With a genuine desire to go dancing on a day when love would be in the air for most but furthermost from our mind, a morning madcap meet at Ministry of Sound braced in the brilliance of Beyond was the perfect Valentine’s day antidote but what made it so marvellous?
Since side-lining our regular weekly clubbing cavorting right across the capitals clubbing circuit some twenty or so months ago, if we were to be honest, there is not much that we miss, not least that the scene we left behind while pursuing other leisure activities, has changed considerably. However, in the sea of clubs, brands & venues that attracted our attention, particularly in recent years, while the most are not missed, there is one that we do sorely so, not least that, without exception, it has hosted THE best & terrific times we have had in any club, comparable or otherwise. So, if you know our history well, it will come as no surprise that the club & brand we are talking about is Beyond, the awesome afterhours that is now in to its fourteenth year and currently has home at the mighty Ministry of Sound which is ranked as the sixth best clubbing venue in the world, so a fabulous fit for a brand that was, at its height, considered as the best afterhours club in the UK. Indeed, from its origins at The Colloseum in Vauxhall, Beyond evolved from a small scale party to one of London’s best known & loved clubbing brands, its longstanding residency at Area (also in Vauxhall) perhaps its most popular & prolific period, while we rank Beyond as our best of all-time and by a country mile at that.
So given just what the club means to us, yet when the opportunity has arisen to once again cavort in its club, we have had pre planned diary dates that have put paid to partying within the embrace of this brilliant brand, although this Sunday suddenly presented itself perfectly, we grasping the nettle with gusto, making plans to descend on Ministry of Sound to coincide with the arrival of firm friend and resident D.J. Steve Pitron. Indeed, such was our excitement that, while some would say we were late, our arrival in the vicinity of the club not long after 8 am was a little too early for Steve as his set had been scheduled for 10 am. But it wasn’t too long before we found ourselves at the club’s entrance, incumbent on the decks resident D.J. Gonzalo Rivas also arriving, as were other friends Tony & Richard, we extremely exciting to be about to embark on what would prove to be a madcap morning in the Ministry of Sound. And we weren’t to be disappointed, as on arrival in the commonly known “103” room, the main space for this Beyond “Desire” bash, the place was pumping to the brilliant beats of D’Johnny, although within minutes the legend that is Gonzalo, had assumed steerage of the sounds, one track after the next, sending us spinning onto what we soon decided was the inimitable & infamously incarnated “Disco Matt Spot”, as always quite close to the D.J. booth, a magnate for mates to march up & say hi, the procession of pals including the resplendent Joey Russo, while with Steve in close call, we were already having the most marvellous morning.
Firmly into our stride and with a slight switch to D.J.’ing proceedings, we soon saw Steve in prime position behind the decks in what would prove to be a brilliant back-to-back segment with Gonzalo, they complementing each other with similar styles of sounds, while it was Steve’s selections that were making their mark the most, not least the gigantic Carlos Gallardo remix of Cazette’s “Blind Heart” shooting us up into the enjoyment & ecstasy stratosphere, while others also made their mark, a succession of classics re-made & hashed hitting our sweet spot. Indeed, such was the terrific time we were having in our small slice of the Ministry of Sound, we hardly blinked when the bevy of go-go dancing beauty’s arrived to plunder their pumped up body parts for the pleasure of the cavorting crowd, we rather engrossed in our own excitement and what was proving s spectacular joint set between Gonzalo & Steve. But the time went all too quickly and soon it was time for Gonzalo to depart, his replacement Zach Burns, on paper at least, every bit as perfect a pairing with Mr Pitron, yet the result was somewhat different, the octane fuelled atmosphere of that first heavenly two hours, clearly seeing Steve struggle to fit in with the downbeat temp Mr Burns was backing, even a resplendent remix of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” selected by our superstar, close to ruined by some irritating intermixing from Zach. However, we weren’t going to let this spoil this superb soiree, we seeing out the reminder of Steve’s stint & a little more before melting into the post desire dullness of the not long past midday.
So what was our verdict on this return to both the dancefloor and to brilliant brand Beyond? Well, there is no questioning the quality of the environment that Ministry of Sound lends to this amazing afterhours weekly, the acoustics so much better than in previous home Area, while for sheer space, we do prefer that arch where most of our magnificent memories of the exceptional event were made. And while the team had expected the turnout for Valentine’s Day to be vast, opening the main room (known as The Box) was never really on the cards for us, not least that the numbers attending this afterhours have waned considerably since those heady days in Vauxhall, the “103” space far from full, perhaps a reflection that times on the capitals clubbing circuit are changing, the desire to dance by droves confined to the big weekends such as Easter & other bank holidays. However, what this Beyond “Desire” devotion did deliver, was bags of barnstorming beats, a fabulous flock of friends, marvellous mucking around moments and one of the most terrific times we have had in a long while. Indeed, with a pedigree of partying that cannot be denied, coupled with the clout of a club venue like Ministry of Sound, we have little doubt that, despite the slightly disappointing numbers this time round, Beyond is very much here to stay and when you look at the strength & depth of this D.J. residents, names naturally including Steve Pitron, Gonzalo Rivas, D’Johnny & Zach Burns, but also Fat Tony, Pagano & Tony English, the music will always be mighty to match what for us really was and makes for a majestic madcap Ministry meet. (DISCO MATT)
