As a whole raft of D.J.’s, club promoters, scene faces & party heads begin to make their way down to Alpe d’Huez for the European Gay Ski week, the last thought on our minds is sliding down snow covered slopes, having recently returned from South Africa, soaking up the sun. So if like us, your idea of a good time is NOT being cold halfway up a mountain & falling on your arse constantly, then staying in the relative normality of London seems a far better option this weekend, especially given that there is much celebrating to do, both on the alternative & the fetish side. So, as we shake of those magical memories of our holiday in South Africa, yet bask in some very welcome sunshine here in the capital, what’s on offer to tempt you out this weekend in Soho, Vauxhall & elsewhere.
To Soho first and our single and Best Bite goes to Profile & Lo-Profile, a duo of a combination that are striding ahead of the competition in terms of both offer & experience, the ground floor bar gaining popularity by the week, serving fantastic food, superb socialising and masterful music, this weekend the sounds supplied by two true stars of the D.J. scene, Jamie Head steering you into the weekend with bags of brilliant beats on Friday (25th March), while on Saturday, Berlin based D’Johnny flies into London to stoke up your Saturday with a truck load of terrific tunes. Plus, if like us, you didn’t realise what offers those lovely peeps at Profile are serving up, well get yourselves down early (like from 4 till 7), as their happy hour is really pleasing to the pocket, while the food offer is simply delicious & the best way to fuel any party head for the night to come, their Sunday roast offer also proving as popular as the place. Full & further details of this hip & happening hangout can be found at http://profilesoho.com.
Downstairs and the action is hot, hot hot, and when in Soho, there is not really anywhere else you need to be come Friday of Saturday, this weekend being no exception as, yet again, the team have cracked it with a line up that some of the larger clubs in the capital would be proud to sport. Friday sees a combination that will definitely draw a crowd, Nathan Six kicking off proceedings from 10 pm and if his set upstairs we witnessed a few weeks ago is anything to go by, Lo-Profile will explode into action from the off, while D’Johnny takes up the mantle from 1 a.m., sorting the sounds & maintaining the magnificent music as only he knows best. Then on Saturday (26th March), Beyond classic resident D.J. Hugh Stevenson makes a welcome return to this characterful club on Wardour St, revving up the rhythms from 10 p.m., while international playboy & globetrotting guy Paul Heron makes the most of a busy weekend before heading off to the ski slopes with the second of three gigs, masterminding the music from 1 a.m. With lighting & effects that would put some other venues to shame, along with a stylish & sophisticated crowd of cavorters, Lo-Profile has it all with full details of opening times etc available at http://loprofile.com.
To our Soho short shouts and first off is news that Barcode has been sold and is likely to be turned into a restaurant, this change certainly set to affect some, while until the ownership swap happens, it’s business as usual for club events like Industri on a Wednesday’s & Comedy Club on Tuesday’s, while the weekend activity remains as vibrant as always, details of what’s happening available at http://bar-code.co.uk.
That said, there are plenty of other venues around Soho serving up plenty of entertaining action, not least Shadow Lounge that has a week long list of events, a quick visit to their website at http://theshadowlounge.co.uk/ revealing all the detail you need to know, while other Soho strongholds include Rupert St and Compton’s, the latter back in the hands of its best ever manager, Neil, and enjoying a much needed resurgence in popularity, so well worth a look in.
Onto Vauxhall and The Orange Group look set to dominate the weekend again with a whole host of parties starting with Gravity tonight (Thurs 24th) through to Orange on Monday (27th March), while the shining stars of their show remain both Onyx & Beyond, corner stoning the weekend at Area and indeed it is Area that gets much of the focus here, not least as the venue hosts the first ever Black Party in London this Saturday, details of which we will bring you in a special extra bites post. As for the other two, well at Onyx, it’s the new look business as usual tomorrow, while the strong resident D.J. team is set to get even stronger as the team announce that Mikey D will be boosting the beats in the main room, while Tasty Tim orchestrates the more pop plumped anthems theme in the second space. With price busting entry at just £1 before midnight, plus NUS & other concession offers, you can also gain discount entry via http://gayguestlists.com/onyx.
As for Beyond, well the fairytale continues, despite a whole load of tinkering of late and this awesome afterhours sees the likes of Paul Heron, Hifi Sean, Paul Christian, Fat Tony & birthday(ish) boy Gonzalo Rivas joining the maestro that is Steve Pitron, who stormed back into pole position last week after his holiday’s, treating us to one of the most emotionally charged yet thrillingly entertaining sets that also marked our return to our spot in Area. Acting as the afterparty for The Black Party, Beyond is sure to be another amazing affair & kicks off Sunday morning (26th March) at the winter clock time of 4 a.m. rather the seasonally adjusted one. Mind you, Fire also gets its say in The Orange Group weekend, A:M, spearheading the time change with their farewell to winter, “Ice” seeing stars similar to Beyond’s to be honest, but when Fat Tony, Gonzalo Rivas & Paul Heron join forces in the main room, who can argue with that. Details of Beyond, A:M and all other clubs/events, go to http://fireclub.co.uk
Our other Best Bite in Vauxhall goes to The Eagle, who continue to offer a macho alternative to the mainstream clubbing of The Orange Group, it also having a birthday feel to things this weekend, as Friday nighter Tonker celebrates its 8th year in business with a fabulous theme entitled “Brute Fabearge – The Friday Night Fragrance”, Tim Jones & his team welcoming special guests for a champagne reception from 8 p.m., while for us uninvited the main party kicks off from 10 p.m., entertainment coming from Dr Woof! (sounds intriguing) while D.J’s Simon Le Vans & Ross Jones (no relation to Tim) take up the tunes, more info on this special event available direct at http://tonker.co.uk. Then the fun continues on Saturday (26th March) with the “Mister Eagle London 2011” final, hosted by none other than Dorian Black & supported by Tonker, with head poncho Tim Jones steering the sounds. With the winner not only lifting this prestigious title, but pocketing a £1000 prize, even the runner up bagging a made to measure garment from sponsor Expectations, the testosterone will be oozing out of Eagle for sure. Plus, with Sunday sporting another gymkhana gyration that is Horse meat Disco, this is definitely a place to more than just pop into, full details of happenings available by going to http://eaglelondon.com.
Our short shouts go, like Soho, first to Barcode, the management change beginning to bear positive fruit as it seems at long last there could be a marriage of minds between them & Area for certain events, all in the benefit of the clubbing community (hooray!), while events like Deviate & Music Is The Answer, bolster the regular nights of music across the two rooms, this intrinsic part of the Vauxhall scene very much the lynch pin to partying. So, with all these positive vibes we hope to have it ascend to Best Bite status soon, although in the meantime, more details on happenings can be found at http://bar-code.co.uk.
Then, we have to shout for the venerable institution that is The RVT and with nights like Marvellous on Friday (25th March), Duckie on Saturday & S.L.A.G.S./Chill-out on Sunday, the reputation of this long running venue is difficult to match, details of these & other happenings out at http://thervt.org.uk. But, it will be the fetish side that grabs our attention as Hard On! this Saturday host a special reunion (dare we say it, oh what the heck) as Fist returns for a one-off, labelled for the wider press as “F*** Re-Union”, cousin Crisco Matt bringing you the all important detail in a special extra bites post, so watch out for that.
Onward to our alternatives and it’s a rich picking this weekend with three looking like Best Bite offerings, so let’s revel in this glory by first looking to Jodie Harsh’s Circus, which returns for a monthly spectacular shindig at the Paramount on the 31st floor of Centrepoint on Saturday (26th March), this latest event titled “Venus” calling you to embrace your feminine side (we do that all the time!) and also marks Circus approaching five full-on & fantastic years pushing the envelope that is the London polysexual clubbing scene. And the gathering looks gigantic, not least as the sound spinning stars include Shoreditch son Kris Di Angelis, the original gender-bender Tasty Tim and a special set from Jodie herself, no Circus event being complete without the bizarre, twisted yet thoroughly entertaining cabaret show from the icon that is Scottee. But that’s not all, as the team welcome the might of Ladytron whose massive worldwide following from hits “Seventeen” & “Destroy Everything You Touch”, as well as remix credentials that extend to works by Blondie, should see him/her make some monstrous musical machinations. We could say much more, but THE single most important message is, don’t miss this one as its is set to be a brilliant biggie for sure, full details of this event & Circus in general available at http://thisiscircus.com.
Sharing Best Bite status and looking every bit as good (oh the choice!), is Gutterslut, the way out & whacky wonderment that has been strutting its stuff across London’s East End for a handful of years now, but comes slightly closer into town, returning to its new home, East Bloc on Old Street, this Saturday (26th March), but holds a special celebration as it is Gutterslut original, Per Q.X.’s birthday, the main man flying back from a break in Sweden in time for this exceptional event. And with a cast that includes Nic Fischer, Ralf Obergal, M.C. Crystal and Ma Butcher, all spinning the sounds across the two rooms, Ma also playing host for the evening, this is one birthday bash that you don’t want to miss (see what we mean about choice!?!). With more detail and concession entry available by dropping the gang an e-mail at gutterslut@yahoo.co.uk, if, like us, you can’t make it to this magnificent mash-up, fear not as Per has recorded a special birthday mix to show you exactly what you will be missing, this colossal compilation available for download at http://soundcloud.com/perqx/. As for host venue East Bloc, don’t forget the Friday night naughtiness that is Disco Fag Bar, info on this and other events at this Old Street operation available by going to http://eastbloc.co.uk.
To our final of three at The Dalston Superstore signs off this show with another corker of a weekend, centre-staged by yet another birthday bash, this time for Guy Williams’ Paradise 45 which celebrates its first this Friday (25th March), with a dream worthy line-up of D.J’s including Ben Jamin whose jams at Crash have legendary status, the fabulous Faze Action who completely wowed us at Guy’s other club night Reverse, last spring, while the main man also takes to the decks downstairs, while upstairs Paul Dragoni & guests duck & dive the disco. And talking of disco, it’s this all the way, whether it be of the future variety, the old skool 80’s classic slant, or the Italio style, Paradise 45 by name alone shouts disco, disco disco & we love it!! But what we love even more is that’s its all free of charge, yes free folks, but be warned as guy rightfully say’s “…please arrive early disco troops as its gonna be a heavin!…” early being before the 10 p.m. start. As for the rest of the DSS weekend, Saturday sees the return of Paris On Acid, with the likes of Hannah Holland, Dan Beaumont & Squeaky sorting the sounds, while on Sunday (27th March), that man Squeaky returns for his own serenade to the end of the 7th day with another Tutti Frutti social soiree splendour, more of the detail on this and other DSS happenings available at http://dalstonsuperstore.com.
Right, well we have ranted on for long enough, although it is good to be back doing our Best Biting & Short Shouting after a good 4 weeks, so if you fancy being included in future posts, a reminder that if you want your bar, club or event included, then get emailing us at matt@discomatt.com or find us on Facebook via http://facebook.com/discomattlondon &/or http://facebook.com/pages/Disco-Matt/112730602119746 where you can plaster our wall(s) or pop us a message and we will do our best to include you.
So, the weekend is here and it’s time to paaaarty, we kicking off with a trip up to Dalston for Paradise 45 tomorrow (Friday 25th March), while Saturday sees us join forces with cousin Crisco, he heading to hard On!, while we pop into The Black party, Sunday morning seeing us both brave Beyond and, hopefully, another scintillating set from Steve Pitron. So, if you see us out, come say hi, although wherever you are & whatever you are up to, have a great time, don’t forget those clocks go forward on Sunday (early), but remember what we love to say, “…Go There! Be There!…” (DISCO MATT)