"Up, Up And Away" - Logan Presents "UP" at Dex - Special Review

“UP, UP AND AWAY”
LOGAN PRESENTS “UP” AT DEX – SUNDAY 25TH JULY
SPECIAL REVIEW


In our early days of clubbing in the capital, we were always really conscious of some of the most qualitative offerings around, which always drew out the crème de la crème of the crop, making for a very stylish & sophisticated scene that offered a great deal to those that were in search of a high end experience. However, in more recent years and as times have changed, so has the whole clubbing landscape, meaning that we have been starved of sufficient quantities of clubbing, often referred to as gAylist events, which was much more common place ten or so years before. But, enter stage left one Logan Schmitz, a bright eyed & bushy tailed US Midwest bible belt born & bred boy turned White Isle go-go dancer, who has injected that much sought after spice & gAylisting quality into a lacklustre scene. Having been lifted off the podium & out of his dancing shoes then planted firmly into business boots, a move to the capital has seen this beefy bodied bloke with an equally strong entrepreneurial ethic, steal much of the limelight with both SuperMartXe and now Matinee, both which form staple ingredients in the Logan Presents production armoury, making him one of the most revered & respected promoters in the capital.

Having gotten to know Logan a little better in recent months, we have realised the true depth of Mr Schmitz’s passion to paying back to the scene and thanking his true supporters for the success they have fuelled him with. And it was this passion & desire to reward such support that was the driving force in the creation of a private party concept simply called UP, the format taken from Logan’s days in Ibiza, partying under the sun and out on the terrace styled settings that are so characteristic of that part of the world. Having located the perfect place in London to hold such an event in the form of Dex, a multi floored indoor & outdoor combination of a venue, sandwiched neatly between two arenas that his “Presents” team have used for both SuperMartXe & Matinee, Brixton’s O2 Academy & The Fridge, UP was born and within hours of its first outing in May, became the most talked about event of the summer so far, a party described modestly by its creator as “...just friends hanging out with friends around some great music...”, although for us it was much more than that.

So, it goes without saying that we were extremely honoured to be included in the limited amount of invitees for the latest UP party and thrilled to be attending this very select social gathering of the upper echelons of the gAylist clubbing circuit crowd. Despite thinking that we would feel a bit like a fish out of water, arriving at Dex’s doors at just before 2 p.m., we were not only faced with the friendliest security team we had encountered anywhere, but were made to feel incredibly at home by the enchanting & endearing Naomi, the much missed door hostess of Beyond, who gave us a characteristic peck on both cheeks before sending us smiling upstairs and out onto Den’s expansive roof terrace space. Within moments, we were then greeted by the man himself, Logan, his reception & welcome full of warm intentions and with this private party suitably choreographed & ready to invite in the select following, it already had assumed a relaxing & social air to it, which we immediately sank into with ease, very much laying to rest those fish out of water feelings.

Taking time to investigate the space to its full, we were taken a-back by this treasure trove of a hideaway from the hectic happenings in Brixton below, the two crescent shaped terrace levels providing the ideal setting for this gAylist gathering. Grabbing refreshments at the conveniently located bar on the second outdoor level, we were very impressed by the whole space, part covered by a smart white bedouin styled tarpaulin stretching across the centre of both terrace tiers, making a statement of quality & impressive display across this unique rooftop seclusion of a space. With plenty of comfortable seating around and lots of room to find our feet and stretch our legs, this space became the more popular of the two levels early on, we soon being joined by clubbing compatriot Ross & his partner, as well as long standing scenster George, making us feel even more comfortable within our increasingly enjoyable experience. Indeed, as the crowd began to build and the atmosphere heighten, it was clear that we would be familiar with far more folk than we thought, a veritable feast of scene faces, off-duty workers, D.J.’s & dancers blending perfectly with the pick of the crop clubbers that made for probably the best looking, behaving and sociable collection of people we had seen for a long time.

To say it was also a bit of a who’s who list is an understatement, such is the attraction of any Logan party, an endless amount of people arriving, saying hi and then soaking up the superb social splendour that that becoming very much the byword of the UP event. Familiar faces included D.J.’s Jamie Head, Mikey D, Fidel & D’Johnny, scene boys Tim Banham, Jeremy Precelton, Ben Kaye, Martin Zatko, Cliff Joannou & Marky B, as well as Logan’s Michael and team Mauricio, Naomi, Fabio, Elektra, Leandro and the lovely Luke, all lapping up the wonderful party atmosphere that was developing. So, rather than feeling left out, we were very much at home in amongst the muscle-bound men & sophisticated ladies, virtually a moment not going by without one familiar face or the other passing us by on our vantage point on the second terrace tier, which was teaming with people all intent to lapping up the pure delight of this gAy-rated event.

As the numbers continued to grow throughout the afternoon, many then found their feet on the lower level, dancing away to the delights of SuperMartXe resident Tony English, who had definitely turned up the heat & increased the pace, following a superb showing D.J. guest Leandro Kloppel, Tony treating us and a cavorting crowd to a delectable mix of electro, funky, chunky & tech fuelled beats, all intermixed with plenty of vocals and current hits of the best clubbing dancefloors, that received a rapturous reception from the revellers. So good was Tony’s set, that even with our sore back, we soon left our vantage point on the upper terrace where we had been sitting and observing proceedings, rather sinking some painkilling relief and then finding a spot close to the D.J. booth to dance deliriously to Mr English’s electrifying & terrific tunes. And it was no surprise to see Mr Photographer himself, Chris Jepson, appear out of the crowd, clutching his camera and not just catching us in interesting pose but showing the crafty video caption of our dancing moves he had shot through the window behind us, leaving us in hysterics with his planned creation.

But not wishing to endanger the healing process of our injuries, we traded dancing dives with delightful conversation, especially having hooked up with Matinee formed friend, Michelle, and with the refreshments flowing, courtesy of Dex’s venue promoter Mark Williams, we were getting the ever increasing feeling that we were part of something truly spectacular, the event unfolding into a Sunday afternoon like no other we had enjoyed. UP was certainly providing a magnificent mix between a club event, a private party and a social soiree that was leaving us in amazement of this alfresco & awe-inspiring outing, although having witnessed probably one of the best sets we had seen Tony English play and having been absorbed with one of the best looking crowds we had seen in a long time, as good as it already was, our experience was to go from strength to strength in the hands of Italian Stallion Pagano. To say his three hour showing was a precision perfect selection of sounds does no justice to his pulsating performance, which ranged from his usual progressive beats to more uplifting, nu-disco and rip roaring tunes, that was far and away the most breathtakingly brilliant & superbly scintlating set we had witnessed him play, ever! As dust turned to dark and the lights on the outside terrace illuminated proceedings, we were now determined to see out the remainder of this unbelievably wonderful UP private party of an event, Pagano & his mesmeric music ensuring that all thoughts of our ailing back became the last thing on our mind, although the 10 p.m. finish came all too soon and the fading out of Francesco’s fantastic fanfare eventually signalled our retirement from this prolific party.

Reflecting on this extra special & amazing UP outing, naturally we drew comparisons to our experience in the hands of Logan & his team in the form at Matinee at MOS. While it is clear that this Spanish brand of a club has found favour with not just fans of the club, but with new adorers to the fresh identity of the brand, as mindblowingly magnificent Matinee’s “Open Air Summer Party” was, it pales in comparison with UP. Why? well this private party at Dex had an extra special feel, no doubt due mainly to the cherry picked crowd that gave the whole outing an air of exclusivity, which when added to the brilliant two tiered roof terrace of a setting and the stupendous soundtrack provided by Tony English & Pagano, put this party up onto a pedestal of perfection. When we talk about gAylist events, we definitely include Matinee in that bracket, but in UP, Logan has created an even higher level of excellence, meaning that not only were we up, up on the roof at Dex, but in this outstanding outing we were “up, up and away” in upmost adoration & amazement of just how awesome it was. (DISCO MATT)

Postscript

If you were not part of this latest UP event or indeed missed out on either SuperMartXe’s “Wizard Of Oz” or Matinee’s “Open Air Summer Party”, you can get a feel of the mesmeric music played that these events through the Logan Presents series of podcasts. Simply go to http://loganpresentspodcast.podomatic.com/ and listen &/or download to your absolute pleasure and enjoyment.

Plus, Disco Matt is extremely grateful to Chris Jepson for allowing the use of his photo's on this review. For further pictures of both this UP party and for plenty more events, go to http://londonclubland.com/.

"A Stack of Superb Sounds" - Lovechild "Makin Hay" - Club Review

“A STACK OF SUPERB SOUNDS”
LOVECHILD “MAKIN HAY” – SATURDAY 17TH JULY
CLUB REVIEW


Now it is fair to say that we have loved our big clubbing brands over the years, from the dominance of Trade in the early & mid nineties, leading to a whole host of others grabbing a piece of our action, Salvation, DTPM, Crash & Beyond all being big hitters in our non-stop partying activity well into the noughties. However, while Beyond still plays a big part in our lives, relative new kids on the blocks Matinee & SuperMartXe have replaced all the other clubs in the dominance game, although there is a new pretender to the crown that tends to draw us in more often than not, pretty much fixing itself into our monthly calendar. Lovechild certainly has made strides since opening its doors will over a year ago now, especially since grounding itself on a Saturday night at Fire in Vauxhall, building a reputation for funky chunky music, sexual intrigue and a stylish crowd. So, with its latest theme based on farm boys, haywain's & the rustic outdoors, how did we find this “Makin Hay” party? did it live up to expectations? and has it instilled more confidence in a waning Saturday clubbing scene?

Having kick started our night in the hands of Rupert Street and a bawdy Brent Nicholls, our sex charged evening getting some serious injection from the affections Remi & Mariusz, while plenty of pals were present, as was heaps of “nu funk” sounds (more of all that in a separate review!) we were raring to go and to get our slice of farmyard frolicking in the hands of Lovechild’s latest outing down in Vauxhall. Arriving at Fire’s doors not long before 1 a.m, we found quite an extensive queue to get in, although waiting patiently, we were soon spotted by a smiling Roni Inan and ushered through & into the club to start our cavorting, quickly bumping into the pals we had left behind at Rupert St (how did they get here quicker than us?!) who, like us, were lodging our bits & bobs into the coatcheck for safe keeping before venturing forth to check out proceedings. The first sight we came across was a lithe dancer spinning on the installed dancing pole in the entrance area to the main room, dressed in some fetching tight jeans shorts & cowboy style boots, very much in the “Makin Hay theme of this event.

But we were keen to investigate further, so leaving our pals behind we dipped down onto the main room dancefloor which was filling nicely with an eclectic crowd of club kids, the odd muscle queen here & there and a healthy dose of glamorous girls making for one of the most mixed bunch of clubbers we had seen in a Lovechild party yet. They were all lapping up the rousing & uplifting sounds being served up by Phil Hewson behind the decks, it being great to see this charming & cute fellow back in charge of early proceedings in this “Makin Hay” happening. Phil had recently completed a successful tour down under, spreading the good Hewson word of magical music across Sydney & Melbourne in a whirl wind tour that had coincided with the last Lovechild party in London. So, having forgiven him for his absence, we caught a quick moment of his attention in amongst some of his serious sounds that included the fabulous “Devil Walking” which immediately got us dancing on our spot next to the D.J. booth. Looking around the space, the usual Lovechild production was in force although no real sign of anything deluding to this farmyard inspired theme of a party, the visuals pointing more towards the next “Tropicana” bash at the end of the month.

Dropping in on the Lounge room which had been the hit of the last “Summer” smash, the space was slowly gathering pace in the hands of longstanding Lovechilder, Gabriele Cutrano, who had been devoted the whole room for the evening, delivering a far more funky & laidback tech infused soundtrack of tunes that was to see the space gain a select gathering for most of the rest of the evening. However, many seemed to prefer the pomp & circumstance of the main room that, by now, had been handed over to tame D.J., The Oli, who was being anything but tame with his track choices, although, we were still in search of some of that “Makin Hay” production we had been promised. And we found it in the outdoor area, a much smaller affair than usual, but with bales of hay used as the perimeter, plus with a very camp cock (a male hen before you ask!) hanging at eye level, making it delightfully different yet one of the loosest interpretations we had seen, but nevertheless commanding quite a few comments & looks.

Back in the main room and the comments were nothing but praiseworthy for the mastermind of musical mesmerism that guest D.J. The Oli was putting together, one hard hitting dancefloor anthem after the other, he combining uplifting, hard hitting and heavenly house delightfully that saw us sink into his set with consummate ease, finding our dancing feet in an instant and soaking up his scintillating sounds and Fire’s main room swelling to magnanimous proportions. With the atmosphere being sent skyward with Oli’s octane fuelled set, the only element that could add to the excitement of his set was the inclusion of Thiagio’s tasty dancers on the podiums and they arrived pretty much on cue, centre-pieced by a very glamorously dressed & stunning goddess, striking an impressive pose in amongst the farmer boy go-go’s. Now the crowd’s attention was certainly grabbed, as cameras clicked, flashes illuminated & Oli’s backdrop of music added just the right amount of drama to the stage show proceedings that was certainly a real highlight of the evening.

However, with the show over, it was back to Oli to provide all the entertainment and by golly did he do that or what, we absolutely delighting in his precision perfect performance that certainly ranks as one of the best we have seen at any Lovechild party and most definitely the most outstanding Oli set we have witnessed anywhere. His selection of tracks & tunes had the main room cavorting like all the best good old days of Fire, the lighting in full tilt and the atmosphere simply sensational in response to this maestro at work. So good was his performance, that the impetus had been pretty much taken away from the usually busy contact room, whose doors were now swung open for action and whilst Mattias was laying down some serious sounds, it would have taken an act of god to shift the crowd from the main room mesmerism that a man in his element had created.

Mind you all great things have to come to an end sometime and Oli’s Lovechild moment was over far too soon for us, his performance of the quality that would have given Steve Pitron in Beyond at his best, a run for his money and when second guest D.J. for the night, South Africa’s Leroy Tayler took over, while he managed to hold the crowd, he couldn’t hold a candle to Mt Oli’s scintillating set, thus promoting us to opt for the quieter yet more comfortable mirrorarch space where young Mr Paul Heron was stoking the atmosphere with some terrific tech tunes. Seeing Paul bouncing up & down behind the decks in his usual fashion inspired us to do a bit of bopping ourselves, our audacious antics in the corner by the D.J. booth attracting attention and drawing in increasing numbers to lap up some of the Heron energy being created. This included pals Danny Shubert and a much more lively Stephen, who commenced to titillate us with his cougar impressions, something we hadn’t seen for ages. And this was where we saw out the remainder of our “Makin Hay” experience, Paul delighting us with some purely magnificent music, his set full of invigorating new tracks that left us breathless in adoration, the last notes of his performance prompting a trip across Vauxhall to continue our partying proliferation in the hands of Beyond.

In dissecting our latest Lovechild outing we would have to say that, all in all, we had a great time and came away from Fire feeling comfortably satisfied with our lot. In fairness to “Makin Hay” the element that really made it was the music, as both Phil Hewson’s opener and Leroy Tayler’s curtain closer sandwiched one of the best sets we have witnessed at a Lovechild event. Signing up The Oli to the team of residents should be a given, as not only does he know Fire like the back of his hand, but he managed to inspire & indulge us in on one of the most splendid showings from a D.J. in many a month here. That said, the remaining threesome of Messrs Cutrano, Dabo & Heron played their part in pushing music to the forefront and in doing so begged the question, what happened to the usual ingredients of sexual intrigue & erotic intentions that were sadly lacking from this “Makin Hay” event?

Add to that the low key production and the fact that the numbers could barely sustain two, let alone three rooms and we begin to wonder whether the bottom really has fallen out of Saturday night clubbing. There is no doubt that Lovechild has found its niche, and a good one at that, but, in our view the promoter needs to possibly re-think his strategy with the rooms a little, definitely consider the cornerstones of the Lovechild brand, and let them do the talking in terms of which rooms are open & when. It seems that the desire for the contact space is there, just on this occasion the main room had the momentum & the lounge never got a look in. There is an argument to say that Lovechild should be about the music, but it is also true that the raunchy side of the brand has broad appeal. Get the combination right, together with the numbers through the door, and it has every chance to maintaining its position as the next best Saturday offering to SuperMartXe. However, July 31st may prove to be an endorsing acid test, yet we look forward to “Tropicana” with interest. (DISCO MATT)

Postscript

As our review has highlighted, the music at this “Makin Hay” event pretty much stole the show, and the good news is that if you witnessed The Oli’s superb set, you can re-kindle some of that magic via his latest compilation “Long Summer” which is available at http://theoli.podomatic.com. Plus Phil Hewson has laid down a special mix for this “Making Hay” event, which you can download from http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com, while guest South African D.J. Leroy Tayler has also marked the “Makin Hay” occasion with his own compilation, available at http://events.leroytayler.podomatic.com.

"Cherishing This Charming Celebration" - Profile Bar 1st Birthday

“CHERISHING THIS CHARMING CELEBRATION”
PROFILE BAR 1ST BIRTHDAY- THURSDAY 15TH JULY
BAR REVIEW


It hardly seems a year since we found ourselves soaking up the amazing launch of Profile’s new venue on Wardour Street, the move marrying up with sister Lo-Profile club below and making for much more of a one-stop shop rather than a trek across from the bars old home on Frith Street. It would be fair to say that we never really connected with the old place, not just finding it a little too far off our beaten track, but the mish mash of rooms, not to mention the lofty prices on drinks, always tended to mean we gave it a wide berth. In Wardour Street however, the Profile team have certainly found much more favour, the American diner style & bright black & yellow colour scheme that was a little difficult to adjust to at the beginning, now much more of a pleasure to the eye and given the fact that we often opt for its relaxing & inviting atmosphere to soothe away the stresses & strains of a working day or warm ourselves into the weekend in its clutches, missing out on its 1st anniversary celebration would have been far too rude a prospect.

Having been laid down with a nasty back injury for far too long, yet another day absent from our duties whizzing around London’s roads, our misfortune turned out to be a bit of an advantage as we were in pole position to make it into Soho nice & early and in time for Profile’s birthday bash kick off at 6 p.m. But it has to be said that, when it comes to social engagement time keeping, we are appalling, often turning up later than agreed or planned and tonight was going to be no exception, our tardiness & getting ready meaning we didn’t actually arrive on Wardour Street until what we thought was a fashionably late 8 p.m. However, there we were wrong as all the gAylist glitterati had been in situ long before us, in fact it felt a bit like we were the last to arrive, although our stroll towards Profile’s entrance was t greeted by a throng of friends that included Alessandro Londra, Dee Crooks, Paul Heron, Roni Inan & Sylvia Rebel, all taking a nicotine break breather from the knees up inside.

But inside we were bound, being greeted at the door by a smart & smiling partner in fierceness, Lexi, pronouncing our arrival with a big peck on the check & an equally welcome spoken acknowledgement of “Ratchy” (that’s one of our many nicknames), we then engaging in delightful conversation about this that & the other, as well as comparing facial hair statuses, our bum fluff attempt at a beard pathetic against the more manly designer stubble look of our fierce partner. So intense were our devotions to Lexi, that the scantily clad & sexy Gaydar (owners & sponsors of Profile) go-go dancers who were delighting passers by outside with their enticing & erotic moves in the window, barely caught our eyes, indeed even the shimmering smile of one of the boys didn’t really make much of an impact (were we still thinking of the lovely Luke from Matinee l?!). Instead and with some very welcome complimentary drinks vouchers in hand, we set about making our way to the bar to charge our yet to be filled glass.

Here we faced a veritable wall of people attempting to do the same, the usual issue of cocktail drinks concocting slowing down the service somewhat, although our late(ish) arrival had meant that we had missed the worst of the rush, so it wasn’t long before we had both a refreshing Pimms as well as a glass of champagne in hand, the latter courtesy of D.J. pal Nick Evans, who like many of our companions for the night had chosen a neat spot away from the frantic bar service area. And what a collection of people we were delighting in, as our arrival buddies of Ale, Paul & Roni were added to by a cheerful Danny Shubert, a very tanned Jamie Head, a bubbly Mikey D, and a beaming JC Christopher, not to mention a import of what seemed to whole Q.X. sales force, each & every one of our celebrating crew making the most of the brilliant atmosphere, the ever presence of photographer Chris Jepson completing our picture of prolific Profile-ites, the man himself taking plenty of pictures for posterity and no doubt for use in the popular press (let’s hope not a shot of us, please Chris!).

With the fantastic backdrop of marvellous music being played out by special guest D.J. Tony English, who was accompanied on percussion by David H, like the Matinee party on Sunday, Profile’s birthday bash was becoming a little bit like a who’s who of the scene, but with the refreshing & lightly alcoholically tainted Pimms going down a treat, we were well into our stride savouring the scintillating & sophisticated social splendour we found ourselves within, wafts of canapés floating by held delicately in the air by a wave of wonderful waiters, all dressed to the their high nines & looking the part for this special evening of celebration. In amongst the crowd we managed to grab the momentary attention of General Manager Rosella who was busy marshalling the whole affair and tending to the Gaydar top brass, while our favourite bar man, the gorgeous Philippe, was doing his bit to keep the party on a reasonable straight & narrow, although with the booze bursting over on some people that was always going to be a difficult affair.

Mind you, on momentarily casting our minds back a year, our role in the drunken partner task was so much easier to bear this time round, as clubbing pal Joel, with whom we attended the Profile opening, was absent 12 months on and our other pal, Stephen, who had arrived to join in on the party, was confined to soft drinks on health grounds and seemed not quite himself, our somewhat one-way conversation eventually losing steam, our cougar loving friends thoughts clearly far way, his focus on other things. But nothing was going to get in the way of our enjoyment & merriment, yet more of those now sort after red drinks tickets finding their way into our grip, a cheeky Jamie Head using us like his own private bar man to recharge his & others glasses, well how could we refuse such a cool cucumber of a character and with super speedy treatment from a muscled bronzed & smiling bar man on our slimmer side of the servery, the pleasure was all ours.

Now the party was in full swing and even though we had effectively missed the early bird goodie bag handouts, plenty more suddenly seemed to be making their way into people’s grasps, both Jamie & Paul sporting their goodie gifts, Mr Heron delighting in the fact that the combination of x-rated films and toiletries in his bag would allow for, no we can’t repeat what he said, although suffice to say his comments raised more than an eye-brow or two (you get the drift we are sure!). With pal Stephen clearly having itchy feet to move on however, plans to attend the other birthday bash of the evening, Shadow Lounge’s 9th, were put on hold and eventually dumped in favour of pandering to his needs, but even he wasn’t going to stop us from soaking up the last few more minutes of our stay, a now off duty Lexi trading fierce dancing moves with us as Mr English’s delightful music moved & grooved the place and yet more familiar faces wafted by our spot, including the beautiful Ben Kaye and the vivacious Valerio Narcisi. But not long before the stroke of eleven & giving up a kind invite to continue the cavorting downstairs in Lo-Profile, we made our exiting excuses to our chorus of celebrators and pointed our body compass in a southerly direction, skirting The Shadow Lounge which was beckoning, rather to vroom to Vauxhall for Minty’s Industri, reflecting on a super social splash of an evening and cherishing the charming celebration in the hands of Profile Bar.

In the 12 months Profile has been in existence on Wardour Street, it has seen its fortunes wax & wane, like many venues, having to ride the storm of economic difficulties that have even impacted on a previously safe bet of a social pink pound scene. However, the quality food offer and the sumptuous surroundings, not to mention the convenient proximity to clubbing sister Lo-Profile, have clearly been winning factors in maintaining Profile’s position within the market, added bonuses of SuperMartXe pre-parties & Sunday special events propelling its popularity & securing its standing within the select stream of socialising within Soho. With the continual backing of Gaydar, the deployment of D.J.’s on major evenings and all the hard work of the management team are doing to address to tardy bar service speed reputation will, no doubt, see Profile only go from strength to strength and with both the recent Pride night & now this pulsating party under their belt, the future is certainly looking bright for Profile in their strikingly black & yellow kind of way and they will be getting our support for sure. (DISCO MATT)

Splendid Sunday Sunshine Soiree - Matinee "Open Air Summer" Party - Club Review

“SPLENDID SUNDAY SUNSHINE SOIREE”
MATINEE “OPEN AIR SUMMER” PARTY – SUNDAY 11TH JULY
CLUB REVIEW


When the Barcelona big brass decided to inject London with a huge syringe full of Matinee potion back in 2006 at Area, they clearly wanted this Spanish superclub to make a considerable impact on the capitals gAylist scene. And it certainly did, further moves first to Fabric in Farringdon, then to Colosseum back in Vauxhall hitting some real high notes & gAylisting moments, although the fateful conclusion for the then promoter at Cable in London Bridge, saw Matinee by this stage, chasing its competitors for plaudits as the best offering in town. Having witnessed some truly amazing events in the brand s history here in Britannia, the early days of Area stand out in a myriad of also ran parties, especially in recent times, when Matinee in London has been struggling to find its true identity, while rival offers like SuperMartXe & Beyond have gone from strength to strength. But when the news came through that Logan Schmitz was taking over this London Latino franchise back on NYD, we always thought something quite spectacular was in store for this, our favourite clubbing brand by far, a construction period leading to what can only be described as a summer sizzler of an event. So what made this Matinee so special? And what is the future for this brilliant brand in Britain?

With the weather forecast of sumptuous sunshine pretty much guaranteed and us wanting to look our Matinee best, we donned a classic 2009 inspired t-shirt, admittedly a little tighter than we would have liked, then hot footed it to Elephant & Castle to arrive at host venue Ministry Of Sound’s doors not long after 1.30 p.m. Immediately our body compass pointed us in the direction of the outside terrace where Paul Heron was laying down heaps of funky chunky outdoor inspired musical mainstream, his choices immediately hitting resonance with the developing crowd, our attempts at avoiding the marauds of Matinee lovers falling at the first hurdle as a poke in our back signalled a smiling & saucy Per Q.X. who, along with his pals, we were well into their sashaying stride, lapping up the bountiful beats of a lively Mr Heron and his energetic, pumping & pulsating musical pace. Indeed, the atmosphere out on this superb sun trap of a space was already spot on, the blue sky contrasting the multicoloured Matinee & other signage below, while the artificial green turf made dancing on the concrete floor much more comfortable & completed the scene, well except for the odd plane flying overhead, we convincing ourselves that one had "Logan Presents" splashed down the side, just like the advertising slogan for this major Matinee party.

But we wanted to check out Bello Alessandro inside, who was treating us to a right royal rousing rendition of hot & happening house, a very uplifting string of sounds contrasting to Paul’s more progressive beats outside. Early naked numbers of Matinee admirers & followers turned into a full on dinner suit selective of gAylist hob nobs of the luxury chocolate coated kind, our unapologetic plaudits of most notable scene faces going to & including off duty D.J.’s Steve Pitron, Jamie Head, Mikey D, Eduardo De La Torre & Nick Tcherniak, delectable dancers Naomi Cruz & Dilmar Brito, press people Chris Jepson, Chris Geary & Cliff Joannou and clubbing collectives Marky B Barrett, Dorin Andrei, Simon Patrick, James Brewer, Roni Inan, & Danny Shubert, an exhaustible list of familiar faces craving for a quick nod and wink in acknowledgement of our presence. Then, as if this glorified gathering wasn't enough for us, an endless chorus line of cavorters were doing their best to get their own slice of our attention, pal Rob, Rupert St boy Oli & even our hairdresser Luis, all succumbing to this outside area which was now full to brimming with people intent on making this a party to remember rather than to forget and anyone who was anyone, cramming onto MOS’s terrace to take in this tremendous Matinee trip of a lifetime.

So the focus was now on partying in prolific alfresco style, the sun beating down on the terrace, Paul Heron’s music choices the perfect recipe for this altogether Ibiza inspired event, the additions of ice cannons & the nifty air horn that played a massive part in the SuperMartXe “Hot Wheels” outing, doing their bit in projecting the pulsating party vibe right across this amazing outdoor space, an excitable Alessandro making the most of both implements to the delight of all around. With photographer extraordinaire Chris Jepson pointing his lens where it didn’t belong (our direction) and the dancing mercury hitting boiling point, the lovely Mauricio’s Matinee fans were a welcome relief from the summer sunrays, although with the space close on bursting point by now, the last thing on our mind was sun protection, rather alfresco dancing audacity with the now late arrival Taito Tikaro rousing our emotions with some truly uplifting tracks that included our favourite “Release Me”, which got its usual hands -in-the-air reaction and sending the atmosphere into enjoyment overdrive. Mind you, it was helped along by the delectable dancers who ascended the podiums astride of the D.J. booth, one of the foursome a perfect specimen of a man, each of his many muscles shimmering in the sunlight and his taught torso tantalising a truck load of looks, Luke Baden-Barnsley being the epitomy of everything that was hot & horny about this Matinee eye catching event, this gorgeous go-go even lavishing attention on us with leading lines of questions that made for our million dollar Matinee moment.

By now we were in absolute wonder of one of the best parties of the year unfolding before our eyes, the atmosphere on this terrific terrace tipping the temperature scales and Spanish resident Taito Tikaro in seventh heaven with his huge house hits that had a hypnotic quality to them. That said, indoors was also getting its say, MOS’s main room now in the charge & direction of Italian stallion Pagano, who was ready to create plenty of drama on the dancefloor with a succession of smash progressive & tech fuelled tunes, very much classic Francesco, that saw more than a handful of hopefuls sink into his sounds, choosing the inside over the outside to fulfil their dancing desires. And despite the football being shown on the selection of screens around this main space, much more attention was directed to the dance tracks being selected, one trademark Pagano track after the next seeing the space swell with swarms of sophisticated scene gAylisters lapping up Francesco’s fabulous & magical music.

But, sinking back into the temptations of the terrace, as being outdoor at this Matinee summer smash was very much the vogue, the summer sunshine gave way to a dimming dusk, prompting the massive terrace florescent lights to illuinate the scene and with dancer/D.J. Marco Da Silva’s soundtrack of scintillating & uplifting inclusions igniting the already amazing atmosphere, we were content in seeing the remainder of our stay at this Matinee magnificence of an extravagant event out on the terrace. Mr Da Silva was certainly pumping up the volume, his dancing pedigree & dexterity showing through in his performance behind the decks, the tunes he was selecting equalling the energy & vitality he was displaying, added to even further by an impromptu advance onto the podium next to the D.J. booth, Logan himself taking up the challenge & ascending the other, much to the delight of their audience of admirers, beeps on the horn & pulses from the ice cannons accentuating their dancing deliveries.

And to be honest, we didn’t want our experience to end, as the music had been so magnificent, the go-go dancers delightful and the party people a perfect complement to this incredible outing so full of the Matinee magic that had been missing from many an event before it. But with 10 p.m. come & gone, eventually Marco gave in to the venues calls to halt this pulsating party, although in truth it could have gone on well into the early hours of Monday morning, such was the enthusiasm for this mesmeric Matinee at MOS. So, we said our farewells to our crowd of cavorting collectives on the terrace, catching those words with the lovely Luke, before sliding into the normality of the surrounding streets and an onward rendezvous with pals Joel & Julian, seeing us waxing lyrically about this magnificent 9 hours of clubbing splendour, in what was sinking in as being not only the best Matinee of the year, but the best party of any we had enjoyed in 2010 so far.

Our memories of Matinee in London are probably some of our most treasured and it can be said that we have witnessed some incredible parties, “Knockout” & “Viva” being right up there, although there was always a comparison to the first forays at Area that, for us, showed the brand in its Saturday best. However, in deciding to take the club back to its Barcelona afterhours origins was a brave yet inspired move by Logan, the idea of linking it all in with an Ibiza styled alfresco outing, proving to be Matinee’s making in London. In doing so, not only has Logan given the brand a new & exciting identity, distinguishing it clearly apart from former competitor in the capital, SuperMartXe, but it has injected much needed vitality into a precariously stale & faltering clubbing scene full of the same old same old. Sunday afternoon clubbing has once again come of age, Matinee spearheading this momentum and gAylist gatherings in the capital courtesy of Mr Schmitz & his superb schmitzels are very much alive & kicking. As the soundtrack to this scintilating summer soiree shouts, we are well & truly "Addicted" to the new style of our favouite clubbing brand, so move over Beyond, the 2010 plaudits will surely be heading Matinee’s way and we cannot wait for the next party, which you must not miss for anything. (DISCO MATT)

Postscript

If you were unfortunate to miss out on this magnanimous Matinee, you can get a slice of the superb sounds, as resident D.J. and star of Sunday’s party, Alessandro Londra, has laid down two compilations which are perfect sovenirs of this smash hit of an event. Part One is a nod towards the tougher side of Matinee’s music, while part two very much mirrors Alessandro’s set on Sunday, both worthy additions to your collection, which you can play/download at http://soundcloud.com/djalessandrolondra.

"Fabulous Froliking Funfair" - Later Gay Pride Special - Club Review

“FABULOUS FROLIKING FUNFAIR”
LATER GAY PRIDE SPECIAL – SUNDAY 4TH JULY
CLUB REVIEW


Since the launch of a club back in 2003, Sunday afternoons have never really been the same, all for good reasons of course, as our dancing shoes on Saturday night along with our unstoppable energies would easily carry us onto the inevitability of a barnstorming & brilliant Beyond (when isn’t it?!), meaning come midday on Sunday we always felt the need to continue the partying, ignoring the normality of general society, rather revelling in the decadent & debaucherous feel that results from dancing deep into what is considered the holy day of the week. Yes, Later has definitely become an institution in daytime clubbing and whilst its fortunes have pitched & yawed over the years, it continues to satisfy the insatiable appetite for many to keep pressing the accelerator in their partying weekend, savouring both the social splendour & the dancing dervishness that Later provides in bucket loads. Add into the mix, a special party in celebration of gay pride and the writing was very much on the wall, shouting that this was going to be a massive success from the start plus a huge draw. So, how did Later fair this time round? And t it meet fulfil the promise on paper?

Well, we were certainly in full throttle as we made our way across from the boiling point that was a brilliant Beyond bash at Area, the short ramble from one side of Vauxhall to the other with pal Benoit finding us at Fire’s entrance at not long before 1 a.m., ready to dance on deep into Sunday afternoon with Jay Sharp Vokins' special Funfair themed party, no doubt indulging in our fair share of alfresco action to boot. So, with no real queue to negotiate we were soon through Fire’s front entrance and into the main room, which was already pumping with action, plenty of revellers soaking up the dance dish being served up by D.J. & Later resident Paul Martin, his uplifting, chunky & funky house hitting resonance with the petrol fuelled party heads intent on burning up the dancefloor. Having dropped our bits & bobs off in the coatcheck and then arming ourselves with refreshments, we were keen to investigate the infamous Later garden, which we anticipated would look more like a mini fairground, although on stepping out into the sun, the team were not quite ready for the reveal and had restricted us to a small square space to soak up the warm Vauxhall afternoon sunshine.

With numbers outside swelling past comfort levels and it being evident that Jay & his merry men were still preparing the funfair, we decided to retreat back indoors onto Fire’s main room dancefloor to delight in the ever increasing atmosphere & crowd to match, giving this latest Later outing a feel of those heady days a few years back when this main arena would be packed to the rafters with post Beyond hedonists pouring in from Colosseum to continue their cavorting. And just like those delightful days, with Beyond at Area emptying out, many were choosing this special Later party as their next port of call, hoards streaming past us, swelling the numbers dramatically. With the dancefloor already pretty much full, it was evident that the continual line of people passing us by were going somewhere, so we peeled off the main room in search of satisfying our curiosity.

Finding ourselves outside again, the whole extent of Jay’s funfair fantastic was before our eyes, the skyline dominated by a huge helter skelter which looked pretty daunting from where we were standing, but soon proved to be the hit of the afternoon, as one screaming queen after the next climbed to the top and then slid down & round, ending up in a heap at the bottom to continual applause from the hoards of onlookers. For the less brave, there was a camp coconut shy, a few walking away with prizes in their hands, pal Dorin clutching a cute cuddly toy and one guy with an actual coconut which he was close to breaking open on his own head, much to the dismay of his friends. But while these playful activities added some real spice to the Later garden proceedings, many were just kicking back & lapping up the glorious sunshine, some dipping into the hot tub, others just relaxing on the plentiful seating. And it was here where we caught up with Industri pal Chris, a welcome addition to our mini fold of followers, who was to the mood to move & groove. So, back inside we went, although we both decided to stop off in the Mirrorarch room, which had been given away to the massive bucking bronco, a whole load of people braving it, holding on for dear life and eventually coming flying off to rapturous laughter & applause by the audience of onlookers.

With our bad back on our minds, we decided to give that option a wide berth, rather heading into Fire’s main space with Chris to boogie to the beats of Mikey D, who was mashing up the dancefloor with some truly hard hitting house tunes, much tougher than we had witnessed during his back-to-back set with Steve Pitron at Beyond, his diversity & ability to play to his audience shining through like the incredible D.J. that he is. Looking around the room, it very much had the feel of those heady days back close to Later’s launch, when the room would be brimming with hedonistic dancing extraordinaire and Mikey was definitely contributing to that electric feel with his fulsome tracks. With pal Chris in full flow, the transition between Mr Dower on the decks and D’Johnny was a smooth as a baby’s bottom, hardly altering the pace of our gyration on our select spot in this now pulsating main room of madness, all thoughts of the outside antics far away from our minds.

But the inevitability of the outside was going to draw us away from the dancing, especially as our legs were now a good 30 hours into their rest free activity. So, finding a comfortable spot to lay our lallies for a while, we watched the world go by, including a whole host of familiar faces & scene party heads, including Rob Ferguson, Romain Lopez, Heidi Liscious, Graham Mellors, and a resplendent Jay loving his funfair creation & rightly so, as well as that cheeky photographer Chris Jepson, who caught us in more than one embarrassing pose, our back giving no quarter to a dodging move from his lens, but probably safe in the knowledge that his fleeting shot of our nether regions would not make it into the popular gay press. With the sun beating down on our now tender head & joints, we didn’t really want to move anywhere, instead deciding to soak up the brilliant atmosphere & audacious funfair antics that were making this one very special Later party.

One last dive onto the dancefloor was the most we could muster now, as the toll of our pride partying was now beginning to tell, although with D’Johnny stirring plenty of emotions & much more besides with his breathtaking tech infused & funky beats, we could hardly resist indulging in what would prove to be our final moving & grooving of the weekend, his magical music & hard hitting house the perfect curtain call to our weekend of clubbing and partying activity, a brilliant Beyond set of his earlier in the day equalled by his lavish Later showing spectacle that was well deserved of the packed out place he was playing to, everyone around us seemingly having the energy & vitality to see this special pride devoted party through to the finish at 8 p.m. However, our weary legs were never going to carry us that far, and as a result our proverbial towel was thrown in on proceedings at just turn 5 p.m., although we were safe in the knowledge that we had savoured all the brilliance of this latest Later outing, one of the best for us in a long while.

Having been bitten by the Later bug a few times in recent weeks now, especially as an audacious antic of a party following the afterhours bash to end them all, Beyond, it was never going to take much for us to extend our already lengthy weekend outing in the hands of Jay & his team this time round. Having said that, the special funfair theme was very much an attraction and given the fact that so much effort had gone in to laying on all this extra entertainment, it made for a fabulous froliking funfair of a party. For those that braved the helter skelter, many were caught in photographic or video pose, for those that bucked the bronco, they had plenty of fun and for the hoards of hedonists that chose to dance their Sunday afternoon away in the hands of Paul Martin, Mikey D, D’Johnny & then The Oli (sorry missed your set), there is absolutely no doubt that the magic of Later parties in bygone years was more than re-captured. We loved every minute of our stay and, for us, this special outing was as good if not better than the Beyond before it, so the only way to conclude is by saying “Jay & your terrific team, keep up the good work”. (DISCO MATT)

"Brilliant Beats At Boiling Point" - Beyond Gay Pride - Club Review

“BRILLIANT BEATS AT BOILING POINT”
BEYOND GAY PRIDE – SUNDAY 4TH JULY
CLUB REVIEW


There seems to be hardly a week that goes by these days when we fail to find ourselves being sucked into the temptations of a Sunday morning of audacious dancefloor activity, generally either bouncing across to the cause of all this mayhem from previous club events, either close by or further afield. Indeed no weekend ever seems complete without a trip to Beyond and in some ways prior parties sometimes simply feel like an overture, a prelude or a curtain raiser to what was born as a mere afterhours gathering but has grown into a full-on club in its own right, not just a reason to continue the weekend fun, but more the pinnacle of partying that many other clubs can only dream of achieving. But add in the extra element of a Bank Holiday or a special celebration, like in this case Gay Pride, and you can pretty much guarantee that Beyond, like the M25 on a Friday, will be a complete roadblock, although even this inevitability wasn’t going to put us off, meaning that wild horses weren’t going to keep us away this Sunday.

With well over 12 hours of partying already under our belt, we were still raring to go as we approached the borders of Area in Vauxhall, having hot footed it from SuperMartXe’s “Wizard of Oz” fabulous fantasy, coming a little bit back to clubbing basics but very much looking forward to our next gay pride club outing in the hands of Beyond. Not surprisingly, the queue was already considerable, although our arrival couldn’t have been timed any better as we came across pal Benoit waiting patiently, ticket in hand. With so many people assembling to get their slice of this afterhours magic, it was clear inside was going to be jam packed and a usually chatty Tom very much had his hands full orchestrating everyone’s smooth entry into the club. So, we left him to his devices, rather taking our place in the small but none moving guest list queue, while ticket holders & paying party goers filed into Area, much to our friends dismay, although it wasn’t long before we too were inside Beyond’s doors, ready to dig deep & delve into the delights of this exuberant event.

Yet another brilliant piece of timing saw us grab some refreshments at the bar literally as the main room dancefloor was opened, masses of cavorters pouring into the space to soak up the bountiful beats from Beyond occasional The Oli, his rousing yet funky filled set of sounds immediate striking a chord with us and many around and having quickly found our usual spot next the D.J. booth, we were soon surrounded by a swarm of club kids, muscled latino’s and their female admirers. With the temperature in Area’s main room already soaring, not least for the hot house sounds The Oli was serving up, his choices very much more uplifting than those we had left behind in SuperMartXe and all going down an absolute treat, making for the best start to a Beyond we can remember, our friend sought space further round to find his own stride in amongst the sea of half naked bodies moving & grooving yet clearly melting in the searing heat, while Area’s magnificent lighting, pyrotechnics & effects were at full tilt already, making for one of the best starts to a Beyond party we have savoured in long time.

Given the amount of people now in the club and the gold mine status of our little spot at the end of the main room, we were reluctant to leave our space for anything, although a brief call of nature then refreshment refuelling found us checking out the Chapel space which was well and truly pumping to the tech & electro beats of guest D.J. Ariel, while Paul, Christian was holding sway in the Blacbox, his harder hedged house finding favour with enough revellers to fill out the space. Further up in the Terrace room, we came across D’Johnny, pumping out some pulsating funky chunky tunes and with a little more room to gyrate than in our squeeze spot on the main room, so we decided to soak up his sounds for a while, the doors from the terrace room to the outside space swung open & hoards of revellers seeking solace from the mercury bursting temperatures inside. Johnny was really into his stride, hitting plenty of our musical sweet spots, one track after the next seeing us spin in a delightful dancing dervish, our painful back distant from our thoughts and the sweat shimmering on our shitless torso evidence of our extravert activity.

However, the main room was calling and for good reason as we were once again to be treated to a terrific back-to-back performance behind the decks from stellar Beyond residents Mikey D and Steve Pitron, both arriving simultaneously to take over from The Oli, sending the atmosphere skyward and the beats to boiling point with one classic Beyond tune after the next, each four to five minute stint between the two seeing huge house hits being traded and anthems a plenty pouring out to an adoring audience, packing out the podiums, craving for every last inch of space to soak up the scintillating set by both Steve & Mikey. Returning from his foray in the middle of the dancefloor, Benoit joined us for a while, although the heat was clearly too much for him, others continually passing us by in search of some cooling air in the new outside area behind, even promoter James Brewer, the delectable Dorin & a melting Mikey remarking to us how hot it was.

But the heat was going to be turned up further, as special PA guest Kaysee took to the stage, not once but twice, injecting her unstoppable energy on proceedings, certainly making an impact, although for us, interrupted our momentum somewhat, Steve restoring the stratospheric status quo with one of our favourite tracks of now “Stereo Love” as well as turning out what is very much a Pitron anthem “Here Comes The Rain”. Add to that the ticker tape explosions & pyrotechnic rockets as well as the unrivalled Area lighting and there was no doubting the magical feel of this truly incredible afterhours experience. So good was the main room, only short dives for refreshments were distractions, although once again the Terrace room grabbed our attention for a while, this time Jamie Head taking his turn to tempt us with some tremendous turbocharged tech fuelled tunes, the space pumping & pulsating to his mesmeric music, although thoughts were turning to the arrival of final main room resident Alan K and his promise to treat us to two very special dance devotions.

So braving the heat, we dived back into Area’s main space, just in time to see Alan arrive, his cheeky grin hinting towards the massive multi mixing magical music to come and within seconds we were back in full flow as he turned out his latest rendition of “Release Me”, the inclusion of percussion & tribal beats adding extra strands of dynamic dimension to this amazing dance track that, over fifteen months after first being played, still gets the same explosive reaction. But is wasn’t going to stop there, as this incredible D.J. had, since his Leicester Square stormer of a set, worked on a specially commissioned mix of Kelis’s “Acapella”, soon sharing the fruits of his labour with us and a still packed main room, his prolific production getting a similar reaction to Zoe Baldwin’s classic, hands shooting into the air in sheer delight, we tearing up our spot in adoration of this amazing version and touched that he had gone to so much trouble to deliver on our request.

Now our Beyond pride experience was now pretty much complete, although there was yet more magical minutes & moments to come from Alan, but by now the boiling heat was getting a little too much and we needed to beat a retreat outside, bumping into a boisterous Tom along the way who was now thoroughly enjoying his own Beyond experience and well deservedly so, having worked so hard to make sure everyone got into the club smoothly & safely. With the sun shining bright and the fresh air cooling our overheated body, friend Benoit found us and hinted towards a move to our next pride clubbing instalment, Later’s Funfair party across Vauxhall at Fire, a final foray first into the Terrace bar and then on to the main room signalling an end to our stay at Area. So, grabbing our belongs we waved goodbye to an amazingly brilliant Beyond, our stay from start to finish filled with magnificent music, delightful dancing & all in an awesome atmosphere that once again confirmed this afterhours outing’s award winning status.

There was no doubting that this Beyond was going to be somewhat of a roadblock of an event and in that respect it failed to disappoint, Area being even busier than back at the end of May when we could hardly squeeze onto the main room dancefloor. However, in truth Beyond on this gay pride Sunday failed to disappoint in any respects (well maybe except the PA who was surplus to requirements in our view), the music being majestic, the atmosphere awesome & the people in our company perfect. To see both the Chapel & the Blackbox busy was testament to the numbers taking advantage of this afterhours activity right across the venue, even the Terrace was packed from start to finish and hardly an inch was unoccupied outside. Yes, it was fair to say that it was incredibly hot in the main room and at times we struggled to spread our dancing wings within the confines of our usual spot, but even given this, so good were The Oli Mikey D, Steve Pitron & Alan K, that we managed well enough, walking away to reflect on a morning of brilliant beats at boiling point and asking ourselves, how can this club can get any better?! (DISCO MATT)

"Disco Matt Or Disco Dorothy?" - SuperMartXe "The Wizard of Oz" - Club Review

“DISCO MATT OR DISCO DOROTHY?”
SUPERMARTXE “THE WIZARD OF OZ” GAY PRIDE SPECIAL
SATURDAY 3RD JULY
CLUB REVIEW


There is certainly no doubting Logan Schmitz’s passion for putting on prolific parties, whether you look back as far as those massive stage shows he was responsible for in the Fabric days of Matinee London, or to the more recent SuperMartXe smashes both at favoured home The Coronet or over at the O2 Academy in Brixton, he seemingly having an incredible knack of attracting a colossal captive audience full of gAylisting clubbers that can spot a god thing when they see it, his reputation for lavishing his outings with prolific P.A.’s some of the top scene D.J.’s and some of the best costumes, production & effects we have seen at any time during our considerable & lengthy time clubbing in the capital. So when news came our way of yet another extravagantly themed event, our expectations for a repeat of recent pulsating parties, not least the last “Hot Wheels” SuperMartXe success, were high. So, with all thoughts turning to Dorothy, Tin Man, Lion, Scarecrow & co, did this “Wizard Of Oz” inspired gay pride special meet those expectations of ours? and how did it compare to Logan’s best event yet?

With our post pride celebrations already in full swing courtesy of a brilliant performance from Alessandro at Rupert Street, our arrival at the doors of The Coronet in Elephant & Castle, marking our so called trip down Logan’s yellow brick road in advance our “Wizard Of Oz” experience in SuperMartXe style, was a little later than planned. Having been ticked off the list and efficiently managed through the considerable security checks, our journey towards the emerald city that was the main room was complete by not long turned midnight, finding ourselves down on the main room dancefloor, which was beginning to fill with post pride revellers. Resident D.J. Tony English was rousing the atmosphere with a collection of tough tech inspired tunes with funky infusions that had plenty around us dancing like merry munchkins, our eyes diverting towards the stage front, sporting the famed yellow brick road extending out into the dancefloor at its start and disappearing behind the massive curtain which was shrouding the majority of the stage and very much deluding to the “Wizard of Oz” theme to this latest SuperMartXe instalment.

We were keen to grab refreshments and fuel ourselves for the partying ahead, still conscious of our tender back which was being suitably numbed with painkilling prescription, so headed for the bar area, which was considerably busier than the dancefloor below, it being evident that many were still peeling off from the previous pride celebrations, making it down to this prolific party later than usual. However, by the time we were back down on the dancefloor, all the previous gaps we had spotted had been filled, everyone clearly anticipating the spectacular stage show to come, a few familiar faces floating by, including D.J. Lee Yeomans, and clubbing pal extraordinaire Romano who was clearly surprised to see us sporting a SuperMartXe t-shirt, but like us soaking up the ever building atmosphere & anticipation of the party performance ahead. With Mr English very much in the zone, still pumping out those tech filled & funky beats, we decided to take a quick look at the second room upstairs, being hosted for this special gay pride gathering by alternative club happening “Circus”.

Arriving up in this select space, we were pleasantly surprised to see so many savouring the alternative antics, promoter Jodie Harsh doing her bit behind the decks, but soon handing over to Kris Di Angelis, to take up the mantle and serve up a very much more funky & electro inspired set of tunes which certainly grabbed our attention for a while, as did a beaming Mr Di Angelis, who was thrilled to see us partying before his eyes and marked our second liaison with a matter of hours. But with the incumbent stage show back in the main room on our minds, we soon found ourselves stationed back where we started, just shy of the yellow brick road extension and in time to see the massive spots of lighting swing into action, signalling the start of the much anticipated performance. With a sudden change in the music, very much an “over the rainbow” styled soundtrack, the stage curtains peel back revealing a most elaborate scene including many of the elements of “The Wizard Of Oz” story, Dorothy’s house was there, the winding yellow brick road leading up to the famed emerald city there & much in between, this probably the most eye catching stage dressing we had seen at any SuperMartXe yet.

With a burst of pyrotechnic plumes each side of her, P.A. Abigail Bailey took centre stage & blasted out her massive new club hit “Touch Me”, our eyes filled with Logan’s dancers, all dressed extravagantly in Oz themed costumes. And each dancer was playing their part, Naomi there as the wicked witch, Dilmar as the Scarecrow, the cowardly lion prancing around and even the tin man standing proud on one of the huge elevations. With plenty of others playing their part, not as schmitzels this time but as muchkins, the scene was very much set, while the brilliant beats & towering performance from Abigail was tremendous, she taking the part of Dorothy and suitably clothed in a blue & white check dress as well as sporting those iconic red shoes, By now every single space on the dancefloor was full, each aisle lined with revellers and even the space up by the bar teaming with party goers, all intent on savouring every minute of this SuperMartXe “Wizard of Oz” spectacle, beating off the incredible heat with a field of fans handed out to cool & control their rising temperatures

We wanted to get a better view of this magnificent stage stetting, so retreated from our spot on the main floor & up behind the massive lighting & effects control balcony behind, this vantage point allowing us to take in the full extent of the show which was unfolding before our eyes, all the dancers still very much in position and contributing to the incredible display that was the focal point for our attention. But our view of proceedings was to get even more select, as a very welcoming Svetlana Queen invited us onto her VIP balcony, which had hurriedly been organised following an embarrassing oversight by the venue, this spot not only allowing us to savour the show which extended right throughout the whole event, a further appearance by Abigail later on in proceedings, one of many highlights of the night. And this exclusive spot allowed us to indulge, not just in superb social activity with Svetlana & her select invitees, which included a gaggle of gorgeous latino’s (one very much getting our devotions) lapping up everything before them, but our standpoint was perfect for dancing to the delightful euro styled & funky tunes that main man Hugo Sanchez was treating us to, a shaky start to his set soon seeing him find his stride, delivering close on three hours of funky chunky & tech infused tracks that had us spinning on our spot in adoration.

So good had this SuperMartXe party become and so much were we enjoying our company with Svetlana & co, not to mention the virtually continuous stage show, all plans to move onto to check out the competition, in the form of “The Best of British” party at Fire were extinguished from our thoughts. Then when incumbent D.J. the Italian stallion himself Pagano spotted us on our elevated position, swinging by to say hello before revving up the rhythm behind the decks, our mind was made up and we were going nowhere, rather seeing out the remaining of this dramatic yet scintillating SuperMartXe spectacle. With Mr Francesco playing his part in rounding off our enjoyment, a cheery collection of chunky funky track devotions, he precluding a progressive journey of beats with an uplifting & updated version of the Dead Or Alive classic “You Spin Me Round”, then serving up plenty of drama on the dancefloor, not least from the tribal tainted version of his very own track single of the same name, it was in his hands that we saw out the remainder of our trip down Logan’s yellow brick road & this “Wizard of Oz” fantastic frolic.

Reflecting on this latest SuperMartXe instalment, there is no doubt in our minds that many of our expectations of the event were fulfilled and in some ways were exceeded. It was clear from the remarkable stage production that the centre piece of the party made the biggest impact & impression, the dancers costumes, the displays & all the effects playing out the “Wizard Of Oz” performance perfectly and was very much testament to the hard work that had clearly gone in to laying on this most lavish of shows. On top of that, we thought that Abigail’s PA performance was amazing, her presence & vitality on the stage proving a real highlight of the evening, in some ways overshadowing the D.J.’s and their music, although this takes nothing away from Tony English, Hugo Sanchez & Pagano, each three playing their part in this prolific party.

The only question remains is how did it compared with Logan’s best event? Well, if we are honest, for all the glory of the stage show and how it played out on proceedings, for the fact that from our special vantage point & select spot we couldn’t have been in a better place to enjoy the full extent of the “Wizard Of Oz” spectacle, the previous outstanding “Hot Wheels” party was always going to be a hard act to follow and, as good as this latest instalment was (and believe us, it is was brilliant) it didn’t quite reach dizzy heights of the last outing. That said we thoroughly enjoyed our experience & trip down the yellow brick road, beating off the incredible heat within The Coronet as we did, coming away delighted in the fact that we had witnessed yet another superb SuperMartXe party that, for the stunning stage show more than anything else, will live in our memories for a long time to come. We await the next party with interest & excitable anticipation. (DISCO MATT)

"Proud To Be Pride" - Pride London 2010 - Special Event Review

“PROUD TO BE PRIDE”
PRIDE LONDON 2010 – FRIDAY/SATURDAY 2ND/3RD JULY
SPECIAL EVENT REVIEW


Now, in years gone by we have always attempted to throw ourselves into the pride spirit, in fact back in the 90’s we absolutely adored our times both partying & working at the massive post parade (we don’t like the analogy march) park gatherings, special memories of Kennington, Brockwell & Finsbury Park parties, as well as Clapham Common, still clear in our minds, although the turn of the century saw other work commitments get in the way, limited our pride devotions to special clubbing events. However, 2010 was set to be completely different, as not only were we enthused by the whole Pride London activity, but we were keen to absorb as much of the goings on as possible, well we were until an untimely accident lay us low with a bad back (but you know all about that). Mind you, plenty of rest followed by lots of determination saw us not just savour the before & the after, but plenty of the in between too. So sit back as we take you though our escapades from Friday to Saturday night, signalling our celebratory return to Pride partying & being. "proud to be pride".

So where do we start? Well at the beginning is a good place and with one of the busiest weekends on our doorstep and wishing to look out best, it was off into Soho to get our golden locks (well grey bits actually) trimmed in time for the following day, our Friday jaunt into town then finding us in the capable & hilarious hands of D.J. pal Brent Nicholls, who was spinning the sounds at Profile Bar, but like us was struggling with conflicts to his body, we being a right pair, him with his summery allergies and us with our crippling back pain. However, braving each other’s health ridden storms, we laughed & giggled our way through the evening, the backdrop of fabulously funky music, not to mention plenty of eye candy in the form of a scantily dressed young barman certainly sent plenty of healing waves our way and got the weekend off to the best possible start. But as no great party really starts without a pre-party these days, our evening’s entertainment was to end in the hands of Onyx down in Vauxhall, venue Area positively buzzing with pre-pride activity and magical music aplenty, superb performances from both Jamie Hammond & Phil Marriot more than satisfying our tastebuds, the ever attentive Tom ensuring our smooth entry to the club & our early(ish) retirement, so as not to ruin the marathon road of activity ahead.

With pride day dawning to warming sunshine, we were ready for our first foray into Central London to savour Pride London 2010 in all its glory, indeed our first full on pride experience for close on ten years. Being much more organised than usual and with our back seemingly much better after all our therapeutic laughing the previous night, we arrived at the head of the traffic diversions in Parliament Square just before 1 p.m., a good thirty minutes before the parade was due to start across the other side of the west end in Baker Street, so plenty of time to position ourselves in our favoured viewing spot by Piccadilly Circus, or so you would think. However, having decided to take a quick look at the dance stage setting in Leicester Square on the way, what can only be described as the rudest & surliest security guard, who treated us with a most unwelcome amount of distain when we enquired whether the stage was open, forced an immediate detour to vent our frustrations & them calm our fraying nerves, calling on pals in Rupert Street & arming ourselves with cooling liquid refreshments.

With 2 p.m. fast approaching, we began to hot foot it across the short distance to Piccadilly Circus, although were soon stopped in our tracks by a chatty Micky Galliano & Andrew Harris, both soaking up the warm summer sunshine beating down onto Archer Street, we picking up on hilarious anecdotes with both Micky & Andrew, recalling on recent clubbing experiences & dancefloor moments, the intensity of the conversation & yet more of that therapeutic laughter detaining us from our parade watching duties longer than we had expected, meaning it was close on 2.30 before we got anywhere near the parade, which seemed to have been diverted away from its usual route. Making it to Piccadilly Circus, we managed to catch the last ten minutes or so of this colourful cacophony of gay liberation celebrators, flags flying, whistles blowing & waves of people parading past this ionic London landmark of a spot, very much being proud to be pride, large floats making a splendid splash, although we managed to miss the “Best Of Brits” mini we were so looking forward to seeing.

So, with the last of the parade trail gone, we turned tail and headed for the dance stage in Leicester Square, which we were sure would be in full flow by now, arriving at just turned 3 p.m. and making our way to stage front, suitably impressed by the set up, given the short notice nature of arrangements, the usual site of the dance stage in Soho Square having been prohibited by Westminster council on grounds of safety, but an 11th hour reprieve handed to Craig Elder & his team to use Leicester Square instead. Mind you, with no drinks stalls of any kind within the arena and alcohol banned from the square, the atmosphere, to begin with, was a little subdued, although D’Johnny was definitely doing a fantastic job behind the decks, rousing the audience with a whole collection of funky chunky tunes, very much in the style of his brilliant Beyond inspired beats we love so much. Catching Tom Fuller’s attention, our passage to the select VIP area behind the stage was secure, following which a whole host of friendly faces appeared to say hello, including clubbing pals, Jason, Ross & the huggable Rob, not to mention D.J. chums Jamie Head, Mikey D, Steven Sharp & Nick Evans, the square filling with pride party goers before our very eyes and the atmosphere building by the minute.

We were keen to check out proceedings down on Trafalgar Square, although the streets leading up to it were swarming with people who had either peeled off from the earlier parade or had decided to venture in search of Soho, our arrival at our destination confirming our fears that the whole area would be packed to the rafters. Finding what seemed the only reasonable space to stand, we had a good view of the square below, although being so far away, the performers on the stage were hardly visible, save from the massive screen next to it, which made for easy viewing, even if the show at the time, Tight Fit (a real blast from the past), wasn’t that inspiring. With the dance stage calling us loud & clear, we headed back to Leicester Square just in time to capture the bulk of Jamie & Mikey’s back-to-back set performance, a brilliant collection of hands in the air anthems, mixed in with characteristic vocal electro & tech inspired tunes that set the scene for The Oli & Paul Martin to follow.

By now Soho was awash with alfresco drinkers & socialites intent on making the whole area a street party like never seen before, hardly a spot unoccupied, a space unfilled, so much so our foray onto Rupert Street saw us soon retreat to the relative comfort of Barcode, first bumping into the lovely Jeremy Precelton & partner Tim Banham, then head poncho Kerry Chapman. Having caught up on news we dived inside to say our hello’s to longstanding pal Kris Di Angelis, who was warming up the Barcode pride party with some soothing sounds, he being thrilled to see us, bounding out from behind the booth to give us a big hug, gripping our back a little harder than we would have liked, although the liaison did bring a huge smile to our face, memories of our Soho frolics in years gone by, streaming back in our minds. However, as joyous as the meet up with Kris was, the dance stage was once again calling us back, we rounding the corner into Leicester Square just in time to catch the last few beats of Alan K’s latest rendition of our favourite track “Release Me” and by the time we were stationed within the VIP area, we could see he had really captured the audience’s attention & imagination, the atmosphere having increased considerably, hoards of revellers soaking up Alan’s monumental music with gusto. So it was here that we stayed, seeing out the remaining two hours of activity, our occasional dancing dervishes intermixed with social schmoozing & chit chat with both Elder brothers, photographer Chris Jepson (subsequent evidence confirming he caught in pose with his camera, the sneaky man!), club promoter Romain Lopez & a resplendent Naomi, we being pleased as punch to get our slice of Jiggy magic on this special day. With Peyton putting up a prolific PA performance & The Sharp Boys rounding off this brilliant outdoor event in the hands of the dance stage in Leicester Square with a rip roaring set, the 8 p.m. finish came all too quickly but signalled our retreat back into Soho to continue to pride party activity deep into the night.

As good as the music was in the square we had left behind, it was set to get even better, as entering our favourite bar hangout Rupert St, we spotted a resplendent Alessandro Londra through the crowd, already spinning some scintillating & uplifting beats to a packed out place. Finding a sacred spot next to the D.J. booth, we immediately found our stride, soaking up Ale’s tremendous tunes, his whole performance very much with pride in mind, not least with a truly uplifting Lady Ga Ga mix, plenty of the funky euro/italio style sounds that have become his trademark, as well as a special dedication to us of that record again, “Release Me” getting a rapturous reaction from all around us. With the party atmosphere ramping up by the minute & plenty of familiar faces floating, Alessandro was revelling in the moment, his music hitting all our high notes, making for one of those truly memorable performances that he always seems to deliver within the walls of this Soho sophisticate of a bar.

Not much could have torn us away from the amazing Alessandro & his music, although a quick trip up to Profile Bar, weaving our way around the packed & crowed streets, saw a return to the spot where our Pride weekend had started just over 24 hours before, as Nick Evans was banging out some brilliant beats to an up for it funky collection of party heads, we delighting in seeing the venue so full of fun once again, in some ways completing the circle of our proud to be pride inspired central London antics. However, with our mind now set of the chain of clubbing parties ahead of us, it was back to Rupert St to soak up yet more of that Londra lambasting, rubbing shoulders with an angel-tastic Svetlana Queen, before changing into our SuperMartXe gear for our trip down Logan’s yellow brick road to The Coronet & his “The Wizard Of Oz” gay party extraordinaire.

So that was our pride trip, but what did we think of Pride London 2010? Well, there was no doubt that we felt much more enthused about the whole affair this year compared with last and with the dance stage being secured in Leicester Square, rather than being pushed into its usual Soho corner, it seemed to pull proceedings together much better, rather than creating the feel of celebrations being somewhat separate, the dance stage acting as a real linch pin to the party activity between Trafalgar Square & Soho. However, it was clear that facilities in Leicester Square were a bit “last minute.com”, no fault of The Orange Group of course, but the resounding cries of lack of refreshments dominated discussions, as did the rather unfriendly security staff & their idiosyncratic decision to restrict numbers, despite plenty of space being available each side of the stage front. However, those issues aside, all the D.J.’s performances more than made up for these issues and the whole afternoon was, without doubt, the most enjoyable outdoor event we had savoured since the spectacular Soho Pride of two years ago, so big thanks go to Craig, Aaron, Daniel, Tom, Steven, George, Johnny, Jamie, Mikey, & especially Alan, without whom none of this splendour would have been possible, Leicester Square very much the plentiful filling in our pride celebration sandwich.

And as for Soho, thank goodness the authorities decided to relax restrictions on the streets so as to allow the pride partying to go ahead, although we remain bemused by their decision not to allow any outside stalls or the like, which would have made that subtle difference between this gayest of villages streets feeling more like a proper pride celebration, rather than hoards simply taking advantage of the traffic free roads to drink decadently outside. However, you get a sense that London as city casts a critical look at giving its spaces away to gay celebration, rather than embracing it like Madrid, Cologne & many other worldwide metropolises do, the mere fact that our own mayor was unwilling to take to the stage for fear of being heckled, a perfect example of elements of intolerance that still seems to grip our society. However, we send a massive thank you to Rupert St & Profile for playing their part in our brilliant before & after as well everything combining to ensure that we were definitely "proud to be pride" in 2010. (DISCO MATT)