As the scene shakes off the hangover resulting from the biggest weekend of the year so far, some sporting the spoils of success, others simply reflecting on what could have been, time rests for no man, victorious or defeated, so the scene steps forward into April, Disco Matt picking out his top of the tree three places to be stepping out on the scene in Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch.
What an Easter weekend that was, a whole host of parties & events recording terrific turnouts, some very much against the form book, while others that had promised so much, failed to deliver, our own weekend reflecting that situation a thrilling Thursday followed by a phenomenal Friday, led a superb Saturday night come Sunday morning , then turned into a soggy rest of a Sunday & a manically depressive Monday (and we aren’t talking weather here folks), Room Service, Society, Play>time, A:M & Beyond our real winners, while WE “Fluro” & As One ended up condemning what could have been a brilliant “big” weekend to our own review rubbish heap. But with the winners still to reap our reflections, it’s our coming weekend recommendations that get our immediate attention, our top of tree three places to be seen on the scene this weekend, our brief look at a trio of best bites across Soho Vauxhall & Shoreditch.
So, let’s get to it and to Soho first, it coming as little or no surprise to you regular readers of our recommendations, that it is Profile & Lo-Profile that gets our Best Bite pick here, having served us superbly well not just last weekend, but for much of March (well the whole year so far to be honest), the captivating combination of bar above & club below, very hard to beat, especially as both venues continue to draw in some of the scene top D.J. names, along with fresh new talent to tantalise & tickle your musical taste buds, while with now firmly established brands that include “Society”, “Play>Time”, “ClubNation” & “Beartrap”, that along with the might of Gaydar behind them, this delightful duo look set to, once again, prove to be the places to be & be seen on the Soho scene this weekend. So, with D.J. regulars Rob Sykes tonight (Fri 13th) and Jamie Head tomorrow (Sat 14th) upstairs in Profile, both kicking off the music from 8.30 p.m. through till the 11.30 p.m. finish, it is downstairs that gets our full if but briefer best bite attention, the award winning “Play>Time” up first, prolific promoter Jay Roberts back after (it has to be said0 probably THE best event in the brands history so far, but will be pulling out all the stops to top last week, not least that he welcomes fellow award winning D.J/producer & all round good egg Steve Pitron to the decks, along with cheeky chappy & a damn fine D.J. in his own right, Steven Artis. Add to that an ashes style porn star shoot out, as Brit boy Marco Sessions squares up to Aussie hunk Tate Ryder in a go-go dance off & back room play off, Jay your referee & you ((if you’re the luck one) caught in this sexy & seductive man hunk of a scrum, further details up in our “Pick Of The Day” post at http://discomatt.com/web/?p=5087. Then, tomorrow (Sat 14th) sees the return of “ClubNation” & also the return of Lee Harris, who will be performing a specially extended five hour set very much in the vein of his similarly named House Nation podcasts, which means you can expect plenty of uplifting, chunky & euphoric house hits, Lo-Profile swinging open its doors on both nights at 10.30 p.m. & running through until 4 a.m., entry & other details available by going to http://loprofile.com.
Onto Vauxhall now and there is lots going in within The Orange Group (or is that Orange Nation?!?) who grab our Best Bites slot this weekend, not least the breaking news that Onyx has been put out to grass for a while, so leaving a pretty vacant gap in the usually hectic schedule, although very much paving the way for A;M to possibly extend its opening hours, although more news on that to follow. However, one club that is definitely extending its hours this weekend & then henceforth, is Beyond, the new starting time of 3 a.m. every week looking like a pretty popular move, although only time will tell how successful a move this will actually be, our hope however, is that it consigns the all too often “Midnight” format to just the occasional & special scheduling. Add to the a mini shake up within the team of resident D.J.’s and as of going to press, we are not sure who will be playing come this Sunday morning (15th Apr), but reckon The Sharp Boys, Alan K, Fat Tony, The Oli & Paul Christian will surely be in situ, while Steve Pitron is taking a rest this weekend after his colossal classics set last, which pretty much stole the “XLsior” show. However, one party that we can be confident about when picking the D.J. & other line up, is the “Easter Thank-You” party at Fire tomorrow night (Sat 14th), as it’s all about award winners, D.J.’s The Sharp Boys, Junior Moura & (naturally) Steve Pitron, stepping into the spotlight, while there will be plenty of other guests, including D’Johnny & Paulo Moreno, to fill out the two rooms of fun, similarly award winning hosts Chrissy Darling & Elektra Paris sharing the duty plaudits, further details on this event out at http://facebook.com/events/356254587759955/, including opening times, door prices & guest list opportunities. But with Later & Orange completing the partying picture, it is another hectic weekend of activity in both Fire & Area, whiles the new jewel in the Orange Nation crown, Covert, prepares for its launch party in three weeks, more on that coming up in a special feature.
So to the third in our trio of top of the tree choices, this time seeing us head across to Shoreditch & to East Bloc, the hip & happening hangout on City Road, masterminded by the one & only Wayne Shires, he, the venue & all the brands its sports very much flying the alternative clubbing scene flag, a stable of showings including Gutterslut, SOS, The Men Who Fell 2 Earth, Paradise 45 & Dish, while regular Friday nighter, Super Electro Party Machine, which once again opens its doors tonight (Fri 13th Apr) from 10 p.m., is a great way to get your weekend going. However, our main focus of attention goes to Saturday night (14th Apr), when our very own Shoreditch son, Kris Di Angelis, rolls out a further instalment in the already soaring success story that is his new venture, “War”, a club that has pretty much be born out of the sad passing of “Meat”, the former club collaboration between Kris & Tom Stephan. And while Tom’s new prolific project, “Dish”, was in the Shoreditch spotlight last weekend, it’s the turn of “War “ this, Kris being joined in the “Warzone” main room by Severino & Joshyouare, while over in the “Battlefield” second space, its Jodie Harsh, Munroe Bergdorf & Kingsley shooting off the sounds. Plus with hosts JJ Clark, Jonathan Beastley, Ben Kaye & Alex Palemo, not only doesn’t it have a pseudo Room Service feel about it, be you can bet your bottom dollar that of cream of the east end girl to west end boy scene set will be out to wage wonderful clubbing & socialising war tomorrow night, doors at East Bloc (217 City Rd, nearest tube Old St.) opening at 10.30 p.m. & the club running through to a planned 6 a.m. finish, entry £8 before midnight & then £12 thereafter (so get there early folks), while free entry passes will be up for grabs at the “War” pre-party at Circa in Soho tonight (Fri 13th), more details on that coming up in our Short Shouts, while further info on “war” itself can be found by going to http://facebook.com/events/404481699576795/.
Now just before we go we thought, having not yet fully paid our respects to the sad loss to the scene of the gentle giant of the club promotions game, Steve Elliot, we would mention our upcoming tribute, “Salvation Star Much Missed”, to the man behind the international success of this brilliant brand in recent years, we looking back on his clubbing career & including fellow friend’s own tributes to this untimely & premature passing. Plus, with news this week that iconic drag queen Adrella has also been taken from us, our thoughts are very much with the families of both of these much treasured & already much missed pillars of the scene and we send our sincere wishes during what can only be the most difficult time for those that were close & dear to both Steve & Peter.
Right, that’s just about it for this Best Bites newsletter, but watch out for our Short Shouts part, “Shimmering Scene Seven”, while if you happen to lay your hat on one of our three here, then it is likely you may catch us too, “Play>Time” definitely on our schedule, while we are currently clearing the decks for either Fire or “War”, so keep your eyes peeled at http://twitter.com/discomatt for the live action as it happens & as we Go There! Be There!. (DISCO MATT)