With our “Best Bites” posted in part one, now it’s time to “Short Shout” in part two, this second half of our re-styled newsletter guiding you through the forthcoming N.Y. weekend, covering a delightful dozen of scene showings where you could be laying your Happy New hat, whether your choice is Soho, Vauxhall or Shoreditch, each shout getting the Disco Matt thumbs up!
Well, the die is cast, our weekly recommends newsletters are back, although in a slightly revised format, splitting our “Best Bites” away from our “Short Shouts” (here), making the weekly roll call of where to be & be seen on the scene a two part affair. And in dividing it the way we do, we are hoping to shout for many more bars, clubs & events here, this N.Y. weekend being no exception, meaning it’s time to crack on & mention many, this in addition to those “Best Bites” & Focus” recommendations already reaped.
Gods, Greeks, & Gladiators
So to Soho first and The Shadow Lounge, who are ringing in 2012 with a special party, the theme “Greek Gods & Gladiators”, very much hinting towards a year in London that will be all about The Olympics, the relay team of D.J.’s including Andrew Elmore, Adam Turner & Harvey Adam, while there will be a mass of mythological majesties to feast your eyes on, bronzed hunks & plenty more besides, that on top of free canopies & champagne for the first 100 guests through the door. Kicking off at 9 p.m. on NYE (Sat 31st) , advanced tickets & info on this event is available via http://theshadowlounge.co.uk while we will be popping an Extra Bites post out in time for tomorrow.
Our next Soho shout goes to Rupert Street who never fail to pull in the punters on NYE, the free entry to the premier place on the bar treading trip a pretty good reason why a flock of folks do just that. And with resident D.J. Alessandro Londra spinning the sounds, it should be a right good knees up, the bevy of beauties that are the bar staff sure to get you in the party mood, while with house champagne at just £15 a bottle, is cheaper than going to the offie. Add that to fellow Bello Italian Micky Galliano on the D.J. decks tomorrow night (Fri 30th) and this brilliant bar definitely gets a huge tick from us, more info out at http://rupertstreet.com.
Onward and to Ku-Bar, both venues seeing in the New Year in style with promises of poppers, streamers, blowers, hats, whistles & the rest, Lisle St switching the big screens to go live to the BBC before midnight, so you can take the whole London fireworks display in without leaving your beer, your wine or (preferably) your champers behind. So, rather than braving the cold, succumb to the heat of both Ku’s, the temperature rising with all those cute Ku boys floating around, while a delightful drop of D.J.’s will be spinning the sounds including The Very Miss Dusty O & Lady Lloyd, further details on happenings available by going to http://ku-bar.co.uk
Going Completely GaGa
Then how could we leave out The Edge, this four floored fabulousness up on Soho Square already beginning to decked out for one of the biggest NYE parties on the block, the team promising a drove of drag queens, a bunch of bar hunks & a score of scene starlets, all deployed to pump up proceedings, while music pumping will certainly be the name of the game too as weekly resident & our king pin protégé player of 2011, Zach Burns, spins the pop, and (we hate to use the word but…) commercial tunes, although “aga-doo” has been banned. That said, with a theme that demands you to dress to impress, anything could happen in the wardrobe department, more details on the NYE delight as well as other shenanigans at http://edgesoho.co.uk.
To our final Soho Short Shout and Circa, a bar which we warmed to from the minute we stepped foot in it not too long after the launch earlier this year, the place oozing style & sophistication, if a little compact & bijou. But what Circa lacks in size, it makes up for in substance, this NYE being no different to the norm in that respect, as the team welcome Munroe Bergdorf & Adam Turner (my he’s a busy boy!!) to the decks, while the exceptional eye-candy that frequents the place will be well worth saving that first 2012 kiss for, the late opening till 4 a.m. another reason to swing by, more info available at http://circasoho.com.
Twelve Hour Treat
Right, let’s mosey on down to Vauxhall and while The Orange Group has already been given a big slice of our New Year cake coverage, there was one event that fell through the DM recommends net, perhaps as it falls on Friday, i.e. tomorrow (30th Dec). Yet with Onyx once again teaming up with A:M to produce a party that lasts for a full twelve hours, we are not sure how we could have missed it, especially as joint promoters Steven Sharp & Verity Mayes are welcoming special guest (a prolific promoter herself) Jodie Harsh to the decks, she a pretty accomplished D.J. along with being a real crowd puller/pleaser. Plus with residents that include Onyx’s Lee Harris, Jc Christopher & Lisa German, along with A:Mer’s Fat Tony, David Jimenez, & D’Johnny, this “Christmas Nativity Headliners Part 2” is well worth a look in, host venue Area’s doors opening at 10 p.m., with more details available at http://orangenation.com.
Well that wasn’t that short for a shout was it, so let’s try again, this time hitting off on The Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), who as usual have a packed weekend, tomorrow (Fri 30th) seeing “Robyn Hood”, otherwise known as the annual RVT panto take to the stage, while the rest of their NY weekend is given away to “S.L.A.G.S./Chillout” who hold a special “Pink NYE Ball” on Sat (31st), while on NYD it’s another session with D.E.E. & co, added to which on Monday (2nd Jan), jeepers creepers, its yet another one, the third “Experience” in one weekend never enough for her faithful following, more details on this legendary venue available at http://thervt.org.uk.
Read Into This
Moving just down the street (or is that lane) and we find The Eagle who, themselves, have a pretty hectic NY weekend, tomorrow night seeing the Tonker boys ring in the New Year, even if it is a day early, while on NYE, it could only be Carpet Burn with their “Big Bang” party, welcoming Readers Wives to the guest D.J. slot. Then, as if you had seen the back of a double (or in some cases a treble) dosage of do’s, both NYD & bank holiday Monday sees the Horse Meat Disco crew celebrate reaching 2012 in one piece, guest D.J John Morales welcomed with open arms on NYD, while its Maurice Fulton’s turn to fill the same slot on Monday, more details on all happenings out at http://theeaglelondon.com.
Now, just before we head east, let’s move a little south, to Brixton in fact, as it is The Brixton Club House that gets our next Short Shout and for good reason, as the black & beautiful (or should that be bootyful?!) Bootylicious finds itself a fleeting visit of a one-off home for NYD, the team making advantage of the their hosts revamped spaces that now include a state-of-the-art dancefloor along with a brand new chill area. And with the D.J. line up that includes Jeffrey Hinton, Kartel Brown, & Tyron, Mc Brandy will also be on hand, no doubt keeping everyone in party mood, this party kicking off from 11 p.m. on Sunday (1st Jan) & running through till 5 a.m., more info out at http://thebrixtonclubhouse.co.uk.
Boys On the Bloc
So, out east we go and to Shoreditch, East Bloc equally as busy as some of its Vauxhall counterparts, we having already given our Best Bite slot in this neck of the woods to the venue who host Gustterslut on NYE. But the partying starts a night before, tomorrow in fact with the superb Super Techno Party Machine, D.J. Larry Tee turning out the tunes, while hopping across the NY weekend to NYD and its two parties that steal the East Bloc spotlight, midday affair Kowloon picking up where Gutterslut left off, entertaining the likes of DTPM’s Miguel Pellittero, Borja Pena, Daniel Delay & special Berliner guest Kevin Funkt (we know who he’s dating!). But the picture is completed by Blue Jeans, a spin-off of from Meat, promoter & D.J./producer Kris Di Angelis trying out his new clubbing concept, the night having an equally Room Service inspired feel with Jodie Harsh, Dmitry Strugen & Joshyou Are sorting the sounds, info on the exceptional East Bloc available at http://eastbloc.co.uk.
Then heading up into Dalston, we find The Dalston Superstore, who also have a three tiered NY weekend, although in attempting to keep it a Short Shout, we just hit off on NYE & NYD, the former in the hands of Sink The Pink, who hold their “Tranarchy” event with, yes you guessed it, a transgender team that includes their now infamous “Stick a Wig On The…” competition, while the musical moments are provided by Holestar, Prince Nelly & John Sizzle. Then on NYD, DSS has a Gutterslut feel to it when Wet-N-Wild, takeover DSS for both the day & the night, serving up disco, electro & plenty more, Per Q.X. Nic Fischer & Shay Malt among the 10 strong D.J. team, more details on this all events at this hip & happening hangout a mere click away at http://thedalstonsuperstore.com.
Total Pie & Mash-Up
But we continue in the realm of Gutterslut for our final Short Shout out east, as it is Trailertrash that takes over from GS on NYD (well runs a little simultaneously actually), kicking off its “Pie-n-Mashup” party at The Dolphin, 160 Mare St, Hackney from 5 a.m., serving up tasty musical treats until 1 p.m. which the team tell us could well include “…anything & everything from Whitney to Techno, Chas n Dave to Disco…” while they also warn us to expect “…a lot of people falling over on the floor…” oh and we can’t forget plenty of pies (yes real East End pie & mash) too. So, with the likes of Mikki Most, Ian Robinson, Josh Caffe, Rokk & D.J. Squeaky on the decks, this is sure to be a mash-up to end them all, more info up at http://trailertrash.co.uk.
Right, that’s just about it for this part two of our re-styled recommends newsletter, we hoping that by separating our Short Shouts from our Best Bites will, in time, allow us to cover a richer variety of bars, clubs & events on a weekly basis. And with that in mind, should you wish someone, somewhere, or something mentioned in future part two’s, then just drop us a line at matt@discomatt.com, or fill out a comment to this post. So, in signing off, we take the opportunity (again) of wishing you a very Happy New Year and with all our shouts here plus our choices in part one, we hope like us, you are seen on the scene somewhere this NY weekend, meaning you will definitely “Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)