“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)
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)
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