Pervert Gold - Club Review

PERVERT GOLD – SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


With the Latin influence in gAylist clubbing in London being very much Spanish, “Matinee” & “SuperMartXe” making the biggest splashes, it is refreshing to see other countries give it a go, the Italian’s staging a mini invasion with well known & sexy brand “Billy” and the carnival feel that Rio is famed for also giving it a crack with “Go-Go Brazil”, but it seems that the Espaniol grip on the foreign feel to the capital’s club scene has been hard to loosen, Ibiza’s “Space” another example swinging the pendulum towards Spain. But there is something about Italy & Italians that really excite us, turning our minds to the words passion, emotion, beauty & style, so when we heard that a clubbing product of Milan was going to hit our shores our ears pricked up like an excited horse in anticipation.

So, who are we talking about? Well, “Pervert”, a brand that is no stranger to London, but on previous visits has merely imported their renowned stage shows, with the sense of style, opulence & panache, mixed in with a strong doze of sexual intrigue that have seen performances go down well, especially at Trade. The club’s origins are very much Italian, its creators Christian & Ivan really emulating the ethos of the brand, being larger than life characters who’s skill in laying on lavish parties with a unique flavour have definitely set “Pervert” aside from many other clubs in Italy, often attracting a very mixed crowd who have come to love the flamboyant shows & the monstrous music. However, if when drawing comparisons with ventures we have seen in London, “Hustlaball” & “Lovechild” spring to mind, so it came as no surprise that “Pervert’s” creators decided to join forces with Alex Erfan in bringing this Italian spectacle to the capital as a full-on club event.

With plenty of anticipation & excitement surrounding “Pervert Gold”, even a nasty chest infection wasn’t going to stop us from attending, although, fortunately, we had all but fully recovered by the Saturday evening and, following a brief call into Barcode, sped the short distance across Vauxhall, arriving at the entrance to Fire, “Pervert’s” host venue for the evening. With only a small queue to negotiate & then with our name neatly checked off the guestlist & all other formalities efficiently handled, greetings from both door host Marky B & then chief behind the scenes organiser Simon Patrick made us immediately feel at home, Alex Erfan also in attendance to complete the perfect arrival. So, into the club we were and a brief wiz around, checking out the main space and then sliding back into the VIP area was in order, grabbing refreshments and then catching up with friends Jeremy & Andy who were waiting expectantly for our appearance. It was great to see the m both, having been weeks rather than the usual days, so plenty of news catch up was required before heading back into the main room to savour the building atmosphere.

With Italian new name to the scene Gepy behind the decks, the music was funky, chunky & electro infused, very much the ticket for getting the party going and whilst the crowd was slow to build, it was clear that the Latin trait for partying late coming to bear as it was a good two hours into the nights events before the main room was packed and the third space was fired up, the mirror arch in the hands of Gonzalo Rivas trading tech & progressive infused blows with the main room where Obi Baby (aka Christian) had taken charge of the D.J. decks, cutting a much more deep & dark journey of sound in anticipation of the stage show to come. But with Jc Christopher firing up next door in the VIP room we wanted to disappear to say hello, but were stopped in our tracks by Simon Patrick, warning us that the show was pending, so finding a spot, we waited patiently while three muscle-bound dancers frolicked around the makeshift stage, the only indication of a show being one outrageously dressed tall model weaving in & out of the expectant crowd & visuals of previous “Pervert” parties & shows flashing up in the trio of screens across the stage front.

With no sign of the full show starting, we retreated to the VIP room, first catching up with Fire owner Craig Elder, who was entertaining a business colleague but seemed pleased to see us, charging our empty glass & briefly filling us in on plans for the refurbishment of the main room. Then, we headed across to the D.J. booth, where Jc was in control, delivering a hard & funky filled set to a select gathering and scene favourite Brent Nicholls had arrived in good time to click his camera before starting his D.J. duty. Pleased to see us, yet contemptuous of our presence given our recent ill health, he joined us in a return to the main room as yet more prompts of the imminent start of the show were coming our way. So, squeezing through the now jam packed area, halted in our advance to the front by off duty D.J. Phil Hewson & long standing friend Toby, we said our hearty hello’s, then bee-lined for the stage, rubbing shoulders with photographer Chris Jepson, Brent, Craig, Jeremy & Andy, then waiting, waiting and waiting.

In what seemed like an age, the curtains were drawn back on the stage, but the screen stayed put, although the dancers & artists seemed ready to start the spectacle of a show, although by now our anticipation was turning to frustration at the wait. But then, as the music pace changed followed by the screen firing up with a vocal intro & then raised to reveal a sequence of elaborate dressed dancers & entertainers, not your average go-go’s or performers, but a an interesting collection ranging from a dwarf with a devils mask on, through muscled men with ostentatious feathered headgear & necks weighted in jewellery to the centre-piece of the dazzling display, a tall sylph like female dressed from shoulder to toe in generous folds of sparkling gold material, encrusted with bands of bright gold lights, off-setting her starkling face make-up which reminded us of a slightly gory version of opera singing diva Plava Laguna from the film The Fifth Element. She certainly made a statement, swaying back & forth in time to the music while the bevy of beauties around her continued to dazzle the excited crowd, but as the music pace increased, most of the dancers retreated, leaving just a couple of performers to keep to overt display going.

With that & in following Brent’s lead we headed back to the VIP room where Jc was still in full swing, coming across more familiar faces, including Lee Yeomans & D.J’s Alessandro & the Pagano, both like Brent, were due on disc spinning duty shortly, although not before more camera clicking and a catch up on news with all four, a busy looking Alex Erfan joining us momentarily before dashing off into the crowd. We too decided to venture fourth, passing through the main room which had thinned somewhat, curious to see what was happening in the mirror arch & found the space rammed solid with revellers & the podiums filled with a collection of dancers from the previous show & an interesting hoop hanging as if ready for some audacious action. And we weren’t to be disappointed, as once again, the music pace changed, Gonzalo’s hard hitting tech house being replaced by a classic Marlene Dietrich style tune and a bowler hat topped female rose atop the plinth, stripped down to virtual nakedness & then performed an acrobatic display, swinging through & round the hoop to jaw dropping applause.

By now the pace and the atmosphere of the party was simply electric and in full swing, we attempting to decide on which room would grab our alliance and as we made our choice, heading for the VIP room, the music suddenly stopped in all three rooms, an eerie silence falling over Fire for a moment, then with the status quo resumed in two of the rooms, lots of hurried activity ensued in the remaining space which was void of music while we looked on in amazement, standing with Craig who seemed shocked & embarrassed by the incident. But with the culprit faulty amp fixed, Brent was back to duty in a jiffy, the huge hit & guaranteed dancefloor filler Toca’s Miracle drawing the crowd back in an instant, his characteristic Latin infused electro beats then seeing the VIP room full for most of the rest of the “Pervert” party. It was then a case of cat & mouse for us, as we chased around the club, bumping into more familiar faces including Chris Geary in fine fettle & a wavering Julian who seemed a little partied out, as well as being introduced to Obi Baby who seemed thrilled with the eventual outcome of his creation. However, we were keen to make the most of the threesome that was Pagano in the main room, Alessandro in the mirror arch & Brent in the VIP room, who each were casting their own inimitable musical spell on the “Pervert Gold” party, which for us, had entered its purple patch, each space & each D.J. fulfilling their audiences desires brilliantly, the crowd hardly thinning until close on the 7 a.m. closing.

With Craig Elder & Alex Erfan’s business partner, Roni Inan tempting us to Beyond, we gave it some thought although not wishing to push our healing body too far, held back a little before grabbing our coat and then saying our goodbye’s to Alessandro who still had the mirror arch pumping, to Pagano who had delighted us with yet another scintillating set and finally to Brent, who despite the drama’s with the sound issues, had entertained impeccably together with the other two disc meisters, making for a superb final three hours of pure perfection perverted partying. Heading best advice from our learned friend that we should do what was right for us, the right choice albeit a hard one, was restrain from continual partying in favour of a sensible journey home to rest our by now weary legs & tightening chest.

So, what was our verdict on “Pervert Gold” and did it live up to expectations? Well, there was no doubt that the team had gone to great effort in staging the party and considering it was the third weekend of January, the turnout was sizeable, even if it felt that the party took a while to really take off. This wasn’t really helped by the show which seemed to take an age to start and whist it was a an eye pleasing performance, we felt it was not quite the stunning theatrical spectacle we were expecting, the long wait resulting in a bit of an anti-climax rather than the impressive impact. With all the ostentation that comes with a “Pervert” show, it surely deserves a much bigger stage presence, allowing the drama of the outrageous yet glamorous costumes & the statement making dancers the chance to be seen at their best.

However, there was no doubt that the party did find its legs, hitting a real groove, not least for the amazing music served up by the succession of D.J’s in each room and despite the technical hiccup which halted proceedings, we have to say that Messrs, Londra, Pagano & Nicholls did us proud all being part of the “purple patch” we talked about. “Pervert Gold” definitely had a unique feel, the crowd being very much that and we think with a bit of tinkering & tweaking it could make a great occasional event in London and the scene is certainly craving for something a little different, a little quirky & a little avante garde, so the ingredients are definitely there, the team may just need to change the recipe slightly. That said, we had a great time & if/when it is back, we will be too. (DISCO MATT)

"A Night Of A Dozen D.J's" - Special Review

“A NIGHT OF A DOZEN D.J’S” – SATURDAY 9TH JANUARY
SPECIAL REVIEW


All too often we spend our time seeking out those special club nights to review our extrovert activities at events across gAylist/land London and whilst the D.J’s do tend to get a reasonable mention in amongst everything else, rarely do we get the opportunity to focus solely on them in a review of their live sets. Yes we have our “music” posts, but they only capture a few elements of the talents around, but when you get a collection of some of the scene’s top jocks playing out to our delight, all in the space of twelve hours or so, well the temptation to review it all was too much to resist. So, sit back and enjoy our journey, lapping up some truly remarkable music in the hands of some of our favourite D.J’s. with the odd mention of a scene face and friend here & there.

Well, it all started, as most of our nights do, very innocently with simple plans to catch up with an eminent & internationally renowned D.J. to wish him happy birthday, although with news coming through before our mid evening departure for Covent Garden, that at least two other top notch scenester's were playing out, we felt already that the night was going to be far from innocent. However, to Seven Dials we headed & naturally where else but The Box, which has become a favourite Friday haunt of ours, but rarely a Saturday stop-off, although with master D.J. Paul Heron playing, on the back of his birthday the previous day, it was a foregone conclusion we would be there. Arriving at just after 8 p.m., early for us, we immediately spotted the man behind the decks, already well into his set. Bounding up, we greeted him, handing over a birthday card & then immediately grabbed refreshments, turning back to Paul to catch up on news of his birthday boy antics & other tasty bits of gossip.

Now, it is fair to say that we are used to seeing Paul in octane fuelled fashion behind the decks of London’s big clubs where his flair for hard edged tech & pumping beats go down exceptionally well, indeed we have lost count the amount of amazing sets we have savoured in his hands, so to see in him action in The Box was interesting to say the least. But, the man has incredibly diverse talents (steady) music wise & he soon found his rhythm, selecting some more appropriate mellow house tunes to delight the select audience, including a rendition of our signature tune “Music Is The Answer”, one of our top ten 2009 tunes “Vicious Circle”, not to mention some Whitney & Kelly Rowland thrown in for good measure, all mixed in with his trademark sounds, Paul really finding his groove. It was all helped along with the arrival of pal Stephen, our lovable laughable friend, The Box’s owner Frank, who came over for a chat & catch up, and then the charming Pier Morrocco, fresh from his D.J. exploits for Salvation in South Africa, taking a well earned evening off with his boyfriend. So good was the atmosphere, by now time was slipping away before our eyes & with the drink flowing & the naughtiness creeping in, especially the antics between us, Paul & a very horny looking barman, our stay overran and we literally had to tear ourselves away for the planned forage into Soho.

But, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves at Rupert Street’s door, although the bar was absolutely rammed with socialites & sophisticates, soaking up the musical entertainment that resident Alessandro was delivering, his very characteristic Latin infused (well, he is from Scilly!) yet tough house beats we simply adore. But with a glance at the time, Barcode was very much calling, so we turned tail and headed across to Archer Street & down into the club space, where we found Brent Nicholls behind the decks, injecting some real energy into the space which was filling nicely with an eclectic crowd of drinkers, pre-clubbers & out of towner's looking for an upbeat end to their evening. It was great to see Brent back at Barcode on a Saturday, the source for so many great beginnings to club escapades & more besides, his varied tastes in music suiting this venue perfectly and it wasn’t long before a whole host of our favourite tracks were pulled out of his collection, Zoe Baldwin’s “Release Me”, the new Soul Avengerz’s mix of “Shame”, Celeda’s “Underground” & even a brilliant re-mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “The Power Of Love”, which we agreed with Brent would make an amazing “afterhours” dancefloor hit. With the music simply top notch & then the company getting even better with the arrival of budding D.J. pals Mariusz & Norbert, joining us & Stephen, it was clear Mariusz was in a playful mood, dragging us into a pseudo sexual frolic around the D.J. booth & the adjacent seating, for quite a while being the focal point of the entertainment, Stephen, Norbert & Brent looking on in wondrous merriment.

But, sadly, like The Box before, our stay at Barcode came to an end all too soon, as 1 a.m. arrived and with our mood set on continuing the party, the choice now was where? D’Johnny was definitely calling at Lo-Profile, we loving his truly funky chunky tech infused style, but then there was Megawoof, where Italian stallion D.J. Pagano was returning to lay down one of his perfect progressive sets which we have come to adore, although the choice was inevitable, as the terrific Nick Tcherniak was playing out at Barcode Vauxhall, so many the times in combo with Brent, the man that leads us astray. So, it was slung into the club bar in our favourite haunt south of the river that we found ourselves, Nick not disappointing in any respect, pulling out of the bag some truly incredible tunes that had us dancing in an instant, minimal, tech, hard edged yet mesmeric house that had us dizzy in delight.

And with the place pumping & a crowd to match it wasn’t long before we bumped into familiar faces a plenty, including fierce partner in crime Lexi, who had Naomi Cuiz & friend in close quarters, the attendant Boyz photographer catching the four of us for posterity (they even published it, brilliant!) and then, as we turned to head back to Nick, who else appeared but D.J. Jamie Head, having not long returned to London from a trip down under, giving us a welcoming hug and then emitting those immortal words “you coming to Beyond?!”. With that gauntlet laid down, our night was now well and truly heading for a collision course with the morning and when Nick finished his set, handing over to “mirrorball-tastic” Hi-Fi Sean, we were in musical heaven, sinking copious amounts of our favourite white spirit with Nick & D.J. Gary H, a recent Trade hard nut favourite of ours, who had finished his set up in the front room. Mr Sean was weaving his magical music wand & spinning some fantabulous tech yet uplifting beats and with news that he was playing next door afterwards, combined with Jamie’s gauntlet lay-down, the inevitable was about to happen, but not before we had caught up fully on news with Mr Tcherniak, ending our excursion to Barcode Vauxhall brilliantly.

But with Area’s door slung open and Jamie’s beck & call ringing in our ears, we headed to Beyond, Gary H in tow, to continue what was now a marathon of D.J. experiences at the mecca for afterhours audacity. With the ever present Tom Fuller treating us impeccably yet again, it was a mere moment before we had negotiated the lengthy queue and was inside, soaking up the building atmosphere, courtesy of the chunky tech sounds of Paul Christian in the middle “Black” room, but the main space firing up for an incumbent Hi-Fi, who was mopping up his music in Barcode. With the new VIP room being launched upstairs, it wasn’t long before a whole host of us were invited to take a look, Jamie Head & his entourage back from wherever they had gone, together with a smattering of other familiar faces posing with us in front of the camera (twice in one night!), before heading back down into a packed main room, where Hi-Fi Sean was doing it all again, dragging us into his heavenly house music home.

So, back in our most favourite dancing spot of any we know, just shy of the main floor D.J. booth, we spent most of the rest of the morning, lapping up first Sean’s offerings, then yet another incredible set from Mikey D, which included record after record of sheer brilliance, Norman Dorat’s “Last Forever”, a new twist of Serge Devant’s classic “Addicted” & even fab version of the super up-to-date Erick Morillio’s “I Get Lifted”, being highlights, that had us tearing up our corner in pure adoration. A whole host of Jamie’s pals including Q.X. editor Cliff had joined in the fun, as was an off-duty Terry Bryan, who usually delights us with his uplifting & chunky funky house in the Terrace bar and it was here that we said our farewells to Beyond, to friends & to a jovial Jamie Head who’s raw yet refreshing tech & progressive sounds were tempting us to stay a little longer, but our body was saying a resounding no, more expectant of a cosy recline back home not far away.

Well, what an amazing treat of a night we can reflect upon, very much a delectable D.J. experience extra-ordinaire, each one of them playing a superb part in making it a most memorable Saturday come Sunday of magnificent music, From Paul Heron in The Box, through Alessandro at Rupert Street, then Brent Nicholls at Barcode, our trip up west, with prolific performances from all three, would have been enough for many. But with Vauxhall drawing us in, Nick Tcherniak shone like the star he is and then Hi-Fi Sean treated us to not one but two superb sets, rocking the main room in Beyond brilliantly. To add to it all, Mikey D exploded our enthusiasm with a dreamland delivery of a set, rounding off a thrilling 14 hours of heavenly house music, also hearing that D’Johnny played out fantastically at Lo-Profile, Pagano blew everyone at Megawoof away with one of his best there yet and Alan K kept the Beyond party pumping way past mid-day. So, we can reflect & relish on the fact that we continue to be so fortunate to have such brilliant D.J. talents available at our fingertips, feeling humble & privileged yet truly enchanted to be in the company of each & every one of them. (DISCO MATT)

Matinee 2006 to 2010 "Looking Back Then Looking Forward - Special Review

“MATINEE 2006 TO 2010 – LOOKING BACK, THEN LOOKING FORWARD”
A SPECIAL REVIEW & PREVIEW


There are some amazing home grown brands across the gAylist scene that have made waves in the history of clubbing, names that spring to mind including Trade, Crash, Beyond, Salvation, DTPM & Orange, many of these having successfully made an impact across the globe, Trade making it big in Europe and Salvation being a worldwide phenomenon, celebrating its latest conquest of the dance floors in South Africa. It is clear that brit clubs know how to lay on great parties abroad, but you can’t escape the fact that one massive brand emanating from Spain seems to really show the way, with prolific events across the mainland & on the white isle Ibiza attracting incredible attention. Their latest incarnation, the Circuit Festival in Barcelona, has developed into being one of Europe’s biggest & heads always turn & people flock to party after party this brand lay’s on, whether it be in Spain or worldwide.

The brand? Well, Matinee of course, the Spanish giant club which was launched way back in 1997 as a small outfit operating out of Barcelona, but in its 12 year history has become one of the best known & powerful clubbing brands in the world. Through a series of parties, first in home territory Barcelona with Le-Soleil, Souvenir & then Cafe Ole, it was never going to stop there, as the Matinee magic spread across the Mediterranean, Ibiza heralding the highly successful “Saturday Sessions” held at Space, which was to form an important connection with the group as it spread its message of clubbing excellence far and wide, with L’Atlantida in Sitges and “Nightology” boat tours right around Spain. Then, Matinee took on the biggest gamble in hits history, as it embarked on a world tour, taking in some of the major capital’s & party hotspots, proving to be the best clubbing export Spain has ever seen, with massive successes in France & Italy, but with parties in Frankfurt & Miami becoming real vindications of this risky decision to spread the Matinee word.

But what about London? well it was certainly wasn’t going to miss out & as part of the 2006 “Around The World” series of parties, the Matinee machine hitting the capital on 29th July, importing hot Spanish go-go’s, along with then resident D.J. Juanjo Martin and joining them with London. based D.J.’s , which included Steve Pitron, Paul Heron, Brent Nicholls, Mikey D and one Oliver M, the party hosted by Area in Vauxhall, which at the time was owned by co-promoters Wayne Shires & Rod Lay. It proved to be a resounding success and was certainly a taste of an upcoming Spanish invasion to hit gAylist/land London, being voted the best clubbing event of 2006 and really showing the way for a scene that was suffering from a little mundane normality. During 2007, the Matinee world tour brought the event back to London and was not just keen to follow the successful format that had seen it top the 2006 club poll, but make Matinee a regular feature of the London monthly clubbing calendar.

However, 2007 saw much turmoil in Vauxhall, with The Orange Group (owners of Fire) taking over Area, the venue for the Matinee parties in the capital, thus effectively sidelining this Spanish import, making it clear that somebody needed to come it it’s rescue. And that someone was Oliver Mohns, who along with his business partner of the time, Logan Schmitz, approached the Matinee group in Spain, to take over & fully promote their parties in London, offering the kind of high quality, large scale & glamorous parties the brand had become famous for around the world, but especially in their own backyards of Barcelona & Ibiza. Oliver’s associations with Matinee certainly helped, as he had D.J.’d for many of their parties not just in Spain but as part of The World Tour, including London, so he was a known quantity by the brand’s big brass. In addition, with Logan Schmitz bringing his expertise & skill for laying on stunning stage shows & providing exceptional dancers, this seemed like the golden ticket and the new look Matinee London was born, holding its massive launch party in Jan 2008 at the fabulously spacious Fabric nightclub in Farringdon as a Sunday night event, in some way’s following on from the successful gay formula the venue had sported with a long lasting run of DTPM parties.

It was at Fabric where we witnessed some amazing parties, well and truly dominated by some spectacular shows, Matinee “Knockout” in Feb being a superb example, as the main room was taken over by a huge boxing ring, creating the biggest splash we had seen in a club in the capital yet, although as the crowd consumed the space following the shows & the ring crumpled with the weight, it may have proved a costly affair. Other scintillating parties, the luscious “La-Leche” at Easter, the t-dance delight “Rewind” and then the pulsating “Paparazzi” in May served to cement Matinee’s popularity and its dominance of the glamorous gAylist scene. However, the success that was now the Evolved Events team then seemed to overfill with this exuberance, spurning the launch of their home-grown club Revolver, which, to the outsider, seemed to take some of the teams focus away from its Matinee events, Revolver in reality only receiving only a lukewarm reception.

July’s “Gay Pride” Matinee party was regrettable evidence, with a lack-lustre turnout and it seemed the time had come for change which resulted in a return to where the fairytale had started back in 2006, in Vauxhall, although this time it would be super club Colosseum that would be Matinee’s home. The Sunday formula was also set to change, but not before the massive August Bank Holiday “Superbowl” event which saw the venue filled like never before, but Saturday was Matinee London’s target, which came in the form of probably the best ever party to date, Viva, a spectacle of delirious dancing, magical music & an awesome atmosphere, which was to be our yardstick of all future Matinee events. “Marineros” followed in October, affirming both the move to Colosseum and the change back to Saturday’s, although some quarters missed the large scale shows & glamour that came with parties at Fabric and it was clear that all was not well in Evolved Events land, with an imminent split in the business partnership that was Oliver Mohns & Logan Schmitz, which was set to dominate the pseudo Spanish clubbing landscape in London for the next 15 months.

Matinee London continued, seemingly unabated & unaffected by the drams behind the scenes, with a superb “Space Invaders” event & an exuberant “Xmas Special” party, signalling that all seemed well with the brand in London and with the New Year’s event a complete sell-out, even though it was at the awkward “afterhours” timing, being at Colosseum, the host venue for NYD gAylist parties for many years, it was bound to be a success. Regrettably, the party was plagued with massive queues, both inside & out & cold spaces, the finger of blame being pointed in lots of directions, but unrepentant as the Matinee brand & crowd seemed to be at the time, the NYD was a virtual immediate distant memory as it scooped top spot in the 2008 club poll followed by further huge successes, first with a charismatic birthday party, in celebration of the Spanish group turning 11, then the “Masked Ball” and then “Erotica”, all parties delivering stunning stage shows & D.J. performances. Nevertheless, under the surface, Matinee London & Evolved Events were becoming agitated with former business partner Logan Schmitz, who was making massive waves & taking the capital by storm with competitive brand SuperMartXe, hinting that fortunes were beginning to change for Matinee.

With the economic downturn that was dominating 2009 having its effect, the next three months were to signal a succession of winners & losers and whilst SuperMartXe under Logan’s steerage was going from strength to strength, Matinee was in search of inspiration, finding it in uber new venue Cable in London Bridge. The Evolved Events team launched at this new space & home in July, kicking off with their “Evolution-Revolution” party to critical acclaim, which was to be the new beginning, the August Bank Holiday party being even more popular than the launch. Cable, on the face of it, was proving just the change Matinee needed, however the euphoria was relatively short lived and whilst Matinee London’s 3rd party went down well and their follow up “The Next Chapter” was a resounding success, for us the best of 2009, it was evident the ravages of inter club promoter feuding & foul play was taking its toll on Matinee London. When the December event “La Nocha Roja” didn’t quite hit the mark & was definitely missing something and then the fateful NYD party failed to ignite any sort of excitement, you would have been forgiven for thinking that this was a signal of things to come.

Then, as 2009 turned to 2010 amidst optimism that the New Year would bring improved fortunes, news came through of a dramatic change, as the Matinee group announced that the London franchise would be changing hands, ironically from Oliver Mohn’s “Evolved Events” to Logan Schmitz’s “Logan Presents”. The news caused a veritable tsunami style reaction across gAylist London’s dancefloors within hours of Matinee’s decision, those close to the respective “camps” taking the news in different ways, lots of questions already being raised as to why Matinee chose NYD to make the announcement, would Logan’s involvement with competitive Spanish brand SuperMartXe result in a conflict of interests, what would be the plans for Matinee London moving forward, would the old team of D.J’s & support staff be part of the new look and just when & where would the next Matinee event be?

Well, many of these questions remain unanswered, some in whole others in part, but with the dust having settled on the biggest announcement in gAylist clubland London in a long while, Matinee 2010 is now beginning to take shape. So, where are we with it all? Well Matinee’s first party of the year was always scheduled to take place on 6th February and this has not changed. Other details that were confirmed or at least planned out back in December, included the involvement of Spanish resident J Loius and he will be heading up the team of D.J.’s for the event, which we can confirm will be international superstars Paul Heron & Pagano, both previous Matinee London residents and rulers of the main floor across most of its history. The other inclusion secured before the promoter news change, was power house vocalist Vanessa Klein, who will be P.A. for the event and will perform, amongst others, her latest smash hit track “Addicted”.

But what of Matinee itself? Well, the new promotions team representing Matinee London & working with The World Tour, are beginning a phase of refurbishment, rejuvenation & reinvigoration, with the February party be hailed as Matinee “Under Construction”. They are promising the highest quality pyrotechnics, lighting & sound, combined with the finest dancing hunks seen anywhere in Europe, as well a stage show spectacular, everything that you have come to expect from the Logan Presents team, all this fused with Matinee’s unique Spanish sound, making for a new Matinee London like you have never seen before. Well, that seems to be the idea and given the level of coverage of both the change & the resultant plans, there is no shortage of hype surrounding this first outing, which will take place at The Fridge in Brixton, an iconic venue with plenty of gay history both old & new. We understand the club has undergone some dramatic improvements, with more to come and with the combination of Logan’s ability to stage prolific parties in these theatre style venues, the first outing is destined to be a huge success, even if the attractiveness of the Fridge has got a big question mark over it.

So, what is our verdict on the change? How do we see Matinee looking as 2010 progresses? And will there be further controversial times ahead for its new promoter? Well, there is no doubting the credentials of Logan Schmitz & his team, their work with SuperMartXe being nothing short of inspirational. In the relative short time that he has been hosting the brand in London, SuperMartXe has literally captivated the gAylist scene like no other venture we have seen in our lifetime, his skill at co-ordinating & choreographing stage shows is undoubted and this talent amongst others should prove to be a great asset to Matinee London. A business decision to change was made by the Matinee hierarchy and whilst the timing could have been seen as heartless, it is nevertheless clear that “team Logan” is very much in business and in the business of putting on superb parties, attracting the glitterati of the scene, which we are sure was seen as a reason for the decision coming out of Barcelona. As for Matinee London having legs in some form or other in 2010, we really hope it will, although we think possibly not at the Fridge, but maybe back where it all began and hopefully with much of the old team intact.

However, there is a nagging concern that that ominous phrase “a conflict of interest” may come into play, after all Matinee & SuperMartXe are major competitors in Spain & have been in London, so having one promotions team managing both outfits has got to have its pitfalls, perhaps signalling some rough seas ahead for Logan and his team. Nevertheless, for the sake of great partying, for the sake of high quality clubbing & for the sake of one of our most favourite clubbing brands, we hope this is not the case, we hope that Matinee London in the hands of its new maker is not only rejuvenated & reinvigorated, but most importantly builds on all the incredible ingredients that made a whole host of parties in the hands of its promotions predecessor superb, by going from strength to strength. There is an undoubted legacy left behind by the outgoing promotions team, who have brought Matinee a long way in London, hosting some truly outstanding parties, so Logan has some amazing past events to not just surpass but equal, although if his & his team's track record is anything to go by, they should achieve it in bucket loads & we will be there to support it all. (DISCO MATT)

Onyx Afterhours - Club Review

ONYX AFTERHOURS – SATURDAY 2ND JANUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


As much as we love our clubbing and everything that goes with it, following routine can sometimes be difficult, especially when it comes to being out there swinging our pants in what would be considered by most as “the time to club”, we cannot deny that this has always been a little alien to us. Yes, we do it, well if we didn’t there wouldn’t be much for us to report on, would there, but, sorry folks, we just love the decadent feel that clubbing deep into a morning (with any luck an afternoon) gives us. Trade started it all off and since those heady days of the nineties, we have adored being out in a club when the sun comes up, our love of this pseudo nocturnal activity (a dark club on a bright day) being our highlight of any weekend out. Since its demise at Turnmills, Trade’s boots have been filled by the brilliant Beyond, first at Coliseum & now at Area, although, when we heard that Onyx, the new conqueror of Friday nights, was going all afterhours on us, we simply couldn’t resist.

Now, with much prodding & poking from many around us, we have been aiming to get down to the new Friday fancy, Onyx, for some time, being apparently slack, considering it launched back in July last year, although our excuse is that Friday clubbing presents lots of difficulties for us (where do we start), well that’s our excuse anyway and we are sticking to it!! But having failed to hit Area on 18th December, as planned, missing out (supposedly) on a brilliant set by guest Paul Heron, we would have be ashamed to show our face if we missed the “Afterhours” event the promoter Steven Gellar had lined up to follow on from “As One” the massive collaboration event at Fire on NYD, even a badly twisted ankle not sufficient to be the blame on the shame of our absence. Add to that, Onyx’s morning affair was to be held at Area, the mecca of Beyond, which grabbed our favourite club of 2009 award, so with that said, it was a foregone conclusion we would be there.

So, dragging ourselves away from a stupendous set by Alan K in the (you guessed it) Beyond room at “As One”, we hit the doors of Area just before 9 a.m., finding only a small queue to negotiate, but having found the guestlist girl (or was she a boy?!) who couldn’t find us, on the list we mean, a mere £6 entry seemed the bargain of the new decade and when the man himself, Steven, forced himself through the bamboo netting separating the entrance from the outside terrace, thrusting plenty of drinkies vouchers in our hands, we were hardly going to complain. Entering what is probably the most familiar of club foyers (five times in December!!) we floated through and depositing our bits in the upstairs coatcheck, were into the club before you could say Onyx Afterhours, first sampling the Terrace Bar to see what was going down, we finding a smatter of socialites grabbing drinks & sorting themselves for a morning of audacious action. Wandering into the (can they find a better name, pleeaase?!) Black room, Jamie Hammond, or was it Tuomo Fox (confused!) was commanding the musical attention behind the decks, a healthy crowd boogying to what we can only describe as retro pop meets handbag house, nice if you like that sort of thing, but not our thang.

Gratefully, the main room opened and like many, we burst onto the scene to find an energetic Steven Gellar behind the decks, infusing all encompassing atmosphere into Area’s main space with a string of scorching sounds which had the main arch filled out before we knew it. Looking around, the crowd was predominantly a younger type, disco boys, muscle queens, latino lovelies & hedonistic party goers, all mixed into the impending hedonistic heaven that was to erupt before our eyes, some faces recognisable from the “As One” party just gone, others, like Emma “Mis-White” White, from DTPM’s party over at The Roof Gardens, maybe some resting from SuperMartXe’s “Alice” explosive event (we heard it was fab!), others probably just Onyx lovers looking to start their New Year, where they left 2009 behind. Regardless of who was who, the crowd was probably one of the friendliest we have seen, no GHB causalities, no trashy relics from clubs gone beforehand, just a charismatic collection of people wanting to either continue their clubbing indulgencies or savour Onyx in its afterhours form.

So, the scene was set for one of the most amazing experiences we have encountered in Area for a long time. Yes, we hear you cry, Beyond is the ruler of this world, but not so, this Saturday morning on 2nd January 2010 proving otherwise, as we were to be treated to something really special. First came the emergence of Onyx’s dazzling dancers, dressed raunchily in black leather & silver accessories, ascended the three podiums set aside for them, two giving us the usual go-go posing & prancing, but the third fiddling with electrical connections and then entertaining us with the most awesome angle grind saw show we have seen, sparks flying way out in front & to the sides, making for a truly superb spectacle. Mind you, the smell of metal on metal was unique to say the least, but just added to the enigmatic atmosphere.

Then, with the first round of shows over, we were slipping very much into afterhours decadency, as little known talent (to us you understand), Phil Marriot ascended the decks and began to send us on a magnificent musical journey with his terrifically selected tunes, a tad harder than those Steven had played, but with each and every record he chose, we became more & more enchanted by his choices. Having said that, we were in our favoured spot on the dancefloor, just shy of the D.J. booth and were surrounded by a bevy of beauties, which probably influenced our mood, but the music was the dominating feature of our enjoyment, Phil hitting every single sweet spot with his scintillating sounds which kept us asking ourselves (inwardly of course), where had his man been hiding from our life on the dancefloor, but regardless of what we may have missed, we were loving what we were experiencing, mesmerisation in the hands of Mr Marriot.

With yet more delightfully debauchery dance displays from the go-go’s, one entertaining us with a fire eating performance, the night was going better than we could have ever imagined, the crowd far from waning, as Saturday morning became Saturday afternoon, chalking up probably our longest stay at an afterhours event within Area ever. We really didn’t want the night, the day (whatever it was) to end and with the crowd as friendly at the end as it was at the beginning, Rob Ferguson present & coming over on a couple of occasions to say hello, the 2nd time giving us a massive hug to end all hugs, even sexy Latino muscle boys turning to wish us happy new year, we couldn’t have asked to be in better company & in such an angelic atmosphere, dancing away as we did, all memories of our twisted ankle completely faded away.

But like they say (and a friend reminded us), what goes up, has to come down and the fateful end of 2 p.m. was on us, conscious by the fact with a text from our clubbing pal Joel, who was shocked we were still out clubbing, in fact clubbing at all, being the first glance at any sort of clock we had made. That’s how good the party was! So, when the inevitable lights went up, we weren’t the only ones to call for an encore and Philly (cute) didn’t disappoint, as Mr Marriot revved up the D.J. decks for a couple of extra tunes to see us through to the outrageous end of 2.30 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon!! (please). Most people would be doing their grocery shopping, washing the car, having lunch (who knows what our straight compatriots get on to), but we were doing none of that, we were dancing in the darkness of Area and loving every minute of it.

So, what did we think of our first excursion out to Onyx? Did it fulfil our expectations? And will we be back? Well, without a doubt, what we had in our minds to expect of this futuristic Friday night outing in its “afterhours” form, was not only matched but exceeded in every way. We thought it was going to feel like a Beyond event, but it didn’t. We thought, after all the NYD activity, it would be a bit lack lustre, but it wasn’t. What it was ended up being a display of exactly how an afterhours party should be, a gorgeous crowd, enjoying a decadent daytime frolic expanding the boundaries of normalism, entering another world of wonderful clubbing. We absolutely loved every bit of Onyx Afterhours, not least the perfectly precise & massively magnificent performance of Phil Marriot. For us, he made the party and we cannot wait to savour another Onyx in his hands. Where else does he play? (DISCO MATT)

As One - Club Review

AS ONE – FRIDAY 1ST JANUARY
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Looking back over our years of clubbing, there have been some amazing collaborations in gAylist/land London, not just at the spectacular outside events that used to take place, Pride gatherings at Brockwell Park, Clapham Common & Finsbury Park being notable, Summer Rites & Purple In the Park filling our memory banks, but the superb Famous Five parties over at Bagley’s warehouse will definitely go down in history, not only for their popularity, but for the linking of massive brands like Love Muscle, G.A.Y., Fruit Machine, Sherbet & Fist (we are showing our age!). More recent joint parties Giant & Universe which combined clubs, Crash, Salvation, Atelier, Coco Late & Heaven & even Ultimate, at the time named “the biggest alliance since Star Wars”, when Crash, DTPM & Trade partied under one roof, were all successes in their own right, continuing the trend for this all encompassing type of clubbing.

So, when we heard of a new venture and at the dawn of a new decade too, nothing was going to stop us from at least taking a look, even if it meant missing out on other parties that were going head-to-head, not least as the collaboration of club brands Beyond, Lovechild, Megawoof, Lo-Profile & Trannyshack seemed just too good to miss. And what was this mega collision of clubs called, well aptly, “As One” and all held in the cavernous expanse of Fire in Vauxhall, although there was much scepticism cast on its fortunes from the minute it was conceived, especially with popular parties SuperMartXe & DTPM looking to steal the show on New Year’s Day. So, how did it actually fare? Was it the success the organisers hoped for? And how did the joining of these diverse clubbing brands work?

Well, having twisted our ankle badly, thus missing out on both Matinee’s & SuperMartXe’s massive NYD party offerings, our start to 2010 wasn’t going as planned, but with lots of tender loving care & then much cajoling of our trainer onto the offending ankle, we limped our way down to Vauxhall & the Fire, the host venue for “As One”, arriving in the snow & chill of the first day of the new year at just before midnight. A lengthy queue had developed on both sides of the rear entry, although were moving quite swiftly and as we turned the corner, found the back of the guestlist queue being beckoned forward by the fabulous Roni (co-promoter of the event), who greeted us in friendly fashion, waving us through in trice. Mind you, with it being so cold we were anxious to get inside, but had to negotiate the coatcheck first, yet another slow moving affair halting our entry into the warm.

However, once inside and into the corridor leading to the mirror arch, we immediately started feeling the heat & also hearing the beat of the music, indicating that the club was already pumping. And we weren’t to be disappointed, as entering the Lovechild mirror arch, the crowd was building nicely, with D.J. Mattias playing out some chunky & funky tunes to get proceedings underway. However, we were keen to investigate further, advancing through a near wall of people into the main room which was packed out, a sea of bodies gyrating away to the upbeat sounds, courtesy of Mikey D, being the first D.J. to hit the decks in this Beyond dedicated space, also serving as the official afterhours room for SuperMartXe’s “Alice In Wonderland” party which was still going at The O2 Academy in Brixton. Moving further through the club, we made it into the Lo-Profile lounge, which was also brimming with people, Phil Hewson in charge of the D.J. decks, treating the crowd to an uplifting collection of house hits from the year just gone.

We grabbed some refreshments with the drinks vouchers kindly supplied to us by Roni and also by Jay Sharp Vokins, who we came across in this sumptuous & stylish lounge space, still conscious of our now throbbing ankle, so sought to numb the pain as best we could (whatever with?!?!), heading back across the club which was getting busier & busier, aiming to find a bit of space in a favourite Fire spot, just shy of the D.J. booth in the mirror arch. Settling on this space was not only a wise move for our ankle, but gave us a prime view of the continual bevy of beautiful dancers, hunky muscular men taking it turns in twosomes on the podiums in front of us, their saucy, sexy & steamy performances setting our pulses racing. The music wasn’t bad either, Mattias doing a sterling job, then handing over to the Italian stallion Pagano, who lavished the most scintillating set on us, we had heard from him in a long time, knowing in an instant of him starting that we had really missed his superb selection of sounds over the weeks nay months, the dancers complimenting his tracks, the lighting electric & the exploding ticker tape pyrotechnics timed perfectly with his music.

It was then a case of a who’s who parade, as a host of familiar faces came up & wandered by, including Rob Ferguson who immediately asked about our ankle, D.J. pals Hugh Stevenson & D’Johnny, both giving us a big hug & exchanging new year’s wishes, then Chris Geary, who lifted us high in the air with a loving embrace, not to mention Lovechild, Kinky Trade, Hustlaball (you name it) club promoter Alex Erfan spotted us & said hello, although it was clear he was busy organising matters in what had become a jam packed & incredibly popular As One clubbing event. So much so, that it took us ages to squeeze our way back through into the Beyond room to continue our check on proceedings, resigning on a further shuffle through the mass of people into the Lo-Profile lounge, where we caught up with yet another D.J. pal Alessandro, who was due to play in this space later on, also spotting Stewart Who? preparing to take over from Phil Hewson.

By now, our ankle numbing concoction was working nicely and we were in dancing mood, so heading back into the Beyond room, we made our way up the aisle to find a small space to jig away to the tougher yet melodic sounds being played out by The Sharp Boys, although it turned out to be just a “Sharp Boy”, George present, but Stephen 1000’s of feet in the air on his way to South Africa (the lucky beggar!). There we came across yet more familiar faces, French pals Benoit & Franck, both lapping up the amazing atmosphere and moving further round, we weaved our way through the sea of cavorting clubbers, finding a spot in the corner to dance away & marvel at the “Alice” performers who had made it to their afterparty to entertain the throng. The costumes they were in looked stunning, just a hint how good the show must have been at SuperMartXe, the screens behind them full of “Alice” images & the space filled with seasonal prolific production, giving this beyond room an extra special feel.

But with so much going on across this collaborative masterpiece, we wanted to check out the other rooms, as both Megawoof & Trannyshack were swinging into action, although negotiating our way through to the Lightbox was going to be no mean feat, eventually arriving in the space, to find it brimming with a mega mix of hunky, chunky Megawoofers, dancing away merrily to the melodic music supplied by this testosterone filled club brands D.J. resident & promoter Daz Saund. Whilst the room was fuller than we had seen it in years and the men were hot, the space was even hotter, so we retreated back to our favoured Lovechild spot, where Paul Heron had arrived to take over where the phenomenal Pagano had left off. Having savoured the bulk of the Italian’s set, in between our trips around the rest of “As One”, with the dancing action still keeping up the raunchy pace, we were content to stay put for a while, lapping up everything on offer from Lovechild in the hands of Mr Heron.

With the arrival of D.J. Gabriele Cutrano, Alex Erfan appeared & offered to show us into the Trannyshack room & then further into the depths of Fire, going over the plans ahead for this massive club, we being amazed by the sheer size of the place. But then, after leading us back to where we started, Alex left us to our devices, heading off to grab a spot of fresh air, while we spent the rest of the darting between the Lovechild space, Paul Heron & Gabriele Cutrano keeping up the raunchy filled pace, the Lo-Profile lounge, where Alessandro kept the heat up with a trail of terrific tunes and the Beyond room where we eventually settled. It was here where the pinnacle of our prancing occurred, as Alan K strung together the most superb of sounds, including our track of the night, Celeda’s “Underground, but much much more, packing the space out till well past 8 a.m., leaving tunes a plenty ringing through our ears, long after the party was over, our ankle pain a distant memory, but the absolutely brilliant time we had savoured at “As One” firmly entrenched in our mind.

Well, there is little left to say about our first party of 2010, apart from these words which neatly describe our experience of “As One”, amazing, delightful, fantastic, magnificent, spectacular, & wonderful. The collaboration of the clubs worked perfectly, giving Fire an extra special feel, weaving together all the different strands of Beyond, Lovechild, Megawoof, Lo-Profile & Trannyshack, better than we could have imagined. Never since a trip to Later five NYD’s ago, have we seen the venue so busy, so buzzing, so pumping and we were simply spoilt for choice between the rooms, each bringing their own charm, their own stunning D.J. performances yet all being as one. Special mentions have to go to Alan K in the Beyond room, who (in his own words) “was in the zone”, playing the best set we have heard & Pagano who simply engulfed us with a phenomenal performance in the Lovechild space. We conclude that “As One” was definitely the year’s first real success in so many ways, showing the way for other events to follow and we really hope it will be back with us soon. You can bet that we will be there for sure. (DISCO MATT)