We hadn’t eaten for a while, so we were hungry, hungry for a banquet of bountiful beats and what better place to satisfy our appetite than the delicious DISH, this magnificent mover & shaker on the scene celebrating its first birthday. But did we have our cake & eat it? Or were we left with an irritable bout of overeating indigestion?
Having trodden many clubbing boards during our times back home in South Africa, across in continental Europe and right here in London, we can count ourselves extremely fortunate to have encountered some of the best brands, the most prolific parties & exceptional events over the years, a collection that would take up a whole paragraph if we were to list them chronologically or otherwise, some sticking out in our minds more than others. Yet while Antwerp, Brussels, Cape Town, Paris & Rome would feature large, it is here in the capital where we would find the lion’s share of that lengthy list, such has been the diversity of the scene, club owners & promoters seeming to cater for every taste, sometimes all too often leaving us spoilt for choice in where to hang our hat or left with the difficult decision who to favour & who we would disappoint. But while we have gravitated towards the more popular places, in recent months driven by certain D.J.’s & clubbing characters, we have always attempted to spread our support right across the scene, sometimes stepping outside of our clubbing comfort zone to sample the true diversity that the capitals clubbing circuit has boasted, Shoreditch one such example of the out of the box expedition, our strange psyche saying that, in distance terms, it is a step too far, yet with a melting pot of magnificent meets, not least a delicious monthly delectation, tempting us to take the trip, this situ having left smiling & satisfied when we have made the rare effort venture forth.
So, spreading our clubbing wings in the direction of Shoreditch for the first time this year, fulfilled a promise that we would put our money where our mouth was and pay a visit to something different to the same old, same old, the likes of what has become boring Beyond, monotonous Matinee & waning WE, all falling from our favour, not that the latter two brands were offering anything in January, while in terms of what was our favourite afterhours, was leaving a bitter taste in our mouth with its maddening “Midnight” meets. And having reengaged on previous promises and with its first birthday looming, we were determined to delight in DISH, the clubbing creation of Tom Stephan & Borja Pena, this monthly meet a product of the demise of the former & fabulous MEAT, Tom particularly keen to maintain the momentum but give DISH a delightful format twist, the home of East Bloc on Shoreditch retained, but the D.J. line-up and music much more in the mix. Indeed, building on the success of the former, DISH has, during its first year in operation, attracted one of the most diverse & up for it crowds the east end has seen, many people, like us, used to Vauxhall, switching to Shoreditch to support Tom, Borja & the whole team, not least that the atmosphere, the music & the overall experience delivered delightful difference in bucket loads, while evoking clubbing times of past, references made to the days of Crash common place n comments & feedback finding its way to us.
With this convincing case cast, we headed out into the cold, but glad in warm clothing, the journey which we were convinced was a long one, actually only took thirty minutes, door to door, the destination door being East Bloc on City Rd and a welcome from the venue promoter & top cheese Wayne Shires, while a quick check in the list saw us down into DISH in a trice, a considerable crowd having already gathered, hinting towards a heaving happening in the cavernous club. So, we were pleased we had made it in before midnight, quickly grabbing some refreshments at the bar & finding our spot by the edge of the main room dancefloor, this proving a perfect vantage point to peer at proceedings without plunging into the pack of party people that were joyously jiving to the brilliant beats of Borja, his collection of tunes that were clearly captivating the clubbing collective in front of him, the mix of music on the lighter side of funky & tech house, with dollops of nu & retro disco an absolute delight. Indeed such was his scintillating style, we were quickly smiling like a Cheshire cat, not least that this was the first formal & exemplary evidence that DISH had a delightful difference to MEAT, he music make-up much more up our sounds street, while the whole feel of the club was already so much more friendly than those same old, same old outings we mentioned earlier.
Now we were set fair to sink into the full splendour of the three roomed course of cavorting DISH was serving up, although our initial tour around the club was momentarily yet marvellously halted by Tom Stephan who was clearly pleased as punch we had finally made it down, we returning his warming welcome with a flood of compliments on his clubbing concept that has & remains the talk of the town, as well as proving a resounding success. And as we then headed off to the second space, it was clear that virtually every nook & cranny of East Bloc was filling out with fervent followers, our arrival finding the room wall to wall with revellers soaking up the side dish of sounds from the dynamic duo of Mark Ashley Dupe & Scott Webster, while we had a particular penchant for the compact & aptly called “Pudding” third room, Cathal’s characterful collection of tunes keeping us away from the main room longer than planned. But with the call of review duty, we were soon back on our spot, although within a room that was packed out even more than before, familiar faces beginning to appear by the lorry load, giving the party a even more friendlier feel with every passing minute, Tom now in charge of the tunes and treating us to his trademark underground style of sound, part of the package that was seeing DISH evoke days of old but with a modern & new twist, the inevitable comparisons with Crash both in terms of amazing atmosphere & decadent delight.
So, it was now time to take up our spot by the D.J. booth we squeezing into the one remaining space where we found yet more familiar faces, not least Cliff from Q.X., birthday girl Andrea Drudikova and here bevy of boys, while it would be the arrival of Nick Tcherniak that would transform our evening ecstatically, it being such a long time since we had caught up with this charming chap, we quickly taking the opportunity for a boogie with this brilliant bloke before retreating to the bar for the first of a round of refreshments and a proper catch up on club meeting opportunities missed. However, having found a much sought after & in demand quite spot to sit & chat, it wasn’t long before we were back by the D.J. booth, Nick keen to help Andrea celebrate her birthday in style and we also wanting to engulf ourselves his her enigmatic energy, our enjoyment slightly impaired by the arrival of our once clubbing companion, Stephen, although we were not going to let him spoil proceedings, Tom’s terrific tunes seeing to that in an instant, while with Borja in close call, this DISH first birthday bash was going from strength to strength. And with thoughts far away from our usual scene stomping ground, we were smarting in the splendour of this Shoreditch spot & the scintillating sounds of this marvellous meet’s prolific players, all proving that there is clubbing life beyond those borders of Albert embankment & South Lambeth road. With our stay extending well past three, we were tempted to stay right till the 6 a.m. finish, although the comfort call of home drawing us away from the amazing main room action, we made a final quick tour of DISH’s other two spaces, just like the room we had vacated, both still packed & pumping, we satisfied with our lot, so gracing our exit from this enthralling event.
So, what made DISH so delightful?, did we have our cake & eat it? or were we left with an irritable bout of overeating indigestion? Well, to answer the first of our three questions, while the inevitable comparison with Tom Stephan’s previous party MEAT was in our mind for the first few moments following our arrival, it became quickly clear that this brilliant brand of Borja’s & Tom joint creation had its our captivating character, proved every bit as popular as one the it replaced and is , without doubt, a real gem in the East Bloc clubbing crown calendar, Wayne Shires surely more than satisfied with the outcome of this prolific party & its first birthday bash particularly. As for having our cake and eating it, you bet we did, the captivating three roomed course superb sound servings making this a stand-out shindig that is proof of the pudding of its popularity, its alternative label cast by certain quarters of the press unfounded in each & every respect, especially given the east meets west crowd & everyone between, we sinking into each & every slice of this scene splendour superbly. Indeed, with DISH being so delightful we would have been more than happen to act like Oliver and ask for more, not overeating of this outing quite possible, so no bout of irritable indigestion, rather an ample appetite for this amazing & audacious action, filling us with a fabulous feeling that only a very small handful of clubs have achieved. So, if you haven’t yet delved into the delight of DISH, we cannot recommend enough that you make next month’s meet a massive mark in your dance diaries, while, given just what a tremendous time we had, it won’t be long before we are back too. (DISCO MATT)
