Having turned tails on our regular format following the shock Soho scene closure stunner, we have reverted to combining our Best Bites & Short Shouts, tripping from Vauxhall to Shoreditch & then to Paris for our top of the tree choices, while mini mentions go to our best of the rest both in London & internationally, along with news of new & noteworthy disco dance diary dates.
With over a week having gone by but the news still shaking the scene that Profile & Lo-Profile are no more, it has also crushed us to the core, our Friday frolics to PLAY>TIME now mere memories and our favourite Soho spot no more, the impact has reached our recommends newsletter, as the Soho, Vauxhall, Shoreditch format has been smashed to smithereens. However from the ashes of that former format comes a new avenue of opportunity to propel parties over the continent, as well as retain the Vauxhall & Shoreditch elements in a revised Best Bites that will, in time, again break away from our pack of picks, while for this week it all gun-ho, as we combine our top of the tree choices with mini mentions & disco dance diary dates.
So let’s get into the recommends mix first heading to Vauxhall and to A:M, which this coming Friday (18th Jan) goes into birthday celebration mode, not its own but of its hostess, the marvellous Minty (HRH to those in the know), a true scene sister who has been superbly steering party people through the doors of some of the capitals biggest & best clubs, a list that has included Crash, Beyond, Matinee, Orange & WE, while she has been holding sway at A:M for many a moon now. However, this will be her first birthday celebration at the club, we having been used to marking the occasion for a handful of years at Industri, the Thursday frolic that will forever be Minty’s (along with Brent & Paul too), although with this superb soiree no more and A:M now her delectable dive into dancing debauchery, it certainly makes a perfect place for her to party, the birthday event PR tagline being “…get the London look with Minty as she celebrates her Birthday A:M style…” while the team go on to say “..join the queen of the disco and her gang of beautiful dirty Vauxhall bunnies on an epic journey of dance, music and glamour through till Saturday morning…”. And with a D.J. line up to die for, The Sharp Boys joined by D’Johnny, Gonzalo Rivas and special guest Fabio Luigi (a Minty request) in the main room, A:M still have splashes of Onyx within it that make it an “Ultra” event, DMS delivering the pop-tastic tunes in the second space, all this taking place at Fire, doors opening at 11 p.m., the club running through till 9 a.m. Saturday morning, entry charges as follows, with a flyer or ad, £3 before midnight, £6 before 3 a.m., £8 before 5 a.m. or £10 thereafter, more info, including that Orange Nation membership free entry offer up at http://orangenation.co.uk or via http://facebook.com/events/181258335331581/.
To a couple of Vauxhall Short Shouts now and how could we avoid mentioning Beyond, even though the seemingly never-ending “Midnight” sequence of sessions seemingly continue unabated which, for us, are becoming yawn worthy. However, with special guest D.J. GSP (of XLsior fame) commanding the main room from 6 a.m., others on duty including Fat Tony, Jamie Head & Rob Sykes and doors opening at midnight this Saturday (19th Jan), more detail in true Ben Kaye promotions style up is out and available at http://www.facebook.com/events/523689437663032/
And making it at Orange Nation threesome inclusion here, Orange is certainly soaking up a splendid citric squeeze, a fresh yet familiar format from a few years ago back with a bang, new promoter Fat Tony having taken the helm just last weekend and is already making subtle changes, including the resplendent return of the gregarious Glendora this Sunday (20th Jan), regular resident The Oli joined on the decks by Jamie head, more detail on the full line-up out at http://facebook.com/events/104636443047790/,
Our other mini mention goes to a club night that just like the three already mentioned, is a capital clubbing circuit colossus come institution, Horse Meat Disco still in birthday celebratory mode, the ad saying it all when it exclaims that the club has been “…proudly serving disco burgers for the last 10 years…”, one of its residents that was there from the start, Severino, doing his own serving with a special six hour set, doors opening a hour earlier than usual at 8 p.m this Sunday (20th Jan)., more detail out via http://facebook.com/Eagle.London/.
So, skirting Soho, we head across to Shoreditch and to our second top of the tree choice, another birthday bash too, as the superb SOS celebrates its second this Saturday (19th Jan) at the exceptional East Bloc, Jim Warboy’s club one of the most popular on the calendar at this heavenly hangout, so sure to be a packed out affair. Indeed, having gained a reputation for being a “…tri-sexual underworld…” event, the crowd is a colourful as you will find anywhere, all up for partying & playing to the full and, in the process, saving their souls from mundane boredom, while the philosophy of the club is very simple, “…tune in, turn on, drop the attitude…” hinting towards a warm & welcoming Warboy wonder. And it seems that, in celebration of the second birthday milestone, Jim has gone to great lengths to bring the best in beats, he joined in the main room by east end & SOS favourites Hannah Holland & Joe Robots, while the second space gets a boost with special guest, the queen of the socialite scene, Room Service’s Jodie Harsh, headlining two back-to-back sets from the duo’s Chris Murdoch & Matthew Josephs and Anton Douglas & David Motta. But it doesn’t stop there as the marvellous Mark-Ashley Dupé masterminds the music in the back bar, accompanied by The Plastic Boy & Iccarus, while the big news for this brilliant birthday bash is the introduction of special host (or is that hostess?!) Jonny Woo, who is sure to spice up proceedings significantly, while can only be intrigued by fellow host Oozing Gloop, one very much boggling our mind. That said, this is one birthday you won’t want to miss, doors at East Bloc opening at 10.30 p.m. and the club running through till 6 a.m., entry £6 before midnight or £10 thereafter, more detail up at http://www.sosnow.co.uk/ and/or via the Facebook events page at http://facebook.com/events/478290032211425/.
To a couple of Shoreditch Shouts and we stick with East Bloc for our first and this Friday (18th Jan) when Larry tee rolls our another Super Electro Party Machine, this week welcoming new hip hop clubbing sensation, Hard Cock Life, who take over the main room madness from 10 p.m., while Mr Tee mixes it in the second space with Attack Attack Attack, more info up at http://facebook.com/groups/255553057341/.
As for the second, weill its goes to The Joiners Arms who have a pretty busy weekend, Friday seeing Rob Sykes on the decks for the weekly outing “Yes”, while the following evening, it’s the second instalment of new club night “Pantastic” with Alessandro Londra on the decks, Sunday’s “SPQR” with resident Julian de Apostate serving up the sounds, the club’s Facebook profile at http://facebook.com/joiners.arms.9 the place to go for further info.
So we move to the new & exciting part of our weekly recommends newsletter as we go international, although not literally as it will be February before we hit the continent again (more on that in a mo), although having trodden the dancefloor boards of this Parisian pleasure just two weeks ago, selecting Scream as our top of the three third Best Bite choice has come very easy indeed. But what has made it even easier, is that our premier protégé player, Zach Burns, stars in this Saturday’s (19th Jan) showing, this his second appearance for this brilliant brand which has been partying in Paris since 1996, no mean feat when you consider how tough the scene in the French capital has been and how much turmoil it has gone through in recent years. However, with a main room that compares with the best in Europe, a second space that serves up pure pop classics and a third play area where dancing is replaced by dark (we get our drift?!), there is no shortage of delightful distractions & diversions to keep even the most demanding of dancers sufficiently satisfied. But in Zach Burns, Scream has a D.J. that will surely have the main room packed and party heads eating oout of his funky, progressive & vocally infused house heaven, our mr Burns having laid down a compilation to mark the occasion and one well worth a listen via https://soundcloud.com/djzachburns/dj-zach-burns-house-sessions in advance of heading down to what is labelled as “…the biggest weekly French gay party…”, one that has welcomed the likes of Peter Rauhofer, Hector Fonseca, Offer Nissam & Pagano, Zach finding himself in amongst great company. Plus, with regular resident Tommy Marcus kicking the party off from 11 p.m. and special host Mika Paoleti caring for your every need, should you find yourselves in paris, this is definitely the place to be & be seen, more info out at http://scream-paris.com and/or http://facebook.com/groups/53427623634/.
To a couple of international Short Shouts now, a mini mention having to go to Muccassassina, which holds its “Play” party this Friday (19th Jan), welcoming special guest D.J. Danny Tor, joining resident Luigi Rosi in the main room, but with no less than three other dance come play spaces to choose from, this Rome club now into its 23rd season and still going as strong as ever, more info out at http://facebook.com/events/425666644169750/.
As for our second?, well we head much further afield, to Mexico in fact, although with a birthday theme running through this newsletter, plus with a Parisian pick under our belt, we couldn’t help but propel Heaven Queretaro, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this Saturday (19th Jan) and welcomes our Parisian pal, Leomeo to the decks, he sure to go down a storm with the Mexican crowd, more detail out at http://facebook.com/pages/Heaven-Club-Queretaro-Official/225745691617.
So, that’s just about it for our Best Bites & best of the rest Short Shouts, while we did promise to give you some disco dance diary dates, we looking ahead into February, Saturday 2nd, seing new club night “Baked” launch in London at Green Carnation in Soho, pitting its wits against big boys Matinee Pervert at Fire in Vauxhall & Pushca at Electric in Brixton, while the menWhoFell2Earth add to your choice, the boys back to East Bloc on the same night. However, if you want to hang your hat internationally that weekend, then why not join us and head out to Belgium, to Antwerp in fact, when prolific party “Propaganda” plays out at Red & Blue, while looking slightly further forward, another weekend in fact, it seems that back in London, its all about east, as DISH returns to East Bloc on Saturday 9th and then the talk of the town, Deelooded, kicks off in its new Shoreditch location, at a new venue, Xono, and on a new night, Sunday 10th February, this more than any other mentioned here, an absolute MUST for your diary, we having covered it all in detail within our preview “Making Majestic Moves” out at http://discomatt.com/web/?p=6708
Well, that really is it for this week, plenty of picks to keep you dancing right through from Friday to Sunday, while for us it’s a quiet one, the prospect of snow here in London sure to send us running for sofa comfort cover, although whatever you may be up to or wherever it finds you, have a terrific weekend time, naturally making sure that you “Go There! Be There!” (DISCO MATT)
