“A STACK OF SUPERB SOUNDS”
LOVECHILD “MAKIN HAY” – SATURDAY 17TH JULY
CLUB REVIEW
Now it is fair to say that we have loved our big clubbing brands over the years, from the dominance of Trade in the early & mid nineties, leading to a whole host of others grabbing a piece of our action, Salvation, DTPM, Crash & Beyond all being big hitters in our non-stop partying activity well into the noughties. However, while Beyond still plays a big part in our lives, relative new kids on the blocks Matinee & SuperMartXe have replaced all the other clubs in the dominance game, although there is a new pretender to the crown that tends to draw us in more often than not, pretty much fixing itself into our monthly calendar. Lovechild certainly has made strides since opening its doors will over a year ago now, especially since grounding itself on a Saturday night at Fire in Vauxhall, building a reputation for funky chunky music, sexual intrigue and a stylish crowd. So, with its latest theme based on farm boys, haywain's & the rustic outdoors, how did we find this “Makin Hay” party? did it live up to expectations? and has it instilled more confidence in a waning Saturday clubbing scene?
Having kick started our night in the hands of Rupert Street and a bawdy Brent Nicholls, our sex charged evening getting some serious injection from the affections Remi & Mariusz, while plenty of pals were present, as was heaps of “nu funk” sounds (more of all that in a separate review!) we were raring to go and to get our slice of farmyard frolicking in the hands of Lovechild’s latest outing down in Vauxhall. Arriving at Fire’s doors not long before 1 a.m, we found quite an extensive queue to get in, although waiting patiently, we were soon spotted by a smiling Roni Inan and ushered through & into the club to start our cavorting, quickly bumping into the pals we had left behind at Rupert St (how did they get here quicker than us?!) who, like us, were lodging our bits & bobs into the coatcheck for safe keeping before venturing forth to check out proceedings. The first sight we came across was a lithe dancer spinning on the installed dancing pole in the entrance area to the main room, dressed in some fetching tight jeans shorts & cowboy style boots, very much in the “Makin Hay theme of this event.
But we were keen to investigate further, so leaving our pals behind we dipped down onto the main room dancefloor which was filling nicely with an eclectic crowd of club kids, the odd muscle queen here & there and a healthy dose of glamorous girls making for one of the most mixed bunch of clubbers we had seen in a Lovechild party yet. They were all lapping up the rousing & uplifting sounds being served up by Phil Hewson behind the decks, it being great to see this charming & cute fellow back in charge of early proceedings in this “Makin Hay” happening. Phil had recently completed a successful tour down under, spreading the good Hewson word of magical music across Sydney & Melbourne in a whirl wind tour that had coincided with the last Lovechild party in London. So, having forgiven him for his absence, we caught a quick moment of his attention in amongst some of his serious sounds that included the fabulous “Devil Walking” which immediately got us dancing on our spot next to the D.J. booth. Looking around the space, the usual Lovechild production was in force although no real sign of anything deluding to this farmyard inspired theme of a party, the visuals pointing more towards the next “Tropicana” bash at the end of the month.
Dropping in on the Lounge room which had been the hit of the last “Summer” smash, the space was slowly gathering pace in the hands of longstanding Lovechilder, Gabriele Cutrano, who had been devoted the whole room for the evening, delivering a far more funky & laidback tech infused soundtrack of tunes that was to see the space gain a select gathering for most of the rest of the evening. However, many seemed to prefer the pomp & circumstance of the main room that, by now, had been handed over to tame D.J., The Oli, who was being anything but tame with his track choices, although, we were still in search of some of that “Makin Hay” production we had been promised. And we found it in the outdoor area, a much smaller affair than usual, but with bales of hay used as the perimeter, plus with a very camp cock (a male hen before you ask!) hanging at eye level, making it delightfully different yet one of the loosest interpretations we had seen, but nevertheless commanding quite a few comments & looks.
Back in the main room and the comments were nothing but praiseworthy for the mastermind of musical mesmerism that guest D.J. The Oli was putting together, one hard hitting dancefloor anthem after the other, he combining uplifting, hard hitting and heavenly house delightfully that saw us sink into his set with consummate ease, finding our dancing feet in an instant and soaking up his scintillating sounds and Fire’s main room swelling to magnanimous proportions. With the atmosphere being sent skyward with Oli’s octane fuelled set, the only element that could add to the excitement of his set was the inclusion of Thiagio’s tasty dancers on the podiums and they arrived pretty much on cue, centre-pieced by a very glamorously dressed & stunning goddess, striking an impressive pose in amongst the farmer boy go-go’s. Now the crowd’s attention was certainly grabbed, as cameras clicked, flashes illuminated & Oli’s backdrop of music added just the right amount of drama to the stage show proceedings that was certainly a real highlight of the evening.
However, with the show over, it was back to Oli to provide all the entertainment and by golly did he do that or what, we absolutely delighting in his precision perfect performance that certainly ranks as one of the best we have seen at any Lovechild party and most definitely the most outstanding Oli set we have witnessed anywhere. His selection of tracks & tunes had the main room cavorting like all the best good old days of Fire, the lighting in full tilt and the atmosphere simply sensational in response to this maestro at work. So good was his performance, that the impetus had been pretty much taken away from the usually busy contact room, whose doors were now swung open for action and whilst Mattias was laying down some serious sounds, it would have taken an act of god to shift the crowd from the main room mesmerism that a man in his element had created.
Mind you all great things have to come to an end sometime and Oli’s Lovechild moment was over far too soon for us, his performance of the quality that would have given Steve Pitron in Beyond at his best, a run for his money and when second guest D.J. for the night, South Africa’s Leroy Tayler took over, while he managed to hold the crowd, he couldn’t hold a candle to Mt Oli’s scintillating set, thus promoting us to opt for the quieter yet more comfortable mirrorarch space where young Mr Paul Heron was stoking the atmosphere with some terrific tech tunes. Seeing Paul bouncing up & down behind the decks in his usual fashion inspired us to do a bit of bopping ourselves, our audacious antics in the corner by the D.J. booth attracting attention and drawing in increasing numbers to lap up some of the Heron energy being created. This included pals Danny Shubert and a much more lively Stephen, who commenced to titillate us with his cougar impressions, something we hadn’t seen for ages. And this was where we saw out the remainder of our “Makin Hay” experience, Paul delighting us with some purely magnificent music, his set full of invigorating new tracks that left us breathless in adoration, the last notes of his performance prompting a trip across Vauxhall to continue our partying proliferation in the hands of Beyond.
In dissecting our latest Lovechild outing we would have to say that, all in all, we had a great time and came away from Fire feeling comfortably satisfied with our lot. In fairness to “Makin Hay” the element that really made it was the music, as both Phil Hewson’s opener and Leroy Tayler’s curtain closer sandwiched one of the best sets we have witnessed at a Lovechild event. Signing up The Oli to the team of residents should be a given, as not only does he know Fire like the back of his hand, but he managed to inspire & indulge us in on one of the most splendid showings from a D.J. in many a month here. That said, the remaining threesome of Messrs Cutrano, Dabo & Heron played their part in pushing music to the forefront and in doing so begged the question, what happened to the usual ingredients of sexual intrigue & erotic intentions that were sadly lacking from this “Makin Hay” event?
Add to that the low key production and the fact that the numbers could barely sustain two, let alone three rooms and we begin to wonder whether the bottom really has fallen out of Saturday night clubbing. There is no doubt that Lovechild has found its niche, and a good one at that, but, in our view the promoter needs to possibly re-think his strategy with the rooms a little, definitely consider the cornerstones of the Lovechild brand, and let them do the talking in terms of which rooms are open & when. It seems that the desire for the contact space is there, just on this occasion the main room had the momentum & the lounge never got a look in. There is an argument to say that Lovechild should be about the music, but it is also true that the raunchy side of the brand has broad appeal. Get the combination right, together with the numbers through the door, and it has every chance to maintaining its position as the next best Saturday offering to SuperMartXe. However, July 31st may prove to be an endorsing acid test, yet we look forward to “Tropicana” with interest. (DISCO MATT)
LOVECHILD “MAKIN HAY” – SATURDAY 17TH JULY
CLUB REVIEW
Now it is fair to say that we have loved our big clubbing brands over the years, from the dominance of Trade in the early & mid nineties, leading to a whole host of others grabbing a piece of our action, Salvation, DTPM, Crash & Beyond all being big hitters in our non-stop partying activity well into the noughties. However, while Beyond still plays a big part in our lives, relative new kids on the blocks Matinee & SuperMartXe have replaced all the other clubs in the dominance game, although there is a new pretender to the crown that tends to draw us in more often than not, pretty much fixing itself into our monthly calendar. Lovechild certainly has made strides since opening its doors will over a year ago now, especially since grounding itself on a Saturday night at Fire in Vauxhall, building a reputation for funky chunky music, sexual intrigue and a stylish crowd. So, with its latest theme based on farm boys, haywain's & the rustic outdoors, how did we find this “Makin Hay” party? did it live up to expectations? and has it instilled more confidence in a waning Saturday clubbing scene?
Having kick started our night in the hands of Rupert Street and a bawdy Brent Nicholls, our sex charged evening getting some serious injection from the affections Remi & Mariusz, while plenty of pals were present, as was heaps of “nu funk” sounds (more of all that in a separate review!) we were raring to go and to get our slice of farmyard frolicking in the hands of Lovechild’s latest outing down in Vauxhall. Arriving at Fire’s doors not long before 1 a.m, we found quite an extensive queue to get in, although waiting patiently, we were soon spotted by a smiling Roni Inan and ushered through & into the club to start our cavorting, quickly bumping into the pals we had left behind at Rupert St (how did they get here quicker than us?!) who, like us, were lodging our bits & bobs into the coatcheck for safe keeping before venturing forth to check out proceedings. The first sight we came across was a lithe dancer spinning on the installed dancing pole in the entrance area to the main room, dressed in some fetching tight jeans shorts & cowboy style boots, very much in the “Makin Hay theme of this event.
But we were keen to investigate further, so leaving our pals behind we dipped down onto the main room dancefloor which was filling nicely with an eclectic crowd of club kids, the odd muscle queen here & there and a healthy dose of glamorous girls making for one of the most mixed bunch of clubbers we had seen in a Lovechild party yet. They were all lapping up the rousing & uplifting sounds being served up by Phil Hewson behind the decks, it being great to see this charming & cute fellow back in charge of early proceedings in this “Makin Hay” happening. Phil had recently completed a successful tour down under, spreading the good Hewson word of magical music across Sydney & Melbourne in a whirl wind tour that had coincided with the last Lovechild party in London. So, having forgiven him for his absence, we caught a quick moment of his attention in amongst some of his serious sounds that included the fabulous “Devil Walking” which immediately got us dancing on our spot next to the D.J. booth. Looking around the space, the usual Lovechild production was in force although no real sign of anything deluding to this farmyard inspired theme of a party, the visuals pointing more towards the next “Tropicana” bash at the end of the month.
Dropping in on the Lounge room which had been the hit of the last “Summer” smash, the space was slowly gathering pace in the hands of longstanding Lovechilder, Gabriele Cutrano, who had been devoted the whole room for the evening, delivering a far more funky & laidback tech infused soundtrack of tunes that was to see the space gain a select gathering for most of the rest of the evening. However, many seemed to prefer the pomp & circumstance of the main room that, by now, had been handed over to tame D.J., The Oli, who was being anything but tame with his track choices, although, we were still in search of some of that “Makin Hay” production we had been promised. And we found it in the outdoor area, a much smaller affair than usual, but with bales of hay used as the perimeter, plus with a very camp cock (a male hen before you ask!) hanging at eye level, making it delightfully different yet one of the loosest interpretations we had seen, but nevertheless commanding quite a few comments & looks.
Back in the main room and the comments were nothing but praiseworthy for the mastermind of musical mesmerism that guest D.J. The Oli was putting together, one hard hitting dancefloor anthem after the other, he combining uplifting, hard hitting and heavenly house delightfully that saw us sink into his set with consummate ease, finding our dancing feet in an instant and soaking up his scintillating sounds and Fire’s main room swelling to magnanimous proportions. With the atmosphere being sent skyward with Oli’s octane fuelled set, the only element that could add to the excitement of his set was the inclusion of Thiagio’s tasty dancers on the podiums and they arrived pretty much on cue, centre-pieced by a very glamorously dressed & stunning goddess, striking an impressive pose in amongst the farmer boy go-go’s. Now the crowd’s attention was certainly grabbed, as cameras clicked, flashes illuminated & Oli’s backdrop of music added just the right amount of drama to the stage show proceedings that was certainly a real highlight of the evening.
However, with the show over, it was back to Oli to provide all the entertainment and by golly did he do that or what, we absolutely delighting in his precision perfect performance that certainly ranks as one of the best we have seen at any Lovechild party and most definitely the most outstanding Oli set we have witnessed anywhere. His selection of tracks & tunes had the main room cavorting like all the best good old days of Fire, the lighting in full tilt and the atmosphere simply sensational in response to this maestro at work. So good was his performance, that the impetus had been pretty much taken away from the usually busy contact room, whose doors were now swung open for action and whilst Mattias was laying down some serious sounds, it would have taken an act of god to shift the crowd from the main room mesmerism that a man in his element had created.
Mind you all great things have to come to an end sometime and Oli’s Lovechild moment was over far too soon for us, his performance of the quality that would have given Steve Pitron in Beyond at his best, a run for his money and when second guest D.J. for the night, South Africa’s Leroy Tayler took over, while he managed to hold the crowd, he couldn’t hold a candle to Mt Oli’s scintillating set, thus promoting us to opt for the quieter yet more comfortable mirrorarch space where young Mr Paul Heron was stoking the atmosphere with some terrific tech tunes. Seeing Paul bouncing up & down behind the decks in his usual fashion inspired us to do a bit of bopping ourselves, our audacious antics in the corner by the D.J. booth attracting attention and drawing in increasing numbers to lap up some of the Heron energy being created. This included pals Danny Shubert and a much more lively Stephen, who commenced to titillate us with his cougar impressions, something we hadn’t seen for ages. And this was where we saw out the remainder of our “Makin Hay” experience, Paul delighting us with some purely magnificent music, his set full of invigorating new tracks that left us breathless in adoration, the last notes of his performance prompting a trip across Vauxhall to continue our partying proliferation in the hands of Beyond.
In dissecting our latest Lovechild outing we would have to say that, all in all, we had a great time and came away from Fire feeling comfortably satisfied with our lot. In fairness to “Makin Hay” the element that really made it was the music, as both Phil Hewson’s opener and Leroy Tayler’s curtain closer sandwiched one of the best sets we have witnessed at a Lovechild event. Signing up The Oli to the team of residents should be a given, as not only does he know Fire like the back of his hand, but he managed to inspire & indulge us in on one of the most splendid showings from a D.J. in many a month here. That said, the remaining threesome of Messrs Cutrano, Dabo & Heron played their part in pushing music to the forefront and in doing so begged the question, what happened to the usual ingredients of sexual intrigue & erotic intentions that were sadly lacking from this “Makin Hay” event?
Add to that the low key production and the fact that the numbers could barely sustain two, let alone three rooms and we begin to wonder whether the bottom really has fallen out of Saturday night clubbing. There is no doubt that Lovechild has found its niche, and a good one at that, but, in our view the promoter needs to possibly re-think his strategy with the rooms a little, definitely consider the cornerstones of the Lovechild brand, and let them do the talking in terms of which rooms are open & when. It seems that the desire for the contact space is there, just on this occasion the main room had the momentum & the lounge never got a look in. There is an argument to say that Lovechild should be about the music, but it is also true that the raunchy side of the brand has broad appeal. Get the combination right, together with the numbers through the door, and it has every chance to maintaining its position as the next best Saturday offering to SuperMartXe. However, July 31st may prove to be an endorsing acid test, yet we look forward to “Tropicana” with interest. (DISCO MATT)
Postscript
As our review has highlighted, the music at this “Makin Hay” event pretty much stole the show, and the good news is that if you witnessed The Oli’s superb set, you can re-kindle some of that magic via his latest compilation “Long Summer” which is available at http://theoli.podomatic.com. Plus Phil Hewson has laid down a special mix for this “Making Hay” event, which you can download from http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com, while guest South African D.J. Leroy Tayler has also marked the “Makin Hay” occasion with his own compilation, available at http://events.leroytayler.podomatic.com.
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