Missing In Action
Well what a week we have had, as you may have gathered from associated posts, that we involved in a serious road accident, which was followed by considerable complications while under the care of St Thomas’ hospital, leaving us very much missing in action for the whole of the week. However, with our contacts rushing to our aid to report on the highlights of happenings across the scene, plus with plenty of news to share, having now returned to the safety & security of our home from that hell hole of a hospital, we thought we would take a look back over the week that we missed, but this time just concentrating on some of the real highlights, as well as bringing you news of forthcoming events and dates to add to your own dance & social diary.
Hustlaball With Harsh
So, let’s crack on a take a look at Thursday (9th June) first, Room Service once again seemingly ruling the roost as they played host to Hustlaball for the first of their pre-parties in advance of the main event on Saturday (11th June) at Fire. And it seemed that everyone was out in force to grab their own piece of porn playfulness, while playing to sexy sounds were new Room Service resident, international playboy D.J. Paul Heron, alongside the fabulous Jim Warboy, the star of Shoreditch, touting his tunes for the first time in the west end & lapping it up. With the likes of Austin Wilde & Ricky Sinz providing the porn candy and Jodie Harsh’s incredible ability to pull in scene faces from far & wide and this was Soho social soiree splendour at its best, to add to the new Room Service pre-party shenanigans at Circa where D.J.s Mikey D & James Pople entertained a considerate crowd. To keep abreast of the happenings down at Diu, why not take a peek at http://clubroomservice.com & keep your eyes peeled for news of a special Gay Pride party next week (Thurs 30th June).
That said David & L.A. Hart’s venture, Gigolo, was also having its say across at Lo-Profile, the cute yet capable Zach Burns once again stealing the show with a superb set, while a little bit of east end energy was provided by Spaniard Borja Pena, who, judging by the crowd’s reaction, will be back to Gigolo for more for sure. Into its fifth week and it seems this Thursday night affair has now firmly established itself on the clubbing calendar and this week (Thurs 25th June) Gigolo brings out some big guns in the form of Nathan Six & Jamie Head, both Lo-Profile favourites to sure to pull in the punters. Check out http://gigolodisco.com for more info.
Hustled At Society
Fast forwarding to Friday (10th June) and it seemed that Hustlaball were once again getting in on the act, this time across the other side of Soho at Lo-Profile, promoter Alex Erfan & his team taking over social splendour “Society” and injecting bucket loads of hunk, & funk to proceedings, with more of the pumped up porn stars on show and the superb duo of Steve Pitron & Jamie Head on the decks. Indeed, we could feel the emotion & energy right from our hospital bed as Brazilian Bel was tweeting while Steve played our new anthem “Stronger” to a packed out place, Jamie also having his say in keeping “Society” swinging right through till the 4 a.m. finish. To keep up to date with news on Lo-Profile, not just for “Society” but for their whole weekend of wonderment, check out http://loprofile.com.
Other movers & shakers on Friday (10th June) included Ku Bar on Lisle St who held the first of their D.J. Guest slot competition’s, this being the format that found the delectable DouGuim, while down in south London, The Brixton Clubhouse held their first full Friday nighter “Cafe Del Sol” , reporting reasonable numbers through the door, Tonker over in Vauxhall going all “Escort & Porn Star” on us, flying the Hustlaball flag and loving it. Websites to watch for more action in the coming weeks are http://ku-bar.co.uk, http://thebrixtonclubhouse.com & http://tonker.co.uk.
Fabulous At Fire
Onto Saturday and it came as no surprise to see Hustlaball once again stand in the scene spotlight, taking over the whole (and we mean whole) of Fire in Vauxhall, the stage shows being played out in the mirrorarch room, while the likes of Pagano, Guy Scheiman & Chris Bekker entertained the troops in the main room. With both Bear Necessity & Hard On! able to spread into their own spaces & Jodie Harsh looking after the Hustlaball top brass in the VIP lounge, no less than six rooms were well & truly packed all night, the brand having seemingly once again found its feet in London after a chequered couple of years across at The Renaissance Rooms. With pumping porn star action, plenty of play area’s & testosterone in plentiful supply, both head honcho Jeffrey Davids & London promoter Alex Erfan couldn’t have been more pleased with the result, so are already looking forward to Hustlaball London 2012. Check out http://hustlaball.com for upcoming events & news.
Elsewhere and Shoreditch saw the return of the magnificent “Meat” at East Bloc, the creation of D.J./Producer duo Tom Stephan & Kris Di Angelis, the boys from Q.X. magazine getting in on the act in room two, while Tom, Kris & James Pople rocked the main room with lector underground house that saw a packed out place dancing till dawn. East Bloc has really established itself as THE alternative hangout in town & with Gutterslut having literally closed its doors on a special birthday bash, check out other happenings at this Shoreditch spot by going to http://eastbloc.co.uk.
Beyond On The Radio
Onto Sunday and Beyond didn’t quite seen to sparkle with the Hustlball after effects, the team reporting on a mediocre party that lacked a bit of zing, although they should have been pretty pleased with their first “Beyond On The Radio” show, which went out live on Gaydar Radio from midnight (Sat) until 7 a.m., we tuning into the whole show from our hospital bedside. With sets lifted from the previous week’s party, we enjoyed the likes of Paul Christian, The Sharp Boys, Mikey D &, of course, Steve Pitron, very much transporting us onto the dancefloor and making up for what we had missed. Acting as a brilliant way to warm up for your weekly Beyond fix, why not tune in next weekend by going online at http://gaydarradio.com or by tuning in on your digital radio to DAB frequency 11B.
Other Sunday movers & shakers included “The Jonny Woo Show” over in Shoreditch, “Upstairs” at The Cambria down in Kennington and “S.L.A.G.S./Chill-out” across in Vauxhall, the common theme being cabaret with many trading outdoors for in as the weather was more like autumn than summer and washed out any trace of alfresco activity. With cabaret on a Sunday reporting a resurgence, both The Cambria & The RVT are two great places to pick, detail son both available at http://thecambrialondon.com & http://thervt.org.uk
Stripping At The Eagle
Rolling the next three days into one and Monday (13th June) saw the two usual suspects draw the biggest response from revellers, Heaven’s “Popcorn” packing the place with club kids that clearly didn’t need to work the following day, with “Citric” at Ku-Bar proved the perfect Popcorn prequel, the delectable DouGuim back behind the decks & delighting as always. Then on Tuesday (14th June) it was a choice of strip down at Ashley Ryder’s “Strip Academy” at The Eagle in Vauxhall, or lap up some tasty boy candy at Candy Bar in Soho, while on Wednesday (15th June), Ku-Bar rolled out another “Shinky Shonky” shindig for the alternative party heads, “Trannyshack” accommodating the gender benders across at Soho Revue Bar, “Industri” at Barcode Soho continuing amidst all the changes due at this Archer St attraction. More info on events at both Ku-Bar & The Eagle can be found by going to http://ku-bar.co.uk & http://eaglelondon.com.
Onyx
Right, onto some news and as we reported in our Best Bites & Short Shouts report just this weekend, Onyx has a new promoter in the form of Verity Mayes, who brings a wealth of talent & experience with her, having worked in Brighton for a number of years under the helm of the city’s big clubbing brand Wild Fruit. Joining The Orange Group a few weeks ago, Verity has quickly established herself within the tight knit team, although in taking over promoting Onyx, we are hoping this backroom girl will become much more of a frontline figure in the coming weeks. With plans to leave the Onyx winning formula intact, but to add her own identity to the brand, watch this space for some exciting developments to come.
Deuces
Now to a new(ish) night, also in Vauxhall, although one that pitches itself against the might of both Room Service & Gigolo as it takes place on a Thursday. But that is where the comparison between “Deuces” & its competitor’s ends, as this night is not so much the social soiree sophistication of the other two, but pure & unadulterated music of the house and R&B variety. Now “Deuces” as a brand is established and can already boast a following from many strands of society, from gays, lesbians, straights, students, professionals, black & white, promoter Kartel Brown explaining that “…the concept was always to mix tow different musical scenes together to make one new scene, attracting a very diverse crowd in the process…”. Taking place at Area in Vauxhall each Thursday “Deuces” will be fusing these two musical elements, Kartel will be ably assisted by resident D.J.’s that include Steve Geller (an interesting inclusion given the history with Area), Marlon Goodas, DMS & NG, while the handpicked “Deuces” dancers will be on hand delight. Having launched last Thursday (16th June), watch this space for more news on this latest mover & shaker.
- Summer Rites
Finally to a date for your diary and one well into July but worth noting now, as the sensational of the early noughties returns with a new look & a new identity. “Summer Rites Remixed” will be an outdoor extravaganza not to be missed, although moves from its historical home of Brockwell Park in Brixton, to Shoreditch Park in (yes!) Shoreditch, this “…boutique gay music festival…” making a resplendent return on Sunday 10th July. With brands already signed & sealed including the mighty Salvation, XXL, Popstarz & Gutterslut, local businesses pledging their support and this park party pulling together some of London’s best D.J. talents, along with P.A.’s & plenty more, to re-create the magic of those park Pride parties that we have loved & missed. Now, we are reliably informed that tickets are already selling fast, limited advance £15 ones still available at Prowler in Soho & Expectations on Old St, as well as online at http://summer-rites.com.
So to our moment, our track & our tweet of the week, both the moment & the tweet falling by the wayside this time round as we were very much missing in action, meaning it’s just our tack of the week that takes the limelight, although it is a corker and one that filled our ears for much of our stay in hospital hell. “Starry Eyed” has been tipping our scales on the Beyond dancefloor for a far few weeks now and further came to our attention following its inclusion on Steve Pitron’s “Summer 2011 Vol 1” release, but we only last week realised (to our embarrassment) that it was the brilliant remix work of one Danny Verde, so we leave you with the link to this terrific track, http://soundcloud.com/holabstudio/ellie-goulding-starry-eyed-1, which has soared into our top 10 of the year & will hopefully tip your musical scales too.
Right, that it for another “That Was The Week That Was” report but just before we go, don’t forget, if you want us to shout out for your favourite bar, club or event that rocked & rolled, then drop us a line at matt@discomatt.com or link into us via our Facebook page at http://facebook.com/discomattlondon and watch this space for our next report covering Thursday 16th to Wednesday 22nd June coming up later this week. (DISCO MATT)
Done & Dusted