We may have announced our summer sabbatical, but as a new day dawned & Beyond beckoned, our charge rushed to our door, delivered us to the dancefloor, right back to our spot and in so doing, sank our sabbatical to the tiniest of traces. So having got up in the morning, we not only tried but we triumphed, we celebrated the changes we charged ourselves with, maximising the markers of our maxim, resonating in this resplendent review result.
It is no secret that we have been a little off form, off colour & out of sorts lately and in a year that has seen far too many downs and nowhere near enough ups, the future has not been looking that bright. That said, when those quite rare ups come, we definitely need to celebrate them, shout them from the rooftops and share them with the wider world, yet that sharing of ours, which was always commonplace, has been miserably missing in 2012 so far. But with a new day dawning & a bright new future in prospect, what better time than the present to scale up rather than scale down our sharing, especially when we find ourselves in the hands of a brilliant brand married with the morning & with majestic music. So summer sabbatical or not and finding ourselves in a prolific place, exuding an amazing atmosphere, intermixed with fabulous friends & a stack full of surprises, shirking our sharing simply just wouldn’t do, that prolific place proving a risk worth taking, the medicine worth swallowing & the feel good factor worth fulfilling. And as we cast our minds back across the year so far, the lion’s share of ups can be attributed to one prolific place & one terrific time, the place being Beyond & the time being a Sunday morning, anything between 3 a.m. & midday, although this time from 6 till 9.
So, cutting to the chase and in the knowledge that what we have said about the brilliance of Beyond in the past goes without saying, with all good intentions to take time out laid pretty much to waste, how was it put to us a couple of days previously, “…Matt, – Summer Sabbatical – cancelled!!!…”, we cast aside our health inflicted woes & worries, safe in the knowledge that in the capable hands of this captivating club, a charming collection of chums & a catalogue of cheering tunes, the worst we could do was to have a good time. And it couldn’t have gotten off to a better start, our charge arriving at our door in time for a 6 a.m. arrival at Area, we delivered to the dancefloor, ready to soak up what would prove another stunning Steve Pitron performance, although it would first be a trip through the second space & then into the terrace that would consume our first few moments of this meet. Indeed, with Beyond having already been open for six hours, we found both rooms rammed with revellers, the harder house heads hitting on chapel chap Paul Christian, while it was the more upfront & & uplifting terrace tunes that we turned to, the dynamic duo that is The Sharp Boys, Steven & George, the deliverers of delightful doses of dance delectations, both clearly pleased as punch to see us, as we were them.
But with Punch being an optimum word and one included in another phrase pervaded by the same protagonist as previously, how did he aptly put it “…there’s no show without Punch…”, it was to the freshly opened main room that we now headed, the place already pumping with party heads ready to sink into successive slices of Pitron perfection. And with a flock of familiar faces already having gathered, Celso, Bel, Mateausz, Sophie, & Neda close by, Craig Elder, Ben Kaye & Steven Galo also making us feel right at home, while one Michele Attardi made us feel quite special, his greeting stirring more than just our emotions (thank heavens for tight undies!), although amidst all this excitement, it was the Pitron performance we were already sinking into, we hardly believing what our eyes were seeing & what our ears were hearing, our supposed summer sabbatical sunk to a tiny trace & our determination to dance away our woes willing us on. And to add to all this, while we were not particularly struck on the oversized speakers framing the main room D.J. booth, they did give our now rather secluded spot a fabulously select feel, that along with the noticeably lovely lick of paint it was smarting, no real need for the imaginary red tape cordon as we cavorted to brilliant beats in the hands of Beyond’s best. With the master at work already giving us those now trademark looks in-between selections, “Bitch Lady” an intrinsic selection ingredient clearly intended to hook us, it was a new towering track that proved the line & sinker in the equation, “Heat Of The Night” firing up our morning like a fierce furnace, sending us skyward & spellbound by this prolific Pitron pick. Indeed, talking of fierce & of intrinsic ingredients, spotting Smalls next to Steve confirmed our suspicions that the exceptional Area lighting & effects were in the most capable of hands, all the new additions the clubs chief Craig Elder had gone to pains to show us on another occasion, employed by Smalls superbly, every inch of her wonderful work matching the music masterminded by our main room maestro magnificently.
Now we were into our stride, those summer sabbatical thoughts pushed to the back of our minds, plenty more majestic moments about to maraud our morning, the beautiful Bel’s bounces in & around our spot, then neatly followed by heavenly hugs from the charming Celso, Steven Galo’s intentions on including us in the thick of the action dragging us willingly into Mr Moura’s manacles. And so finding ourselves at the front of the D.J. booth, we once again fell into the eyeshot of both Steve & Smalls, who immediately played to us & the crowd hilariously, just like a seasoned comedy duo on stage, the eruptions & excitement of the faces around plain enough to see, the dancers now atop the podiums adding to the amazing atmosphere that was becoming this most brilliant of Beyond’s. But could it get even better?, you betcha, as a stunning surprise in the form of an old pal & flame Joel brightened our foray further, while Andrea’s arrival completed a prolific picture of pals that couldn’t have been more perfect, well excepting the much missed Tom Fuller, as well as the lovely Luis. And with others amassing, including Alan K, Paulo Moreno & Jonny Marsh, it was also clear the Orange Nation influence was out in force, Verity Mayes on the terrace D.J. decks, even the attentive Aaron Elder adding to our joy, like Tom, a chap that carries considerable charisma both in & out of the confines of this colossal club.
But all that said, we were here to soak up & sink into scores of scintillating sounds, as we had done throughout so many Steve sets, a score or more this year alone , this the medicine for our mind, our body & our soul, the track selection of the same name saying it all, this morning music masterclass simply mind-blowing, the space on our spot now seeing us delight ourselves with definitive “Doing The Disco Matt” ducks & dives, while the show from the stage that was the D.J. booth continued, another indelible ingredient in any Pitron performance, “the cups”, showing their hand, leaving us laughing uncontrollably and pushing our already over excited emotions to the brink. And, as he had predicted, the mix of music between old & new tracks would be decisive in our destruction, continual burying of our head into our hands the proof of that pudding, this Pitron performance potently pulsating in its precision & its premeditation, while we were not the only ones in awe of his achievements, as the room was in rapture of his renditions, a true musical magician turning out one tantalising track after the next in what we would hope would be a never-ending episode of sounds. However, as with so many occasions before, Steve’s set was over all too soon, although not before he treated us to the new “Track 3”, one which is still under wraps but has fast become yet another Pitron/DM anthem & is sure to be prominent on his upcoming podcast production, our sunken summer sabbatical satisfaction now convincingly complete, not even the attraction of an Alan K or a Fat Tony turn enough to keep us from gracing an excitable exit, swiftly shot to our steed by a now characteristic Bel, Celso & Steve chase.
So, sitting back as we are, literally a handful of hours after two hours of heavenly house music, a number of fabulous phrases come lyrics spring to mind, “…what a difference a day makes, 24 little hours…” probably the most apt, as what a difference this new day, a new dawn actually made. Casting our minds back those 24 hours, who would have thought that from the tardy tiredness we were consumed within, we would have sorted such a spring in our step, a pronounced prominence in our prancing, but most notably a remarkable resurgence in our review reflecting. Moreover, having set ourselves a maxim that was to mark our renewed energy & engagement with the scene, one that included many significant sentences, the most significant statement was swift sinking of our sabbatical, a timely timeline reminder that simply said “…Matt is back…” speaking many more volumes than those maxim words could ever wish to say. And so what we will say in just a few more indulgent words is this, if we were to choose one place to sink our sabbatical, it would be Beyond, and if we had to choose one individual to help us do it, it would be Steve Pitron, he not only leading us like a horse to that sabbatical sinking water, but making us drink it with the vigour that we drank the water that was the brilliance of this Beyond bash, he scoring yet another simply stunning goal of a set from start to finish, proving yet again that these two incredible ingredients in the clubbing world go hand in hand, just like bread & butter, ham & eggs and, most appropriate to this occasion, Punch & Judy. (DISCO MATT)