ORANGE “CITRIC SEDUCTION” – SUNDAY 14TH FEBRUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Sunday nights used to be a hot bed of activity across gAylist land London, with not just the early evenings attracting out the glitterati to party the night away, but with the slot proving so popular, a whole load of options were available to take you into Monday morning, often meaning that either a weary day lay ahead in the office or a rain check was taken on the day, one club being more responsible than any others for laying to waste the start of the working week. But as late Sunday clubbing began to tumble off the edge of the popularity stakes, it was going to take only the toughest to survive the drought of activity, while many new ventures simply floundered barely weeks into trying out the timing. But one club did survive and seems to be re-kindling desires to delve deep into the devilish decadence that is afterhours on a Monday morning.
Orange, since its inception at the turn of the century has really stamped its mark on the afterhour’s market, being the first club to take over the then named “Viaduct” venue in Vauxhall, which we all now know as Fire, adding another dimension to an already spurning clubbing village. And as the years have rolled by, it has made an immense impact on the scene, sparking one of the most successful, if sometimes controversial promotions group that now has an incredible hold on this market south of the river. Taking its name from the club itself, The Orange group has become very influential, although its perceived cut throat activity has definitely attracted adverse publicity, but in reality the team of today is very much about creating superb events attracting a like minded crowd with music & dance central to the theme, although some would argue that was always the case.
So, after a period of absence, but never regularly being able to party into Monday morning, our Valentine’s weekend would not really have been complete with another trip on the wild side, especially as pal Joel was determined to make his first weekend of clubbing in 2010 a special one, we decided on a post DTPM trip to Orange’s “Citric Seduction” party, arriving at Fire’s doors at not long past midnight. On the door to greet us was none other than club promoter Steven Sharp who seemed thrilled to see us, handing out complimentary tickets to ensure our smooth entrance through into the club proper, which was already pumping with action, the main room sparkling with the brilliant laser lighting that Fire seems to do brilliantly. So, having deposited our belongings into the coatcheck and thinking to ourselves, here we go again, we were down onto Fire’s main room, finding a spot in the surprisingly packed space to dance away to the delights emanating from the D.J. booth, as resident jock, The Oli, was beating out a fabulously uplifting yet funky collection of tunes to deliver some real energy into an already up for it crowd.
Now, not having been to Orange for quite a while, we were very much taken aback by the quality of the crowd, none of your drunken G head queens that seem to have plagued the clubs reputation, but a responsible crowd of hard core hedonists that were definitely up for some audacious action, savouring the superb sounds on offer and with the relative low key production, but with vivacious citric visuals on the screens, it was clear the music was doing the talking and it was definitely gabbling at a gorgeous pace, with one floor filling sound after the next adding to the already incredible atmosphere. Having sampled some of The Oli’s magic a while ago, when Sunday afternoon outings Later formed a major part of our clubbing landscape, we always enjoyed his musical mixes and he once again proved to us that he definitely hadn’t lost his touch, although his set was over all too soon, handing over the reins to one half of The Sharp Boys, George, who set about laying down a tougher edged style string of sounds, but with plenty of oomph in them to keep the party pace at fever pitch, before being joined to Steven to continue the revelry.
Amazed at our effortless enthusiasm to dance, we hardly feeling tired despite the 48 hours of partying already under our belt, Joel & pal Julian kept seeking respite through energy boosting drinks and powdering their noses, while we continued unabated on the dancefloor. And when uber chic & legendary D.J. Fat Tony arrived, warming up for his main floor set, making his presence felt, dancing away in the company of on off duty Paul Martin, not far from us, this seemed to spurt us on more. Seeing him arrive, we knew that we were in for a real treat, although it would be a case of deciding between him and Paul Heron who was due to start in the “raw” room next door, a difficult choice as we love the style of both, each in their own way delivering distinctive magical musical sets.
With Joel have returned following friend Julian’s departure for work commitments later, we paused on the main floor for a while, as Tony took over the decks, continuing where the Sharp Boys had left off, but our attentions were turning to the second room and agreed with Joel that we should go an sample a bit of Heron hedonism, it evident that others had the same idea too, the space soon filling to brimming, as Paul began to lay down some serious sounds that had us dancing dizzily on our spot. Our enjoyment was increased with the arrival of Nick Tcherniak along with boyf Tom, both whom we had seen earlier at DTPM and, like us, didn’t want their night to end, so it seemed the “raw” room was the place to be. And as we were circled by a handful of hunky men with more than an eye on us, with Joel, Nick & Tom in close quarter and even French fancy D.J. Steven Gaeten Scott Haler wafting by & saying his hello’s our night (well morning!) couldn’t have been more perfect in the “citric seduction” hands of Orange.
With Paul’s stupendous set coming to a far too quick end, Joel decided his night was up and waved goodbye, leaving us in the company of Nick, Tom & co, Fat Tony having now joined the fray following mopping proceedings up in the main room, but with Gonzalo Rivas firing up behind the “raw” rooms decks, we found second (well probably more like sixth) wind as his choice of tunes was simply stunning, a fabulous mix of old time classic hard hitting house tracks, intermixed with current masterpieces that short of took our breath away. Having enjoyed so many great sets of his at a whole host of parties that this brilliant D.J. has played at over the years, our memories of his performances at Trade always stand out and as we danced away deliriously, memories of the terrific times we had there in his hands came flooding back to mind, although his set this time probably had more shades of Salvation to it, but whatever it was, Gonzalo was simply scintillating and we loved it.
By now, Paul Heron was by our side and we congratulated him on a fabulous performance, then man exclaiming what a joy it is to play in this special space and alongside Mr Gonzalo and it was great to see him smiling and having a good time. But, with the morning creeping on in front of our eyes and having been out partying since Friday, the inevitable call of time arrived and we decided to hang up our boots, collecting our belongings from the coatcheck, then saying our goodbye’s to Paul and also to Steven Sharp who seemed more than pleased with both the turnout and the whole vibe of this amazing afterhours experience, thanking us for making the effort to attend and pointing the way to bigger & better things ahead for Orange. So, leaving Fire behind, we sauntered into a chilly Vauxhall Monday morning to make the short journey home and collapse into our bed to recover from a marathon weekend, but with some many great memories to recap.
Well, how did our trip to Orange for its special Valentines “Citric Seduction” party go? and what are our thoughts on the club having been away for so long? Well, it is probably evident that we had a brilliant time. Not only was the music mesmerically great, with exceptional performances from both Paul Heron & Gonzalo Rivas, but the company we held was fabulous too, friends Joel & Julian helping to make it a night/morning to remember, the presence of Nick Tcherniak & Tom a real bonus. And the crowd in general seemed a much more mature lot, yes there was a smattering of klub kids, but none of the reckless & trashy bunch that seemed to plague Orange parties of old. It definitely seems that the club has really made massive improvements, in the music, in the people, in the atmosphere, well in truth in virtually every respect and we can easily see ourselves returning for more afterhours action in the hands of Steven Sharp & his team sometime soon. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Sunday nights used to be a hot bed of activity across gAylist land London, with not just the early evenings attracting out the glitterati to party the night away, but with the slot proving so popular, a whole load of options were available to take you into Monday morning, often meaning that either a weary day lay ahead in the office or a rain check was taken on the day, one club being more responsible than any others for laying to waste the start of the working week. But as late Sunday clubbing began to tumble off the edge of the popularity stakes, it was going to take only the toughest to survive the drought of activity, while many new ventures simply floundered barely weeks into trying out the timing. But one club did survive and seems to be re-kindling desires to delve deep into the devilish decadence that is afterhours on a Monday morning.
Orange, since its inception at the turn of the century has really stamped its mark on the afterhour’s market, being the first club to take over the then named “Viaduct” venue in Vauxhall, which we all now know as Fire, adding another dimension to an already spurning clubbing village. And as the years have rolled by, it has made an immense impact on the scene, sparking one of the most successful, if sometimes controversial promotions group that now has an incredible hold on this market south of the river. Taking its name from the club itself, The Orange group has become very influential, although its perceived cut throat activity has definitely attracted adverse publicity, but in reality the team of today is very much about creating superb events attracting a like minded crowd with music & dance central to the theme, although some would argue that was always the case.
So, after a period of absence, but never regularly being able to party into Monday morning, our Valentine’s weekend would not really have been complete with another trip on the wild side, especially as pal Joel was determined to make his first weekend of clubbing in 2010 a special one, we decided on a post DTPM trip to Orange’s “Citric Seduction” party, arriving at Fire’s doors at not long past midnight. On the door to greet us was none other than club promoter Steven Sharp who seemed thrilled to see us, handing out complimentary tickets to ensure our smooth entrance through into the club proper, which was already pumping with action, the main room sparkling with the brilliant laser lighting that Fire seems to do brilliantly. So, having deposited our belongings into the coatcheck and thinking to ourselves, here we go again, we were down onto Fire’s main room, finding a spot in the surprisingly packed space to dance away to the delights emanating from the D.J. booth, as resident jock, The Oli, was beating out a fabulously uplifting yet funky collection of tunes to deliver some real energy into an already up for it crowd.
Now, not having been to Orange for quite a while, we were very much taken aback by the quality of the crowd, none of your drunken G head queens that seem to have plagued the clubs reputation, but a responsible crowd of hard core hedonists that were definitely up for some audacious action, savouring the superb sounds on offer and with the relative low key production, but with vivacious citric visuals on the screens, it was clear the music was doing the talking and it was definitely gabbling at a gorgeous pace, with one floor filling sound after the next adding to the already incredible atmosphere. Having sampled some of The Oli’s magic a while ago, when Sunday afternoon outings Later formed a major part of our clubbing landscape, we always enjoyed his musical mixes and he once again proved to us that he definitely hadn’t lost his touch, although his set was over all too soon, handing over the reins to one half of The Sharp Boys, George, who set about laying down a tougher edged style string of sounds, but with plenty of oomph in them to keep the party pace at fever pitch, before being joined to Steven to continue the revelry.
Amazed at our effortless enthusiasm to dance, we hardly feeling tired despite the 48 hours of partying already under our belt, Joel & pal Julian kept seeking respite through energy boosting drinks and powdering their noses, while we continued unabated on the dancefloor. And when uber chic & legendary D.J. Fat Tony arrived, warming up for his main floor set, making his presence felt, dancing away in the company of on off duty Paul Martin, not far from us, this seemed to spurt us on more. Seeing him arrive, we knew that we were in for a real treat, although it would be a case of deciding between him and Paul Heron who was due to start in the “raw” room next door, a difficult choice as we love the style of both, each in their own way delivering distinctive magical musical sets.
With Joel have returned following friend Julian’s departure for work commitments later, we paused on the main floor for a while, as Tony took over the decks, continuing where the Sharp Boys had left off, but our attentions were turning to the second room and agreed with Joel that we should go an sample a bit of Heron hedonism, it evident that others had the same idea too, the space soon filling to brimming, as Paul began to lay down some serious sounds that had us dancing dizzily on our spot. Our enjoyment was increased with the arrival of Nick Tcherniak along with boyf Tom, both whom we had seen earlier at DTPM and, like us, didn’t want their night to end, so it seemed the “raw” room was the place to be. And as we were circled by a handful of hunky men with more than an eye on us, with Joel, Nick & Tom in close quarter and even French fancy D.J. Steven Gaeten Scott Haler wafting by & saying his hello’s our night (well morning!) couldn’t have been more perfect in the “citric seduction” hands of Orange.
With Paul’s stupendous set coming to a far too quick end, Joel decided his night was up and waved goodbye, leaving us in the company of Nick, Tom & co, Fat Tony having now joined the fray following mopping proceedings up in the main room, but with Gonzalo Rivas firing up behind the “raw” rooms decks, we found second (well probably more like sixth) wind as his choice of tunes was simply stunning, a fabulous mix of old time classic hard hitting house tracks, intermixed with current masterpieces that short of took our breath away. Having enjoyed so many great sets of his at a whole host of parties that this brilliant D.J. has played at over the years, our memories of his performances at Trade always stand out and as we danced away deliriously, memories of the terrific times we had there in his hands came flooding back to mind, although his set this time probably had more shades of Salvation to it, but whatever it was, Gonzalo was simply scintillating and we loved it.
By now, Paul Heron was by our side and we congratulated him on a fabulous performance, then man exclaiming what a joy it is to play in this special space and alongside Mr Gonzalo and it was great to see him smiling and having a good time. But, with the morning creeping on in front of our eyes and having been out partying since Friday, the inevitable call of time arrived and we decided to hang up our boots, collecting our belongings from the coatcheck, then saying our goodbye’s to Paul and also to Steven Sharp who seemed more than pleased with both the turnout and the whole vibe of this amazing afterhours experience, thanking us for making the effort to attend and pointing the way to bigger & better things ahead for Orange. So, leaving Fire behind, we sauntered into a chilly Vauxhall Monday morning to make the short journey home and collapse into our bed to recover from a marathon weekend, but with some many great memories to recap.
Well, how did our trip to Orange for its special Valentines “Citric Seduction” party go? and what are our thoughts on the club having been away for so long? Well, it is probably evident that we had a brilliant time. Not only was the music mesmerically great, with exceptional performances from both Paul Heron & Gonzalo Rivas, but the company we held was fabulous too, friends Joel & Julian helping to make it a night/morning to remember, the presence of Nick Tcherniak & Tom a real bonus. And the crowd in general seemed a much more mature lot, yes there was a smattering of klub kids, but none of the reckless & trashy bunch that seemed to plague Orange parties of old. It definitely seems that the club has really made massive improvements, in the music, in the people, in the atmosphere, well in truth in virtually every respect and we can easily see ourselves returning for more afterhours action in the hands of Steven Sharp & his team sometime soon. (DISCO MATT)
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