SUPERMARTXE COMMANDO – SATURDAY 4TH JULY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With Ibiza’s season well under way and a real feel of summer in recent weeks, all eyes were concentrated not just on what the capital was going to deliver for it’s Pride festival, but what would the clubbing big guns have to contribute to this special day in the calendar. However, with Madrid seemingly grabbing most of the “hotties”, would the big brands be able to draw a captive audience and succeed in what has become a tough old time in gAylist/land London. Given all of this, it was no surprise that not everyone was showing their cards this weekend, some saving energies for later in the month, but for others the temptation to get involved & maybe steal the limelight was too much to turn away from.
SuperMartXe was one such club event, which, in previous outings has proven a massive draw, making a real impact with their Easter special party, Silicon Babies and then following it up with another spectacular showing on the second Bank Holiday in May, Peep Show, which continued the trend set by events before. So there was much expectation of Commando but in typical style, with the marketing machinery in full swing & plenty of build up, there was no surprise that it became THE talk of the town in the weeks & days before. So was Commando going to live up to it all? And was it going to be memorable for all the right reasons?
With it all kicking off for us with a pre-party at Rupert Street on the Friday night, our expectations were high, but the night itself fell far short of the mark, with a distinct lack of the ingredients we expect from a warm up outing. Yes the venue was decorated superbly, just the ticket in fact, but with the lack of the inclusion of sexy dancers (a sure fire inclusion you would have thought), with only a mere handful of SuperMartXe give-aways & the lack of a real feel of pre-clubbing magic. Mind you, at least D’Johnny made up for our disappointment, not only making us feel quite special in taking time to chat & catch up with us, but then played out some superb sounds that was a real highlight in an otherwise lacklustre evening.
So, we were determined that the main event wasn’t going to be so, indeed we pulled out our own stops, dressing up in camo gear to get us pumped up for the action, arriving at the Coronet as soon after midnight that we could, given our previous commitments. With ticket in hand and no queue to negotiate (well not much anyway), we were through the efficient and friendly security checks swiftly and with just the bizarre hiccup of being corrected for asking for the coatcheck (apparently we should have said cloakroom!!...what?!?!), we headed through the outside smoking area, dropped off our bits and bobs & headed straight into the main room, which was packed out with party goers that had clearly decided arriving early was the way to do it.
Shimmying ourselves around passed the bar area, pausing momentarily to grab some refreshments, ignoring a strange & pungent smell, we headed down towards a rammed dancefloor, bumping into promoter Logan Schmitz, who clearly had his hands full but paused momentarily to say hello us before heading off back stage in probable preparation for the show to come. With energetic espaniol & euro house tunes ringing out, we glanced up to the D.J. booth to see Steve Pitron holding court, revelling in the massive theatre style setting, so different to his more regular exploits at Fire & Beyond, serving up some special sounds to put some spice into proceedings. There were plenty of familiar faces around, including Lee Yeomans who was in birthday celebration mode, partner Max Sanna soaking up the atmosphere, JC in attendance, Chris Geary circling the crowd, camera in hand, and a plethora of Barcode & Rupert St bar boys out after a long Pride day in Soho, as well as more than a smattering of sexy Latino’s, bronzed muscle hunks & gorgeous gals, making for a stylish crowd indeed.
With Steve’s set over and the man himself greeting us as he disappeared into the crowd to party away, Hugo Sanchez took over the musical mastery, stepping up the pace and laying down some terrific tunes that got us dancing in an instant, retiring to our favoured spot of the club midway up the right hand aisle, where we could get a brilliant view, not jut of one of the best looking & sexiest D.J’s we have seen in a long time, but of the stage & show that was about ready to erupt before our eyes. With a sudden change in the music, the massive curtains were drawn back, revealing an incredibly dressed stage, in every way the “Commando” themed style, a huge artificial yet authentic looking tank dominating the space, with sexy go-go’s and dancers on elevated podiums, dressed appropriately and making a statement, all topped with the arrival of P.A. extraordinaire, Therese, who made her characteristically impressive impact on proceedings.
With the first of a succession of shows & appearances over, but with this strange smell still wafting around the club, we got a little self conscious & decided to de-robe our camo gear and then retired to the smoking terrace for a while, bumping into pals Vlad, Brad, and Nick’s man Tom, who were also grabbing some fresh air. Then, after a strange encounter and comment from Steven Geller, we headed back into the main room, back to our dancing spot to sink into the remainder of Hugo Sanchez’s sensational set, pausing only briefly to say hello’s to Pagano who was arriving to take over for the final session & Jamie Head who was making for the extended Beyond party to fulfil his duties. But it was Mr Sanchez and his music we were concentrating on, the shows in some ways being eclipsed by his phenomenal performance, but the combination of D.J. eye candy & splendid sights on stage were a definite statement.
With all the usual SuperMartXe sparkle, CO2 cannons, ticker tape explosions, pyrotechnic & lighting, not to mention the appearance of the now famed massive beach ball, the team were pulling out all the stops to ensure a good time was had by all and with Pagano injecting his own special blend of progressive hard house heaven to proceedings, the main floor remained packed right through the rest of our stay, even if there were some serious spaces up by the bar, which, in past parties has always stayed packed. Was it the fact that many had partied themselves out and couldn’t stay the distance? Were people enticed away to the beckon of Beyond? Or was it possibly the strange smell which seemed to linger more in this area. Whatever it was, we continued to dance away in our spot, before finally calling time on proceedings, to take a brief break & respite before the mother of all parties round the corner at Ministry of Sound.
So, what was our verdict on SuperMartXe Commando? Well, there was no doubt that the build up and expectation was as great if not greater than previous events and there is no denying the fact that Logan & his team worked extremely hard, not just on promoting the event, but creating a stunning stage and providing one of the strongest D.J. line up’s we have seen yet. With the numbers present when we arrived, it was clear that it was an incredibly popular choice, but then with the headcount dwindling earlier than usual, the question or questions as to why this happened still remain. For us, it certainly wasn’t the music, as we thought both Steve Pitron & Pagano produced solid performances and then we come to Hugo Sanchez, who we thought was simply sensational, going so far as to say he is the best Spanish resident D.J. import we have seen in London yet, not just at SuperMartXe, but other events including Matinee.
But, we cannot escape the fact that the strange smell pervading around the club was an overriding off-put, scores of people confirming our view in discussions since the event. What the promoters could have done we don’t know and it is clearly a problem that the venue’s owners should have and need to address. In these tough times for the scene, gAylist or not, people are looking for perfection and if not that then definitely value for money with an experience to match. SuperMartXe has certainly delivered this in the past and in lots of ways did it again, but clubbers can be very fickle and what would be considered as a trivial problem could in fact affect a clubs future popularity and there was definitely a problem on everybody’s lips this time. However, we have to say that, venue issues aside, Commando was a good party, maybe not a great party, but made special by one person who proved one big highlight not just of the event but of our Pride weekend. So, big thanks go to Mr Sanchez. (DISCO MATT)
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
With Ibiza’s season well under way and a real feel of summer in recent weeks, all eyes were concentrated not just on what the capital was going to deliver for it’s Pride festival, but what would the clubbing big guns have to contribute to this special day in the calendar. However, with Madrid seemingly grabbing most of the “hotties”, would the big brands be able to draw a captive audience and succeed in what has become a tough old time in gAylist/land London. Given all of this, it was no surprise that not everyone was showing their cards this weekend, some saving energies for later in the month, but for others the temptation to get involved & maybe steal the limelight was too much to turn away from.
SuperMartXe was one such club event, which, in previous outings has proven a massive draw, making a real impact with their Easter special party, Silicon Babies and then following it up with another spectacular showing on the second Bank Holiday in May, Peep Show, which continued the trend set by events before. So there was much expectation of Commando but in typical style, with the marketing machinery in full swing & plenty of build up, there was no surprise that it became THE talk of the town in the weeks & days before. So was Commando going to live up to it all? And was it going to be memorable for all the right reasons?
With it all kicking off for us with a pre-party at Rupert Street on the Friday night, our expectations were high, but the night itself fell far short of the mark, with a distinct lack of the ingredients we expect from a warm up outing. Yes the venue was decorated superbly, just the ticket in fact, but with the lack of the inclusion of sexy dancers (a sure fire inclusion you would have thought), with only a mere handful of SuperMartXe give-aways & the lack of a real feel of pre-clubbing magic. Mind you, at least D’Johnny made up for our disappointment, not only making us feel quite special in taking time to chat & catch up with us, but then played out some superb sounds that was a real highlight in an otherwise lacklustre evening.
So, we were determined that the main event wasn’t going to be so, indeed we pulled out our own stops, dressing up in camo gear to get us pumped up for the action, arriving at the Coronet as soon after midnight that we could, given our previous commitments. With ticket in hand and no queue to negotiate (well not much anyway), we were through the efficient and friendly security checks swiftly and with just the bizarre hiccup of being corrected for asking for the coatcheck (apparently we should have said cloakroom!!...what?!?!), we headed through the outside smoking area, dropped off our bits and bobs & headed straight into the main room, which was packed out with party goers that had clearly decided arriving early was the way to do it.
Shimmying ourselves around passed the bar area, pausing momentarily to grab some refreshments, ignoring a strange & pungent smell, we headed down towards a rammed dancefloor, bumping into promoter Logan Schmitz, who clearly had his hands full but paused momentarily to say hello us before heading off back stage in probable preparation for the show to come. With energetic espaniol & euro house tunes ringing out, we glanced up to the D.J. booth to see Steve Pitron holding court, revelling in the massive theatre style setting, so different to his more regular exploits at Fire & Beyond, serving up some special sounds to put some spice into proceedings. There were plenty of familiar faces around, including Lee Yeomans who was in birthday celebration mode, partner Max Sanna soaking up the atmosphere, JC in attendance, Chris Geary circling the crowd, camera in hand, and a plethora of Barcode & Rupert St bar boys out after a long Pride day in Soho, as well as more than a smattering of sexy Latino’s, bronzed muscle hunks & gorgeous gals, making for a stylish crowd indeed.
With Steve’s set over and the man himself greeting us as he disappeared into the crowd to party away, Hugo Sanchez took over the musical mastery, stepping up the pace and laying down some terrific tunes that got us dancing in an instant, retiring to our favoured spot of the club midway up the right hand aisle, where we could get a brilliant view, not jut of one of the best looking & sexiest D.J’s we have seen in a long time, but of the stage & show that was about ready to erupt before our eyes. With a sudden change in the music, the massive curtains were drawn back, revealing an incredibly dressed stage, in every way the “Commando” themed style, a huge artificial yet authentic looking tank dominating the space, with sexy go-go’s and dancers on elevated podiums, dressed appropriately and making a statement, all topped with the arrival of P.A. extraordinaire, Therese, who made her characteristically impressive impact on proceedings.
With the first of a succession of shows & appearances over, but with this strange smell still wafting around the club, we got a little self conscious & decided to de-robe our camo gear and then retired to the smoking terrace for a while, bumping into pals Vlad, Brad, and Nick’s man Tom, who were also grabbing some fresh air. Then, after a strange encounter and comment from Steven Geller, we headed back into the main room, back to our dancing spot to sink into the remainder of Hugo Sanchez’s sensational set, pausing only briefly to say hello’s to Pagano who was arriving to take over for the final session & Jamie Head who was making for the extended Beyond party to fulfil his duties. But it was Mr Sanchez and his music we were concentrating on, the shows in some ways being eclipsed by his phenomenal performance, but the combination of D.J. eye candy & splendid sights on stage were a definite statement.
With all the usual SuperMartXe sparkle, CO2 cannons, ticker tape explosions, pyrotechnic & lighting, not to mention the appearance of the now famed massive beach ball, the team were pulling out all the stops to ensure a good time was had by all and with Pagano injecting his own special blend of progressive hard house heaven to proceedings, the main floor remained packed right through the rest of our stay, even if there were some serious spaces up by the bar, which, in past parties has always stayed packed. Was it the fact that many had partied themselves out and couldn’t stay the distance? Were people enticed away to the beckon of Beyond? Or was it possibly the strange smell which seemed to linger more in this area. Whatever it was, we continued to dance away in our spot, before finally calling time on proceedings, to take a brief break & respite before the mother of all parties round the corner at Ministry of Sound.
So, what was our verdict on SuperMartXe Commando? Well, there was no doubt that the build up and expectation was as great if not greater than previous events and there is no denying the fact that Logan & his team worked extremely hard, not just on promoting the event, but creating a stunning stage and providing one of the strongest D.J. line up’s we have seen yet. With the numbers present when we arrived, it was clear that it was an incredibly popular choice, but then with the headcount dwindling earlier than usual, the question or questions as to why this happened still remain. For us, it certainly wasn’t the music, as we thought both Steve Pitron & Pagano produced solid performances and then we come to Hugo Sanchez, who we thought was simply sensational, going so far as to say he is the best Spanish resident D.J. import we have seen in London yet, not just at SuperMartXe, but other events including Matinee.
But, we cannot escape the fact that the strange smell pervading around the club was an overriding off-put, scores of people confirming our view in discussions since the event. What the promoters could have done we don’t know and it is clearly a problem that the venue’s owners should have and need to address. In these tough times for the scene, gAylist or not, people are looking for perfection and if not that then definitely value for money with an experience to match. SuperMartXe has certainly delivered this in the past and in lots of ways did it again, but clubbers can be very fickle and what would be considered as a trivial problem could in fact affect a clubs future popularity and there was definitely a problem on everybody’s lips this time. However, we have to say that, venue issues aside, Commando was a good party, maybe not a great party, but made special by one person who proved one big highlight not just of the event but of our Pride weekend. So, big thanks go to Mr Sanchez. (DISCO MATT)
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