When we first landed on London and started our clubbing career in the capital, Sunday’s were very much the day to party hard & decadently, this trend having been forged by the mighty Trade, which when opening its doors back in 1990, quickly caught the imagination & short of transformed Sunday’s into the vogue day of the week, many swapping paper reading for partying, church for cavorting. So, it was natural that, when spilling out of Turnmills (Trade’s home) the energetic throngs of clubbers simply didn’t want the merriment to stop, thus an institution was born that, like its Sunday morning mother, firmly established itself on the capitals clubbing calendar, host venue Villa Stefano’s a must visit for any post Trade baby looking to dance deep into Sunday evening in what become the most decadent tea dance we have ever known.
DTPM is without doubt one of the leading clubbing brands, whose reputation has stretched far & wide, a club that has very much moved with the times, literally, from its original slot of 3 p.m. on a Sunday through to more of a Monday morning club & back ago, its 18 year history littered with amazing parties at a host of venues in the capital, including The End, Fabric & more latterly Paramount, but finding favour for us the most both in that original timing slot & at ancestral home Villa Stefano’s, it also being the natural follower to any Trade event. Indeed, living up to its name, in Latin, “Delirium Tremens Post Meridian”, roughly translated (in Disco Matt talk) as meaning “Delirious Teadance Post Midday”, it always seemed to have more significance on a Sunday afternoon rather than a Monday morning and so, when we heard that it would be making a welcome return to the scene, not only in our favouring timing slot, but following Trade’s 20th birthday event, we simply had to include it in our schedule, not least as promoter Lee Freeman had chosen the superb Cargo as a host venue for this “Eastbenders” titled trounce.
With Trade wearing us out in more ways than one (all for good reasons of course), we felt the need for a respite before landing on Rivington Street in London’s select situ Shoreditch for DTPM’s afternoon event, a short amount of re-fuelling of energy sought at hip hop hangout Rupert Street, before landing on Cargo at just turned 5 p.m. Whilst our arrival was a little later than planned, plus a good 4 hours after the party had kicked off, we were still in time to catch the ever engaging Laurent Chaumet on the door, who greeted us with his familiar French charm & warmth, escorting us through the entrance & past the friendly security staff & into the club proper, taking a moment to catch up in bits & bobs with us, before returning to his met & greet duties. Then it was just a case of finding the coatcheck to deposit our bits & bobs , while acclimatising ourselves to the inside of Cargo, this being our first visit, although the location being familiar to us as our daytime duties often require us to call on the address.
Ready & raring to go, we made our way into the main room space, filled nicely with plenty of partygoers, many whom had made the trip up form Trade, while a select few had very much more fresher legs to carry them through to the planned 10.30 p.m. finish. Moving around the dancefloor towards the bar to grab refreshments, we soon came across familiar faces, including Clington Forbes, who was still looking remarkably fresh following well over 12 hours of clubbing (like us), he having changed out of his Halloween attire that he had graced so fabulously at Vauxhall Chainsaw Massacre the night before, he getting down to the magnificent music at this “Eastbender” event with his usual gusto, invoking a similar reaction from our now refreshed legs, the New York & nu disco house that incumbent D.J. Guy Williams was selecting, very much hitting the mark & easing us into the party perfectly. And, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves at the D.J. booth saying our hello’s to the man behind the decks, Mr Williams still looking full of beans, even after the full-on fourth birthday bash for his own club brand Black Rabbit, as well as succumbing to the pleasures of Trade, which included a set in the lite lounge, the man clearly in party mood & enjoying this DTPM leg in his marathon weekend immensely. Indeed, he was very much in the grove with his music selections, the style much more akin to his performances at paradise 45 (another brand of his), but every bit the part for this cavorting at Cargo.
Feeling the need for a quick break out on the terrace to indulge in our re-emerged vice, we first caught up with Simon Patrick whom we had seen a mere four or so ours ago in a similar spot at Trade, he having taking the sensible decision to pop home & refresh himself for this post midday shindig. With a clutch of other familiar faces also taking a breather from the action inside, including D.J. Mikey D, who bounded up to say hello, soon followed by main man Lee Freeman, sporting his trademark trilby hat, who was just as pleased to see us, diving deep into conversation about all things DTPM, also touching on the change in D.J. line-up, Boy George, who was supposed to be headlining the event, cancelling (we were told for good reason) at the last minute, although such was the strength of the rest of the team, it didn’t make any difference to the party’s outcome.
With the familiar uplifting music sounds piping through onto the terrace, we starting searching for the source, soon finding it in the shape of the intimate second space, which was tucked away at the end of the venue, a neat little room with its own bar & make shift dance area, filled with a select crowd of faithful’s lapping up the superb sounds of the man in the seat, none other than Fat Tony, who had, just hours before, captivated us in Trade’s lite lounge. And with Clington in attendance, we soon get into the swing of this more uplifting & funky offering, spinning on our spot by the D.J. booth, even Lee & Simon joining in for a while, others also spilling in the space and adding to the already audacious atmosphere, all helped along by Tony’s selections which would never be complete without “Release Me” and “Here Comes The Rain”, both erupting the room & everyone in it.
But, as good as this little space was, we were being drawn back into the main room, our arrival timed to perfection as Guy Williams was ready to hand over the reins to the duo of Nick Tcherniak & Steve Thomas, an increasing gathering of party goers having assembled around the D.J. booth & stage, including the naughty but nice Tom Marchant, as well as Mr Patrick’s crew, which included TTD men Billy Richard & Greg Mitchell. And, with Guy in a really mischievous mood, not just playing with the red light behind the booth, but joking u with us & Steve, it wasn’t long before the whole affair descended into one hilarious moment after the next, Mr Williams continually put Mr Thomas off his stroke as soon as he got anywhere near the decks to mix a record, Nick having to assume control, while we were bent over in fits of laughter, Gus face an absolute picture and everyone around entering into the spirit of this jovial encounter extra-ordniarre.
So, with Mr Tckerniak in complete control of the music and his selections finding favour, the music more on the tougher side & much more akin to the DTPM style we had been used to, the stage also erupted into action, two scantily dressed go-go’s ascending each side & displaying their wares in front of the massive screen which was flashing vivacious visuals to enhance the show the twosome were entertaining the crowd with, the whole place pulsating with action and the atmosphere building by the second. Yet, as good as the party was becoming, our energy levels suddenly fagged somewhat, the previous 12 hours plus of hectic dancing beginning to take its toll on our remaining reserves, so we resigned our mind into following what our body was telling us, gracing our exit from this exceptional “Eastbender” event, to saunter back across town, leaving a still buzzing Cargo & DTPM mash up which partied on deep into Sunday night in style.
Having made the effort to make it across to Shoreditch & the brilliant host venue Cargo on Rivington Street, there was no doubt in our minds that this was the best choice place that lee Freeman had made since bringing the brand back to London just about a year ago. Yes, the location was not the most familiar to many, perhaps reflecting in the overall attendance, but the whole feel & vibe of Cargo suited DTPM perfectly for us, that post midday timeslot also finding our favour, added to the fact that the pitch of the music was just right, Guy Williams’ nu-disco blending into Nick’s more tech infused style brilliantly, while the second space in the hands of Fat Tony right up our street. And, while our stay wasn’t as long as we would have liked, the time we had there was full of fun from start to finish, the atmosphere amazing & the company equally so, meaning that our Cavorting At Cargo ended up being a most enjoyable experience, we looking forward to the next DTPM outing with interest, especially if the host venue is this swish spot in Shoreditch. (DISCO MATT)