"Amazing Morning" - A:M "Asylum" - Club Review

“AMAZING MORNING”
A:M “ASYLUM” – SATURDAY 30TH OCTOBER
CLUB REVIEW


When it comes to afterhours clubbing, there is something quite special about the whole feel of partying deep into a morning, particularly at the weekend, pushing the boundaries of normality & delving into dancing decadence while most other folk are tending to the regularities of life, whether it be the housework, the grocery chopping or simply relaxing & readings the broadsheet press. Sunday mornings have always grabbed the lion’s share of our extravert clubbing activity, from the days when we paid homage to our own version of church, better known as Trade at Turnmills, through to more recent times when Beyond has pretty much dominated the Sabbath day more than anything else we can think of. However, Saturday mornings rarely get our attention, more latterly due to work demands during the week & then clubbing demands in the fat end of our weekend, although with much a-foot following the re-designing & refocusing of one such Saturday sortie, we felt it was high time to make the effort & pull our finger (maybe more) out.

A:M has quietly & consistently filled the gap in the Vauxhall clubbing market between Friday & Saturday nights, the nature of its popularity & its crowd waxing & waning with the changing times over its 9+ years of existence, the club rarely hitting the headlines, rather its cool & calm persona seeing it survive the test of time, while other offerings hardly failed to get off the ground. Yet, A:M never really ignited into something special, it being the Christmas equivalent to a stocking filler to the club circuit, rather than a full-on whacking great big present under the tree, although with news that the team behind this Saturday morning outfit, The Orange Group, were to introduce a new look, a new style, but moreover a new promoter, we were very much preparing ourselves for something exciting, fresh & much more appealing to the former look. Incumbent A:M top cheese, one Oliver M (of ex-Matinee through Matador & Impact fame) promised much in terms of new D.J.’s, new direction & an altogether more delicious new feel and with news filtering through following the re-launch night that the difference was considerable, we simply had see it for ourselves.

So, having succumbed to another impromptu yet thoroughly entertaining evening with Phil Marriot & his man Russel at Profile in Soho, swiftly followed by a foray Onyx way, we dashed home to re-collect ourselves ready for our walk on the wild side back to Vauxhall and A:M’s Halloween offering, “Asylum”, a fitting start (well continuation as it turned out) to our hectic weekend of clubbing activity on this last weekend in October. Arriving at Fire’s doors at not long before 5 a.m., we were greeted by the door hostess with the mostest, the magnificent Minty, the first hint of some majorly positive changes to the club, although in some ways it was a bit of a homecoming for her, as in years gone by she had been the face of A:M, so much more of a welcome back rather than a welcome to.

With catch up formalities over, we negotiated the rather large coatcheck queue; always an issue with Fire, yet a good sign in a way as the club was clearly busy, eventually finding our chilling bones inside & into the heat of the lounge space which was packed to the rafters & wall to wall with bodies, pulsating to the pumping & uplifting house, the legendary Fat Tony was turning out, the whole room alight with the sort of electric atmosphere normally reserved for Trade, Beyond & Orange. With a whole host of familiar faces lapping up Mr T’s terrific tracks, after one hello after the other, we found a small spot just shy of the D.J. booth where we came upon clubbing scene face & effervescent character, Romano Hendry, we immediately trading moves & talking points on what was clearly the party to be at, the lounge in Tony’s hands the perfect way to warm up our Saturday & get us in the mood to party deep into the morning. Our already excitable mood was heightened more when the deck meister pulled out none other than “Release Me”, sending the soaring atmosphere skyward, those who had room among the mass of bopping bodies, raising their hands (as the lyrics go) high above their heads in exultation of both the sound selection & the song itself, pure heaven.

But, we were keen to investigate the rest of the club, so squeezing our way out of the tightly packed lounge space, we headed for the main room, which was equally as full with a cavorting crowd lapping up the tougher yet accessible euro beat sounds of guest D.J., the adorable & cuddly Andrei Stan, of La Demence fame. Indeed, the man behind the decks was clearly enthralling his audience with one terrific tune after the next, very much testament to his tremendous talent that we had been so impressed with following his spectacular showing at both Matador & then Beyond earlier in the year. But, before we could dive behind the D.J. booth to say our hello’s, A:M’s new man Oliver M bounded up to say hello, lifting us high into the air in his usually charming & welcoming fashion, then immediately seeking our views on the club & the changes he had been masterminding. And, in fairness to what we had witnessed thus far, not only did the place feel much busier than we had seen it in a long time, but the D.J.’s choice of music certainly seemed to be hitting many more sweet spots, the lighter edge to the sounds much more palatable than before and the club itself feeling much more of a club & gay with it, rather than a stop off point for drunken debauchery & straight socialising that had all too often been an overriding element of the old.

Intent on catching up with Andrei, we were behind the D.J. booth in a trice & delighting in the company of the little man between his superb selections, he even entertaining us with his dancing by the decks, not to mention an improvised hop-scotch performance that had us in hysterics. Yet, as good as Andrei’s dancing & disc spinning was, we were perfectly placed to see the incumbent stage show, as Elektra Paris & her team ascended the space in front of us, to play out a pervy Halloween inspired performance, centre-pieced by a huge chair with a gorgeous go-go tied to its arms & back & enacting an electro twisted torture in the hands of a masterful Elektra (who else), much to the delight of the crowd who were cheering her every move, not to mention the macho male’s squirming in the seat. With the show over all too soon, Andrei re-assumed control of the main (turbocharged) room, continuing to strike resonance with the revellers in advance of the arrival of Alessandro Londra, who was to assume the decks & the headline main room slot for the night.

However, we were mirrorarch (fresh) room, which had been opened to its full extent, D’Johnny in charge of the decks and filling the space in an instant with his superlative sounds, very much more in the old style of A:M, tougher funky & electro twisted beats finding favour with the faithful and short of emptying the main floor of followers. And it was here where we caught up with pal Tom Fuller, who was enjoying some r&r after yet another hectic Friday shepherding scores of clubbers into Onyx before & now A:M as no other person can do better. Standing by the bar looking on & across this second room space, it was clear that this was now where the party was at, D’Johnny revelling in the action, as the podiums quickly filled with party heads intent on showing their appreciation for his efforts. However, what was to follow, somewhat left us (and many) bamboozled, as not long short of 7 a.m., the music ground to an immediate halt & the room was closed, leaving many wondering why.

Hunting down promoter Oliver M, we discovered that he was concerned that the main room had emptied, so had made the conscious decision to close the mirrorarch in attempt to recapture the turbocharged impetuous of before, although rather than leaving Alessandro to re-ignite the full-on feel, Andrei Stan was back behind the decks, picking up where he had left off and leaving our bello Mr Londra confused & deflated as a result. But more was to come, as not too long afterwards, the mirrorarch was re-opened but only as far as the now erected screens, leaving second D.J. for the night, Pier Morrocco, to play behind the screens & to an empty dancefloor, meaning that he couldn’t see his audience or his audience him, we scratching our heads in dismay, then like many, choosing outside for in, drinking for dancing & socialising for sashaying, wondering quite what direction the remainder of this A:M outing would take us.

However, with the morning still quite young, we threw ourselves into proceedings, re-joining Andrei behind the main room decks, further showings by Elektra & her dancers, doing their best to re-kindle the amazing atmosphere of before and Fat Tony still holding considerable sway in the NYC style lounge. And it was here where we saw out the remainder of this “Asylum” action, Minty holding court and Alessandro by our side still shook up by the happenings of the day, we doing our best to console him & put a positive spin on it all. But, with our sights on a hectic schedule ahead, we dived back into the main room for a final fling, catching in-bound D.J. Alan K (a welcome return at that) who was to capture the initiative & see the party out in his usual pulsating & powerful style, we eventually bowing out to head home & reflect the good, the bad & the indifferent of this new look A:M.

In drawing our conclusion as quickly yet as positively as we can, there is absolutely no doubt that A:M is improved on before. Not only does it feel much more of a club outing now, but it has much more of a qualitative content over the old. Fat Tony is obviously a huge asset & it showed in just how he packed out the lounge space, plus the introduction of more depth to the D.J. line up has had an evolutionary effect, although probably the most striking improvement is in the crowd, which is very much gayer, clubbier than & not quite as trashy as before. Plus, there is no question that all these changes have made A:M much more popular, the numbers through the doors speaking for themselves and the overall effect is that the club has a more accessible feel and our overall impression is, on the whole, a positive one.

Yet, as good as all these improvements are, we walked away dumbfounded by aspects of the delivery at “Asylum”, not least the non- sensicle use of the D.J.’s and the two/fro closure & opening of the mirrorarch. To use a D.J. to play to an empty dancefloor is simply ridiculous and to chop & change the main room artists, ended up being short of disastrous, leaving us to wander whether it was done in a moment of madness & whether there was any method to the decision making. In defence of A:M, we understand the second room was not set up properly, but then surely this was a fundamental error that should have been spotted at outset and, in our view, is the responsibility of the promoter to ensure that the club is prepared as it should be, before the doors are opened. Add to this the decisions made during the course of the evening, plus the fall-out & threats waged at us following the event, and we are left scratching our heads over the actions of A:M’s new hands. That said, as for the club itself, we like the new direction & we wish it every success for the future, a future we hope is full of good decisions & delivery. (DISCO MATT)