Big weekends or not, there is one club that never fails to pull in the punters & deliver an enthralling experience unrivalled by anywhere else, the now legendary afterhours that is Beyond beckoning us away from our sick bed for what turned out to be a two hour fun filled full on frenzy of a foray, but what made this the most incredibly intensive wonder of a club cavorting we have had in a long while?
When we consider the rich tapestry of clubs we have experienced both on our travels, at home in South Africa and here in the capital, we have pretty much covered all the bases in terms of size, style, setting, sound & sophistication, a few among the many having a lasting effect upon us, Belgium’s La Demence, Italy’s Muccassassina & Johannesburg’s Decadence three foreign affairs that will live with us forever, while cutting the capital wheat from the chaff, we had our tremendous times at Trade, indulged in the incredible institution that was Industri and most recently, have been wooed & wowed by the wonder of WE. But while we hold all these clubs in the highest regard, there is one that outstrips them all, lock, stock & smokin barrel, Beyond standing head & shoulders above the rest in pretty much every department, from the mesmeric music, to the exceptional lighting & effects, to the palatable pack of party people and a terrific organisational team that send the clubbing competition running for the shade in comparison. And having quickly ascended to iconic status in the Colosseum days, its six seasons at Area have, without doubt, seen Beyond become legendary, the “all roads lead to” reputation playing out every single week, while with an all-star residency team of D.J.’s that read like an industry who’s who, it is no surprise that it has become both ours and many others favourite club of all time.
Indeed, never has there been any other club to which we have adorned so much attentions s we have, through filed feature focuses & resplendent reviews, the club touching our lives every day of the year, let alone every weekend of the month and while 2012 has seen our appearances at Area abseil appreciably, there remains a magic about the place that simply cannot be compared to anywhere else. Indeed, having seen Beyond play out a couple of times this year across at sister venue Fire, it pales in comparison, this awesome afterhours having amassed an amazingly indelible affinity to Area, the terrace room terrific, the chapel space captivating, but the main room monumentally magnificent and one which, without doubt, is the best in the world, visiting D.J.’s, promoters & clubbers alike remarking on the fact. But what really makes Beyond legendary for us, is the majestic music masterminded by an all-star resident team that is the strongest on the capital’s circuit by far, many an envious event or jealous jaunt left wondering how they can match up to its might. And under the influence of one of its all-stars, a resident for which the word Beyond is synonymous, regardless of our state of mind, body, soul, health or well-being, we find it oh so difficult to resist his persuasive call to attentive arms, as he has always said, “unless you are on your death bed or called away to a family crisis, you will be there”, our attendance is nothing short of mandatory, this Sunday being no exception.
So, with that call to arms having been made plain & clear in conversation and despite us still suffering from a serious chest infection, we couldn’t cry either the death bed or family crisis wolf, especially as our pot was being sweetened by his door to door car carriage, Steve Pitron had done it again, beckoning us to Beyond in what would prove to be the most incredibly intensive yet fun filled & frenzied 2 ½ foray we had experienced in a long while, no real sign of the morning madness ahead showing itself as we arrived at Beyond’s doors at not long turned 5.30 a.m. the usually charming greeting & treatment by JJ Clark seeing us whisked past a considerable queue and into the club in a jiffy. With Steve on first in the main room, we entered to find it in its raw un-glamorised state, something only a few ever get to see, although what we found outside the D.J. booth door was certainly not what we wanted to see, this object of fetish fantasy quite a shocking sight in Area, although with lighting magician Smalls on hand to explain, we quickly sped to the bar for refreshments ahead of the room opening at six. But back in the D.J. booth after a comprehensive catch up with Smalls, with our delicate chesty disposition, we were determined to take it easy, although someone had other thoughts about that, a succession of Steve ticking swoops also taken up by a a flock of firendly faces that graced the D.J. booth, fab photographer Nico, the marvellous Mauricio Ortiz, standing in for Beyond’s promoter Ben Kaye, even an arriving Paul Heron, who, like Nico, finding our squealing reactions hilarious.
But bravado aside for a moment, it was the music & another prolific Pitron performance we were here for, our man starting as he meant to go on with the impressive “I Do”, while in his determination to delightfully destroy us with his deliveries, we could see the direction this was taking, other huge hits in his awesome armoury hitting us hard, “Finally I”, “Can’t Stop Me” , “She Loves”, “Lola’s Theme 2012” & “Bitch Lady” among them, all testing our Doing The Disco Matt moves to the max, we bouncing between the D,J, booth & our spot with repeated regularity. And the flow of familiar faces kept coming throughout, Nick Evans, Verity Mayes, Aaron Elder & Jamie Head four of many more, we pleased as punch to see Mr. Head even though he wasn’t on D.J. duty, while it would be the arrival of Fabio & Peter that would further mount the morning mayhem, mount being the operative word, Peter’s amorous moves up & down our legs leaving is excitably squirming in the corner of our spot. Indeed, this very activity promoted further Steve ticking swoops, sending us fleeing into a packed main room of party heads, that along with a rain of cups & cans he kept lobbing over the booth, many hitting their mark with pin point accuracy, leaving many around us looking in shock, not least the security guard that kept clearing the debris.
However, despite all the morning’s madness, the music was doing much of the talking, this once again proving a purple patch Pitron performance and yet another brilliant Beyond, the podiums packed with party heads and Smalls’ superb work with the lighting paying incredible dividends, it accelerating what was already an amazing atmosphere, no place quite like this magnificent main room and one we feel completely & comfortably at home with, perhaps so much so that we take it a little too much for granted, as do many of Beyond’s team do of Smalls. Add to that a beats bonanza like the one Steve was serving up and the two are an indelible & unbreakable combination in our books, each pushing that extra mile and feeling that little more comforted when the other is around, the working relationship they command a pleasure to see, especially from our privileged position in the D.J. booth. But that privileged position was to also have its pitfalls this morning, Steve having employed the ticking services of his lighting lady, as well as Paul Heron who was assuming his position to take over from Steve, although not before both “Timebomb” & “Beautiful Lie” achieved that delightful destruction goal Mr Pitron had planned, we left enthralling & emotionally exhausted by the majestic music & the morning’s madcap melay’s, meaning it was an early bath for us while Beyond chalked up another successful session to add to the scores the scene has savoured this season alone.
Well it seems we have already answered our own question, the incredible intensity of this fun filled & full on frenzy of a frolic still bamboozling us with its brilliance, perhaps the most perfect part of this phenomenal party picture being short & sweet planning that gave the whole morning an air of incredible improvisation. And that could also be said for the madcap melays, Peter’s amorous approaches, Steve’s tickling swoops & everything else that made this one of the most excitable yet enthralling Beyond events this year, while despite having soaked up our own fair share of super sized & specialist events, it always seems the regular Beyond bashes are the ones that hit our mark the most and magnificently so. There can be no doubt that the people play a prominent part in proceedings, as they did today, but it is also the music that makes this club the legendary London afterhours it has become, Steve Pitron once again proving his worth through every second of his stunning set, while we could never complete our resplendent review picture portrayal without serenading Smalls, the lighting skills & expertise she brings to the party, like Steve & a handful of others, part & parcel of the brilliant Beyond package, without whom the club & the brand would be a much poorer place. As for the immediate future of our favourite club of all time, well, it looks pretty bright, the “Ice” incarnation sure to be a hit next weekend, a festive season of shindigs that should score yet more successes & no doubt more awards to cram in its trophy cabinet in 2013, meaning we will definitely be back for more very soon indeed. (DISCO MATT)
