Finding ourselves on the cusp of the final weekend of the month, whilst the weather is not quite flaming as one would expect in June, it seems that the scattering of showers & unseasonal winds will be behind us as we mark the advent of alfresco antics across the capitals clubbing scene, Gay Pride next weekend followed by a succession of festivals including Summer Rites, Lovebox & SW4, although this weekend is very much the domain of Clapham as it rolls out another street party across an afternoon & evening on Saturday that should see the sun shine right through. But, that aside, there is plenty on offer to pull out the party heads this weekend, so we take a look at our choices of where to be & be seen on the scene across Soho, Vauxhall & elsewhere.
Wardour St Wow
So, to Soho first and we cannot find any other to fill our Best Bite slot than the dynamic duo that is Profile & Lo-Profile, this Wardour St spot still tipping the popularity scales, Profile proving a delight of a distraction from the marauding’s of Compton St & co, especially around lunch time (well 11 till 4 to be exact) when their 2 main courses for £10 offer kicks in, while the bargains continue between 4 & 7, when its happy hour (or is that three!?) with outstanding offers on spirits, wine & beer, plus not forgetting that the bar boasts a considerable cocktail menu for you to plough your way through. However, it is when the clock strikes 8 p.m. each Friday & Saturday that the Profile offer really ups the ante, as a host of resident D.J.’s take their turn spin the sounds & warm you into the weekend in the best possible way. And this week the team draw on two veteran residents to do just that, Brent Nicholls making a welcome return to Profile tonight (Fri 24th), while tomorrow (Sat 25th) it’s the turn of the cheeky Craig Daniels to turn up the volume & the terrific tunes heat. But with much more on offer, why not check out http://profilesoho.com & make sure you book a date with Profile this weekend.
Splendid Soiree
Downstairs and Lo-Profile have another fun filled weekend and are still smarting from a gyrating “Gigolo” last night, this new(ish) Soho social splendour having found its feet among the competition, D.J.’ Nathan Six & Jamie Head very much flying the Lo-Profile flag not least as they are residents of both the bar upstairs & the club down. But it’s the weekend we look to and tonight’s session of “Society” which sports another two favourites of Profile that make the transition downstairs and look like packing in the party heads, Nick Evan’s uplifting & vocal beats sure to get “Society” going swimmingly, while the cute yet capable Zach Burns follows up, this young man having come of D.J.’ing age really quickly & proving himself more than equal amongst his peers. With “Society” very much being the place to be seen on the Soho scene, this should prove another successful night for the Lo-Profile team. Then on Saturday (25th ), its straight forward dynamic dancing, as D.J.’s Rob Sykes & Alessandro Londra spin the supercharged sounds, definitely making this Wardour St hangout a hot ticket, more details on the venue available at http://loprofile.com.
Now to some Short Shouts and first news that after much conjecture & delay, the team behind Freedom that bought Barcode on Archer St back in April, will be making considerable changes at the end of this month and turning the venue into a private members club. So, it seems an era in the Soho social scene is finally coming to an end, although we feel it a real shame that the departing Barcode team couldn’t see their way to throwing a farewell party, especially considering the huge amount of loyal customers that have supported it across the years. However, you can wave a fond farewell to club night Industri this coming Wednesday (29th June), more details on that coming up in our weekly round-up.
But while Barcode may be on the way out, Ku Bar is definitely still packing them in, a full weekend of party including their “D.J. Debut” night tonight (Fr1 24th), hosted by The Very Miss Dusty O, while on Sunday (25th), its Lady Lloyd’s turn to sparkle in the spotlight with her “Hit Factory” party. More details on happenings down at Lisle St can be found by going to http://ku-bar.co.uk.
Back into the centre of Soho and The Shadow Lounge find themselves a week or so away from celebrating ten years in the business and have extensive refit plans ahead of the celebrations, meaning their doors will be closed for a couple of days next week. However, its business as usual this weekend, with favourites “Therapy tonight (Fri 24th) & “Inferno” tomorrow, with more info on this sophisticated spot out at http://theshadowlounge.co.uk.
Pride Warm Up
Right onward to Vauxhall and our Best Bite goes to the Orange Group again this week, not least as they are once again treating us to another freebie, this time a Saturday night shindig at Fire, very much as a warm up for their massive Gay Pride schedule of events next weekend. So this Saturday (25th June), the team throw a special Pride warm up party in association with Ku Bar, all in aid of raising funds to help keep London’s Gay Pride free. And masterminding the music at this pre-pride party will be the might of Mikey D, Paul Heron & Leandro Kloppel turning up the heat in Fire’s main room, while the lounge will be a Ku Bar affair with the delightful DouGuim & guests spinning the sounds. Now, as we said, entry is free, but you need to be in between 11 p.m. & 1 a.m. to benefit from this outstanding offer, but it is a night in benefit of Pride, so suggested donations of £1 will be welcomed and given the fact that special drinks offers including £1 shots & £2 beers will be running throughout the night, this is a event that certainly won’t burn a hole in your pockets. However, Saturday night aside, it’s another busy weekend for all things Orange, with club nights Onyx, A:M, Later, Booster &, of course, Orange rolling out their weekly sessions, while Beyond will surely prove popular again this week, after a spectacular showing last when it joined forces with Pagano’s Deviate club & record label brand. For full details of The Orange Group events & details of guest list offers, go to http://fireclub.co.uk/gayparties and keep your eyes peeled for our extra special Orange Group focussed Pride preview, covering all the info you need on events stretching from Friday through Monday next weekend.
Now to some Vauxhall Short Shouts and The Eagle have another corker of a weekend, “Tonker” tonight welcoming special guest D.J. Joe Publik to the decks as Tim Jones & his team play homage to all things army with their “Uniform Night”, while they will be making the most of the warming weather with a free bbq in the giant garden space. Then tomorrow (Sat 25th), Eagle takes on a “Carpet Burn” feel with promoter Martyn Fitzgerald headlining a guest list of D.J.’s & performers, while “Horse Meat Disco” is sure to pack them in again this Sunday (26th). More info on The Eagle can be found at http://eaglelondon.com.
Now, the venerable institution that is The Royal Vauxhall Tavern (The RVT) roll out three classics this weekend, the magnificent “Marvellous” back for more tonight (Fri 24th), with D.J. duo Jonny Slut & Dawn Right Nasty serving up a mix of punk, soul, disco & rock rhythms & with Joan Dairy Queen hosting, while on Saturday (25th) Amy Lame is back with the iconic “Duckie”, no weekend being complete without a full-on onslaught of The Dame Edna Experience at “S.L.A.G.S./Chill-out” on Sunday (26th). Further details of these & happenings throughout the week can be found at http://thervt.org.uk.
Alfresco Antics
So to our alternatives and as we hinted at the top of this Recommends report, the attention goes all alfresco for the next few weeks, this coming weekend no exception as The Clapham Street Party takes centre stage tomorrow (Sat 25th)and with the forecast looking quite healthy for, at least, a dry & sunny day if not quite the smeltering Sunday we are expecting, SW4 should see swarms of street party heads make their way down to Edgerley Road, where, if last year is anything to go by, they will be faced with a street bursting at the seams, everyone clamouring to get close to the stage to see a succession of cabaret artists, drag queens & singers perform from the 3 p.m. start through until a dusky 9 p.m. end. And with a line-up that includes Sandra, Rose Garden, Lola Lasagne, Lizzie Drip, Maisie Trollette & Dave Lynn, it will definitely be one for drag queen fans, but with the action actually starting a little earlier than that, as host venue Kazbar opens its doors a 1 p.m., with a list of D.J.’s as long as our arm playing plenty of pop & disco to delight, while the cocktails, Pimms & other refreshments will be flowing from both the bars inside & out. However, this community event, which has slowly grown in stature & is now in its 7th year is also very much about giving, as it supports charity causes The Albert Kennedy & The Eddie Surman Trusts, two HIV causes very close to our hearts, meaning we cannot re-enforce the minimum donation of £1, hoping you will dig even deeper into your pockets, especially given all the exceptional entertainment coming your way for free. With much more to say still, we will be bringing you an Extra Bites post a little later, while for more information you can always visit http://kazbarclapham.com.
Now to some Short Shouts and firstly we have to report that due to issues with inbound guest stars from The States, Circus, which was due to take place tonight (Fri 24th)has had to be postponed. While the team could have found stand-in replacements for Kazaky, who were to headline this hedonistic happening, both Jodie Harsh & Kris Di Angelis agreed that they would prefer to re-schedule in order to get Kazaky across, especially given this will be an extra special party at the super swish Cafe De Paris. So, keep your eyes peeled right here for news on the re-schedule, which as soon as we hear, you will too.
Next up and an alternative spot that sports two new nights in one weekend, The Dalston Superstore never failing to push the envelope of extravertism, especially with “Breed” tonight (Fr 24th) with promoter Rex The Dog introducing two new stars to the scene, Ruff US & Bambi sure to create a Superstore stir, while on Saturday (25th), “Sexy Dogs” welcome the likes of D.J.’s Hunee, Rik Moran & Ian Robinson, serving up synth pop & nu disco, the weekend rounding off with another “Tutti Frutti” Squeaky session. For more details on these Dalston devotions, go take a look at http://thedalstonsuperstore.com.
Our final Short Shout goes to East Bloc who have a real hum dinger of a happening this Saturday (25th June), as the superb S.O.S. returns to its regular monthly slot and this month runs a “Divas To The Dancefloor Party” with a D.J. line up that picks the cream of the alternative scene, Jim Warboy & Andy Blake masterminding the main room music but joined by special guest Tasty Tim, while Jack France makes his rubberised clad debut in room two. With the fabulous “Disco Fag Bar” also back tonight (Fr1 24th), East Bloc is the Shoreditch showstopper for sure and well worth a visit, as is their website http://eastbloc.co.uk.
Right that’s just about it for us for another weekend and one that will see us resting our still fragile & repairing bones, so as to make sure we are fighting fit for London’s massive Gay Pride, although we get the sneaking suspicion that Beyond may be beckoning, as long as we take it nice & easy. But we will be using our rest periods to post plenty of reports, including that Extra Bites shout for The Clapham Street Party & a full-on Orange Group inspired Pride preview, so watch out for those. As for your weekend’s, with the sun looking to shine & with plenty of prolific parties to plunder, we hope you make the most of this last one in June, so whatever you do & wherever it finds you, we hope you have a terrific time, leaving us to simply say, “Go There Be There! (DISCO MATT)