With a hectic London Gay Pride weekend now behind it, the capitals clubbing scene looked like it was taking a bit of a breather, in some ways paving the way for one event to dominate proceedings, all eyes on Sunday & Shoreditch Park for Summer Rites “Remixed” boutique clubbing festival, eyes also on the weather in the hope that the famed British summer would not rear its ugly head. But with many of the usual suspects out to play and with London seemingly never sleeping, there was plenty of action to pick on, leaving us with much to reflect on in another that was the week that was report.
Thursday Thrill
Thursdays have really taken off recently and with two superb social soiree’s hitting the high notes it comes as no surprise, Gigolo very much setting the cat amongst the scene pigeons as far as its competitors are concerned, yet very much boosting turnout in Soho at least. And we had planned to pop down to their “Get It On” party, although with a hectic weekend ahead & not feeling too clever, we sent in our secret squirrel undercover reviewer to report on it al instead, his comments well worth checking out at http://discomatt.com/web/2011/07/reviews-soho-social-splendour-times-two-gigolo-society-at-lo-profile-thurs-fri-7th-8th-july-bite-size-review/, the night not their busiest, but the champagne flowing at least and promoters David & L.a. Hart very happy with their lot. This coming Thursday (21st July), they are being “Bad Boys” (aren’t they always? we know we are!), welcoming Nick Tcherniak to the D.J. residency fold for the first time, Terry Vietheer following up, so one to definitely pop into.
Go Go's Gyrate
Across Soho and Room Service was rocking, or should that be popping!?, not least that they had been graced with the presence of a pop legend, George Michael no less, host for the evening, Logan Schmitz (of SuperMartXe fame) having pulled on strings we were a tad surprised he had, Jodie Harsh’s hip & happening weekly social soiree becoming renowned for attracting the celebrities over & above the scene glitterati. Plus, with Room Service Ibiza also making a marked impression on the White Isle, it seems there is no stopping this brilliant brand in its tracks to become the best in its niche business, with a Casa pre-party another in a long run of branded bashes that has placed this Thursday nighther at the forefront of the scene. And this week is no different, as Jodie & her team throw their clout behind new magazine Ciotrous, a publication sitting firmly in the fashion industry, so sitting well with Room Service’s style, further details of this & all Room Service events available at http://clubroomservice.com.
Onto Friday and the call of “Society” once again saw us head into Soho for this clubbing come social splendour, Steve Pitron starting off without another stormer of a set that had us in a “Doing The Disco matt” frenzy within minutes, choices of classics intermixed with latest dancefloor fillers very much hitting the mark, while the cute yet capable Zach Burns carried the Society faithful through till the 4 a.m. finish with a pulsating performance that has seen him become one of the clubs favourite fella’s. We gave Society the review treatment which you can check out at http://discomatt.com/web/2011/07/reviews-soho-social-splendour-times-two-gigolo-society-at-lo-profile-thurs-fri-7th-8th-july-bite-size-review/, while more information on Lo-Profile in general, including party bookings, events & offers can be found at http://loprofile.com, not forgetting new Monday night club “Bear Trap”, promoted by Cafe Ole man Manu Cartengo.
Superlovers Splash
Onto Saturday and Lovechild very much stole our limelight, a trip down to Fire starting off as a bit of a slow burner but gaining glorious momentum towards the end, our Full Size review reflection out at http://discomatt.com/web/2011/07/reviews-lay-all-your-love-on-me-lovechild-superlovers-saturday-8th-july-full-size-review/. Lovechild aside, it seemed that Lo-Profile attracted a healthy crowd with scene stalwart Rob Sykes & then Italian bello Alessandro Londra wowed this Wardour St wonder till dawn. But the night also saw the return of an iconic clubbing event, as Wig Out stormed the scene at new venue Ghetto Factory of Aldwych, the larger than life Peter Burns packing out the place & treating Wig’ers to a full four track filled performance that went down a treat, the feel of the venue not quite the same as the old Ghetto days, but with the following should prove a weekly winner, with a Madonna tribute night lined up and plenty more to come from this indie pop sensation. And it seemed that alternative was hip, as both East Bloc in Shoreditch & The Dalston Superstore reported pulsating parties, the former sporting another “Meat” event that set attendance records & was the best atmosphere yet, both Kris D Angelis & Tom Stephan telling us just how good it was, while The DSS had their say with the prolific “Paris Acid Ball” that seems to go from strength to strength, two venues well worth a visit if you haven’t, details out at http://eastbloc.co.uk & http://thedalstonsuperstore.com.
Riteous Romp
Now to Sunday, which was all about Summer Rites, although not before we headed to Beyond which was very much “off plan”, but having spilled out of Lovechild, the temptation was too much. And with first The Oli playing a spectacular set in the Terrace, following which Gonzalo kept us an hour after we should have left, Mikey D’s arrival & insistence that we stay meant that resisting his raptures was futile, so despite needing to be fresh for the festival afterwards, it was well gone 11 a.m. until we dragged our carcass out of Area. So, Summer Rites was a struggle, although with the aid of a free ride from Vauxhall in the company of Patrick Lilley & Alex Erfan, we made it to Shoreditch Park just as the clouds cleared & the early evening sunshine began to show its helpful hand , a host of brilliant brands including Salvation, Popstarz, XXL, Meat, Gutterslut & Bootylicious, adding to all the usual park party attractions like bumper cars, candy floss & beer, well not beer per say, more cider which seems to be the vogue drink at the mo. However, the upshot was that Summer Rites worked like a dream for us, indeed having given it the full review treatment at http://discomatt.com/web/2011/07/reviews-park-partying-pitched-perfectly-summer-rites-remixed-sunday-10th-july-full-size-review/ we concluded that it was a park party pitched perfectly.
Poptastic Partying
Onto the final three days of the week that was and Popcorn yet again pulled in the student punters across four rooms of fun, while up in Soho, Lo-Profile played host to new night, “Bear Trap” with Phil Marriott & Ben Jamin on the decks, promoter Manuel Garcia of Ursus & Cafe Ole fame pleased to be back in the west end & with a manly Monday nighter which will surely find its feet pretty soon. However with little else to report upon, it seems that the mid week world had fallen a little flat, Shadow Lounge currently closed for refurbishments, the smattering of regular nights like “Citric” at Ku-Bar/Club on Monday’s, Ashley Ryder’s Amateur Strip Show at The Eagle on Tuesday’s & “Shinky Shonky” again at Ku-Bar/Club but on Wednesday’s remain the best of the bunch, not forgetting Patrick Lilley’s “Work”, which is fitting in well at Fire, having moved from the Lightbox to the Mirrorarch space which works (excuse the pun) much better for them. More details of all these happenings can be found at http://popcorn-heaven.com, http://ku-bar.co.uk, http://eaglelondon.com, & http://patricklilley.com.
Now to some news and first to a new club launch coming your way next Friday, as Fire in Vauxhall open up the offer, fitting in a weekly men only club to their packed schedule, “Le Boy” a departure from the sex fuelled parties of before, more a club with great music in mind and serving as a more up market alternative to Onyx over at Area. Now, we will be bringing you a full preview this weekend, giving details of the launch which will take place on Friday 29th July, so watch this space for that, while for all events on the full Fire schedule can be found by going to http://fireclub.co.uk/gayparties.
Up in Soho and two hip & happening hangouts celebrate milestone anniversary’s, Rupert Street the first, this weekend actually (Fri 22nd to Sun 24th July), when it marks 15 years in operation, so excepting Village & Comptons, is now the longest running bar venue in this premier gay village. And to mark the occasion, the team will be throwing a special party on the Saturday night, when all things beach will be the theme, palm trees, sand, tight shorts of course & plenty more the name of the game, while international playboy D.J. Paul Heron will be sorting the sounds. Plus, with that nasty scaffolding down & the outside having been given a neat lick of paint, it’s all systems go for their special weekend, more info in the bar available at http://rupertstreet.com.
New Era
As for the other?, well its Shadow Lounge which we mentioned was closed for refurbishments, this in preparation for its 10th anniversary and by the looks of the photos taken of the place in its current raw state, the changes look like being pretty extensive, so well worth the look when it re-opens with a massive “New Era” party on Thursday 28th July. Now given this momentous occasion, we will be looking back across Shadow Lounge’s 10 years in business & then looking forward to this new era in their splendid life pushing the oho social soiree scene envelope, interviewing the new manager of the venue, reporting all via a special Disco Matters feature, while you can always keep an eye on their website at http://theshadowlounge.co.uk, which is also getting a re-look & revamp.
Right, before we wrap another seven day look at the scene, time to pick our moment, our track & our tweet of the week, the moment going to Mikey D at beyond, his insistence that we stay on our spot for the duration of his set, very much setting the pattern for a superb Sunday and a spectacular set of his, the best we have heard in a long time, our tweet of the week also coming from this unplanned yet enthralling expedition, and aimed at the man himself when we remarked to Mikey, “…my iron ling needs a breather from this breathtaking set of yours at beyond. We shouldn’t even be here, “So Glad We Came” though!…”, not forgetting that you can follow our Nibble Size review tweets & other mentions at http://twitter.com/discomatt.
As for the track, well the re-emergence of a favourite from earlier in the year really did it for us, plus coming from artists that are likely to scoop top prize in our year end round up for this department. Pink Fluid, the duo from, responsible for recent tracks like “So Much Love” (the lyrics “So Glad We Came” coming from that very track) & Noise In Da House”, first found favour with us back in March when “Bitch Lady” was rocking the dancefloors everywhere, yet it has seemed to endure, moreover reappearing on many an occasion across the week. Having also revised our “Summer Scorchers” list, giving it a late inclusion, we simply had to give it our vote here, the Craziba remix our favourite and in full length glory at http://youtube.com/watch?v=ISsU2cGAbVQ.
Right that’s it for our slightly overdue round up of the week with just time to remind you that if you want us to shout out for your favourite bar, club or event that rocked & rolled in the coming week, then link into us via our main Facebook page at http://facebook.com/discomattlondon and plaster our wall with your details or then drop us a line now at matt@discomatt.com. As for the coming weekend, well we have our work cut out with writing catch up’s aplenty, the next “That Was The Week That Was” report out on Saturday, along with our Full Size review on Casa Latina, Bite Size reflections on Barcode’s 5th Birthday & Lovebox, while a full & fast speed music newsletter will be out too. On the scene front, it’s Onyx’s 2nd birthday bash & Beyond vs Deviate for us, so if you see us out, come say hi, but remember it’s good to “Go There! Be There!” (DISCO MATT)