In recent times it seems that for a number of reasons, our emotions tend to overcome us, sometimes consume us, occasionally get us into hot water, but on many more occasions erupt from sheer joy (we like these moments), whether it be while peddling around London’s busy roads, sitting in our study while writing about our clubbing exploits, or when taking time out from the trials & tribulations of the typewriter, scenes from our favourite film of now “Made In Dagenham” still starting off the waterworks, despite having watched the scenes well over twenty times. But all those instances aside, without question the place that perpetrates the pour out of our emotions the most at the moment, seems to be the dancefloor, although not any old dancefloor, one that holds a special place in our heart, as does the club for which the venue will always be best known to us, moreover it is this dancefloor and a certain D.J. who, when selecting certain sounds, sends us into floods of tears, ones of joy & happiness of course, meaning that before we know it, the euphoria he creates erupts our emotions like no other.
So, for those of you that follow our reviews regularly you will have surmised quite quickly that we are talking about Area, about Beyond & about Steve Pitron, not a week having gone by since we devoted a special look to him and the club, yet within that week we once again found ourselves in the captivating clutches of our most favourite afterhours, indeed probably our favourite club full stop. Billed as a special thank you to everyone that had voted for the club in the recent Boyz awards, Beyond was in celebratory mood, swinging open its doors extra early (as the title hints) at midnight, the Terrace Room spilling out into The Chapel and eventually the main space, the staggering of the party a tried & tested practice that generally works like a dream, although arriving at just turned 4 a.m., rather than a smooth & orderly queue, as we had expected, we were greeted with complete pandemonium, organisational cogs in the wrong place & a free for all queue system. Now, given the special start & nature of this latest Beyond bash, you would have thought the team would have been prepared for the hoards that descended on Area, although with an event in the main room to manage out, plus our arrival time proving the most popular, it was no surprise that a mangled mess entailed. Indeed, given the sheer numbers intertwined between Beyond & the other party, under the circumstances, the team did a sterling job to control the mayhem (isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?!?)
But with the right men back in the right place, Tom Fuller in particular, it wasn’t long before outside order was restored, security head cheese John also doing a fantastic job too, although with the chaos that had ensued & our lack of knowledge of the extenuating circumstances at the time, the rocky start wasn’t the best way to get us in the right mood, the door team nevertheless very apologetic for the situation (can’t ask for anything more from them). However, with the ever smiling & accommodating Chrissy Darling (now stripped down to her civvies) waving us through and into the club, the coatcheck also running incredibly smoothly, we were released to party in record time, all the earlier pandemonium forgotten, we waving hello to Brazilian boy wonder DouGuim, who was mixing music masterfully in the Terrace room, our swift arrival then finding us in the so called “Future House” Chapel room, where Hifi Sean was serving up some superb sounds to get us in that right mood we were looking for and for what was to come. Indeed had it not been for the incumbent main room main man, we would have stayed the length of Sean’s spectacular set, his deep tech fuelled but funky tipped house going down an absolute storm, Paul Heron also in the wings, ready to carry on Hifi’s hard work to keep the place pumping.
However, with spot calling signals crossing our minds, we had to make our excuses to Sean & Paul, heading into the melay of the main room, arriving in our spot just as the purveyor of pitch perfect performances was starting another, Steve Pitron firmly in the Beyond driving seat and ready to shine like the bright & brilliant star he is. And it was a matter of moments before we were right into our groove, the only element holding us back being the bitchy “mad hatters tea party” comment from a rival reviewer running through our minds, although the madness was about to become magical as Miss Czech Republic herself, Andrea Drukilova appeared through the now cavorting crowd and threw her arms open in a welcoming embrace, a succession of dextrous & delightful dance moves leaving us in hysterics & happiness, all this elation not an hour into our favourite afterhours audaciousness.
But it was Mr D.J. that was to get our main devotion for the next 2 ½ hours, Steve pulling out some awesome tracks, many so familiar to our ears from whizzing around London’s roads, “Bitch Lady”, Twist In My Sobriety”, “Catch You”, “Music In My Soul” and many more, we waiting on tenterhooks for the promised remix works of a handful of classics that had been hinted in a text message just hours before, the emotions welling up then, but with this air of anticipation we found ourselves in, the euphoria Steve had already created was set to erupt those emotions again. Indeed, when having looked over the booth in our direction a couple of times, he raced to the door and waved us into his place of wonderful work, that moment of magic was hitting us oncemore, standing next to Beyond’s best & brilliant boy, ready to tip our emotional scales with a new version of one of our most favourite tunes, Rebeka Brown’s “Offshore”, the mere thought of this delectable devotion starting our waterworks of joy & happiness, we having to retire from this privileged position back to our spot to savour this tremendous track to the full, dancing merrily yet fighting back those emotions as best we could. But the emotions were to continue, Norman Doray’s classic providing the most poignant of lyrics, “…I’ve been waiting for tonight, let’s make this moment last forever…”, the emotional rollercoaster continuing with Kelly Rowland’s “Commander”, although it was the biggie, a now rare airing of “Release Me” that literally had us wiping the tears from our eyes while dancing in a dervish.
With Steve into a substantial stride, we were already forming the thoughts in our minds that we would need to dispel the claim from our previous Pitron prolification earlier in the week that it “Doesn’t Get Better Than This” as it did & it was, Andrea’s company whether by our side or up in the D.J. booth, making it all the better, even Steve’s partner Celso taking a moment to have a boogie with us, added to that a wave of familiar faces popping up to say hi. Indeed one of those hi’s was to come from incumbent jock, Mikey D, back to Beyond after what seemed like an age and a very welcome return it was too, although he was always going to have a task on his hands to top the towering triumph of Steve’s set. But with the changeover complete, Mikey set about the task with gusto, hitting the mark with some majestic music miracles, his selections combining the tougher side of his showings with enough vocal drenched dreams to maintain the awesome atmosphere left behind by his back-to-back partner, the podiums packed, the dancefloor rammed, the lighting at full tilt and even the ticker tape pyrotechnics exploding effortlessly.
However, with a good four hours of dancing under our belt, we decided a breather was required, although stepping back into the Chapel room, where we caught the last of a superb showing from Paul Heron, our already magical morning was about to become even more so, a surprise appearance by the bountiful Bailey putting a huge smile on our faces. And just like our ecstatic experience the previous week at the Week, we once again found ourselves engulfed in hugs, kisses, dance moves & the like, Bailey’s playful approaches inspiring our own to make for yet more magical moments at this “Midnight” `masterpiece, our stay extending deep into Sunday and seeing scintillating socialising with fabulous friend Tom Fuller, dextrous dancing with the brilliant Bailey and tons of terrific tunes courtesy of The Sharp Boys in the main room, Paul Christian in The Chapel and The Oli in the Terrace room. But like all good things, this Beyond had to come to an end for us, a curtain call at just turned 11 a.m. a lot later than we had planned, although for good reason as this felt like the Beyond of old we have come to love & adore, the memories of this magnificent morning still rushing through our thoughts as we sauntered home to reflect on another awesome afterhours affair with Area.
Well what can we say that hasn’t been said already? Well probably that, despite previous claims, this has to have been the most enthrallingly emotional Beyond we have experienced ever, the previous three parties sending our senses on a large enough rollercoaster ride, although this one exceeding even those, the Pitron perfection becoming even more perfect, his selections of sounds sending us soaring, once again proving just how much a shining star he is for this award winning brand. Moreover, this “Midnight” event had the best (excepting a couple) of Beyond boys around, rapturous residents Mikey D, Hifi Sean, Paul Christian & The Oli that have made this amazing afterhours what it is, present for this prolific party and being very deserving of their inclusion. Yet, as great this latest Beyond instalment was, there remain questions over certain elements of the club & the decision making under its present promoter, although saving those for another day, we finish on the most positive point we can by saying that Beyond was definitely at its brilliant best this Sunday, the euphoria that erupted our emotions the epitome of our enjoyment so can’t wait to be back. (DISCO MATT)