“BOMBASTIC BEATS BY THE BEACH”
BEYOND FRUIT –
AS PART OF THE GAY BRIGHTON DANCE WEEKEND –
SUNDAY 8TH AUGUST
CLUB REVIEW
Our Sunday mornings these days are rarely the same unless we are lauding it large in Area, the magnet of a club that plays host to one of the most prolific & popular afterhours clubbing events we have known. In our years (and there have been a lot) of clubbing in the capital, there have been a mere few pretenders to its crown, this club even having seen off the then mother of all afterhours outings, Trade. In addition, a veritable feast of ventures fell at the first hurdle in an attempt to compete with the strength of this amazing club brand, so it will come as no surprise that the strength of Beyond is unquestionable, its reputation stretching far & wide and it seems that everyone wants to get their slice of this brilliant brand, whether it be the trappings of Paris, Amsterdam or even Mykonos, all destinations that have or are about to mark the clubs escapades abroad. But closer to home and Brighton was hankering for a look in too and it was to get its wish with the emergence of Paul Kemp’s Gay Brighton Dance Weekend, with Beyond set to sandwich itself between the four big events in the 29 strong festival calendar and being such a Beyond babe, it was a foregone conclusion that our excursion to the seaside would include this “bombastic beats by the beach” bash.
Arriving from Dance Nation, we were keen to get in amongst the action at The Honeyclub, host venue for this Beyond by the beach outing and the first one we had experienced outside the capital, our excitement levels reaching fever pitch as we found ourselves within the cavernous space that is, without question, our favourite club setting in Brighton. Mind you, looking around the space, which was brimming with a bountiful collection party heads well into the swing of things, we were struggling to recognise it as The Honeyclub we had known in the past, our vague memories of the venue barely impacting on our minds & eyes as we surveyed the territory in front of us. With Alex, Roni, Danny & Paul Kemp by our side and with no need to utilise the coatcheck facilities, we were set free to savour the full extent of this fruity frolic of a Beyond bash, being the collaboration between the ruling afterhours club in the capital & Brighton’s own big brand, this being the third in our trio outings which we had labelled “The Wild Fruit Way”.
Forging a path through the myriad of naked torso’s that was crowding out The Honyeclub’s main room, we could hardly see the various elevated podiums we needed to negotiate to find the safe spot by the D.J. booth we were aiming for, such was the sea of sweaty bopping bodies that were soaking up the octane fuelled & tech infused dance crazy house that Wild Fruit resident jock, Jonny M, was dishing out. But make the spot we did, Alex, Roni & Danny still in tow, although such was the demand on Paul’s attention that he had be left far behind and no doubt was also now caught up with promotions duties. So, with our spot by the booth secure, we sank into proceedings, our reasonably lofty position enabling us to look back across the extent of this pulsating main room, our minds making comparisons with Beyond’s natural home of now, Area back in London, although the space was nothing near the same, the ceiling much more rectangular than circular, the lighting not a patch on the amazing Area installation, yet all this difference gave Beyond in this by the beach format a funky & fresh feel.
However, venue aside, we could easily have been back in the capital as well over half of the cavorting crowd were Londoner’s, a never-ending list of familiar faces passing us by in our select spot and saying their hello’s, each & every person further lifting our already ecstatic mood, although it was when one Oliver Mohns arrived that our morning was going to get a literal elevation. In his now characteristic move, Mr Mohns gripped our legs and lifted us high into the air in an adoring exclamation of his pleasure to see us, but on bringing us back to terra firma, it was his tight bearhug of an embrace that took the proverbial wind out of our sails, his innocent exuberance crushing our delicately healing ribs and leaving us in considerable discomfort. Mind you, we were in one of our favourite clubs, Beyond, as well as in fabulous company, so the pain soon slipped away, especially with the arrival of Mikey D who was to shortly assume the D.J. decks and bring the real essence of Beyond to the beach.
With refreshments in hand we settled into Mikey’s set, finding our stride within the packed out out & pulsating Honeyclub main room, having adjusted our minds & accustomed our eyes to this new Beyond setting, Mr Dower’s music choices helping us feel even more at home with our beside the seaside Sunday morning and the continuing scene faces & friends appearing every now and then to further enlighten our experience. This included the dinky but delightful D.J. Miswhite, Emma rushing up to say hello and showing all her usual morsels of excitable energy for which we know her the best, we then indulging in our “whisper” moment, a story of old that we play out together whenever we meet, each time with hilarious results & reactions. With our roughed up ribs now a distant memory, we were beginning to really adore our new found Beyond bash away from London, the connections with the capital still apparent, but the atmosphere entirely different, yet for these contrasting reasons it was becoming the best outings in Brighton by far.
Being so busy inside, not just in the main room but in the second space next door which was proving a more relaxed affair, with Jeffrey Hinton in charge of the funky Queer Nation inspired tunes, many were seeking respite on the expansive terrace that fronted the beach, a walk on Brighton’s pebbly seafront simply separated by see-through steel fencing allowing onlookers to survey the social & clubbing shenanigans of the masses savouring the splendour of the bustling Beyond bastion before their eyes. And it was here we rested a while, catching up with our companions as well as bumping into recently formed friend Michelle, who like us had missed out on the Barcelona opportunity that had been beckoning, rather making Brighton the B in her wild weekend of clubbing. Clington Forbes was another friend that was here rather than there, but all of three of us were enjoying our experience nevertheless, as were off duty Tonker troupers from earlier, Alan X & Tim Jones, not to mention DTPM’s Lee Freeman, their very presence a clear indication that this fruity flavoured afterhours audacity was the club of choice following all the other Saturday night pride parties, let alone those from the Gay Brighton Dance Weekend.
However, it was inside where all the major action was, so we were back in our spot by the D.J. booth before long, Mickey in full stride and The Honeyclub in similarly full swing, the main room even busier than before, the bubbly Lee Harris appearing out of the masses to say hello, soon to be followed by the shining star of Lovechild’s party a few weeks previously, The Oli, who had hot footed it from Beyond at Area for his own second fill of this brilliant brand. Assuming his position behind the decks and taking up where Mr Dower left off, Oli gave this by the beach bash a very familiar feel with plenty of rip roaring house tunes of now, including that Crazibiza track that had become the sound of this seaside stint of ours, but with eyes beginning to point towards a chill-out session post this Beyond bash, we retreated to safe quarters by the venue entrance. Here we caught sight of yet another Beyond resident D.J., this time Hifi Sean, who had played out at DTPM before and was enjoying himself before yet more duties at Wild Fruit’s “Kings & Queens” event. Then just as we were getting into the swing of a final few minutes of this prolific party, a call came in hinting on our required attendance at the afterparty, so we beat a hasty retreat to rendezvous with our chill-out chums, leaving a still packed & pumping Beyond behind and an event extraordinaire exude on.
Naturally in this beside the beach Beyond party there were always going to be comparisons with London and distinguishing it apart from the club in the capital was not helped by the amount of Londoners present, not to mention resident jock Mikey D & occasional guest The Oli. However in reality, the fact that so many familiar faces had stayed back in Brighton for this Beyond rather than returning to London, was testament to the strength of the brand and proof of its popularity whether in the capital or not. However, there is no escaping that the Honeyclub as a venue isn’t a patch on Area, the lighting nowhere near as good, the overwhelming bass to the sound system sometimes too much to bear, the complete lack of visuals, pyrotechnics & effects which we are so used to in home territory distinctly absent, many observations that, in stepping out of the insularity of the scene in the capital for the couple of days we did, helped us appreciate just how lucky we are with our lot in London. Yet, that said, the Brighton version of this awesome afterhours had an edge to it, the feel of decadence that compared with Trade days of old, the resounding reason why it worked so well for us and meaning that Beyond Fruit will live in our memories for a long time to come. (DISCO MATT)
BEYOND FRUIT –
AS PART OF THE GAY BRIGHTON DANCE WEEKEND –
SUNDAY 8TH AUGUST
CLUB REVIEW
Our Sunday mornings these days are rarely the same unless we are lauding it large in Area, the magnet of a club that plays host to one of the most prolific & popular afterhours clubbing events we have known. In our years (and there have been a lot) of clubbing in the capital, there have been a mere few pretenders to its crown, this club even having seen off the then mother of all afterhours outings, Trade. In addition, a veritable feast of ventures fell at the first hurdle in an attempt to compete with the strength of this amazing club brand, so it will come as no surprise that the strength of Beyond is unquestionable, its reputation stretching far & wide and it seems that everyone wants to get their slice of this brilliant brand, whether it be the trappings of Paris, Amsterdam or even Mykonos, all destinations that have or are about to mark the clubs escapades abroad. But closer to home and Brighton was hankering for a look in too and it was to get its wish with the emergence of Paul Kemp’s Gay Brighton Dance Weekend, with Beyond set to sandwich itself between the four big events in the 29 strong festival calendar and being such a Beyond babe, it was a foregone conclusion that our excursion to the seaside would include this “bombastic beats by the beach” bash.
Arriving from Dance Nation, we were keen to get in amongst the action at The Honeyclub, host venue for this Beyond by the beach outing and the first one we had experienced outside the capital, our excitement levels reaching fever pitch as we found ourselves within the cavernous space that is, without question, our favourite club setting in Brighton. Mind you, looking around the space, which was brimming with a bountiful collection party heads well into the swing of things, we were struggling to recognise it as The Honeyclub we had known in the past, our vague memories of the venue barely impacting on our minds & eyes as we surveyed the territory in front of us. With Alex, Roni, Danny & Paul Kemp by our side and with no need to utilise the coatcheck facilities, we were set free to savour the full extent of this fruity frolic of a Beyond bash, being the collaboration between the ruling afterhours club in the capital & Brighton’s own big brand, this being the third in our trio outings which we had labelled “The Wild Fruit Way”.
Forging a path through the myriad of naked torso’s that was crowding out The Honyeclub’s main room, we could hardly see the various elevated podiums we needed to negotiate to find the safe spot by the D.J. booth we were aiming for, such was the sea of sweaty bopping bodies that were soaking up the octane fuelled & tech infused dance crazy house that Wild Fruit resident jock, Jonny M, was dishing out. But make the spot we did, Alex, Roni & Danny still in tow, although such was the demand on Paul’s attention that he had be left far behind and no doubt was also now caught up with promotions duties. So, with our spot by the booth secure, we sank into proceedings, our reasonably lofty position enabling us to look back across the extent of this pulsating main room, our minds making comparisons with Beyond’s natural home of now, Area back in London, although the space was nothing near the same, the ceiling much more rectangular than circular, the lighting not a patch on the amazing Area installation, yet all this difference gave Beyond in this by the beach format a funky & fresh feel.
However, venue aside, we could easily have been back in the capital as well over half of the cavorting crowd were Londoner’s, a never-ending list of familiar faces passing us by in our select spot and saying their hello’s, each & every person further lifting our already ecstatic mood, although it was when one Oliver Mohns arrived that our morning was going to get a literal elevation. In his now characteristic move, Mr Mohns gripped our legs and lifted us high into the air in an adoring exclamation of his pleasure to see us, but on bringing us back to terra firma, it was his tight bearhug of an embrace that took the proverbial wind out of our sails, his innocent exuberance crushing our delicately healing ribs and leaving us in considerable discomfort. Mind you, we were in one of our favourite clubs, Beyond, as well as in fabulous company, so the pain soon slipped away, especially with the arrival of Mikey D who was to shortly assume the D.J. decks and bring the real essence of Beyond to the beach.
With refreshments in hand we settled into Mikey’s set, finding our stride within the packed out out & pulsating Honeyclub main room, having adjusted our minds & accustomed our eyes to this new Beyond setting, Mr Dower’s music choices helping us feel even more at home with our beside the seaside Sunday morning and the continuing scene faces & friends appearing every now and then to further enlighten our experience. This included the dinky but delightful D.J. Miswhite, Emma rushing up to say hello and showing all her usual morsels of excitable energy for which we know her the best, we then indulging in our “whisper” moment, a story of old that we play out together whenever we meet, each time with hilarious results & reactions. With our roughed up ribs now a distant memory, we were beginning to really adore our new found Beyond bash away from London, the connections with the capital still apparent, but the atmosphere entirely different, yet for these contrasting reasons it was becoming the best outings in Brighton by far.
Being so busy inside, not just in the main room but in the second space next door which was proving a more relaxed affair, with Jeffrey Hinton in charge of the funky Queer Nation inspired tunes, many were seeking respite on the expansive terrace that fronted the beach, a walk on Brighton’s pebbly seafront simply separated by see-through steel fencing allowing onlookers to survey the social & clubbing shenanigans of the masses savouring the splendour of the bustling Beyond bastion before their eyes. And it was here we rested a while, catching up with our companions as well as bumping into recently formed friend Michelle, who like us had missed out on the Barcelona opportunity that had been beckoning, rather making Brighton the B in her wild weekend of clubbing. Clington Forbes was another friend that was here rather than there, but all of three of us were enjoying our experience nevertheless, as were off duty Tonker troupers from earlier, Alan X & Tim Jones, not to mention DTPM’s Lee Freeman, their very presence a clear indication that this fruity flavoured afterhours audacity was the club of choice following all the other Saturday night pride parties, let alone those from the Gay Brighton Dance Weekend.
However, it was inside where all the major action was, so we were back in our spot by the D.J. booth before long, Mickey in full stride and The Honeyclub in similarly full swing, the main room even busier than before, the bubbly Lee Harris appearing out of the masses to say hello, soon to be followed by the shining star of Lovechild’s party a few weeks previously, The Oli, who had hot footed it from Beyond at Area for his own second fill of this brilliant brand. Assuming his position behind the decks and taking up where Mr Dower left off, Oli gave this by the beach bash a very familiar feel with plenty of rip roaring house tunes of now, including that Crazibiza track that had become the sound of this seaside stint of ours, but with eyes beginning to point towards a chill-out session post this Beyond bash, we retreated to safe quarters by the venue entrance. Here we caught sight of yet another Beyond resident D.J., this time Hifi Sean, who had played out at DTPM before and was enjoying himself before yet more duties at Wild Fruit’s “Kings & Queens” event. Then just as we were getting into the swing of a final few minutes of this prolific party, a call came in hinting on our required attendance at the afterparty, so we beat a hasty retreat to rendezvous with our chill-out chums, leaving a still packed & pumping Beyond behind and an event extraordinaire exude on.
Naturally in this beside the beach Beyond party there were always going to be comparisons with London and distinguishing it apart from the club in the capital was not helped by the amount of Londoners present, not to mention resident jock Mikey D & occasional guest The Oli. However in reality, the fact that so many familiar faces had stayed back in Brighton for this Beyond rather than returning to London, was testament to the strength of the brand and proof of its popularity whether in the capital or not. However, there is no escaping that the Honeyclub as a venue isn’t a patch on Area, the lighting nowhere near as good, the overwhelming bass to the sound system sometimes too much to bear, the complete lack of visuals, pyrotechnics & effects which we are so used to in home territory distinctly absent, many observations that, in stepping out of the insularity of the scene in the capital for the couple of days we did, helped us appreciate just how lucky we are with our lot in London. Yet, that said, the Brighton version of this awesome afterhours had an edge to it, the feel of decadence that compared with Trade days of old, the resounding reason why it worked so well for us and meaning that Beyond Fruit will live in our memories for a long time to come. (DISCO MATT)
1 comment:
You didn't really comment on the crowd attending, other than to note that it was majority Londoners. Have to say, this was one of the best looking crowds I've seen at a clubbing event in recent times. Low on the riff raff and high on the good looking and well muscled. Is that truly also the Beyond crowd in London?
Johann
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