MATINEE “CIRCUIT” - 20TH MARCH
CLUB REVIEW
There is no question that we are very fortunate in London to have such a diverse scene that offers the discerning clubber so many opportunities to sample all sorts of styles of sound, music, entertainment, spaces, D.J.’s, even fellow clubbers, so much so that it can be extremely difficult to cover each & every event, especially when faced with choosing between various parties on offer. However, we cannot escape the fact that the so called “big guns” tend to attract the lion’s share of the clubbing fraternity and hence we end up being drawn too, clubs like Action, Crash, Trade, DTPM doing it in the past and now brands like As One, Beyond, Lovechild, SuperMartXe also tempting us in, not just for the reason mentioned, but as we are pretty much guaranteed to have a great time, the driving force for doing what we do. And there is another club brand that has attracted us, pretty much from when it started out in London in 2006 and just the mention of the name holds fantastic memories for us.
Matinee never fails to attract a huge amount of attention in gAylist/land London, apart from its native Spain and across the globe, being recognised as one of the most prolific clubbing brands in the world and seemingly receiving huge favour wherever its armada ship lands. But it is in the capital where we have seen some of their most prolific parties, the launch night at Area, the “Knockout” event at Fabric, the “Viva” outing at Colloseum & “The Next Chapter” showing at Cable really sticking out in our minds, although there have been so many good ones, so choosing favourites is always difficult. Despite a sudden change in the promotions team, we were keen to continue not just reporting on the brand, but having a spectacular time enjoying ourselves and were heartened by a superb party at The Fridge in February, when the Logan Presents team showed their hand with what direction they had planned for the brand and in-spite of some difficulties, the night was a huge success.
So, we were keen to see how Matinee would fair for their “Circuit” event, a pre-party warm up for the big festival in Barcelona and threw ourselves into the mood at the “pre-party” pre-party at The Box on the Friday, rubbing shoulders with some fabulous company & sinking into some amazing music played by resident D.J. Minx, with whom we delighted in enjoying the same passion as each other, The Soul Avengerz. With all was set fair for our trip to The Fridge and the next instalment of the new look Matinee, we met up with pal Stefan & friends beforehand in Barcode Vauxhall, where Pagano was whirling up a storm of mesmeric music, we having to tear ourselves away to land in Brixton just after 11.30 p.m., a little early for us, but given the excitement & build up, we were anxious to make the most of the party. Meeting up with further friends Jeremy & Andy at the door, we were into the club in a trice and with little or no queue to negotiate at the free coatcheck, the start couldn’t have been in bigger contrast to the last event.
Down into the club and it was clear that our earlish arrival wasn’t that vogue, as there was only a smattering of hopefuls hanging back on the bar expanse, although we had taken the opportunity to have a look around upstairs, the venue having opened up this whole area unlike last time, with the added bonus of extra bar & seating facilities, the space also giving an incredible vantage point of the dancefloor & stage below. Back downstairs and the crowd began to filter in, while we looked down at the stage & dancefloor, the very impressive multi layered neon lighting display surrounding the D.J. booth and rising tall behind, making a real impact. D’Johnny was in charge of the decks and pumping out his trademark hard hitting tech & electro funk infused house tunes to a captive audience that continued to build slowly but surely and with more & more familiar faces turning up, not least Maurico & Lunade who were running around sorting things, Naomi Ruiz who had arrived, looking resplendent as always, Industri pal Stephen, pitching up later than expected but keen to grab his piece of the action, as well as D.J bello Alessandro in his usual exuberant mod, we were ready to head down onto the dancefloor. By now it was three quarters full with revellers, succumbing to the last minutes of D’Johnny’s set before he handed over to Spanish Matinee resident import for the night, Enrico Arghentini, the podiums in front of the D.J. booth as well as those straddled across the dancefloor topped by a veritable bevy of beauties, muscled hunked guys & glamorous girls, strutting to the massive beats booming out across the clubs expanse.
All focus now seemed on the P.A., Spanish star of song Luca G, who’s reputation is undoubted, although having taken to the stage twice and blasting out some vocals, for us didn’t quite live up to his billing although there was absolutely no doubting his enthusiasm for injecting some drive & passion into the atmosphere. However, Mr Arghentini was doing plenty of that himself and glancing around we could see that the dancefloor had suddenly filled more, people appearing seemingly from nowhere, although it was unmistakably clear that it was not close to the rammed shoulder to shoulder, chest to chest turnout of the “Under Construction party. However, we were delighting in the magical music Enrico was weaving together and soon found our pace dancing away deliriously and then trading moves with first, a very exuberant Stefan who was very much in the zone and then a slightly more sedate Stephen, who was still doing extremely well given the long day of socialising already behind him.
A brief respite saw us pop into the VIP room next door, where we caught up with D.J. Minx, thanking her entertaining us so at The Box the previous night and then the man himself, Logan, appeared and warmly greeted us, filling us in on news of his Miami trip and then plans ahead for Easter, although remarking that the numbers were down on the last event, we concurring but mentioning that the timing of the month may have had some effect on the turnout. However, the main room was beckoning again and we re-assumed our now favoured spot just shy of the stage & adjacent to the D.J. booth, spotting the arrival of Nick Tcherniak who caught our glimpse, heading out onto the dancefloor to find us and then connect with boyf Tom. So receding to the bar, we sought refreshments (although no coke or gun-mix?!?!), grabbing Tom’s attention who seemed thrilled to see us, even if we were without our trademark dancing braces for him to twang. With Alessandro milling around & then joining us, it was back onto the dancefloor, the muscled go-go’s still attracting attention and the music pulsating, the added pyrotechnic explosions, firing rockets & ceiling high tape ribbon drop helping to boost the atmosphere.
With Nick about to start his set, we went back in search of pals Stephen & Stefan, bumping into more club & scene familiar faces, including the lovely Llwyd Morgan, then assumed the spot most comfortable to us and with the fate on our remaining hours sealed in the hands of Nick Tcherniak & his marvellous music. We couldn’t have asked for anything better, Nick taking us on a magical mystery tour of terrific tune after tune, hard hitting tech, funky infused and energetic electro beats that had us spinning on our spot and fully succumbing to the string of sensational sounds he was serving up. And you could see that the crowd’s reaction was similar to ours, Stefan and many around us all in hedonistic heaven, enjoying every minute of Mr Tcherniak's superb stint of a set, the laser lighting, the effects & not least that massive neon display only serving to help heighten the mood of this Matinee Circuit pre-party themed event. But the inevitable end was drawing close and with eyes on the time and our next port of call, Beyond, beckoning, we gathered our bits and bobs, again with little or no queue to negotiate, then headed out to secure our stead, catching the attentions of Steven Sharp & Tom fuller who made sure our night nay morning was going to continue at Area in Vauxhall.
So, what did we think of this latest Matinee party? Did it live up to expectations? And did it deliver in all respects? Well, speaking to a number of people both throughout the night and post the event, it was clear opinion was very divided, some saying it wasn’t a patch on the previous party, others saying they really enjoyed themselves. Having gone there with certain expectations but in the knowledge that the third Saturday of the month seems to prove to be a tricky one, we actually walked away having had a great time, not least for the company we kept, Stefan, Stephen, Nick, Tom, Alessandro, Jeremy & Andy included, making it special. It was true that the party seemed to take a while to kick into top gear and that it was not anywhere near as busy as the last event, although that should come as no surprise to anyone, as the curiosity element definitely played a part at “Under Construction” and the drop in numbers was as we had expected.
Given what we have just said, there was no doubt that the music once again did the talking, D’Johnny putting on a great show and Enrico Arghentini surprising us with a very credible & entertaining set, especially as we rarely connect with these Spanish D.J’s But the shining star was Nick Tcherniak, who stormed & stole the show for us, as he did for many others, his selection of sounds just perfect for the occasion and testament to the fact that his services are in huge demand. As for the other elements, well they were there, the dazzling dancers, the prolific pyrotechnics & the luminous lighting, the massive neon spread a real wow, but it is an inescapable fact that, under Logan’s steerage, people will draw comparisons with SuperMartXe when making their judgments on these Matinee parties. In truth, the aims of the two are & should be quite different, so, if these comparisons are to go away, a change in style of venue and the injection of some old Matinee D.J. faces may be the answer. Nevertheless, our expectations were met, in some ways exceeded; we had a fab time and will no doubt be back for the next party. (DISCO MATT)
CLUB REVIEW
There is no question that we are very fortunate in London to have such a diverse scene that offers the discerning clubber so many opportunities to sample all sorts of styles of sound, music, entertainment, spaces, D.J.’s, even fellow clubbers, so much so that it can be extremely difficult to cover each & every event, especially when faced with choosing between various parties on offer. However, we cannot escape the fact that the so called “big guns” tend to attract the lion’s share of the clubbing fraternity and hence we end up being drawn too, clubs like Action, Crash, Trade, DTPM doing it in the past and now brands like As One, Beyond, Lovechild, SuperMartXe also tempting us in, not just for the reason mentioned, but as we are pretty much guaranteed to have a great time, the driving force for doing what we do. And there is another club brand that has attracted us, pretty much from when it started out in London in 2006 and just the mention of the name holds fantastic memories for us.
Matinee never fails to attract a huge amount of attention in gAylist/land London, apart from its native Spain and across the globe, being recognised as one of the most prolific clubbing brands in the world and seemingly receiving huge favour wherever its armada ship lands. But it is in the capital where we have seen some of their most prolific parties, the launch night at Area, the “Knockout” event at Fabric, the “Viva” outing at Colloseum & “The Next Chapter” showing at Cable really sticking out in our minds, although there have been so many good ones, so choosing favourites is always difficult. Despite a sudden change in the promotions team, we were keen to continue not just reporting on the brand, but having a spectacular time enjoying ourselves and were heartened by a superb party at The Fridge in February, when the Logan Presents team showed their hand with what direction they had planned for the brand and in-spite of some difficulties, the night was a huge success.
So, we were keen to see how Matinee would fair for their “Circuit” event, a pre-party warm up for the big festival in Barcelona and threw ourselves into the mood at the “pre-party” pre-party at The Box on the Friday, rubbing shoulders with some fabulous company & sinking into some amazing music played by resident D.J. Minx, with whom we delighted in enjoying the same passion as each other, The Soul Avengerz. With all was set fair for our trip to The Fridge and the next instalment of the new look Matinee, we met up with pal Stefan & friends beforehand in Barcode Vauxhall, where Pagano was whirling up a storm of mesmeric music, we having to tear ourselves away to land in Brixton just after 11.30 p.m., a little early for us, but given the excitement & build up, we were anxious to make the most of the party. Meeting up with further friends Jeremy & Andy at the door, we were into the club in a trice and with little or no queue to negotiate at the free coatcheck, the start couldn’t have been in bigger contrast to the last event.
Down into the club and it was clear that our earlish arrival wasn’t that vogue, as there was only a smattering of hopefuls hanging back on the bar expanse, although we had taken the opportunity to have a look around upstairs, the venue having opened up this whole area unlike last time, with the added bonus of extra bar & seating facilities, the space also giving an incredible vantage point of the dancefloor & stage below. Back downstairs and the crowd began to filter in, while we looked down at the stage & dancefloor, the very impressive multi layered neon lighting display surrounding the D.J. booth and rising tall behind, making a real impact. D’Johnny was in charge of the decks and pumping out his trademark hard hitting tech & electro funk infused house tunes to a captive audience that continued to build slowly but surely and with more & more familiar faces turning up, not least Maurico & Lunade who were running around sorting things, Naomi Ruiz who had arrived, looking resplendent as always, Industri pal Stephen, pitching up later than expected but keen to grab his piece of the action, as well as D.J bello Alessandro in his usual exuberant mod, we were ready to head down onto the dancefloor. By now it was three quarters full with revellers, succumbing to the last minutes of D’Johnny’s set before he handed over to Spanish Matinee resident import for the night, Enrico Arghentini, the podiums in front of the D.J. booth as well as those straddled across the dancefloor topped by a veritable bevy of beauties, muscled hunked guys & glamorous girls, strutting to the massive beats booming out across the clubs expanse.
All focus now seemed on the P.A., Spanish star of song Luca G, who’s reputation is undoubted, although having taken to the stage twice and blasting out some vocals, for us didn’t quite live up to his billing although there was absolutely no doubting his enthusiasm for injecting some drive & passion into the atmosphere. However, Mr Arghentini was doing plenty of that himself and glancing around we could see that the dancefloor had suddenly filled more, people appearing seemingly from nowhere, although it was unmistakably clear that it was not close to the rammed shoulder to shoulder, chest to chest turnout of the “Under Construction party. However, we were delighting in the magical music Enrico was weaving together and soon found our pace dancing away deliriously and then trading moves with first, a very exuberant Stefan who was very much in the zone and then a slightly more sedate Stephen, who was still doing extremely well given the long day of socialising already behind him.
A brief respite saw us pop into the VIP room next door, where we caught up with D.J. Minx, thanking her entertaining us so at The Box the previous night and then the man himself, Logan, appeared and warmly greeted us, filling us in on news of his Miami trip and then plans ahead for Easter, although remarking that the numbers were down on the last event, we concurring but mentioning that the timing of the month may have had some effect on the turnout. However, the main room was beckoning again and we re-assumed our now favoured spot just shy of the stage & adjacent to the D.J. booth, spotting the arrival of Nick Tcherniak who caught our glimpse, heading out onto the dancefloor to find us and then connect with boyf Tom. So receding to the bar, we sought refreshments (although no coke or gun-mix?!?!), grabbing Tom’s attention who seemed thrilled to see us, even if we were without our trademark dancing braces for him to twang. With Alessandro milling around & then joining us, it was back onto the dancefloor, the muscled go-go’s still attracting attention and the music pulsating, the added pyrotechnic explosions, firing rockets & ceiling high tape ribbon drop helping to boost the atmosphere.
With Nick about to start his set, we went back in search of pals Stephen & Stefan, bumping into more club & scene familiar faces, including the lovely Llwyd Morgan, then assumed the spot most comfortable to us and with the fate on our remaining hours sealed in the hands of Nick Tcherniak & his marvellous music. We couldn’t have asked for anything better, Nick taking us on a magical mystery tour of terrific tune after tune, hard hitting tech, funky infused and energetic electro beats that had us spinning on our spot and fully succumbing to the string of sensational sounds he was serving up. And you could see that the crowd’s reaction was similar to ours, Stefan and many around us all in hedonistic heaven, enjoying every minute of Mr Tcherniak's superb stint of a set, the laser lighting, the effects & not least that massive neon display only serving to help heighten the mood of this Matinee Circuit pre-party themed event. But the inevitable end was drawing close and with eyes on the time and our next port of call, Beyond, beckoning, we gathered our bits and bobs, again with little or no queue to negotiate, then headed out to secure our stead, catching the attentions of Steven Sharp & Tom fuller who made sure our night nay morning was going to continue at Area in Vauxhall.
So, what did we think of this latest Matinee party? Did it live up to expectations? And did it deliver in all respects? Well, speaking to a number of people both throughout the night and post the event, it was clear opinion was very divided, some saying it wasn’t a patch on the previous party, others saying they really enjoyed themselves. Having gone there with certain expectations but in the knowledge that the third Saturday of the month seems to prove to be a tricky one, we actually walked away having had a great time, not least for the company we kept, Stefan, Stephen, Nick, Tom, Alessandro, Jeremy & Andy included, making it special. It was true that the party seemed to take a while to kick into top gear and that it was not anywhere near as busy as the last event, although that should come as no surprise to anyone, as the curiosity element definitely played a part at “Under Construction” and the drop in numbers was as we had expected.
Given what we have just said, there was no doubt that the music once again did the talking, D’Johnny putting on a great show and Enrico Arghentini surprising us with a very credible & entertaining set, especially as we rarely connect with these Spanish D.J’s But the shining star was Nick Tcherniak, who stormed & stole the show for us, as he did for many others, his selection of sounds just perfect for the occasion and testament to the fact that his services are in huge demand. As for the other elements, well they were there, the dazzling dancers, the prolific pyrotechnics & the luminous lighting, the massive neon spread a real wow, but it is an inescapable fact that, under Logan’s steerage, people will draw comparisons with SuperMartXe when making their judgments on these Matinee parties. In truth, the aims of the two are & should be quite different, so, if these comparisons are to go away, a change in style of venue and the injection of some old Matinee D.J. faces may be the answer. Nevertheless, our expectations were met, in some ways exceeded; we had a fab time and will no doubt be back for the next party. (DISCO MATT)
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