian M & Ross Homson, it seemed that even niche clubbing was feeling the pinch. But we did finish off the month in real party style, with first, Clapham’s yearly Street shindig, followed by an impromptu appearance at Logan’s garden party, then rounding it all off with some audacious action at Barcode Vauxhall’s 3rd birthday, the photographic evidence being proof of our naughty antics.
July started with London’s Pride event, which consumed the whole of the West End for the day and with lots on offer afterwards to tempt us out, we first chose a trip into Soho and to The Edge just off the square, where Brent Nicholls had the party kicking, then we popped across to The End for a collaboration event called Club Together, before hitting our main event happening for the night, SuperMartXe’s special pride party Commando, a great event that was overshadowed by a nasty pervading smell around the club. But then we always had Trade, who decided to throw their first solo event of the year at Ministry of Sound, which didn’t prove as popular as expected although the music was absolutely amazing with each & every D.J. playing their part. As the month moved on, our excitement of Matinee’s move to new state of the art venue Cable in London Bridge grew, although there was plenty of other activity as we attended the VIP launch of Profile’s new bar on Wardour Street, a glittering event, with our clubbing pal Joel really entering into the spirit. July also saw the launch of new club Onyx, the brainchild of Steven Gellar which transformed the Friday clubbing landscape & proved the most popular newcomer of 2009. But it was Matinee that took the month’s plaudits, with their move to Cable proving a huge success & their Evolution Revolution party setting the trend for others to follow.
August, in complete contrast to May, was the quietest month in Disco Matt land, with our trip to Brighton Pride shelved and our first European event review, The Circuit Festival in Barcelona, cancelled. Mind you the sun didn’t shine on Brighton as it was their wettest Pride event for years, although the second Circuit Festival was a huge success. With Pride events a plenty across good old blighty as well as the Milk Festival in Vauxhall, our August eventually came back on track, with a mesmeric Matinee at Cable, storming D.J. performances from Brent Nicholls & Danny Verde, the inclusion of this now massive DJ/Producer being an inspired step and we are so proud of the progress he has made since cementing his friendship a year ago. The month was to be polished off with one of the best club events we had been to in 2009 & what proved to be a collaborative match made in heaven, Trade/Orange, not just for the marriage of these two mega brands, but with stupendous b2b D.J. performances, first by Nick Tcherniak & Steve Thomas, then Mikey D & Jamie Head, as well as sterling sets from Pagano, Lady Bianca & Pete Wardman and was to prove to be yet another outrageous outing with clubbing pal Joel.
September started off with another club deciding on a change in venue, this time it was the turn of Megawoof, who moved across Vauxhall to Hidden, although the change in not just the D.J. line up but the format was clearly going to take a bit of bedding in. Then we simply couldn’t resist the temptation of Beyond Belief and were glad of it as the club that was destined to take top spot in our choices of the year was simply going from strength to strength with more brilliant D.J. sets coming from Steve Pitron, Mikey D & Jamie Head, as well as now Beyond regulars D’Johnny & Hi-Fi Sean, making it a close second to the best Beyond of 2009. The month saw more new club offerings, first Tabloid at Fire and then Paparazzi down in Wandsworth, as well as Scandal at the Shadow Lounge, all wrapping around the outdoor event Soho Live (the replacement for Soho Pride), but the whole weekend failed to take off anywhere near as much as people expected, once again raising questions over the impact of the recession on the gAylist scene. So we, like many, slipped out of clubbing mode for much of the rest of the month, first going all thespian to view & review the superb gay play “A Foreign Affair” & also checked out Profile again, which secured our best bar vote of 2009, ending September with a trip to our fetish side at Suzie Kruger’s Hard On!, the club celebrating its 6th birthday, but in what was a difficult choice, as Matinee was holding their 3rd birthday on the same night (we hate dilemma’s), still to this day not being sure that we made the right choice, although having said all that, we had a great time at Hidden.
October heralded another club’s anniversary which we definitely weren’t going to miss, but not before making it to SuperMartXe’s “Under The Sea” party where we sampled the best D.J. set from a whole host of Spanish imports both here & at Matinee, Hugo Sanchez playing out a brilliant extended precision performance. But then it was the big one, as Trade celebrated 19 years of hedonistic happenings at Ministry of Sound, this time ticking every box we could have wished for, each D.J. performing brilliantly and the venue working so much better, not least the outside area where we saw out an amazing 10 hours in the hands of this club brand legend, pal Joel with us all the way. The rest of the month palled into relative insignificance in comparison, although we savoured another Saturday night a Barcode Vauxhall, made it to the launch of new legendary promoter Wayne Shires’ Sunday night club Konekted at Cable, with pal Joel featuring large for good reasons as well as bad, with our final Friday run around Soho’s Bars seeing out the end of October, Brent Nicholls’ musical entertainment in Profile the stand out of the evening.
With Halloween hardly over, our first excursion was to Beyond’s celebration of all things ghostly & ghoulish with their “The Grave” party and for a change we decided to get up & go, meaning we lasted for the whole 7 hours of yet another classic afterhours, confirming Beyond as the best club of 2009 for us. However, the best club night was still to come as Matinee threw their “Next Chapter” event and having missed out on the birthday bash, this was a must visit and oh how glad we were there as literally every single thing was phenomenal about the party, the D.J.’s the dancers, the production, the people and it will remain our favourite Matinee event at Cable, thus getting top club night spot in our review of the year. But it was a close run thing as the following week we were treated to a brilliant party, as DTPM’s “The Bitch Is Back” held sway at Paramount and not only was it socially splendid, but the music was great as well, so much so that we left but returned to capture Steve Thomas play (how could we miss that), but the party also gave us the best D.J. set of the year, courtesy of Guy Williams, who was absolutely awesome. The month was rounded off by SuperMartXe’s 1st anniversary party which attracted massive numbers, so much so that we could hardly move round the club for a fair amount of the time, but Steve Pitron’s performance was the best we have seen at the Coronet.
So, we made it to December, our birth month & with prospects for it to be a busy one indeed, it failed to disappoint, with Rupert Street’s new look launch kicking it all off and Beyond playing a major part in our partying, with their fabulous Christmas party “Ice” blowing us away as well as covering us in snow, with another superb set from Steve Pitron. This was following a great Matinee “La Nocha Roja” party, that nevertheless had something missing and wasn’t a patch on the previous event. With a major eye on our birthday, we gave way the following weekend to Lovechild’s return to Fire, which we had missed in November and were surprised just how much better it was in its new home, each of the three rooms working really well and still being in the party mood we hit Beyond straight after with pal Joel tagging along in decadent mood. Having promised so much for our birthday weekend, it all kicked off to plan as we started celebrations at Industri, followed by Gravity, although our trip to Onyx failed to materialise, but things were back on track for Profile & then Lo-Profile, friend Stephen in attendance & cracking open the champagne, as well as D.J. pals, Paul Heron, Brent Nicholls, & Alessandro playing out some fab music. But with a quiet end to the evening & a self indulgent following day sacrificed for a trip to Barcode Vauxhall, where Nick Tcherniak delivered a stupendous set, it was back to Beyond for the fourth week in a row, although what better way to celebrate a birthday than in the hands of, firstly, Steve Pitron who’s early set was an absolute stormer & then Mikey D, Alan K & Jamie Head. Our birthday soiree at Rupert Street, then a visit back to Profile Bar later in the week saw us to Christmas, and then our best & sauciest trip to Hard On! followed on Boxing Day, giving us plenty to reflect on as the new decade dawned & final plans of the end to the noughties fulfilled, seeing out 2009 & 2010 in at Rupert Street, with all the gang & Brent Nicholls spinning the tunes, a perfect end to our year.
So, that was our 2009 and what was our conclusion on the year?, what were the highs & what were the lows?, who triumphed & who floundered?, and who took our choice picks of the year? Well, to say 2009 was a rollercoaster year, was very much an understatement, there was no doubt that the recession had a big effect of the gAylist scene with club launches failing to take off, others simply failing to ignite anywhere near the interest they had in previous years. But there were clubs that really captured the imagination, the real highs for us being, the success of SuperMartXe, the brilliance of Beyond and the re-kindling of our relationship with Fire, but we were saddened to see the demise of Revolver, the disappearance of Soho Pride, its replacement nowhere near as good, Salvation seemingly taking a backseat and the movement of club brands Matinee & Megawoof not taking off to the extent they had wished. But we can reflect on some amazing clubs, bars, & parties, and to recap, our best of each goes first to Beyond, which proved time after time in 2009 that it reigns supreme in the afterhours market, grabbing our club of the year. Then to Profile Bar, who’s move to Wardour Street and the whole feel & vibe of the new venue got a massive thumbs up from us, thus grabbing our best bar vote. And finally we look to Matinee for their “The Next Chapter” party, which was a stunning array of great production & scintillating performances from each & every D.J., not just being the strongest line up we have seen all year, but the best music offering in one night & the most exciting time we have had since the days of Crash, so well done Matinee.
Now, we look forward to a new year & a new decade with hope, although it seems that the clubbing landscape is set to look very different in 2010, with news hitting our desks that Matinee London is changing hands & may disappear from the capital for good, but with exciting plans for the expansion of Fire, new club Pervert being brought to London, Salvation returning better, stronger & back in Central London where it belongs, the possible re-emergence of Soho Pride and club collaborations set to be the theme of this new year, there is much to look forward to. As for us, well 2010 looks like being a busy & expansive one, with plans already in place to spread our wings beyond the capital, trips to other gay city mecca’s in the U.K. happening as early as January and European tours very much on the cards, as well as a fully fledged website in the pipeline. So, with the reflection of the past year over, it’s time to look forward to bigger & better things in 2010 and we wish each & everyone of you the best for what will hopefully prove to be a much smoother yet exciting ride. (DISCO MATT)
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