Beyond - Club Review

BEYOND – SUNDAY 26TH APRIL
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Now there is definitely something in a name and a name that sticks in the mind, a name which is used on a number of occasions and when you mention it, in conversation or otherwise, means a particular thing, even if it isn’t the “real” meaning (confused, bear with us). Beyond is one such word and whenever it is mentioned we think nothing more than “iconic afterhours clubbing”. Strange? not so, as for us that is exactly what Beyond is and means!

Having held sway, week in week out at Colosseum, Beyond’s demise and then resurrection has been much lamented on, no more than in this review space, yet despite the attraction it held for us over so many years, we have only occasionally visited the club in its new incarnation. Would that be due to the venue? Would that be due to the organisers? Well probably yes, but more truthfully due to other commitments and if we be honest, mostly due to our stamina, which in our advancing years has diminished somewhat.

But this Sunday seemed to be different, as on the back of a jaunt across to the East End, we found ourselves back in Vauxhall in the early hours and still raring to go (yippee!!). So, where else to carry on the partying but Area, with the club that used to do it for us all those years ago, swinging its doors open at the dawn broken time of
6 a.m. In previous visits, especially at Colosseum, arrival at this hour would mean negotiating a queue and interestingly this time was no different, except the door host found his way to wave us to the front of the line, in nothing short of red carpet treatment. So it seemed our night, well actually our morning, was getting off on just the right foot.

So, inside the venue through the uncharacteristic entrance of the Embankment bar, it was clear the departing party goers from a previous event were still spilling out of the main room, which was closed off to our advances, although, the team had opened up the second room (otherwise known as the Black Room), which was scattered with candlelit tables, we suspect a remaining feature from the earlier party. With D.J. Paul Christensen in charge of the decks it wasn’t long until the crowd were kicking back and getting down to the uplifting house tunes he was laying down, although we resisted immediately joining in as we were keen to get our belongings secured into the coatcheck. Encountering another large queue to negotiate, we held back a little before making our way round past the now open main room entrance, spotting that preparations to open the floor space itself were still underway.

Arming ourselves with refreshments, we returned to the second room, which was beginning to swell with party goers, soaking up the musical delights on offer although there was a sense that many were waiting for the main space to open. Looking around, the crowd seemed not to reflect the usual trashy element that has been evident in recent Beyond times, more of old style supporters of a club that has evoked everything that is hedonistic, hip & happening about Sunday morning afterhours. Moreover, with Space at Fire still raging, it was clear that it was down to the purists to get Beyond well and truly kicking.

And kick it certainly did, as with the main space swinging into action, people seemed to come from no-where and swarmed into this massive space, with D.J. talent The Oli firing on all cylinders, delivering a wonderful collection of floor filling house tunes to delight the masses. It made such a change to not only be able to move around the room one with relative ease, but to also not having to squeeze but slide into our favourite spot, just shy of the D.J. booth & directly behind the podiums, which were already filled with ecstatic exhibitionists, strutting their stuff. We were happy to play second fiddle, finding our own stride and soaking up the atmosphere that felt more Colosseum than Area for a change, helped along by familiar faces as we spotted Steve Pitron, & posse and lots more from days gone by.

With The Oli handing over the D.J. reigns to Mikey D, we knew we were in something special and he did not disappoint, taking the music and the atmosphere in the main room to new heights, stringing together an awesome mix of huge funky, electro & progressive house tunes which had us furiously dancing. And when the podiums in front of us were cleared for the arrival of two sexy go-go dancers, followed by ticker tape explosions, eruptions of the laser lighting and plumes of smoke cannons, the main room became the place to be, with the numbers continuing to swell & savour yet another incredible performance by Mikey D, who seems to well and truly thrive in the Beyond environment. With track after track keeping us mesmerised and dancing deliriously, it was no surprise that our energy levels began to sap, but not before we saw out the go-go dancing performance and most of Mikey’s set (the boy did it again!!), before taking respite away from the this amazing action.

Walking back through the club, we headed for the Embankment bar, as the second room was now more like a chillout area with the planned appearance by Rob Sykes obviously shelved. However, we were still in for a real treat, as playing in this third space, was Swedish star D’Johnny, a firm favourite of ours, who has tirelessly worked across the London scene carving a real following and starring in many international clubs & parties, a true testament to his D.J’ing talent. His choice of huge hunky house was just perfect for this more relaxing and alfresco style part of the venue, the terrace swarming with those taking a break from the darker reaches of the main room and recuperating after a hard night of full on clubbing exploits. This space is unique to Beyond, truly connection indoors with outside, better than many other “terrace” options we have seen and for those looking to wind down their experience, socialising and dare we say it, chilling out to great music, a perfect retreat and with D’Johnny definitely hitting the spot what more could you ask for. Nevertheless, as much as we wanted to continue, our legs were telling us otherwise, so with the morning nearly over, we decided to call it a day, leaving a still packed main room & an even fuller Embankment bar & terrace, limping home to wear off our excesses.

Well, what did we think of our latest Beyond at Area visit? The one thing we can say is that it was our most comfortable visit yet. Normally the club is packed to the rafters, meaning no space to dance and to properly savour the atmosphere. On this occasion however, we had all the space we needed which meant we could enjoy the music to the max and with pulsating performances from the team of D.J’s but especially D’Johnny & Mikey D, who both supplied scintillating sets, we walked away pleasantly surprised. Then there was the crowd, this time round, far from the usual trashy Fire tainted freaks, but so much more full of afterhours purists of old, which made for an altogether more enjoyable experience, no GHB overdosers here, the only overdosing happening from the exciting entertainment, which was, for us, Beyond at it’s best. Sadly, we suspect that what we were privileged to witness was merely a rare opportunity of everything magical about this afterhours icon, although it is fair to say an outing we will savour for a long time to come. (DISCO MATT)

Gutterslut - "The House of Slut" - Club Review

GUTTERRSLUT “THE HOUSE OF SLUTS” – SATURDAY 25TH APRIL
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


It isn’t often that that we deviate from the norm and break out from our comfort zone of gAylist/land London’s bigger named clubs, but from time to time we feel both brave and then committed to reporting on events, clubs & ventures that cut new boundaries within this most cosmopolitan of capital cities. So, spurning other offers, we decided to not only deviate, but venture to relatively uncharted territory in the East End.

Gutterslut, since its launch well over a year ago now, has cut a real stride on the scene, attracting a truly eclectic mix of clubbers, who definitely know how to party and with a strong D.J. line up delivering sounds that have come to be quite unique, reflecting the real flavour of this diverse event experience, verging on the whacky & wild, it is not surprising that this monthly outing has not only survived the time it has, but has thrived and continues to grow in popularity.

So, having warmed up our evening with a trip to Rupert Street in Soho, it was a fair old trip across to Images in Hackney Road, but having been accurately and swiftly transported to our destination, arrived at Gutterslut’s doors at just after midnight. There was already a considerable queue developing outside the venue, not surprisingly so, as this “house of slut” party was billed to be a popular gathering and on the back of a successful Easter Sunday event. Being distinguished guests, we thought negotiation through the entrance would be straight forward and whilst initial glances down the list seemed to indicate otherwise, we were, without any real questioning, released through the doors and into Gutterslut.

Once inside, it was clear why there had been a wait outside as the main room space was brimming with party goers, strutting their stuff to the pumping, funking and tech infused house music, beating out from the speakers, but with the space full of elongated mirrors, the D.J. booth was pretty much shrouded and the inclusion of these shiny surfaces in the room served to make the space feel bigger that is actually was. We needed to deposit our belongings into the coatcheck, which, having been directed by a most friendly bar team member, was downstairs, we then turned and spotted non other than Per Q.X. behind the now visible D.J. booth from where we were standing. So, excited about savouring his energetic performance, we skipped below in a trice, ignoring the draw of the second room at the bottom of the stairs and dropped off our bits (our bag, please!!) as quickly as we could.

Back upstairs and clambering over the side of the stage to say hello to Per, we quickly then found a spot in the corner of the dancefloor right next to one of the speakers, not good for our ears we admit, but at least we had a great vantage point of the action across the room and the impending entertainment on stage around the infamous pole. This has become to be the centrepiece of many a performance by the likes of Johnny Woo and on this occasion the Dalston Mafia, renowned for their sexual & extravagant displays, somehow appropriate to the venue which has a reputation as a strip joint (ooh err missus!), but nevertheless sits comfortably with Gutterslut’s masses, who in reality wouldn’t blink an eye at a nude car salesman, if ever there was such a thing!

By now the room was full to brimming and, having sought refreshments at the bar, we eased into our space and began to savour the musical magic that Per Q.X. was laying down, a characteristic blend of funk, chunk, electro, tech-house but mostly dirty techno beats that was raising not just the temperature, the atmosphere, but the dancefloor activity across the main room. This was only going to be heightened by the arrival of those naughty Dalston Mafia lot, but we were also charmed by the arrival of MC Crystal, who cheered the crowd with her appearance, gathering herself and then blending some superb vocals into Per’s track choices, charmingly complimenting the sounds on offer, rather than some MC’s who seem to interrupt the flow.

Well into our stride and succumbing beautifully to the Gutterslut experience, we really didn’t want Per’s set to end, but that it did, although entering the fray was Elliot J Brown, yet another exponent of tough, dirty & diet techno to continue the rhythm of the party which he succeeded superbly in maintaining, not just the rhythm, but the whole vibe & feel of this increasingly energetic outing that was truly capturing our hearts, making us wonder why we had missed out on it so much since our visit last July. We then had to take a moments respite from the activity on the main floor, more than could be said for many who wanted to go on & on and indeed as did the sexy show which was continuing to spiral the stage (literally around the stripper pole!!), but we retired to the bar to refresh our slightly wilting body and congratulate the ever present Per Q.X. on his magnificent set. It is always a pleasure to connect with this hard working yet fun filled D.J. who in our eyes (and we suspect many more!) has developed a real trendsetting niche for himself, being able to transcend from the way out and wacky to the more conformist of clubs.

We wanted to investigate the downstairs space, so descended below to find just as much activity in a trimmer & tighter space, still full of mirrors to deceive the eye, but with slightly more mainstream music, we only lasted momentarily before returning to techno tantrums & hard house hedonism of the main floor. We were then spotted by our invitee, Nic Fischer, who appeared through the crowd and thanked us for our attendance before disappearing back into the masses to party like the best of them. However, by now it seemed our party legs were again calling for a break (it must be our age!) and resting at the bar once more, we spotted a couple of familiar scene faces who did their level best to tempt us back onto the dancefloor and then to the incumbent afterparty, but failed to attract us to either as we were happy just savouring Gutterslut at Images and not much more, before our considerable jaunt back across town towards home, not long before the closing time of 5 a.m. And jaunt we eventually did, leaving behind the wild & the whacky to party the night out in East End extremity.

So, what did we think of our second excursion to Gutterslut land? Well there is no doubt that this club is a break in tradition for us, but what a break it turned out to be. With a delectable choice and blend of tunes that had us dancing for hours, with a crowd, yes dressed differently and some verging on the weird, (you know the kind of mix you get on a day out to Camden market, but that’s just fine as we love Camden) but a truly friendly mix of people that had not an ounce of pretension in their bones, it was such a refreshing change to the norm. Yes the Images venue is a little on the bijou size and with more mirrors on the walls than mirrorballs on the ceiling, not to mention strip joint intentions, it actually works for this eclectic style of clubbing. Add to that the distinct East End feel (the venues guv'nor looks like a relic from the Kray Twin days) and you would have said we were far from home, well in distance yes but in enjoyability, actually not. So, for these and more reasons, if it is something different for the weekend you are in search of, we say, look no further than Gutterslut, it might be wild & whacky it there is no doubt it works. Well done Per, Elliot, Nic & the whole crew, keep up the great work. (DISCO MATT)

Easter 2009 In Retrospect - Special Review

THE WINNER(S) TAKE IT ALL!! - EASTER 2009 IN RETROSPECT
WEDNESDAY 16TH APRIL
SPECIAL REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN

With the longest Bank Holiday weekend of the year, generally comes a hive of activity in gAylist/land London as bars put on extra special parties, regular weekly clubs beef up their offerings and the “big guns” of the scene (you know, Matinee, Salvation, Trade etc..) try to steal all the limelight. You would expect to have more on offer than the average weekend, but never too much to be spoilt for choice (mind you we like being spoilt). So, was this year going to be any different? who were the winners? and at who’s expense?

Easter 2009 saw not only special bar parties, beefed up weekly clubs , the big guns laying on events to tempt the masses but we even saw the launch of new clubs amongst what was a massive swathe of choices. So what was on offer? and did the weekend fulfil expectations?, did Industri ignite?, was SuperMartXe a success?, did Salvation scintillate? was Beyond bountiful?, did Matinee marvel? and was Trade tremendous? Well, sit back, as we whisk you through one the busiest weekend’s we have seen for many years, for some, five days rolled into one big party, for others, making select choices to fit with their budget, and lots more sitting out most if not all of the action.

So where did the partying begin, well Thursday night ofcourse and with the prospect of Friday being a “non-school” day (that’s no work to you & me), there was no excuse not to let your hair down (well not for us anyway) With our fave club Industri extending the partying until 4 a.m., we also had a new club launch called “Hoof” to savour at the stunning Ghost venue, the brainchild of non other than Guy Williams. Add to this Lo-Profile laying on an extra special night, titled “Deceit” with Kathy Brown performing together with the D.J. combo of Alessandro & Jamie Head, not to mention Ku-Bar, Kudos, Shadow Lounge & Village all breaking out Easter offerings, the choices were aplenty. But it was Industri that took the plaudits, drawing a huge crowd of soiree-ing socialites, meaning that both rooms were open and partying went on well into the wee hours of Friday morning. Messer’s Nicholls & Heron delighted with their musical mastery & the majestic Minty hosted the whole evening in her inimitable style, which helped to cement Barcode Vauxhall as the choice of many.

In days of old, Good Friday tended to be a quiet affair and a chance to rest easy with much of the country coming to a halt, but not for us party heads, with yet another new club night, Gladiator in Waterloo serving up house tunes both new & old, Lo-Profile doing it all again, this time the night named “Fallen” (it’s something about religion apparently), with big hitters Gonzalo & Nik Evans spinning the tunes and players like A.M. & Tonker doing it for Vauxhallites. However, the focus was once again on Barcode, Matinee dominating the night’s proceedings south of the river with the first of three pre-parties across London’s bars, offering free goody giveaway’s, discounted entry tickets to the “ménage a trios” events, but moreover providing superb eye candy with Latino lovelies wafting around. There was certainly a party atmosphere & fun was had by all, most taking a clubbing respite before the major events ahead.

Saturday saw the Easter weekend well under way and rather than being just “super” Saturday, it looked like being sensational Saturday, with plenty of gAylist offerings to tempt and attract, even with history reflecting that this night on a Bank Holiday weekend generally proves to be the weakest link. Love Muscle had a special “Denim & Dicks Easter parade” party, there was the first in the weekend ménage a trois threesome, Circuit at Colosseum, the pre-party in London for the Barcelona August festival and Lo-Profile continuing its own threesome with Brent Nicholls & D’Johnny the centre pieces of the clubs “Resurrection” event. But with was SuperMartXe’s “Silicon Babies” that won the hearts of most, being the biggest draw of the night and with the likes of Steve Pitron & Juanjo Martin on the decks, the added draw of Italian Stallion D.J. Pagano as well as the much publicised previous coatcheck problems ironed out, it was certainly the winner in the clash of the Saturday titans.

Easter Sunday dawned with Beyond swinging open its doors and was bound to be busy with many not wanting to stop, but it always has the danger of getting just that little too busy for enjoyment & this time seemed to be no exception. But the big guns were all out to play later in the day, Salvation at a new venue in Limehouse, Troxy, Trade locking horns with Fire’s Orange and Matinee pulling out all the stops with its La Leche party at Koko in Camden. Reports in on Salvation were promising, with a healthy attendance, the Trade & Orange combo was irresistible for many, albeit that the crowd was a-typical Fire and Matinee put on the most spectacular show we have ever seen in a London club. But there were other parties on too, Fusion making a welcome return to XXL, Gutterslut holding an “Easter Bunny Mini Rave” and another new club launch, “Loaded” at Area in Vauxhall, all that on top of the bars making the proverbial “hay”, Rupert Street topping the bill with the La Leche pre party. With so much on offer and only so many to go around, there were inevitable casualties, but Salvation & Trade were clear successes, as was Matinee, which proved our real highlight, in what for us was a sparser than planned weekend of activity.

But the weekend was still not over for others and it was down to two to see through the remaining holiday day, Trade vs Orange and new afterhours club “bpm” which was the third element of the ménage a trois spectacular. With the combination of Cologne’s massive underground club phenomenon Greenkomm and London’s Hook’d joining forces with the most glittering list of gAylist D.J’s, including Guy Williams, Brent Nicholls, Paul Heron, Pier Morrocco, Lisa German & Mickey Galliano (and that was just the main room), expectations were very high, but then you know what they say about expectations! So with Trade crushing the competition, even though, despite all the hype, late reports in were that only the main room was busy to ramming and the crowd was a tad trashy. But, with the party running through well into Monday afternoon, it was obviously a popular pick, rounding off a most hectic weekend.

Well, with so much choice it would have been a miracle if all the clubs had reported brisk business and with words like credit crunch, economic downturn, & recession ruling the headlines, even the usually buoyant pink pound market was bound to take a beating. Add to that an exhaustive choice of events & parties and there had to be casualties. But, to answer some of our earlier questions, yes Industri did ignite, SuperMartXe was a success, Salvation did scintillate, Beyond was bountiful, Matinee did marvel and Trade was tremendous, but at what expense?

Did too much choice mean that clubs that would normally be packed, were far from full, some even verging on empty and did the domination of a few, strangle-holding many, detract from the variety on offer? The answer is possibly yes and for some a costly decision to run with ventures, new clubs Gladiator, Loaded & bpm reporting average to disappointing turnouts, even Love Muscle & Circuit’s numbers were not good, Barcode on Friday not as packed as usual, Fusion emptying out quite early and with only the niche clubs avoiding being swallowed up in the “big guns” showdown.

So in retrospect, Easter 2009 looks likely to be remembered more for lots of losers rather than winners. Yes SuperMartXe romped home, yes Trade pulled in the crowds, and as “winners” they probably did take it all!! But is this really the what we want to be the face of clubbing these days, domination killing off the competition & leading to little or no choice at all and in an ever changing club scene, is this what we are sinking towards? We hope not, as London’s gAylist scene has always been about variety, about choice, about quality, so let’s herald that this continues. (DISCO MATT)

Matinee La Leche - Club Review

MATINEE LA LECHE – EASTER SUNDAY 12th APRIL
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


It has been many an Easter weekend since we have seen & been consumed with so much activity in gAylist/land London, with all the big guns laying on parties to celebrate the lengthiest bank holiday break of the year and what a long list of clubbing opportunities there were (well you only had to look at our recommendations to realise), but amidst the wide choice, one name and party really stood out, being the filling in the ménage a trois trio of events, yes it was Matinee and not just Matinee but the infamous Ibiza party La Leche (that’s milk in plain old English!) which took London by storm a year ago.

So we were definitely not going to miss this one (or so we thought!) even with the hectic schedule of up to 11 club events across what was, for us, a five day weekend and five events on Sunday, requiring immense skill and energy to fit in. However, best plans are occasionally laid to waste, but please not at Easter & our first work free one this decade, although an unsuspected bout of illness sidelined us on the Saturday and had every chance of blowing out the rest of the weekend. However, with much encouragement from those close to us, especially from pal Robb who just wasn’t going to let us miss Matinee, we rallied around & pulled ourselves together as best as possible to make the trip up to Camden and the La Leche party, after all, we had lined up a whiter than white outfit, so it would have been rude not to!!

Gingerly arriving at the doors of the magnificent Koko Club, the host venue for this years London La Leche event, at just before 10 p.m., we were warmly greeted by the effervescent Minty, dressed resplendently in a huge white fur coat (blow the activists!!) looking as cool as a cucumber (actually stunning) and just the hostess with the mostest as she always is. Praising us for making it, despite our now widely acknowledged misfortune, it was great to see a friendly face as she waved us through and into the venue. And what an incredible place Koko is, just the sort of inspiring setting to host the most flamboyant of Matinee parties, also having been the venue of choice for other superb events, Rapido being a highlight, so a marvellous choice by the Evolved Events team. If it took our breath away at our last visit, it did more than that this, as we entered at mezzanine level and gazed across the breathtaking expanse. You could see that in its heyday this was the most spectacular of theatres, and with little changed, apart from the seating taken away, to be replaced by bars & spaces to socialise, the huge ground floor space made for the most fantastic dance space. And with a massive spinning glitterball together with sweeping white drapes adorning the venue, not to mention the visuals dotted around, you knew you were at a Matinee party.

As the crowds began to arrive and spill onto the three tiers of balcony’s, most seemingly making the effort to dress in white (well we had, despite our condition), as we were not quite feeling ourselves (stop it!!) we decided on a quieter retreat downstairs, so found a spot at the back of the dancefloor and pondered on an Easter weekend missed. But what a place to ponder, as who was in charge of the decks, but none other than Pier Morrocco, who set about delivering one of the most amazing sets we have heard in a long time. His choice of tracks couldn’t have been more perfect and truly emulated the Matinee style, just the warm up to tempt people into this fabulous space. And tempt he did, as with record after record pounding out highlighted with tunes of the moment, even if the crowd on the dancefloor itself was a little sparse, it was certainly captivating those present, us included. So, as we sat & pondered more, the crowd slowly built and we began to spot familiar faces wandering down, not least our fierce partner in crime, Lexi, who looked in true party mood, here with his posse of DTPM regulars. Had we been on full fettle we would have immediately “got down” (you had to be there!) with him, but we could hardly move from our inherited seat as much as we wanted to rip up the dancefloor to the mystical musical Mr Mororrco.

With thoughts of savouring the atmosphere from one of the balcony’s, we went wandering and bumped into more faces, Lee Yeomans, JC, as well as our knight in shining armour, Robb, who had cajoled and coaxed us into making it to La Leche. He had pulled out all the stops with his outfit and looked wonderful (jealous? of course we were!). It was good to see him, but being the man of the moment, he was soon torn away to duties, leaving us to ascend the full height of the cavernous Koko, where we fell upon Industri pals Chris & Terry, who had the most angelic birds eye view of proceedings and were happy to rest here for a while, but no rest for the wicked, as the stage lights suddenly focussed our attention as the show we had all been waiting for was about to begin.

By now the crowd was huge and only a smattering of non white garbed (no racialist comments intended!) folk around, all assembling on the ground floor space to watch in marvel the spectacular show that was to come, with dancer after dancer assembling on the stage, all dressed impeccably & in white of course, a truly metrosexual bevy of beauties, plenty of muscle, plenty of glamour & plenty of eye candy, as the music pace changed to compliment the dancers moves, orchestrated in sound by Matinee superstar resident G Martin but orchestrated in choreography and dressed by the talented & brilliant dream team of Mark M Form & Nik Ripley of Fierce International, the most professional of dance companies we have come across. There must have been up to forty performers on stage, all individually dressed & looking impeccable, all moving in motion, but creating their own statement. You could see that that crowd were mesmerised, as were we and it is fair to say we have never seen a better show in London, ever!!, as the display went on and on but never boringly so, more excitingly so, even with the diva in the front throwing a tantrum, resulting in the dipping of some of the lighting (well they are artists afterall!!).

The atmosphere by now was electric and the crowd intent on really succumbing to the whole La Leche experience that is magical Matinee, and why not, it was Easter and no need to get up for work the following day. We really wanted to succumb too, but our body just wasn’t playing ball and when we bumped into Brent Nicholls, who, in a clear moment of caring, asked about our well being and finding us far from full fettle spoke the words of wisdom (we hate it when he does that!!) and told us what we really didn’t want to hear, but was the sensible choice, rest, relaxation & recuperation required. He was right ofcourse, so it wasn’t too much longer before mind over body or was it body over mind (oh its confusing being ill) saw us slumping home to sleep off whatever was besieging us, leaving a massive Matinee Easter party to remember. And with the continuing shows by the Fierce crew, the mesmeric music played out by G Martin then scene fave Paul Heron, spellbinding lighting displays masterminded by the brilliant Bubbles & all in the awesome venue that is Koko in Camden, what more could you want?

So, what of the main event of the ménage a trois weekend, Matinee La Leche. Well, it certainly lived up to being just that and we were impressed from start to finish, impressed by the venue which was breathtaking, impressed by Pier Morrocco’s set which was phenomenal, impressed by the crowd who had made such an effort to appear in white, impressed by the lighting, visuals & décor which for such a huge venue was fabulous, but we were well and truly in awe of the stage show. Words cannot describe how good it was, well actually they can so forgive our superlatives rendition but it was amazing, brilliant, epic, impressive, magnificent, powerful, scintillating & wonderful, a dancing delight of a display that we will remember for a long time. Hats off to Mark, Nik & the whole Fierce International crew for making La Leche live in our minds. Evolved events can be proud for having this team on board and for putting on yet another marvellous Matinee party. (DISCO MATT)

Industri - Club Review

INDUSTRI AT EASTER – THURSDAY 9TH APRIL
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


With the prospect of five days of fun filled action you would have thought we would start things off slowly, but then your talking about us and since when have we done that?! Nevertheless with mega clubs to cover like Beyond, Matinee, Salvation & SuperMartXe, not to mention others like Circuit, Love Muscle, & newbie’s bpm, Hoof & Loaded (now how many is that,..1..2..3..), we certainly had our work cut out this Easter weekend. So you would have forgiven us for resting a little easy before the onslaught, but it was a Thursday and our weekend onslaught always starts on a Thursday, and you know where?!?

So what is the answer to where? yes of course it was, THE social soiree of gAylist London, Industri at Barcode Vauxhall, which has carved a real niche for itself since launching over a year ago (who can forget the first birthday bash) and a club that has made a huge impact on our lives, probably more than any other (& there are biggie’s out there..Crash, Trade!!). Normally falling on a school day, we tend show restraint, not over-doing it (shush Stephen, don’t tell), but with the following day being Good Friday rather than hangover (oops secret out) Friday, it was time to let our Industri hair down and really go for it. And with the extended opening hours of 9 p.m. till
4 a.m. coupled with the likelihood that many others, like us, would want to kick start their weekend off in style, it looked like being a busy one and the place to be.

Now, having missed out on our very first Industri just a week ago (don’t ask), text messages were flying in and even a phone call with the hostess nay goddess Minty ensued, to make sure that we were going to (in our words) be there! Well, that was in little doubt and arriving at just after 9 p.m., we found Barcode Vauxhall already filing quite nicely as we walked down towards the end of the bar, noticing her majesty Minty in her usual spot, holding court with a small crowd of scene faces. With no rest for the wicked, we said our hello’s and then immediately went to work on our laptop, finding a convenient space away from the risk of water spillages, to finish off important posts and social networking duties before concentrating on the real job in hand, having a good time.

The music was already pumping out across Barcode’s front room, courtesy of one half of the b2b (that’s back-to-back for the uninitiated) duo, Brent Nicholls, with the other half, Paul Heron in close attendance and about to take over for the first of many stints across the night. We bounded up to say greet them and remark on some of the past week’s happenings, although the duo were deeply interlocked in conversation, so we left them to their devices, returning to Minty and her building crowd of buddies, keeping one ear on the chat and the other on the music, which with Messrs Nicholls & Heron in charge was engaging to say the least. You can certainly expect funky, chunky, electro tainted, Latino twisted & dirty disco dipped tunes of superb quality here, the boys also using Industri as a test bed for new tracks & offerings they have discovered, which makes it a perfect place to get a preview of what’s about to be hot on the dancefloor.

With an eye on the clock, as we were due at the launch of a new club, Hoof, at around 10 p.m., we kind of knew it would be a struggle to tear ourselves away and as familiar faces continued to roll in, and then major Industri pals, Chris, Jeremy, Ian, Terry, David, Sofie, Matt…the list goes on (well it’s that sort of club) also arriving, we were already now running late for our romp over to Farringdon, but with our foot firmly down and asking the guys to hold the proverbial fort, we headed across town, leaving our favourite club for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only a couple of hours. In that time, how the place had metamorphosised, as upon our return, not only was the front room packed to the rafters, but the back room was open too, with loads more milling around in-between, many of whom already looked worse for wear (mind you, we couldn’t talk either!).

The question now was, which room were we going to lay our hat, (eenie, meeni..) well rest it momentarily at least, although with the majority of our posse in the club space and Brent Nicholls in charge of the decks, it wasn’t a difficult choice to make and slipping into the festivities with consummate ease, we were well and truly back in the Industri thick of it. With the amazing laser lighting at full tilt, smoke billowing out across the dancefloor, which was full to brimming, it actually felt more like a Friday or Saturday night at BCV, not our favourite social soiree, but hey that is the magic of a Bank Holiday weekend (oh let it be a Bank Holiday weekend every week!!).

With the night still relatively young and most of our friends still intact (well to a fashion!), we lapped up the amazing atmosphere & the magnificent music Brent was delivering and when he played our fave of the moment (track 4!!!), our dancing groove hit overdrive, sending us into a dizzy delirium of happiness that ended up lasting all night, well as long as our sozzled memory would allow anyway. Brent was now well into his stride, seemingly right at home presiding over the club space and selecting one track after the other to truly delight us and the crowd around us, not holding back in any way. Minty was still holding court and with Paul Heron heading to the club room to re-assume his b2b routine with Brent, the evening was set to continue to go with a bang, without so much as a crash or a wallop. Stephen was still in close attendance, which was good as his presence meant that we managed to avoid the temptations of the podiums where we had come a cropper in big style jut a couple of Saturday’s before with our Fierce Intl pal Nik, rather simply bopping away, mid space, to the melodic delights of the dynamic duo in control of the D.J. decks.

We really didn’t want the night to end at all and with the arrival (well appearance anyway) of our South African friend Jacques, things could only get better. Camera’s began to click around us making it feel like photo time as Stephen aimed shot and fired us in digital mastery, quite how he could keep the camera steady we don’t know, but he did and we have the evidence to prove it!!. As much as we were having so much fun with all (well nearly all) of our bestest buddy’s around us, the inevitable was bound to happen and with our minds wandering to thoughts of the massive weekend undertakings ahead, we made our leave of Barcode Vauxhall, taking the short if but hazy filled trip home to sleep and recapture some of the magical moments of Industri at its superlative best.

Now, you could possibly, probably put the phenomenal success of Industri at Easter down to just that, Easter, as many would have had the luxury of not getting up in the morning. Well Easter or not, the party goers came, which can be more than said for some other events over this long Bank Holiday and with one of the best D.J combos around, both performing magnificently, with Minty at the helm holding proceedings together brilliantly and the social soiree theme of this club night gushing through the whole night, it deserved to be busy and we couldn’t have asked for more to get our weekend off to a fabulous start. Industri is for ingenuity, Industri is for incredibleness and Industri is, well, for Industri, rock on and keep it coming. (DISCO MATT)

Hoof - Club Review

“HOOF” AT GHOST – EASTER THURSDAY 9TH APRIL
REVIEW FOR DISCO MATT & HOOF WEBSITES



With every new month turning, sometimes every new week reaching, there seems to come new clubbing ventures, some that make a real impact and last the distance, others that just end up being a storm in a tea-cup, but you know what they say about everything being the same, so it would be boring if all clubs fortunes were predictable wouldn’t it? Nevertheless, it is always pleasing to see new clubs come along, this one being no exception and with a lengthy anticipation filled build up, we had great expectations of a party with a difference.

Hoof (what a fabulous name!), the brainchild of two major tore de forces in their respective circles, Guy Williams for the boys & Kath Harding for the girls, both accomplished exponents of deep, nu & tech infused house music, both spearheading the modern era of clubbing, the modern way of thinking and realising that metrosexuality in the modern world works. But not only that, with Guy pioneering a new style of music, “Future Disco” and Kath renowned for her Tech & Warm Techno, they seem like a match made in heaven, so their fusion through this new venture was therefore a natural choice.

So, with music being the signature tune of this new club and our life revolving around music, we simply couldn’t miss the launch of Hoof, even with our fave Thursday outing, Industri, pulling on the heart strings, not to mention a virtually irresistible invite to Lo-Profile in Soho. However, Farringdon was set firmly in our sights as we found our way the club Ghost, the host venue for this newbie on the scene, arriving just before 11 p.m., not too long after the club had opened and uncharacteristically virtually on time, unlike recent escapades. With a steady stream of clubbers joining us at the entrance, we were greeted by friendly, if but ultra efficient & confident door staff, who made particular remarks about our casual footwear (apparently they have standards – must remember that for next time), but overlooked our error as we were distinguished & invited guests (think they had been warned we were doing a review).

In through the entrance, we were pointed towards the coatcheck to drop off our unwanted extra’s on board, then entering the main room and being immediately taken aback by the stunning setting & décor to match, the seductive lighting shrouding expansive seating areas around the sides of the space, a well chiselled dance floor with defined borders and an impressively stocked & manned bar area at the end of one of the most sumptuous venues we have seen in a long time. Arming ourselves with refreshments, we rested at the bar momentarily, soaking up the venue space & finding our bearings, as the crowd, a true mixture of Guy’s boys & Kath’s girls were assembling, for what already looked like a successful launch night ahead for Hoof.

Spotting the familiar figure of Guy Williams, we moved across to the D.J. booth where he was lining up to take over from Kath Harding, who was pumping out a superb collection of nu and tech house tunes to get the party warmed up in style. Being a fellow South African (well with major ties & where we call home) and not having met before, we were keen to say hello and catch up with her, but still concentrating on her set, we let her get on, deciding rather to chat with Guy, remarking firstly on the venue, which we both agreed was awesome and indeed would make the ideal setting for many a gAylist outing. It was clear from the look on his face, that Guy was well & truly thrilled to be at the centre of this new clubbing night and to see an appreciative metrosexual mix of ardent music lovers, eclectically dressed party hedonists & familiar scene faces assembling to savour the delights on offer.

Returning back to the bar, we bumped into pal Ramon, whom we had not seen since Trade at Christmas, so it was good to see him, together with a pose of his friends whom we had met at his birthday bash back in November. Then more people arrived including Tamsin Roberts who had so kindly given us directions to Ghost earlier in the day, we also getting an opportunity to have a proper chat with co-promoter of Hoof, Kath Harding, who having handed over the D.J. reigns to Guy, was now free to chat. In the meantime, Mr Williams was setting about to lay down his trade mark tough tech house combo of tracks to tempt people onto the dancefloor, although it seemed that, like us, many were still catching up with friends and discussing the prospect of a busy weekend ahead, before concentrating on the goal, moving and grooving to top draw deep, tech, nu & future house in the hands of a superb D.J. line up, which included Lottie & Tom Neville.

Regrettably, with an already hectic evening still on our plates and more to fit in, our time at Hoof was up much quicker than we would have liked. We really wanted to stay the distance & see both Tom & Lottie in action, but sadly with no resting for the wicked, we had to say a fond farewell to what was most definitely a musically inspired club launch of a night we had been to all year, heading instead for exploits both in Soho and back at our regular Thursday social in Vauxhall, leaving behind a pumping & pulsating party which ran well into the early hours of Friday.

So, what was our verdict on Hoof? Well, firstly, the choice of venue was well & truly inspired and it certainly lived up to all the hype that had been built up. Ghost, new or not, is an absolutely amazing venue, the most brilliant setting to host the kind of musically driven yet sociable club that is clearly Hoof, definitely pandering to those clubbers that like to mingle & chat, with plenty of areas to sit back and relax, yet having the space to accommodate the dancing that is at the core of this event. Then to the music, which was a fabulous mix of the tougher side of house, very modernistic in its approach and very much evoking the aims of the co-promoters Guy & Kath, far removed from the average and mundane musically machinations on offer around the scene. And as for the crowd, well not the true gAylist lot we normally rub shoulders with, but that said, a refreshingly different bunch who know what they were looking for & definitely found it in Hoof.

In these difficult economic times, it is a very brave decision to create a new venture, but Hoof, given all of its qualities, certainly deserves to succeed. In the experienced hands of Guy Williams and Kath Harding we are sure it has longevity as their plans moving forward are very measured & calculative, the aim being to go
bi-monthly from 12th June and to really bring back the fun to clubbing, which some of the big boys in the scene should take note of, rather than focussing on competition & success. So, we salute this magical musical mash up and in the inimitable words of the promoters, if Hoof be the music food of love, then trot on!! We will certainly be trotting back to Ghost for the next instalment. (DISCO MATT)