Having christened our continental clubbing cavorting in the capitals closest channel divided country, it was inevitable that we would return to picturesque Paris, this time to succumb to the splendour of Scream in the hands of our impressive Israeli Guy Scheiman & his spectacular sounds, but what made this peach of a Parisian party so special? And will we be back to scoop a second Scream serving soon?
From the very first moment that we stepped foot in the French capital we fell in love with the city & its considerable charms, Paris oozing style, sophistication through its amazing architecture that sets it aside from any other city we have visited in the world and having visited now a good half a dozen times, there is something quite special about each & every arrival, we discovering a breathtakingly beautiful site or landmark that only serves to heighten our love affair for Paris & Parisians even more. Yet, while we wouldn’t rank it as our favourite city in the world, Cape Town clutching that crown, with Barcelona a close second & Berlin a brilliant third, Paris is right up there in our top ten destinations, meaning we are always excited about returning. And, the undeniable beauty of the city apart, there is plenty to keep us occupied on the city’s gay scene, Paris boasting well over 300 bars, businesses, restaurants, recreational retreats, shops, and, of course clubs, a little known (or should we say overlooked) fact to many Parisians & visitors, long time residents of the city always talking about the good old days when world renowned venues such as Queen & Le Rive Gauche attracted the best in the business, David Guetta among many others having cut his D.J.’ing teeth here. But while the 70’s 80’s & 90’s were special times for Paris, a slump in the new millennium seeing the scene go through the mill, when we compare the Le Marias of today with its London equivalent, Soho, this charming Parisian quarter is streets ahead, the choice of eateries & watering holes plentiful, while the new(ish) Spyce currently ranks as our favourite bar brand outside of South Africa.
Moving to clubbing and Paris was the first destination on continental Europe that we hit the dancefloor, although with Spirit Of Star’s “Pool Party”, it wasn’t quite so much of a dancefloor, more a beach, while the after-party was much more Parisian both in style & sumptuousness, our visit with D.J./producer pal Javier Medina one that will live in our memory banks. However, with the exception of just a small handful, the rich clubbing pickings in Paris remain a little lame compared to Barcelona and here in London, although with LAB & Revolution, plus the twice yearly Matinee La-Leche parties helping to put the French capital back on the international map and contributing towards the general resurgence in the scene. But there is one club that continues to go about its business in a brilliant way, packing in the punters each & every Saturday, attracting the cream of the international D.J. scene, recent names in the D.J. booth frames including Juanjo Martin, Pagano, Steven Redant, Danny Verde, Tom Stephan (aka Superchumbo), Nacho Chapado & Chris Bekker, while Paris based Ben Manson also features reasonably regularly, hosting his LAB parties here. So where are we talking about?, well Scream of course, Paris’s longest running gay weekender that packs as powerful a partying punch today as it did when it launched back in 1996, its three rooms as dynamically diverse as any across Europe, perhaps even eclipsing the likes of La Demence at Fuse & Muccassassina in Rome, while it already outstrips in years, any current club running in London by a country mile, elevating it to our list of all-time greats, joining the distinguished company of the two already mentioned, as well as Antwerp’s Red & Blue, Barcelona’s Salvation, Cape Town’s The Bronx, Johannesburg’s Decadence and London’s Trade, DTPM & Factor 25.
What is surprising however, is that until this weekend, we had never set foot in Scream, it clear that we needed to make speedy amends for this outrageous oversight, while having seen the likes of Paul Heron, Pagano & our very good friend Danny Verde make it across during 2012, we should have made it earlier than this at least. However, after what had been a truly dreadful year for us on many fronts, we were determined to make amends in 2013 and with the news that another great friend, impressive Israeli Guy Scheiman, would not only be playing at Scream on this first Saturday in January, but would be celebrating his birthday, we simply couldn’t say no, booking our tickets well in advance. And while we had it in the back of our minds that the weekend after the New Year may not be the best choice, we couldn’t contain our excitement in savouring the spectacular Scream as well as our beloved Paris, the opportunity to see the city as dusk turned to dark, as enthralling as our club cavorting. So, with a mid morning Eurostar to the French capital, it was just after lunch when we arrived, having been in text touch with Guy on route, so pre-arranging a liaison at his hotel in Republique, and being now pretty much proficient with the Paris Metro, we emerged within ten minutes, while our usual good bearings, which for some unknown reason go array in Paris, meant it was nearly an hour before we found his hotel.
Keen to do some sightseeing, Guy’s preference was lunch in Le Marais, another bearing losing calamity, although with a mini meal done & Guy back in his hotel we were set free to roam Le Bastille, Champs Elysees & the Eifel Tower ahead of dinner and then the main event itself and what we had really come for, the superb Scream. With head Scream cheese Ludo picking us up from the hotel at not long before midnight, it was just a short walk before we were inside the club, a massive expanse of an outside smoking area which, when the weather is warm, must be a real bonus for the club, we winding down the stylish stairs and into the main room which was already alight with action. Being our first time, we were keen to get of bearings, but first followed Guy to the D.J. booth where Scream resident Tommy Marcus was in charge of the tunes, his uplifting, chunky & vocal house going down a storm with the packed main room revellers, it quickly apparent that, even the weekend after New Year couldn’t dampen the Parisian penchant for a party. With refreshments in mind, we headed to the bar and to the bevy of beautiful boys, Ludo being the perfect host, while we couldn’t help our eyes diverting to the video screens and the flashing up of our PPP’s image, Zach Burn’s the following weekend’s guest D.J. for one of a handful of Scream themed parties, this one entitled “London’s Burning”.
But it was this week we were concentrating on and as Guy prepared for his set, we took a further quick tour of the two other rooms, the play area a brief visit, while the pop music second space saw us lingering a little longer, while the inevitable draw of the main room was never far from our mind, as we made our way back to the side of our fabulous friend & impressive Israeli Mr Scheiman, who was already well into his set stride. Indeed after the specially prepared intro track, along with some uplifting vocal productions of his, the packed out place & party goers were responding to his renditions with real gusto, a pair a scantily clad youngsters even braving the stage in front of us and entertaining us to a podium performance to be proud of. However, we were keen not only to give Guy some space, but to get a feel of the main room atmosphere from different directions, so retreated towards the rear, only to be surprised by a flock of fabulous friends with whom we had celebrated ringing in the New year just a few days ago, they seemingly as surprised to see us as we were them. Now we were into our stride, soaking up the superb set from the star of the show, we shunning the fatigue of having been on our feet for well over fourteen hours without sleep, rather soaking up each & every scrap of splendour that Scream was sporting, the night slipping into dawn before we knew it & the early Eurostar return to London on the sunrise horizon. However, with a spurious security check while we took a moments rest over and a scare with our temporarily missing phone resolved, we were determined to dance the last few moments of our stay at Scream out to the full, Guy still in pole playing position with a pitch perfect performance that even resident D.J. Tommy Marcus remarked to us, hit the mark magnificently, it was a wrench that we had to say our farewells, although time was calling & the clock was ticking on this peach of a Parisian party, we wending our reluctant way back to gare du nord & a re-liaison with London.
So what made Scream so special, would we make a return and what of the headline D.J. act performance? Well, to Scream first and, having visited many venues both in London & worldwide, we can say with qualification that Scream & it’s home is now among our favourites on the continent ranking right up there with Muccassassina, Red & Blue & La Demence, both the layout & the varied choice making it truly enticing, while the crowd on our visit was one of the friendliest we have seen, none of the pushing & shoving that seems to plague many of London’s big equivalently sized clubs & events. And when you look at some of the names the club attracts, Danny Verde, Pagano, Paul Heron, Tom Stephan, Nacho Chapado, Steven Redant, & Phil Romano to mention just a few, Scream can surely claim to be truly international both in reputation & stature, while Ludo, Tristan & the team are also keen to nurture lesser known talents, London based Zach Burns one such example, affirming its status as a club that gives its clubbers & fervent followers musical variety week in week out rather than the same old same old drudgery that we have to put up with in the clubs of a certain capital based clubbing organisation. So, for all these reasons, it pretty much goes without saying that a return to Scream is definitely on the cards and given the superb set from Guy Scheiman tonight, it would seem to be the same for him, certainly if the feedback from both the team & the responses from the party goers have anything to do with it, we sure that Guy will leap at the opportunity and one he richly deserves. (DISCO MATT)
