Posts Tagged ‘Alessandro Londra’
April 6, 2012 | 
Author It may be Passover in Jerusalem, but its playtime in London this Good Friday, as the club event of the same name rolls out for another sexy & seductive session, Disco Matt choosing “Play>Time”, which takes place tonight (6th April) as his pick of the day, not least as his premier protégé player, Zach Burns, hits the D.J. decks, all the detail a supporting banner click away opposite, an image click away below, &/or a Jay Roberts rundown beneath. Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)
Jay Roberts says of the event….
PLAY>TIME is all about giving the fans what they want, in person, vivid and nasty! PLAY>TIME is so in tune with the desires of the guys in the crowd that we can tell what you want just by looking at you…all parts of you! So, to celebrate what those special parts of you want, we bringing back two of our most requested PLAY>MATES for the April 6 edition of PLAY>TIME.
DANNY KING
At home with both the smooth sleaze of his native country’s UK Naked Men and the hairy heat of Titan, DANNY KING is a stunner always ready for action. It was Danny who was handpicked by Jay to launch the first PLAY>TIME in Paris because Danny causes riots of adoring attention whenever he threatens just to remove his shirt. But Danny will never stop at just his shirt. Not with the crowd demanding more!
GIO CRUZ
Brazilian GIO CRUZ has also done his share of porn work, not to mention working for a wide array of photographers as this sensual Brazilian combines the best of South American wildness with European zest. At AlphaMale and Eurocreme, Gio is known for his smoldering filthiness, full of big muscles, big attitude and big excitement.
PLAY>TIME, A Gaydar Club Experience, with D.J.’s Zach Burns & Alessandro Londra, 6/4/2012 – 10pm-4am – Door Tax: £8 before 12 p.m. / £10 after 12 p.m
Posted in Picks | 
Tags: Alessandro Londra, Jay Roberts, Lo-Profile, Playtime, Zach Burns | 
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With Siberian winds & the threat of snow gripping the streets of London this weekend, the thermostat has been turned up to the max across the capitals clubbing circuit, Disco Matt checking out the hottest action across Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch with his Best Bites choices of where to be & be seen on the scene.
While we may be coughing & spluttering our way through this current working week, confining ourselves to the keyboard & away from the peddles has meant we are back in the driving seat with our weekend recommendations. So, while the last one was busy enough what with the return of Matinee, the superb Sharp Tidy event, a breathtaking Beyond and that special back-to-back set from Jamie Head & Mikey D at Later (and that was just Vauxhall), this weekend looks like measuring up to be just as good, some new starts & some old favourites vying for our attention. And having given away a special bite to Blitz, here we pick out our choice three, one each from Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch, we also peeping through the looking glass to some upcoming events that have made the DM dance diary.
In Love With Profile
So to Soho first and we were initially pointing in the direction of Charing Cross, but with so much going on across at Wardour St, it had to be Profile & Lo-Profile that got our Best Bite pick again this weekend, not least that our own temperatures (and something else) were risen on Tuesday over a sociable drink, one of the gorge new(ish) barmen very much tickling our fancy. So naturally, Profile gets our full-on attention first, not just because of the delicious treats behind the bar, but plenty in front of them, not least in the D.J. talent that will be taking to the Profile decks this weekend, tonight (Thurs 2nd) seeing the pint sized powerhouse that is Renato Porto sorting the pre Society sounds, while tomorrow (Fri 3rd) sees favourite & our premier protégé player, Zach Burns, turn out the tunes & turn up the heat, very much getting you in playful mood for the saucy going’s on downstairs. But with your Saturday being superbly steered by none other than Jamie Head, we can’t think of a better place to be in Soho between 8 & 11.30 p.m. when the boys bang out the beats. However, with a heavenly happy hour that includes cocktail pitchers at just £15 & 2 4 1 double spirits that along with a food offer that makes us lick our lips with hungry joy, the comprehensive bistro menu extending to lunch specials with two main courses for just £12, the now famous Tuesday steak night, & 2 4 1 burgers on Wednesdays, while watch this space for news on a new “Masala Monday” offer & for Profile’s special “Valentines Day” feel the love meal for two offer and there’s definitely a lot going on at our Best Bar 2011 winner, more info on all these offers & happenings available at http://profilesoho.com.
Spyce Up Your Playtime Life
To Lo-Profile now and like it’s little sister upstairs, there’s a lot going on here too, home-grown brands “Society” and “Playtime” both doing extremely well, the former welcoming Tony English & Fabio Luiggi to the decks tonight (Thurs 2nd Feb) while the real focus lands on “Playtime” at its host Jay Roberts, this Friday night foray currently one of the (in our view “THE”) best in town, attracting capacity crowds week-in week out, the playful element extended beyond the dancefloor & the podiums into Jay’s backroom boudoir, tomorrow night (Fri 3rd Feb) sure to be no different, Nick Evans & Alessandro on deck duty from 10 till 4 a.m., while Mr Roberts welcomes playful boys Martin Kandra & Florent Leturmy to spice up proceedings and in Jay’s are boys “…who are gonna show you what real men like…” (boudoir here we come!). But the “Playtime” playing field has just got a huge extra pitch in the form of Europe no less, Jay & his porn-tastic team of Gabriel Cross & Danny King, along with D.J. & cheeky boy Steven Artis kicking off their tour of the continent with a trip to gay Paris tomorrow night (Sat 4th Feb) when Playtime takes over Spyce Bar in the French capital’s Le Marais quarter, while the favour is returned on 25th Feb when Spyce land in on London at the new Lo-Profile “ClubNation” Saturday (more of that coming up). Indeed talking of Saturday, in advance of “ClubNation’s” launch next week, when they welcome international megastar D.J. Wayne G to the decks, this sees “Global Blitz” boy’s Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron play for the opposition, Paul hotfooting it from Charing Cross in time for his 1 a.m. deck date, while the first half is down to Mr Nicholls and with Lo-Profile’s doors opening at 10 p.m. on each of the three nights & running to 3 a.m., 4 a.m. & 5 a.m. respectively, door entry varying from anything between £3 & £8, check out http://loprofile.com for more details.
The Legend That Is Lottie
So onward to Vauxhall and while a certain weekly rag may be avoiding them, we certainly are not as The Orange Group top our pile of premier picks once again this weekend, although with so much going on, it was a difficult choice to decide which of the six club events to focus on here. Would it be Onyx, Beyond Midnight, Later or Orange?, each worthy of our attention, and while we will be devoting a special post to beyond, when it came down to the final choice, A:M squeezed out the others, not least as this weekend (well the whole of February actually) looks like being a corker for promoter (ours of 2011 in fact) Steven Sharp & the A:M team, as they welcome iconic D.J. Lottie to the decks, very much headlining what has come a weekly “Headliners” happening down at Fire now that Mr Sharp is in charge, his extensive contacts within the scene & D.J. circuit, bringing some exciting names to the fore. As for Lottie, well having played with some of the finest and indeed mightiest names in the business, Steven rates her as “…a headliner who we are just so excited to be welcoming to our gracious “A:M Headliner” decks…”. And for good reason, as she has played alongside the likes of Daft Punk, Felix Da’ Housecat & Josh Wink, as well as Layo & Bushwacka, all recognised as masters in the art of tech & electro house music. But more than that, Lottie has appeared on the covers of magazines (how does the song go???) including Time Out & I D.J., while the London clubbing scene will know her as the co-founder of the fantastic Friday nighter Gallery, that on top of filling the shoes of Radio 1’s Pete Tong for his Friday night slot, an accolade indeed meaning, as Steven rightly say’s “…we have the red carpet out…”. But with an all-star cast of A:M residents that include D’Johnny, Guy Williams, Jamie Head, Fat Tony & David Jimenez, plus with door hostess Hrh Minty & club host Danny Boyce, this is one A:M, you won’t want to miss, doors opening at Fire from 3 a.m. this Saturday (4th Feb), the club running through until a monumental & mad 11 a.m. finish, entry a mere £8 before 5 a.m. (make sure you grab a Boyz ad or an A:M flyer) or £12 for others, we reckon it’s a small price to pay for a headliner like Lottie, more info out at http://fireclub.co.uk/gayparties while pencil the 18th & 25th Feb in your dance diaries as Steve Thomas & Pagano respectively fill the A:M Headliner boots.
Earthlings Excitement
So across we go to Shoreditch and reigning supreme in our choice picks is the City Rd splendour East Bloc which has a lot going on this weekend, Sunday seeing it open its doors on a regular basis for the first time, while two giants of the venue’s weekly come monthly schedule return to serve up plenty of alternative action. So, like the best of award ceremonies, let’s talk about the happenings in reverse order, although there is method in our madness as this means we focus on Sunday (5th Feb) first, this the new entrant to the East Bloc clubbing calendar, as the new “Bloc Party” launches on a weekly basis following the highly successful pre New Year event in December, although this first outing will see Joelle Hyland & BOY London take over with models a-plenty sporting their wares & and loads of limited editions items on sale. But the music will also be doing the talking & walking (well dancing actually, as with the best in RnB, Hip Hop Basement & funky house from the likes of Kartel Brown, Jeffrey Hinton & Miguel Dare, this is alternative with a capital A, hosts Mark-Ashley Dupé, Richard Logins , Jake Cook & Kwame Suaavve taking care to make sure to have a brilliant time, East Bloc opening its doors from 10 p.m. till 4.30 a.m., entry free until 12.30 a.m., & £5 thereafter, more info up at http://facebook.com/events/320359361335631/. So we come to Saturday (4th Feb) and the truly terrific “TheMenWhoFell2Earth” which returns for its monthly meet, the team exclaiming “…Right then, are you all done with the de-toxing? Good. Well here’s a night out for those of you who think it’s about time you had one and those of you who never stopped anyway…”, which sums up this alternative antic better than we could in as many words. And as the TheMenWhoFell2Earth beam back from outer space on another earth bound party mission, they bring with them favourite fella Erol Sabadosh, with internationalist Francine Bacon from Berlin, both who will fill your musical boots with barnstorming beats of the punk funk, dirty disco & remixed rock N roll in room one, while over in the second space it’s all about “Sink The Pink” who describe their “Boy Box” band in the form of Hot Fuss & James Phillips as a duo that will “…whip you into a musical melting pot, pulling out the trashiest, dirtiest, most shameless music ever made in one dark, sweaty room full of fun..”. Well, enough said really and if you haven’t got the idea by now, go check out http://themenwhofell2earth.co.uk for more info while East Bloc welcomes this outer space outrageousness from 10.30 p.m. till 6 a.m., entry a mere £8 on the door. So that leaves Friday and another weekly session of Larry Tee’s madcap meet, “Super Electro Party Machine”, electro music the backdrop and played out by Larry & guests who this week include Tania & Calum’s for the debutant party (don’t ask!) in room one, while Nan Atichatpong & friends sort the sounds in the second space, this another 10 p.m. till 4 a.m. event, all for just a fiver and with plenty of drinks offers to boot, further detail on this “…coolest of East End weekly…” out at http//facebook.com/groups/233646343355718/.
Well, that’s it for our Best Bites choices for another weekend, but with part two of our weekend newsletter coming up, namely our “Short Shouts”, fear not if you haven’t yet had your fancy tickled, as we have plenty more offerings up our scene sleeve. However we reckon that there is definitely a “Lottie” going on right here and with our premier picks including “Playtime”, “A:M” & “The MenWhoFell2Earth” you have at least three exceptional excuses to be seen on the scene, naturally making sure that you “Go There! Be There!”. (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: A:M, Alessandro Londra, Beyond, D'Johnny, David Jimenez, East Bloc, Fat Tony, Guy Williams, Hrh Minty, Jamie Head, Jeffrey Hinton, Larry Tee, Later, Lo-Profile, Nick Evans, Orange, Paul Heron Brent Nicholls, Profile, Renato Porto, Steve Sharp, Super Electro Party Machine, The Orange Group, TheMenWhoFell2Earth, Tony English, Zach Burns | No Comments »
London may have been gripped by the terror of the blitz back in the 1940’s, but a new kind of blitz is looking to make a bang in the capital when, some seventy years later, the brave new brand on the block that is Blitz Bar launches with its “Peepshow” party, Disco Matt biting into the detail of this new concept that brings back some old favourites.
Brave New Brand On The Block
We look back on the halcyon days of the broad bar culture that was Soho and one that stretched much further than the boundaries surrounding Compton St, venues such as Halfway To Heaven off Trafalgar Square, Locomation on Leicester Square and both Cruz & Brief Encounter on St Martin’s lane, all the watering (some right old) holes bridging the gap between the Soho stomping ground and the gigantic gay clubbing paradise that was Heaven, nineties London a very different prospect for the roaming gay looking for some audacious action. And there was another venue that was part of this picture, Kudos on Adelaide St. sitting neatly between those St Martin’s Lane cruising grounds & the might of Heaven, the more classy & trendy set seeking this refuge away from the red light tendencies that remained quite prevalent at the time. But, with the shift of clubbing to Vauxhall and Westminster council sweeping a clean-up broom through the Soho scene & its surrounding streets, the whole nature of gay bar culture in central London changed, the current landscape even without the brilliance that was Barcode, even Heaven a mouse compared to the might it was before, Kudos a victim of the shifting of the scene south of the river.
Time To get Blitzed
However, while Kudos may have gone for good, the gay legacy that it left behind at the venue on Adelaide St. is set to be bravely re-born in the form of Blitz Bar, a name that is commonly associated with the bombing on London during the second world war, although the organisers behind this bold new venture are hoping that “bombing” will not be the byword of this scene step change, rather the rekindling of some old favourites as well as bringing some new concepts & stars to the fore. That said, given the shift away from the vicinity in recent times, Blitz Bar finds itself pretty much out on a limb, even though Halfway To Heaven is close by, while it is favoured by pretty good transport links and, being in the Charing Cross district, one geographically noted as being the historical centre of the capital, central it certainly is. But Blitz has a tough task ahead of it in attracting an accomplished audience, although is attempting to serve up something for everyone, ranging from a firm favourite social soiree, to a sexy burlesque come risqué offering, as well as music driven night that has international come global intentions, that along with a planned D.J. competition evening which sits on a slightly different stool to former forays.
Peep A Boo
So Blitz is very much looking to shout a scene statement, that shouting beginning this coming Friday (3rd February) when the new venue (currently a Gilberts Bar) launches with its headlining event, “PEEPShow”, one which has been billed by co-promoters Brad Frederick, Tom Spindler, Brent Nicholls & Doug Silva as being “…Inspired by the sexual, and sensual vision of the 21st Century man the resident “PEEP boys” will be presenting outside of the box sexy burlesque and peepshow inspired stage shows with added visual treats, stamping its way into your weekly diaries…” they adding that “…Hot DJ talent will be hitting the deck space in the basement club along with various guests delivering vocal, upfront, progressive, funky house beats adding the perfect soundtrack to your weekend starting point…” residents Brent Nicholls & Doug Silva joined by an array of guests that currently include Sharon O Love, Alessandro Londra, Zach Burns, Norbert M & Jamie Hammond, while in hosts Brad Frederick & Tom Spindler, it seems the Vauxhall element of clubbing has an indelible influence in the PEEPShow philosophy, the duo sure to attract more than a handful of their brethren to Blitz. And for the launch night, the team have enrolled the P.A. services of “…blond beaut & rising songstress…” Emma Cook, while there will be plenty of burlesque gogo’s on show to bolster this basement bonanza, although due to some licensing technicalities the original 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. running time has been shifted to an 8 till midnight slot, meaning, as of going to press, we are unsure of entry fees (we reckon there must be some serious money behind this venture if its free entry!), but with more information available at http://blitzbar.co.uk & an indication of the music of offer via the inspired PEEPshow podcast at http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/2012/01/30/minicast-peep-house/, this should be a launch night to write rather than head home about and as the boys simply say “…welcome to the show, we dare you…”.
Blitz Blasts The Globe
PEEPshow aside, Blitz Bar extends into Saturday’s too, the venue’s international intentions, a mid-evening offering that kicks off this Saturday (4th February) from 9 p.m. till midnight, bringing to London a truly global feel, the team remarking of this Saturday night showing, “…we are passionate about music and every Saturday you can experience GLOBAL BLITZ, a collection of international DJs taking you on a global journey of house…” hostess Sylvia Rebel like her PEEPShow compatriots adding that Vauxhall element to proceedings that is sure to attract a certain crowd of clubbers & cavorters, while the D.J. roster looks pretty similar to the Friday foray, excepting the addition of Paul Heron, Berlin boy Tom Peters (aka KevinFunkt) & Oliver M along with Italy’s GSP, these just some of the internationally renowned stars that will give the night a global feel. And with each week given away to a different night, the team tell us that “…the Global roster takes you from London to Brazil with stopovers in Europe, with “BERLIN BLITZ” on the1st Saturday of the month) with DJs Paul Heron & Tom Peters + Guests, “LONDON BLITZ “ on the2nd Saturday of the month, with DJ Brent Nicholls plus some of London’s biggest spin maestros, “LATIN BLITZ” on the 3rd Saturday of the month with DJ Doug Silva plus a collection of guest DJs with that Latin flavour, “EURO BLITZ” on the 4th Saturday of the month) with DJs representing the best of Europe & the UK including appearance by Alessandro Londra, Sharon O Love, Oliver M and “XXXTRA BLITZ” on the 5th Saturday of the month when guest DJs will descend on Blitz to provide us with sexy beats and horny house in this extra Blitz session…”, need we add more apart from pointing you towards http://blitzbar.co.uk for more info.
Industri With A New Name
However, without doubt the ace in the Blitz bar pack for us is “SuperSocial” which hits the ground running from next Wednesday (8th February), bringing back the terrific, tremendous & towering trio that is Brent Nicholls Paul Heron & (Hrh) Minty, yes the team that brought us “Industri”, a superb social soiree of a club that pretty much transformed our lives for good and one that saw Disco Matt born & then bred in his infancy. And the firm favourite “Industri” package of old will be transposed into the Blitz Bar of the present, a two floored foray giving it a feel towards the future, all based around the “social” theme, so social hours, social surroundings & social sounds, yet with the “SuperSocial” philosophy being pretty much the same as its former, namely “…a simple idea of a house party where friends, friends of friends and more friends are welcome to drop in…” , while just like the days of Industri, the team tell us to expect “…anything can happen, it can go from mild to wild and back again…and with Minty as your host you will be made to feel right at home…” a better hostess with the mostest we could wish for. So, with Hrh ruling the roost upstairs, down in the basement, the back-to-back partnership between Brent Nicholls & Paul Heron will be re-formed, Brent telling us to expect “…floor filling anthems, funky house, disco dipped grooves, the occasional WTF record with plenty of progressive, deep and tech thrown in providing you with the perfect soundtrack to a social backdrop…” and pretty much what we used to get at Industri, especially in the Vauxhall days. Plus, it seems that “SuperSocial” is teaming up with the Gigolo boys, meaning its Blitz bar early doors, followed by a jaunt up to Shadow Lounge, discounted entry to Gigolo available at SuperSocial, the combo making for a “…midweek dirty disco orgy extra-ordinare…” and sure to pack a powerful punch in the clubbing scene calendar. So, with Minty, Brent & Paul back together, “SuperSocial” will be the place to be this coming Wednesday (8th February) and every Wednesday after that, further details out at http://blitbar.co.uk.
So, in “PEEPshow”, “Global Blitz” & “SuperSocial” you have three new ventures that should fill up your Friday’s, shake up your Saturday’s & whip up your Wednesday’s, Blitz bar the brave new brand on the block offering up a new place to step out & be seen on the Soho(ish) scene. So, put your brave head on the Blitz block, get down to Blitz, get blitzed and in so doing, make sure you Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alessandro Londra, Brad Frederick, Brent Nicholls, Doug Silva, Gigolo, Hrh Minty, Jamie Hammond, Minty, Oliver M, Paul Heron, Sharo O Love, Sylvia Rebel, Tom Spindler, Zach Burns | 1 Comment »
We finished the last year on our recommends newsletter right foot, so had to start the New Year on it too, looking at our best choices for where to be & be seen on the scene across Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch. But who, what & where top our tree in this part one? Well there’s only one way to find out….
Having savoured the best start to a New Year ever, our NY weekend starting with profile on the Friday & also including Beyond, WE “Safari” & As One on NYD, we are most definitely in recovery mode this coming weekend, not least as we catch up on reviews of all four events, along with our 2011 music & club special posts. However, while we may be dipping out of the scene, there is plenty on offer to tempt you out, picking out our top choices across Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch with all the detail you need to know along with those all important website links.
Dynamic Duo
So, with both “recovery” & “resolution” being the bywords of this weekend, we head to Soho first with our top of the tree choice going to Profile & Lo-Profile, both venues very much recovering from a hectic NY weekend, yet having stated as the mean to go on in 2012, have a sparkling line-up of D.J.’s both old & new and experienced & fresh faced, although what they all have in common is descending devotion to their art. And Profile leads the way in both venues three day weekend which starts tonight (Thurs 5th Jan), scene stalwart & swinger Brent Nicholls spinning most likely a blend of beats that includes his trademark nu-funk & disco, while on Friday its new boy to Profile Andy Mac’s turn to trip the tune fantastic, this relative unknown quantity out to prove his Profile worth. However, it is Saturday (7th Jan) that gets our biggest thumbs up as our very own protégé player, Junior (Celso) Moura takes to the decks, this following a superb showing last Friday, he hitting our magnificent mark with a majestic mound of music that packed out Profile from the 8 p.m. spinning start to the extended 11.30 finish, so is sure to do the same this weekend, bringing with him his Brazilian “biiiiicha!” bunch who make any party a carnival, not least the handsome Mhardenn Teixeira who will be celebrating his birthday (we will be there for that alone). Then you add in the drop dead gorgeous bar team, along with some of the best food the scene can offer, not to mention a drinks & cocktails list that is hard to beat and Profile is a brilliant way to both start & finish your weekend in style & sophistication, not forgetting their fab Sunday lunch, served each week from 1 p.m., further details of all these & other yummy pickings available by hitting their website link http://profilesoho.com.
Playful Porn
Then we turn to bigger sister Lo-Profile which really came into its own last year, not least helped by superb social soiree Gigolo. Yet while The Hart’s may have moved on, the legacy they have left behind means that Thursday’s in the form of home grown brand “Society” are fitting nicely into this now very popular starting night to the weekend, tonight seeing the delightful Doug Silva joins fellow Brazilian Ale Amaral on the decks, both sure to mix up plenty of Brazilian come euro-style beats with more uplifting house hits. But naturally, the weekend proper begins tomorrow night (Fri 6th Jan) with “Playtime” the saucy, sexy & steamy night hosted by the handsome & hunky Jay Roberts, a night which stepped into “Society’s” shoes just a handful of months ago, but has really transformed Friday’s, record numbers of party people making “Playtime” their preferred choice. And by starting 2012 as they mean to go on, in choosing the cute yet very capable Zach Burns as their anchor D.J., a towering talent that seems to play to enthralling excess in this exceptional event, with our Italian Bello Alessandro Londra kicking off proceedings from 10 p.m., while the eye candy by two porn stars, our own Ben Brown joined by US hunk Race Cooper, both sure to be flaunting their wares both on the podiums & in Jay’s backroom boudoir which, if you play your cards right, can be your special bonus to the bravado. Then on Saturday (7th Jan), we find international playboy D.J. Paul Heron very much in birthday mood, although earning a crust spinning some sounds along with playing & close pal Nick Evans, the two working off each other like an absolute dream, so this is one Saturday session you won’t want to miss. Now, with each night’s doors opening at 10 p.m. & running through to 4 a.m. (3 on Thur’s), entry just £5 before midnight each night & guest list options available, for more details on these nights & other happenings, go to http://loprofile.com.
Area Antics
Right to Vauxhall now and our top tree choice simply had to go to The Orange Group, although wading through the choices of parties in the rick pickings that make up their weekend schedule was pretty tricky, should it be Friday foray Onyx, the refreshed & revitalised A:M, the breathtakingly brilliant Beyond, the afternoon audacity that is Later or the club that started it all, Orange?. Well, while we could have picked on all of them, we just don’t have the room so with both “Recovery” & “Resolution” part & parcel of our post, the choice became quickly clear, Onyx getting first bite at the cherry tomorrow night (Fri 6th Jan) with their, yes you guessed it, “Resolution” party, the team certainly resolute to make 2012 a play & party hard year, starting 2012 as they mean to go on by re-introducing the very popular £1 shots as one of many glorious gambits to get you in that party mood too. And those gambits certainly extend to the music, as the team have had a little shake-up for 2012, welcoming two towering talents in the form of Hifi Sean & The Oli, both sure to pull a crowd as well as you onto the dancefloor with their brilliant beats, both being Beyond boys too which is a good enough excuse in our books. Joining them in the main room is regular Lee Harris, the pint sized powerhouse that has turbocharged tunes to match his mates, room two is all about pop with Lady Lloyd & James St James, while girl power players Lisa German & Verity Mayes steal the show in the terrace space their harder house & tougher tech tones always going down a treat. Add to & the best managed door entry in the land, masterminded by the terrific Tom Fuller, along with larger than life hostess Chrissy Darling, who will be handing out free Smirnoff Vanilla shots to the first 200 customers through those doors, that along with £2.50 drinks offers and you have plenty of excuses to make Onyx one of your first clubbing resolutions of 2012, “Resolution” kick-starting your weekend from 10 p.m., the club running through until 5 a.m., with entry free before 11.30 p.m. with flyer, ad or guest list entry (details at http://gayguestlists.com/onyx), while advance £5 tickets are available at http://orangenation.co.uk.
Recovered & Ready
So with “Resolution” covered, it’s time for “recovery” to take its turn and in Fire on Saturday (7th Jan) we have just that, as not only can we celebrate this iconic venue being well & truly back among us, we can do as they are doing when they say, “…at Fire we don’t have the January blues, rather it’s all about the good times…” the still surely smarting from those so called “good times” following the truly amazing As One, which was the busiest one yet, promoter Steven Sharp pitching the party perfectly, not least pitting Orange against Trade which ended up a marriage of minds that worked like a dream and for the second time in a week at that. So, in what has been become a post bank holiday weekend tradition, Fire will be swinging open its doors for another “Recovery” party, asking you to launch yourselves into 2012 as you mean to go on, D.J.’s The Sharp Boys, D’Johnny, & Jamie Head sure to do just that, while a yet undisclosed guest line-up will add to the superb set of sounds that will surely make this a party to pull in the punters, the lighting, the pyro’s and those sparkling stage shows courtesy of Elektra Paris & Shaun Capewell along with their drove of delectable dancers making their captivating contribution. Plus, in the spirit of caring & sharing in what is always a tight first monetary month of the year, Fire is extending their free guest list offer that usually accompanies their “Recovery” events, a simple click onto http://tinyurl.com/2012recovery sure to secure your entry although you will need to get in fast as they have, naturally, limited the free passes. Mind you, if you weren’t around at any of the NY parties & grabbed a ticket, then watch out for the boys in & around Soho this tomorrow night & Saturday, while you can always just grab a £10 ticket online or at the usual Soho outlets, the online link being http://orangenation.clubtickets.com/gb/2012-01/07/fire-new-year-recovery-party (wow what a big one!), doors opening at 11 p.m., with the event running through till 7 a.m. and don’t forget that a £10 ticket purchase will get you into Beyond for free, yippee!!!
Shoreditch Son Show
So to Shoreditch and a switch from City Road to Kingsland High Street, at it is The Dalston Superstore (DSS) that gets our Best Bite choice this weekend, and for good reason as our very own Shoreditch son, Kris Di Angelis, is treading the DSS boards on Saturday, while a firm Friday favourite also returns for another madcap meet tomorrow night (Fri 6th Jan), while no Sunday would ever be the same without a trip to “Tutti Frutti” with D.J. Squeaky & friends. But it is the other two that get our focus and Friday first as “Blondie” returns for its inaugural outing of 2012, Liz Bisoux heading up a team of Hi-NRG, electronic & disco D.J.’s downstairs, they also throwing in a bit of garage house music for good measure, while upstairs in the hands of Grizzle, its pop classics all the way, that along with the infamous “Blondie Bar Top Cabaret”, not to be missed, plus, with it being free entry all night, that’s from 9 pm. till 3 a.m., this is no bank breaker by any means. Then on Saturday Kris Di Angelis brings back the debaucherous “Delirium” to the DSS, with, as our angelic (not) Kris saying “…what better place to break your New Year’s resolutions than everyone’s favourite disco honeypot, The Dalston Superstore….” he adding of Delirium itself “…is back with quite frankly a banger of a line up…”, Kris being joined by fellow resident Jaime Ritchie, while guest jock for this outing is Ashley Beedle, all three spinning electro disco come tech. But, as with all DSS parties (well most) this is a two floor affair, upstairs being in the hands of Tony Dunne & Cathal, with special guest Ross Allen. With proceedings kicking off at 9 p.m. Kris adds, “…it’s free before 11pm (£5 after) so even if you’ve blown your load over Christmas and New Year you can still come and join the fun…” and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves, while these events aside, don’t forget that The DSS makes for a great food fuel stop off during the day too, all information on offers, menu’s & other happenings available by going to http://thedalstonsuperstore.com or by watching the boys tweets at http://twitter.com/dsuperstore.
Right, that’s it for our Best Bites on this first full weekend of 2012, but watch out for part two of our newsletter coming up next, when we Short Shout for a dozen or so delights, giving you plenty of other choices of where to lay your partying hat this weekend, whether it be in Soho, Vauxhall or Shoreditch, thereby making sure you “Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT).
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alessandro Londra, Area, Blondie, Brent Nicholls, Celso Moura, Chrissy Darling, D'Johnny, Delirium, Fire, Hifi Sean, Jamie Head, Kris Di Angelis, Lee Harris, Lisa German, Lo-Profile, Nick Evans, Onyx, Paul Heron, Profile, The Dalston Superstore, The Oli, The Sharp Boys, Tom Fuller, Verity Mayes | No Comments »
With the New Year weekend on our doorsteps, Disco Matt gets his Recommends act together and after revealing his plans to split his weekly newsletter into two parts, covers his “Best Bites” choices of where to be & be seen on the scene in this, part one.
Looking back over the last few weeks, nay months, if there has been one part of our writing that we have yearned for the most, it is our weekly recommends newsletter, one which has come & gone more often than a London bus, the sheer size & scale of the post meaning we have to set aside a sizeable chunk of our time, which, simply hasn’t been there of late. Yet, as we begin to draw the curtains on 2011 & welcome in 2012, we are determined to bring this much maligned newsletter back, although for sake of speed & regularity, will be splitting it into two each week, focussing on our “Best Bites” in part one (here) and our “Short Shouts” in part two., while our Weekend Focuses & Extra Bites will continue as before. So, with that revision to our newsletter made public, let’s crack on with this part, looking at our Best Bites for the New Year Weekend across Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch.
Pitch Of Prolific Parties
So to Soho first and we are thrilled to welcome back & be recommending Profile & Lo-Profile the creative combo on Wardour St that has really been motoring while we have been away, not least Lo-Profile, as their home-gown brand “Society” has successfully switched from Friday’s to Thursday’s, while its replacement, “Playtime”, has made hay while the sun shines on them rather than their Friday competition. And while “Society” now falls a little outside the remit of this newsletter, we still had to give tonight’s (Thurs 29th) party a mention as it features two of our favourite talents, Jamie Head & Terry Bryan , although the main focus clearly falls first on “Playtime” tomorrow night (Fri 30th), when Lovechild resident jocks Tony English & Alessandro London head up a Friday frolic that will surely include plenty of that handsome & hunky eye-candy which the club has become notorious for, this week, porn stars Kriss Aston & Will Helm flaunting their wares. Plus with host Jay Roberts also tempting the lucky ones into his backroom boudoir for some extracurricular attention, “Playtime” is very much the place to be & be seen this Friday, doors swinging open at 10 p.m. & the club running to a planned 4 a.m. finish, entry just £5 before midnight or £8 thereafter, while upstairs in Profile, our very own protégé player, Junior Moura, gets you in playful mood from 8 .30 till 11.30 p.m. more info on Lo-Profile up at http://loprofile.com.
2012 Here We Come
However, it is New Years Eve that looks like being the big one for Profile & Lo-Profile, not least that the two will be combining to make one huge venue for the night, free flowing between to two, while entry will be monitored & masterminded via the Lo-Profile door. So what can you expect from this NYE combo? Well, first & foremost, we are reliably informed that the numbers to this event will be strictly limited so as to avoid those dreadful crushes that all so often besiege these sorts of bashes, this also allowing the gorgeous hunks of bar boys (and the beautiful bar girls too) to serve you with relative speed and we have to say that, following our Christmas drinks do with The Pitron posse there last Friday, we are really digging some of the Profile new recruits, yum yum!! But we digress, so back to the party and the music, which looks like being absolutely top draw, not least that newcomer to the Profile/Lo-Profile resident team, the cheeky Steven Artis will be sorting the superb sounds along with Nathan 6, a terrific talent who impresses us on all levels (if you know what we mean!), while Nick Evans is sure to add that uplifting/upfront house feel that any New Year’s party should have, these music makers on top of the team turning out the best of their gorgeous go-go dancers to woo & wow you on the podiums downstairs, while they will be doing plenty of circulating upstairs too, just to make sure you are all entering into the spirit. Add to that special offers on bottles of bubbly to see in 2012 in style and there is no surprise why this is one prolific NYE package, doors opening at 10 p.m. and the party running through to an extended 6 a.m. finish, entry available on the door for just £10, while if you have joined or quickly join the clubs mailing list, then you may be one of the lucky ones who gets free entry, more info on this available at http://loprofile.com, while details of drinks offers & those champagne prices/listings are out at http://profilesoho.com.
Recharged & Ready
Onward to Vauxhall now and while there are quite a few contenders to our Best Bites NYE/NYD weekend crown, it has to be The Orange Group that gets knighted here, as they do have the lions share of shindigs on offer, three which have already been given extensive coverage. So, as Beyond NYD, As One & WE (not Vauxhall of course) have benefitted from their own devotions in our “Gigantic Gilded Gambit” post, we (pardon the pun) won’t go over old ground, rather focus on Later & two other Beyond offerings, the first a little known quantity as not much has been said about it in the wider press, meaning you read it here first. And it relates to Beyond, as the club & team actually ring in 2012 with the NYD event’s pre-party at Factory, bringing with it splashes of Beyond itself in the form of a handful of residents from the superstar team, while the pyro’s & effects should come close to matching the fireworks just up the river outside, added to which there will also be a special countdown to midnight to make sure you don’t miss out. Advance £10 (only) tickets are on sale online at http://orangenation.clubtickets.com/gb/2011-12/31/nye-pre-beyond-party-factory while entry will be available on the door, Factory (entrance on Goding St) opening at 10 p.m. & the club running through till a staggering 7 a.m., free entry all night offered to “Golden Ticket” holders. Then while NYD Beyond takes over, we fast forward another 24 hours as this awesome afterhours does it all again, Beyond “Recharged” kicking in as As One empties out, Area’s door opening at 7 a.m., Monday 2nd Jan and the club running through till a 2 p.m. finish. Now while the D.J. line-up remains unconfirmed as yet, names in the frame include Alan K, Jamie Hammond, The Oli, Fat Tony, Hifi Sean, Paul Christian & The Sharp Boys (well boy actually & probably George), while what we do know this that this will be a carry-on to carry on to, advance tickets at £12 available online at http://orangenation.clubtickets.com/gb/2012-01/02/beyond-recharged-the-second-comin (the early bird £10 ones are sold out), while entry will be available on the door, but expect to pay more.
Its Never To Late For Later
So that’s Beyond, now what about Later? Well, to be honest, we often overlook Later in our Weekend round-ups & focuses so we thought it high time to give it an extra special mention, not least that, having rubbed shoulders with one of its resident D.J.’s at our Christmas drinks do last week, Jamie Head reminded us of just how amazing a purple patch the club is finding itself in at the moment. And with Later on NYD having formed such an important part of our own clubbing heritage, it will come as no surprise that promoter Jay Sharp Vokins is looking to re-emulate those halcyon days (no doubt drawing us in this coming Sunday), as he draws on the towering talents of one-time regular resident Per Q.X. to headline the club’s NYD party, another D.J. icon of the clubbing scene, Guy Williams, joining him on the decks. Now, while we know Jamie will be away partying hard at Berghain in Berlin & D’Johnny cutting a WE stride in Madrid, we can guarantee that Jay will have other residents on hand, including The Oli, advance tickets (recommended) available for just £8 at http://orangenation.clubtickets.com/gb/2012-01/01/later-nyd-2012. Then, if you have the energy & stamina, like Beyond, Later has a second coming the following afternoon (Mon 2nd Jan), when the team will be doing it all again and with a strap line that shouts “We Can Do It”, Jay is certainly willing us on to do just that, especially as he welcomes special guest Jc Christopher & Leonardo Glovibes to the decks, joining an ever present Oli along with others for sure, doors opening at 1 p.m. and the event running “superlate”, while on NYD, Later’s opening times are midday till 8 p.m., further info available at http://fireclub.co.uk/gayparties.
It's Gonna Be Craaaaazy!!
So to our Shoreditch NY weekend Best Bite and it has to be Gutterslut, which holds sway on New Years Eve at its hip & happening home, East Bloc on City Rd. Now, with NYE being a Saturday, Gutterslut-ers will feel pretty much at home with their clubbing clock, while they will still have fond memories of the recent Gutterball at Rhythmn Factory in their minds & souls, so will sure want to “ave it” on Saturday night (31st Dec). And the Gutterslut crew will be giving it to them, not least as Per & Nic welcome two special guest D.J.’s who will be playing out in the “Rave” room, relative new name to the world of dance music, Birdee, the first, this emerging talent explaining of his sound “…a blend of housey beats, obscure 70s samples and wobbly b-lines…” while his latest release “Shake It” has been aired by a no less than BBC Radio 1, along with the likes of Boris Dlugosch & Tom Staar. Then, Per is thrilled to welcome feloow Swede Peo de Pitte (can’t be his real name?!) who hails from Stockholm, although (like Mr Q.X.) relocated to London a while ago, his trademark combination of big room beats and cutting edge synth’s sure to go down a storm with Gutterslut-ers, especially in the knowledge that his production work has won support from a long list of music tall poppy’s including Afrojack, Groove Armada & Roger Sanchez (wow!). With our super Swede, Per Q.X., along with Nic Fischer completing the “Rave” room line-up, over in the “Discoslut” space, it’s down to resident Ralf to keep DJ disco dudes Miltos & The Golden Fleece and Shay Malt in check, our Gutterslut man having his hands full, especially when we look at their resume’s which include the words, frenzied, hotrod, hijack & sexbag, surely meaning its going to be an absolute riot in there. Plus, with Miss MC Crystal doing her outrageous thing, with visuals supplied by both PrickImage & the Dalston Gay Mafia, need we say anymore apart from, if its alternative & outrageous antics you are after, look no further than right here, making sure you grab one of the remaining advance tickets at http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=482048, while you may (and we say may) get entry on the door, but we highly suspect it will be one in-one out within minutes of opening at 11 p.m., the club running to a wayout & whacky 9 a.m., meaning that, in the inimitable words of Mr Fischer, “…its gonna be craaaazy!!!…” and we LOVE IT!!.
So that’s our Best Bites for this N.Y. weekend done & dusted, but hold tight for a delightful dozen of “Short Shouts” coming up, while we take the first of many opportunities to wish you a very happy New Year, our plans on hold due to the dreaded flu, although, fingers crossed, we will be better & seeing it in with some close & dear friends before the NYD onslaught. But whatever you are up to & wherever it may find you ringing in 2012, have a terrific time, naturally making sure you “Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alessandro Londra, Beyond, Gutterslut, Guy Williams, Jay Sharp Vokins, Jc Christopher, Junior Moura, Later, Leonardo Glovibes, Lo-Porfile, Nathan 6, Nic Fischer, Nick Evans, Per Q.X., Profile, Steven Artis, The Oli, Tony English | No Comments »
Having just completed our annual special report on World AIDS Day (WAD), this year we pressing home the message of support for the fight against this epidemic by the smallest of gesture, that being the wearing of a red ribbon with pride, our feature entitled “Red Ribbon Day” (well worth a read at http://discomatt.com/web/2011/11/reports-red-ribbon-day-world-aids-day-thursday-1st-december-special-reportreflection/) not just an informative based compilation, but our own personal reflection of living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. But while we have marked the occasion with our report and will also be wearing our red ribbon with pride on World AIDS Day tomorrow (Thurs 1st Dec), scores of bars, clubs, businesses & organisations here in the capital will also being doing their bit for the cause, a whole raft of events on the day itself & into the weekend either raising awareness or, more importantly, raising funds for the wealth of charities that do incredible work in & around the complex yet diverse issues that both HIV & AIDS. So, with plenty of World AIDS Day pride circulating around the capitals clubbing circuit, we thought it appropriate to extend our red ribbon theme this “Red Ribbon Day Devotions” Extra Bites post and cover the places to be & be supporting not just on Thursday but across the weekend.
Stewart's Soho Swish
That said, naturally Thursday (1st Dec) is the main focus and Soho the focal point of activity, not least that the collection of venues behind “Pink Sunday” are extending the theme & idea to “Red Thursday”, the likes of Comptons, Rupert St, Village, Ku Bar, The Yard, Freedom, Profile, The Edge, Circa, G.A.Y. Bar & the Duke of Wellington joining forces in supporting charity The Food Chain, while the aim is also to raise awareness of the continual rise of HIV infections within the gay community. But the centre piece of “Red Thursday” is AIDS swish, a street carnival of remembrance, pride & community in the centre of Soho organised been scene stalwart & damn fine D.J. Stewart Who, he explaining that “…the idea is simple; as a community we dress up like we mean to party, the “SWISH” down Old Compton Street in colourful acknowledgement that we both enjoy & respect life…” Stewart going on to say “The AIDS Swish is an affirmation that we’re here and we care, not just about ourselves, but each other…”. But the aim of staging Swish is to boost awareness & support within the community for the allocation & erection of a permanent AIDS memorial in London. So, what’s the score with Swish? Well, it starts at 6 p.m. tonight (Thurs 1st Dec) at the junction of Moor St & Old Compton St (that’s Ed’s Diner end), the parade then making its way down Old Compton St with a post swish finish at Lo-Profile, where there will be a surprise performance, a keynote speaker & a celebratory drink (naturally!). Then at 8 p.m., to signify the completion of Swish, all the bars mentioned above will play Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”, a better way to celebrate life we cannot think of. Now, to join in all you need to do is turn up on time, while Stewart say’s “…you can dress as you like, in full drag (he probably will be) or your regular day or night wear, just be there! (that’s our line!). So, here’s your opportunity to show vocal & vivacious support for WAD.
Society Stripped
As for the bars/clubs themselves tonight, picking out a couple of highlights, Profile & Lo-Profile play a pretty big, the latter putting on an extra special “Society” , the theme being “Strip-a-thon”, all funds raised on the night going to causes, the Terrence Higgins Trust, National AIDS Trust & The Food Chain, the team telling us simply that “…the more you give, the less the Profile team will wear!…” and judging by some of the gorge staff there, this will be something not to miss. But with D.J.’s Nathan 6 & Nick Evans on the decks also entering the spirit of things with scores of saucy & sexed up sounds, there will be also be not just one but two performances from PA’s Katherine Ellis & Amanda Wilson, hosts Irvina & martin making sure the whole evening the mercury certainly turns red on what should be an action packed & fun filled Thursday. Now, Lo-Profile open’s early for the Swish finale, although “Society” kicks off from 10 p.m., entry just £4 before midnight, while Profile upstairs will be in business early doors, D.J. Brent Nicholls spinning the sounds from 8.30 p.m., the bar sporting a superb & special World AIDS Day totaliser, so you can keep tabs on just how much is being raised, as well as how many clothes are being shed!, info on both venues available at http://profilesoho.com & http://loprofile.com.
Tom's Turn
For something alternative, we zoom across town to Shoreditch, finding East Bloc on City Rd who are very much doing their bit for WAD although in a characteristically different way, as their primary aim is to raise funds for the benefit of Chiva Africa, a charity relatively close to our heart, not least that it supports HIV positive people (specifically children) in South Africa, so a well worthy cause in our books, a whole load on info on Chiva available at http://chiva-africa.org/, the night down at East Bloc organised by tip top D.J./Producer Tom Stephan, who has teamed up with Dupe Den’s Mark-Ashley Dupe & Jayson Jack Frost who will host the night. However with a cast of D.J.’s that includes Tom (of course) along with Harvey Adam & Jay Jaymen in the main room, the second space sporting Matt Bogarde, Kartel Brown & Oliver Rant, with two special back-to-back sets including Mr Bogarde vs. Nutty Nyce & Miguel Dare vs. Fifi, there will also be a special performance by La Gosse to round off what will be a very special night for a very special cause. East Bloc’s doors open at 10 p.m. with the event running through till a planned 4 a.m. finish, more details on this Shoreditch spot available at http://eastbloc.co.uk.
A couple of quick other mentions for WAD go to Soho bar’s Ku & Rupert St (RS), the former holding their infamous WAD auction where you can bid for your chance to date one of the yummy scrummy staff, plenty of other lots on offer too, while over at RS, resident D.J. Alessandro pops up to spin a special “Red Thursday” set, while the team holding a raffle & throwing in a free party prize for ten people at RS, this prize including a bottle of spirit, prosseco & a finger buffet, that on top of special shots, all funds from sales going direct to The Food Chain. For more info on both venues, check http://ku-bar.co.uk & http://rupertstreet.com.
Headline Hits
So that’s World AIDS Day itself, what about the rest of the weekend, well while scores of bars & clubs around the capital & beyond will be doing their bit, we pick out just two others that we consider top tree choices of where to be & be seen in supporting WAD. Firstly on Saturday (3rd Dec), state of the art venue Pulse in Southwark stages what is very much a welcome return to the annual WAD commemorations, as “The Remembrance Ball” returns, and with a bang, as headliners will be The Freemasons will centre-stage the main room, along with Cahill, while there will be special stage shows too. But the music extends to a Gaydar second space where Simon Le Vans will be joined by other Gaydar jocks on the decks, a third “remembrance” chill-out room where to team hope to project images of those lost to HIV/AIDS, organiser Mark telling us, “…we would like people to send in a photograph of someone they have lost so we can project an image onto one of the video walls in this remembrance room…” he adding that “…it’s almost like the patchwork quilts that are done in The US and while we want to celebrate life with this ball, it is also about remembrance, to those that are gone but not forgotten…”. Now, Pulse’s doors open on Saturday at 10 p.m., the event running through till a planned 6 a.m. finish, entry a hefty £15, although a sizable chunk of this will be donated to HIV charities Status & Mildmay, while more info on the venue (including exact locale) can be found at http://pulseclub.co.uk.
Steven's Support Showing
Then on Sunday (4th Dec), promoter Steven Sharp once again makes a wonderful WAD impression with his Orange “World AIDS Day Fundraiser, the primary benefactor being international charity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, another charity that is very close to our hearts (Steven’s too). So, with a large proportion of the entry fees to Orange going direct to the charity, the team will also be collecting for this deserved cause on the night, so please dig deep into your pockets while D.J.’s The Oli, Fat Tony & the Sharp Boys will be digging deep into the record collections to bring you scores of brilliant beats in the main room at temporary home Factory, these seeing you deep into Monday morning. With deep also being the word, RAW resident Gonzalo Rivas will take up the musical mantle in room two, stripping you down with minimal beats & classic deep house that will be a set not to be missed. So, as we have hinted, Orange has moved to Factory, their temporary home for the next three weeks at 65 Goding St, doors opening on Sunday (4th Dec) earlier than usual at 10 p.m., the club closing similarly slightly earlier at 7 a.m., entry just £5 before 1 a.m. with a flyer &/or ad, while main prices are held at just £10. More information on the temporary switch of Orange from Fire to Factory can be found at http://fireclub.c.uk/news, while pop into Facebook events page for more info on this heavenly happening.
So, that’s our take of where to be & be seen supporting World AIDS Day this year, we hopefully dong our bit tonight at Swish from 6 p.m. & (if we have the legs after WE, Beyond & Gigolo) popping into Orange on Sunday. So, if you see us, do come say hi, but remember to wear your red ribbon with pride & make sure you “Go There! Be There!” (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alessandro Londra, Brent Nicholls, East Bloc, Factory, Fat Tony, Gonzalo Rivas, Ku Bar, Lo-Profile, Nathan 6, Nick Evans, Orange, Profile, Pulse, Rupert Street, Society, Steve Sharp, Steven Sharp, Stewart Who, The Oli, The Sharp Boys, Tom Stephan | 1 Comment »
With the last week or so laid to waste for a number of reasons, our latest brush with ravages of London’s roads leaving us pre-occupied with our personal health, we have once again missed the boat with our weekend recommends newsletter, although with a trio of treats presenting themselves tonight (Saturday 12th November), we couldn’t resist giving you our take on what would, in normal circumstances, be a most tricky choice of where we should be & be seen, the draw of Shoreditch, Southwark & Vauxhall also looking like dividing the capitals clubbing crowd eager for some extra special entertainment. And given just how good all three parties are, the choice will prove a difficult one, yet as each deserve a bite at the proverbial cherry, we given them equal(ish) exposure, state the case for their collective captivation and then leave it to you to decide.
Main Meathead Man
So to our first of the three and to Shoreditch we head, as the magnificence of Meat rolls out another of its monthly meets, that cherry bite reference most appropriate as will become apparent when we delve into the detail. However, before we do, let’s give you a taste of just what Meat is about, this charismatic club being the brainchild of legendary D.J./Producer Tom Stephan along with his occasional recording studio partner, Shoreditch son (so called by us) Kris Di Angelis, this dynamic duo certainly knowing how to pitch a party with over 30 years experience of the capitals clubbing scene under their collective belts. And in Meat they have produced a party that combines elements of old & new, host venue East Bloc on City Rd supplying the underground feel & vibe that Tom was very much part of in the early days of his clubbing career, not least at Crash in Vauxhall. But more than that, with two distinctly different spaces to choose from, the duo also pitch the music to cater for the rich variety of clubbers Meat now attracts, whether they be the East End trendy socialites, the West End whizz kids or even the smatter of scene faces that grace its doors, Meat serves up a pretty unique mix that is difficult to match let alone beat, so one of many reasons why you should give it a go.
Love At First Bite
Convinced that Meat is for you? Well, this month would be as good a choice as any, as the boys are throwing a “Love At First Bite” themed event, which, given the bawdiness of last month’s “Hanky Panky” meet, looks like re-emulating the raunchiness in every way, both Tom & Kris taking up D.J. duty in the “Meathead” main room alongside fellow resident James Pople, serving up the best in electro twisted beats & underground grooves, while over in the “Mincemeat” second space, gender bender Munroe Bergdorf is joined this month by Tom Washington, the duo delighting with more soul tainted funk & pop. Add to that go-go’s Fer & Claudio performing throughout the night and both stretching the imagination among other things, while plenty of Meat mania gets going in & around the nooks & cranny’s of this East Bloc base, hosts Melvin, Jonathan Bestley & Alex Collins making sure fun will be had by all. As for the entry detail on this “Love At First Bite” Meat meet, doors open at East Bloc at 10.30 p.m. the club running through until a planned 6 a.m. finish and all for just £5 before midnight or £10 thereafter, further details out at http://eastbloc.co.uk.
Muscle Meet
Onwards and to Southwark now, the new base for Alex Erfan’s loveable clubbing brand, Lovechild, which throws its second party of the month tonight. Having established a long run of events across in Vauxhall at Fire, Lovechild has proved one of the most popular & sustainable Saturday night sortie’s in recent times, a whole succession of superb showings firmly establishing its premier position on the capitals clubbing circuit. Plus, having expanded into Europe, Lovechild’s presence has been felt right across the continent, from Amsterdam to Istanbul & Berlin to Barcelona, the marriage of minds seeing associations with clubs like Red & Blue, Delice, & Muccassassina, while back home links with Brighton’s Wild Fruit & London’s As One & Lo-Profile rank among its many achievements in the close on three years of its operation here in the capital. Add to that a dynamic D.J. residency team that includes the likes of London based stars Tony English, Brent Nicholls, Phil Hewson, & Mattias, international names extending to Javier Medina, Guy Scheiman, Johan Khoury & Leomeo, and the musical credentials of Lovechild pretty much speak for themselves. Yet, while having disappeared off our radar during the summer, our loveable brand is back pushing the boundaries at new home Pulse, very much finding its feet in this new environment, but loving every minute of it along with its new found associations with the venue’s owners, & links with the Logan presents promotions machine who also hold their SuperMartXe London events there. And with off-shoot “Superlovers” gathering steam, there is much to shout about in the Lovechild camp, so a club definitely worth a visit or more.
Inspiration Italiano
So what’s on offer tonight (Sat 13th Nov)? Well the team are going all Italiano on us with their “Roma” event, a devotion to all things Dolce Vita come Gladiators as it will be the Italian stallions that will be taking over Pulse and racing those pulses with all their rippling olive skin soaked muscles, amazing accents & looks, as well as Latino charm personified, Nik Ripley & his performers definitely meeting & probably exceeding all expectations on the eye candy front. But while our own & original Italian stallion D.J. Pagano will not be present, Alex has called on the services of his remaining Roman residents, Gabriele Cutrano, Micky Galliano, Alessandro Londra & Tony Bruno, all joined by relative newcomer to the Lovechild fold, Marco Gee, each one injecting plenty of Italian passion into their performances, whether it be Sicilian slants, Naples nuances or Piacenza progressions, the musical matches between these dynamic D.J.’s should work like a dream. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Alex has tempted in this month’s Lovechild cover hunk, Eric De Chavez, who will be hosting & roaming the crowd to add yet more Italian pepperoni to proceedings in what is sure to be a saucy showing to stimulate & seduce. So, no more reasons required to head down to Pulse and while Soho’s ticket outlets doors may be closed, you can still grab an advance ticket for just £12 at http://clubtickets.com/gb/2011-11/12/love-child-brings-you-roma, while entry is also available on the doors which open at 11 p.m., the club running through till a planned 6 a.m. finish, more info, should you need it, out at http://alexerfan.com.
Biggest & Best
So to the third in our trio and what a third it is, as Beyond extends its arms to all its adoring fans with yet another extended offering marking the beginning of its winter season. Now, what we have said about this brilliant brand goes without saying, it having ridden a crest wave on the capitals clubbing circuit for most, if not all of its ten year tenure. Having pretty much transformed the afterhours clubbing market, bringing a barnstorming blend of beats from upfront house, to tech, deep, classic & progressive, along with everything in-between, in Beyond there is always something for everyone and everything for someone, while the amazing atmosphere in host venue Area’s main room is truly unbeatable, for us, anywhere in the globe. And talking of the globe, Beyond’s aspirations to become one of the planets biggest players has taken a major leap forward this year, showings in Paris, Mykonos, Ibiza & Sao Paulo , four highlights among a list of others, while back home, offerings in both “Belief” & “Supersize” format have cemented it as the single biggest & best brand on the capitals clubbing circuit. But more than that, Beyond draws on some of the best D.J. talent London has on offer, when you consider the likes of Steve Pitron, Mikey D, Jamie Head, The Sharp Boys, Fat Tony & Gonzalo Rivas among a host of others, you know the music & the magic of this monumentally magnificent meet will always be top draw delight from start to finish and reason why we cannot recommend it enough.
Winter Season Starter
So to this latest exceptional event in the chapter filled catalogue of Beyond bashes, tonight (Saturday 12th Nov) seeing the return of “Ice” the themed event that, as we have said, marks the beginning of the clubs winter season and should re-emulate the impressive outing of the same name twelve months ago. And in the “Midnight” format, this event runs for a full twelve hours, welcoming many of its resident D.J.’s to play in front of a packed out Area of three arena’s of sound, The Chapel space sorted by Hifi Sean, Paul Christian, D’Johnny & special guest Guy Williams, while The Terrace bar remains the domain of Jamie Head, The Oli & Fat Tony, although it is to the main room we look for the best action as “Ice” marks the welcome return of Beyond original & its most resplendent resident, Steve Pitron, who we know is hugely excited about his first set in close on a month, Steve taking up pole position from 8 till 10 a.m., he flanked by The Sharp Boys & Alan K. Then, add in the enticing ingredients of the famed effects & lighting, plus podium showings from Elektra Paris & her crew, “Ice” should have it all this Sunday morning, doors opening at zero o’clock & running through until midday, advance ticket purchases recommended by going to direct link http://orangenation.clubtickets.com/gb/2011-11/13/beyond-afterhours, while if you want to get in quick & for free, get your detail in now at http://tinyurl.com/beyondice. Those options aside, you can always pay on the door, but expect to pay more, although whatever the price to get in, you won’t want to get out anytime soon as you will no doubt absorb the awesome atmosphere that Beyond creates week in week out & should do again this time round.
So there it is, the most tricky choice presenting itself for many a moon, a trio of treats that doesn’t get any better in our books, we happy to lay our hat on any one of the three, although with a certain D.J. (wonder who that could be?!?!) tugging our heart strings & twisting our arms, we will be attempting to brave the dancefloor with our ravaged wrist, although whichever of the trio you choose, maybe all three, just make sure you “Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alan K, Alessandro Londra, Alex Erfan, Area, Beyond, Christian, Cutrano, D'Johnny, East Bloc, Elektra Paris, Fat Tony, Gabriele, Guy Williams, Hifi Sean, James Pople, Jamie Head, Kris Di Angelis, Lovechild, Marco Gee, Meat, Micky Galiiano, Munroe Bergdorf, Nik Ripley, Paul, Pulse, Steve Pitron, The Oli, The Sharp Boys, Tom Stephan | No Comments »
Finding A Pulse
Over the years we have grown particularly fond of certain brands that have braved the capitals clubbing scene, the reasons for our attractions as varied as the clubs themselves, although certain common denominators kind of tie them together, the music & the music makers two perfect examples, although with certain clubs, it can also be said that the promoters are just as important. Indeed, looking at those brands that have achieved a special place in our hearts and those individuals at the helm, the prolific part that promoters play pretty much go without saying, Crash & Wayne Shires, FIST & Suzie Krueger, Trade & Laurence Malice, they all go hand in hand. And whist these three examples made have faded from the scene, they still fill us with misty eyed memories and ones that we miss dearly. And there is another brand that we have missed dearly, one that, like our three other examples, has gained a special place in our hearts, a club that has sported magnificent music players & music of the highest quality, its promoter synonymous with its existence, so seeing it disappear off our radar, having played such an important part in our lives, was a bitter pill to swallow.
We Love Lovechild
Lovechild has, without doubt, been a brand we have followed right from day one, when it launched itself as a Sunday t-dance style soiree, something in the order of Salvation, this being no real surprise as the promoter who had always been the big driving force behind this mega club brand, Alex Erfan, was keen to offer fervent followers of all things Salvation, something similar but different. However, it was clear from the first set of Sunday parties at Pacha, that the bottom had fallen out of t-dance style clubbing, on a Sunday at least, a short break seeing Lovechild reappear as a Saturday offering and at new home Fire, a venue which proved a worthy home for Alex & the club for close on 18 months. Plus, the switch from Sunday’s to Saturday’s allowed the Lovechild team to expand & experiment with the brand, a whole succession of successful parties, including alliances with other clubs such as Delice & Wild Fruit, cemented it as one of the capitals clubbing scene’s big hitters. Notable parties included “Wet”, “Makin Hay” & “Tropicana” (among many more), Alex also drawing on international D.J. talent to boost the appeal, while the creation of the infamous “Contact Room”, the introduction of saucy shows & the distinctly different arena’s of music, all added to the clubs appeal.
Turning Up The Pulse
However, times they do change and it was becoming all the more clearer that the onetime harmonious working relationship between Lovechild & Fire, Alex Erfan & the Orange group, was beginning to sour, the “1st Anniversary” back in November last year being the first catalyst, Lovechild pretty much shunted into the sidelines while Fire’s main room was given away to a breeder bash. And, from then, it was pretty much a slippery slope for our loveable brand, the final full-on Fire fling being when Lovechild joined forces with Israeli splendour FFF in May, relationships between The Orange Group top brass & Alex straining to breaking point, all meaning something had to give and the withdraw of Lovechild from the Saturday clubbing schedule was the saddening consequence. But, as the saying goes, “you can’t keep a good dog down” and, after a summer break which has seen the brand pick itself up & dust itself off, Lovechild is now ready to start all over again, a new venue, a new look & a new direction the inspiration for its return.
Beefy Blake In Blue
So, what’s the big change?, and what can we expect from the new look Lovechild? Well, first & foremost Alex has forged a new association with Pulse, the state of the art venue that plays host to SuperMartXe, the break away from Vauxhall definitely a new & daring direction which, we hope, will pay dividends, the flexibility with Pulse’s space allowing Alex to manage & manipulate his events to match the crowd & the entertainment. And there is definitely lots of promise for this first event “The Big Blue”, Alex kicking off by saying that “…This incredibly exciting space will allow Lovechild to grow and present the biggest shows and parties to date. New features are being added to the Pulse in the run-up to the party and Lovechild will by then feature the biggest dance floor on the London scene as well as some of the most ‘state of the art’ lights and lasers going in especially for the night…”, while the joining of forces with porn star legend Blue Blake is the inspiration behind the title of the event, the accent very much sex & seduction, a whole host of stars beefing up this branded bash, Alex going on to explain that , “…Lovechild goes blue this Saturday when it celebrates the launch of porn legend Blue Blake?s filthy new film “A Policeman Fucked My Son” andhis new website blueblake.com. There?s not just 1 or 2 super hot pornstars (as seems to be the norm these days) but a veritable “pornucopia” of sensational Blue Blake stars from past and present. Leading the pack is the UK?s most popular porn star Paddy O?Brian, along with French superstar Issac Jones, British internationals Ben Brown, Bruno Knight and Jake Reed. There?s also some American beef jetting in from the USA, the buff and beautiful Cody Miller. And that?s not all, Pulse will be packed with porn stars and purveyors of filth. So the hot studs dancing next to you could be the guys you?d been watching fuck the night before…”
International Israeli
Well, that certainly sets the scene for this “Big Blue” event, the porn element plain for all to see, but what about the music?, Well, with a pretty impressive list of resident D.J.’s both from here in the capital & internationally, Alex has a lot to choose from, Tony English the first major inclusion in an all London line-up, this main man having been with Lovechild from its beginnings and very much the lynch pin in Alex’s armoury, having toured with the brand internationally to destinations that have included Amsterdam, Antwerp, Istanbul & Israel, while he was with Lovechild for their two excursions to Edinburgh over the summer. Moreover , he is the man behind the “Lovechild” single, which gets full release early next year, although Tony has posted the radio edit to his Soundcloud page, check it out at http://soundcloud.com/djtonyenglish/tony-english-feat-kaysee-1, the vivacious vocals of Kaysee looking like this should be a 2012 smash and will no doubt be within Tony’s set on Saturday. Then, there is Alessandro Londra, another dynamic D.J. that has been flying the flag for Lovechild both here in London & across Europe, he never failing to ignite the dancefloor with his full blown tech & progressive house, our Italian bello having laid down a podcast to mark Lovechild’s first party at Pulse, a 62 minute marvel which is as good an indication of what to expect from him on Saturday as anything and a compilation well worth adding to your collection by going to http://soundcloud.com/djalessandrolondra/lovechild-pulse-club-london. But Alessandro is not the only one to mark this “Big Blue” event with a podcast release, impressive Israeli Guy Scheiman (one of Alex’s international residents) also jumping on the compilation bandwagon with his own devotion, perhaps off all the mixes, our favourite & one which you can grab at http://djguyscheiman.podomatic.com/entry/2011-10-05T15_47_54-07_00 although unlike the text on his podcast page, sadly we won’t be seeing Guy at Pulse this time round, although we know Alex has him lined up for a gig real soon. Then London based Aussie Brent Nicholls has also released a compilation dedicated to the party and we can confirm he will be there, although scheduled to play a late set, although surely worth hanging around for, especially given the quality of this podcast, which is worthy of at least a listen by going to http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/2011/09/21/podcast-lovepulse/.
Get It On Mr Gee
But all that is only part of the music picture, as Alex will also be drawing on the talents of two more Italian’s, Tony Bruno & Gabriele Cutrano, while a second Aussie in the form of Terry Vietheer will also feature, as will both Mattias & Phil Hewson, an impressive notch up of eight stars who will all get a bite at the “Big Blue” main room cherry, while Marco Gee is the final entrant onto the list of prolific players, Marco the latest addition to the residency team, having hugely impressed us at Lovechild’s “Muscle” event back in March and is very much a staple part of this latest outing. Why?, well Marco is responsible for the production of what looks like being a char topping smash, the truly tremendous “Get It On” by Shockalady, a brilliant re-take of the rock classic by T-Rex, this new version very much more disco than rock, camp than vamp, this promotional video giving you a good idea of exactly what we mean, http://youtube.com/watch?v=4VJFzzIMH6M. And, the hot off the press news is that Shockalady will be performing the track live on Saturday, this shaping up to be one of the most entertaining shows we have seen at Lovechild yet and one you definitely won’t want to miss. Plus, with Marco taking charge of the opening set, you can certainly expect a rousing start to this “Big Blue” event, a taste of whats to come available from Mr Gee’s latest podcast, which was lifted direct from another opening set, this time for Lovechild’s “Superlovers”, an gathering held for Soho’s Pink Sunday, Marco playing out to a considerable audience at Lo-Profile, so one worth catching at http://marcogee.podomatic.com/.
Blue Is The Word
So to the all important detail and this Lovechild “The Big Blue” spectacular takes place this coming Saturday (15th October) at Pulse (full address, 1 Invicta Plaza, Off Southwark St, Blackfriars, London, SE1) from 11 p.m. and running through until an advertised 6 a.m. finish, although a little birdie tells us that, subject to numbers, it could run a fair bit later (whoopee!!). Advance tickets have been on sale for a while, the £10 early bird ones having been gobbled up quite quickly, while standard £15 tickets are still available by going online to http://clubtickets.com/gb/2011-10/15/lovechild-pulse, while a drop into Prowler, Clone Zone &/or 50 is also an option, tickets also available on the door at the same price. With sponsorship support from Gaydar and live video recor4dings coming from Mirrorballs.tv, the launch of Blueblake.com will also be a feature, more information on the event out at http://alexerfan.com, while new website http://blueblake.com is also worth a sneak preview.
Now, despite a run of SuperMartXe’s at Pulse, due a a range of circumstances, we have yet to see the new venue, so we are just crossing fingers that come Saturday nothing will be in our way, meaning we hope to be there to report on it all, so if you see us, please come say hi, but make sure you don’t miss out on this Lovechild return by ensuring you “Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alessandro Londra, Alex Erfan, Blue Blake, Brent Nicholls, Gabriele Cutrano, Guy Scheiman, Lovechild, Marco Gee, Mattias, Phil Hewson, Pulse, Shockalady, Tony Bruno, Tony English | No Comments »
After a pretty topsy turvy summer season which started & ended with hospitalisation, that on top of writing prospect promises that failed to materialise, we point ourselves towards the autumn with renewed vigour, this new found furver in our footsteps seeing the return of our weekly recommends newsletter which we now plan to extend into Thursday’s as it seems the weekend does actually start here for many. Plus, while we did experiment with an all encompassing version “Bar Bites & Club Cuts”, a move dictated by a certain weekly magazine rag, now that ties have been severed, we are pleased that our best format is back & here to stay.
Fabulous Food
So, let’s crack on and take a look at Soho first, our top of the tree choice here going to Profile & Lo-Profile, that latter having seen a bit of a shuffle while we were off air, but more on that in a minute. As for Profile, well, it’s business as usual down Wardour St way, the ever friendly & gorge bar team making for the most hospitable welcome we know and with plenty of special offers up their sleeves, like the Tuesday “Steak Night”, the Wednesday “Burger Bonanza” & their exemplary Sunday roast, we couldn’t think of a better place to take a snack or even dive into their considerable menu, the lunch offer of two main courses for £10 looking particularly tempting, while it is worth noting that everything is prepared on the premises from fresh local sourced ingredients. Equally appealing is the weekend music entertainment as the bar boasts regular residents that include Jamie Head, Nick Evans, Nathan Six & Zach Burns, while this Friday (7th Oct) the team are banking on new boy James Whalley to pull in the punters, while on Saturday, regular D’Johnny is highly likely to be in WE Party mood as he warms up the WE worshipers before heading down to E&C himself. So, we think there are more than enough reasons there to entice you to pay Profile a visit sometime this weekend, not forgetting their fab happy hour which kicks in from 4 p.m. daily & now includes cocktail pitchers at just £15, further details out at http://profilesoho.com.
Naughty New Night
Now to Lo-Profile and as we touched on earlier, it’s been all change on Friday’s while we have been out of action, the weekly social splendour “Society” having given way to new night “Play Time”, this very much upping the ante on the raunchy side, with the addition of a bevy of gorgeous go-go’s, plus a roving commission of sponsors, this week seeing English Lads play host, while on the decks the exceptional experience of Jamie Head will be complimented by the fresh faced looks & music of new to Lo-Profile, Renato Porto. However, the clubs weekend will have already started thanks to Thursday night thriller Gigolo, the Hart boys David & Lambros bringing another edition of this increasingly popular boutique style brilliance, this week the theme being “Heat” and the musical heat definitely on max with man of the moment, Zach Burns, kick starting the night, Mykonos Xlsior festival superstar George Spiliopoulos jets in add to plenty of Greek heat to proceedings. Then jumping through to Saturday, Lo-Profile assumes relative normality with Nathan Six & Alessandro Londra serving up the sounds, although the weekend is far from over as Sunday (9th Oct) yet another new night hits town, as Gaydar Radio’s Phil Marriott hosts a sequence of “Secret Sunday” sessions to mark the radio station’s 10th birthday, the night kicking off from 5 p.m. with live shows each week from 6.30 p.m. from house bands, this week Just Like Little People & Ryan Keen featuring, while Mr Marriott will be jumping on the decks too. With advance tickets at just £5 on sale at http://gaydar-radio.clubtickets.com, while entry is also available on the door, this should prove a superb way to end your weekend in superb style, info on this & all happenings out at http://loprofile.com.
Meat Men
Now to a couple of Short Shouts and first, with our extension to include Thursday’s, we give a plug to Room Service, who continue to pull in scene starlets & celebs at host venue Diu, tonight (Thurs 6th) seeing D.J. duo Kris Di Angelis & Tom Stephan give the night a meaty feel ahead of “Meat” which has its monthly meet on Saturday. Also acted as WE’s pre-party, Room Service looks like being another heavenly happening, more details available at http://clubroomservice.com.
Other our Soho Short Shout goes to Rupert St who continue to pull in the punters, despite the current downturn in consumer spending, the pink pound apparently still quite buoyant, either that or a sense of escaping from reality still alive & kicking. And to help the happy mood are its resident D.J’s that play out each Friday, Saturday & Sunday, this week seeing our foxy female D.J. Minx sort the sounds on Friday, while its Alessandro Londra that steers both Saturday & Sunday, more info on the bars food & drinks offers out at http://rupertstreet.com.
Right let’s move down to Vauxhall and with the lion’s share of activity it will come as no surprise that The Orange Group get our Best Bite devotion this week, the launch of new club night Le Boy one of the more exciting prospects and one which we covered in a Weekend Focus post, all the detail out at http://discomatt.com/web/2011/10/recommends-false-start-fixed-le-boy-the-launch-friday-7th-october-weekend-focus/. But while Le Boy steals some of the Friday spotlight, Onyx have their own bite at the
Friday Fresh
cherry with their “Freshman – Class Of 2011 Freshers Party” very much aiming at drawing in those student types that are about to knuckle down to a term of study but need a Friday fling to get them in the mood, D.J.’s Jonny M & Lee Harris pumping the main room, while Onyx’s own Verity Mayes joins Lisa German & Ariel in The Terrace, The Chapel space all about pop with Lady Lloyd & James St James. Jumping to Sunday and, as usual, all roads will lead to beyond, not least tempting those WE Party boys & girls that want to continue their cavorting, this weekend marking the resplendent return of Beyond’s very own Steve Pitron which can only mean one thing for us, yes you guessed it, that emotional rollercoaster ride, so watch this space for a special Extra Bites post due out on Saturday morning devoted to Steve’s return. But the offer across the weekend also includes Gravity tonight (Thurs 6th Oct), Later on Sunday & Orange on Monday morning, although Booster no longer takes place & Saturday will be given away to WE (more on that in a min). Full details of all these parties can of course be found by going to http://fireclub.co.uk/gayparties, as well as adding your preferred club option to http://gayguestlists.com while http://clubtickets.com is also worth a trawl for advance tickets & event details. However, how could we forget Queer Nation who celebrate their 21st birthday on Saturday (8th Oct), pretty much a record on the scene, Fire the venue where it all happens, our second Extra Bites post of the week devoted to this momentous occasion, so watch this space for that.
Sunday Sensation
To a couple of Short Shouts now and the venerable institution that is The Royal Vauxhall Tavern (The RVT) getting our first shout, a weekend packed with entertainment kicking off with “Rooster” on Friday (7th Oct), a night for “…art makers & bedroom porn stars…” and with Jonjo & Timberlina in the driving seat, anything could happen, while regulars “Duckie” on Saturday & “S.LA.G.S./Chill-out” on Sunday will surely find their fabulous followers, more info on the full seven days of activity available by going to http://thervt.org.uk.
For our second Short Shout we venture just down Kennington Lane where we find The Eagle who also have a weekend full of engrossing events, the manly “Tonker” on Friday & the madcap “Horse Meat Disco” on Sunday (9th Oct) sandwiching new(is) night “Goodfellas” on Saturday, a our foursome of fella’s on the D.J. decks sure to hit the mark, Leonardo Glovibes, Micky Galliano & Severino being joined by Nico de Ceglia, plenty of Italian & Latin influence sure to pump up some passionate action in this raunchy resting place, further details of all three nights out at http://eaglelondon.com.
Now, moving onto our alternative choices and whilst not alternative in nature, given its location in Elephant & Castle, WE Party certainly sits here in our rundown of happenings, their “I Love WE” event taking place on Saturday (8th Oct), our Weekend Focus post “Banking On Brand Buoyancy” telling all at http://discomatt.com/web/2011/10/recommends-banking-on-brand-buoyancy-we-party-london-i-love-we-saturday-8th-october-weekend-focus/, leaving a clear path to Shoreditch splendour, East Bloc, to grab our Best Bite slot. And for good reason too, as not only did the venue celebrate its first full year in
Hankies At the Ready
operation last Friday, no mean feat in the tricky trading tide its finds itself within, but with big brand Gutterslut now firmly established at this Old Street operation, the venue’s owner & promoter, Wayne Shires, couldn’t be happier, a chance meet on the street just yesterday confirming that. But this weekend, it’s all about another brilliant brand which East Bloc boasts and one home-grown at that, as the magnificence of “Meat” returns for another of its monthly sessions, the theme this time round being “Hanky Panky”, not that they really needed to as plenty of that goes on usually anyway. However, as co-promoter Kris Di Angelis explained to us, “…the deal is that we hand you a hanky and then you have to do whatever the hanky say’s that you are into…”, which in our case could include a multitude of sins, but will certainly throw plenty of extra spice into this already meaty meet. And that “hanky” theme will also extend to those that are familiar with its calling sign, for instance “…if you’re a top, wear it in your left back pocket, if you’re a bottom then it’s the right….” while Kris also adds, “…into oral? light blue is your colour, cross dressing? light lavender, size queen? mustard yellow, military man? Khaki, food play? lime green, no limits? orange, spanking? fuchsia, cigar play? tan…..and so on…”, so it seems the usual hanky panky will be even more so, although the music is also pretty much guaranteed to be top draw, Messrs Di Angelis & Stephan (that’s Tom) will be joined in the main room by James Pople, while over in the “mincemeat” space (we love that!), Jonny Woo & Lee Dalloway entertain. Kicking off at 10.30 p.m., check out all the detail via http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=271734846182429, while take a look that the latest monthly video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=nGjCdTy6s44 which spells out the hanky panky!!
Blonde Bombshell Bash
Right to a couple of Short Shouts and firstly to the Dalston Superstore up in, yes you guessed it, Dalston, the team turning out a weekend full of events, Friday seeing “Blonde” take charge, the likes of Jim Warboy & A Man To Pet on the decks, while on Saturday (8th Oct) the Sink The Pink crew are back with the ever popular “Happy Shopper” with one of east end’s best, Prince Nelly, on the decks among a host of others. Then to finish off the weekend, Squeaky pulls in loads of friends for “Tutti Frutti”, details of all three events available by going to http://thedalstonsuperstore.com.
Our final Short Shout for this newsletter goes to Exilio, the Latin niche night that has been going now for an impressive 15 years, such is its fervent following, so the team mark this momentous occasion with a special celebration down at Guy’s Bar on St Thomas St, London Bridge, salsa, meringue, cumbia & plenty more on offer. Plus being relatively early doors, starting at 9.30 p.m. this Saturday (8th Oct), WE enthusiasts can kill two birds with one stone, but be prepared to fork out £10 for this birthday bash.
So that’s just about it for our newsletter return, while as for our weekend, well it looks like Le Boy on Friday, Meat on Saturday and then, without question, Beyond on Sunday morning, we already having been put under starting orders by Mr Pitron so will be on our spot ready for his set. So, if you see us out, come up & say hi, but whatever you do & wherever it finds you, have a great weekend & remember to “Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alessandro Londra, Ariel, Beyond, East Bloc, Gigolo, Jamie Head, Jonny M, Later, Le Boy, Lee Harris, Leonardo Glovibes, Lisa German, Lo-Profile, Meat, Micky Galliano, Nathan Six, Onyx, Orange, Orange Group, Phil Marriott, Profile, Queer Nation, Room Service, Rupert St, Secret Sundays, Steve Pitron, The Dalston Superstore, The Eagle, The RVT, Verity Mayes, Zach Burns | No Comments »
A Purple Shade Of Pink
We look back to the days of Soho Pride with incredible fondness, the concept which started back in the mid noughties as a result of the de-scaling of London’s main pride event and quickly established itself as the capitals premier gay festival, outstripping the former in terms of both numbers & appeal, although quickly switching from a Saturday to a Sunday which seemed to fit better with all parties concerned. However, with a change in the city’s mayor, came a change in heart & funding, in effect cutting Soho pride off in its prime and leaving the capital without its own fabulous street festival as well as a gaping hole in its outdoor event schedule. However, out of the ashes of Soho Pride came Soho Pink Sunday, a reasonable sedate affair compared to its inspiration and at a glance looking more like a money spinning project for the bars involved rather than an all out celebration of community, charity, music, song & dance, although it certainly pulled out the punters, the streets & the bars packed all afternoon & evening.
So, Soho Pink Sunday is back and whilst plans hitting our desks have been quite sketchy, we expect most of the bars to be involved and the day to look much more like a Soho Pride affair, albeit that the stages will be confined to the Compton St end of this gregarious gay village. However, what we do know is that there is on hell of a party happening at Profile & Lo-Profile, as the might of Gaydar are calling on the services of Lovechild & Logan Presents to bring you a Soho Pink Sunday special entitled “Superlovers”, a party spread across both Profile & Lo-Profile in what looks like a truly fitting end to a dynamic day. And the combination of these big brand players along with a heavenly headline act looks like a sure-fire winner, the terrific team of D.J.’s including an amorous Aussie, flying in from Sydney to star alongside some of Lovechild’s favourite residents, while there will be no shortage of drop dead gorgeous go-go’s across the two floors, many pulled from the awesome armoury that exists within the Logan presents camp.
Amazing Aussie
Well that’s the bones of this exceptional event, so what about the meat?, Well, apart from those delicious dancers courtesy of Logan & his schmitzels (more on that in a mo), there will be plenty of muscle-bound meat to feast yours eyes on in the form of the Lovechild D.J.’s, not least special guest Johan Khoury who makes a more than welcome return to the capital, marking his third outing for promoter Alex Erfan’s loveable brand, Johan having made a considerable impact on the capital’s clubbers on both previous occasions. Hailing from Sydney, he is very much active on the city’s scene, having played out at all the big events including Mardi Gras & The Harbour Party, while he is inextricably linked to the brand Day Wash, as well as the down under version of Love Muscle along with a handful of others residencies under his belt. That said, Johan has also made an impression abroad, having played out in parties across The America’s & Europe, stop off’s including Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Ibiza, San Francisco, Paris & Rome, while he rates his appearances in London high amongst his list of landings, his uplifting, energetic & euphoric house music style of sound making him a popular pull. And if you haven’t managed to catch him in action behind the decks as yet, then you can always grab a slice of this handsome down under dudes dance music mastery by checking out his podcast page at http://djjohankhoury.podomatic.com/, “Pandemia” a brilliant intro to an atypical Johan set, while “Dreaming” is full of that energetic house we were talking about and what he will surely be selecting come Sunday.
Brilliant Brent
But Mr Khoury won’t be the only Aussie influence at “Superlovers” as Alex draws on the talents of one of his longest serving residents, Brent Nicholls having played out at the very first Lovechild in London and has been a feature at virtually every party since. And it is fair to say that this attractive Aussie continues to attract an audience wherever he plays, Mr Nicholls being no stranger to both Profile & Lo-Profile, having played out for the brands regularly, he being the inspiration behind the launch of Friday night sensation “Society”, a compilation dedicated to the club at http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/2011/04/14/minipodcast-society/, a good hint towards his nu-funk & disco groove style that will be likely to feature at “Superlovers”, while he remains as popular a pick for Mr Erfan now as he did back in the days of Salvation & PSP. Add to Brent, the musical magnificence of two of Lovechild’s mainstay residents, Tony English & Alessandro Londra, both who have represented the brand across Europe as well as here in London, while recent recruit Marco Gee will no doubt add even more dimension to this already dynamic D.J. team.
Luscious Lizzie
So that’s the music, what about the entertainment?, Well in true Lovechild & Logan Presents fashion, it will be right up there with any club offering around, not least that the services of two prolific P.A.’s have been called on for this “Superlovers” event, Lizzie France the first and a foxy female that has a voice to match her substantial stature together with a list of vocal hits that includes recent smash “The Answer”, while we are sure that at least one of her new track releases, produced in collaboration with Nick Tcherniak & Tom Marchant will get an airing on Sunday. But Alex & Logan have also managed to secure the one & only Alexis Houston and, yes, she is the sister of her more famous sister Whitney and looking at Alexis you can see the resemblance too, we being told her voice is every bit as good, while having been delighting audiences from an the tender age of six, she has been both performing and producing music, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Justin Timberlake & Christina Aquilera, while her phenomenal voice embodies the soul of Aretha Franklin, so is sure to go down a treat at “Superlovers” and will no doubt be a heavenly highlight of the happening.
Add to that the injection of those drop dead gorgeous dancers we deluded to and in the very capable hands of Logan Schmitz, you can pretty much guarantee the crème de la crème, not least as the man’s own dance pedigree & resultant contacts within the field pretty much speaks for itself. Having spent a fair amount of the summer travelling, Ibiza & mainland Spain featuring in his tours, Logan has touted some really gorgeous muscle hunks to add to his already considerable stable of London based boys & girls and if you happened to be at SuperMartXe’s “Blackout” event last Saturday (shame on you if you weren’t) then you would have seen some of them in audacious action. So, come Sunday, you can expect only the best in terms of beauty & brawn, the dancers topping the Lo-Profile podiums from the off and surely mingling with the masses upstairs in Profile too. Plus a quick mention has to go to Gaydar, who are throwing their sponsorship weight behind Logan & his terrific team, we are told supplying plenty of giveaways for the night, so best you get up close & personal with one of Mr Schmitz’s schmitzels to score your surprise.
Superlovers Sunday
Now to the detail and “Superlovers” takes place this coming Sunday (18th Sept) at both Profile & Lo-Profile, kicking off from 10 p.m. with tickets available on the door at a price of £10, while if you grab a flyer then it’s just £5. However, if you are around Soho for the Pink Sunday festival, then keep your eyes peeled for the “Superlovers” hunks who will be handing out discount wristbands all day, while we are told advance tickets will be available from behind the bar at Profile too, while more info on this exceptional event can be found by going to either, http://alexerfan.com or http://loganpresents.com.
Sadly however, it seems that an individual from a certain organisation (we won’t mention names) has been seeking to derail this “Superlovers” event with a surreptitious message he is spreading in which he has said “…Be careful about buying any tickets for any party’s run by Alex Erfan from Love Child as he is going bust and may keep the money and not do the party. Tell anyone who might buy one…”, one that is founded on nothing else but pure fiction & malicious intention. Having spoken with Alex personally on the issue and also speaking out in his behalf, we cannot condemn this message enough and with the whole of the “Superlovers” team also doing the same, not least major sponsors & supporters, Gaydar, we want to assure you that ANY tickets bought for this or ANY event run by Alex are sold with the upmost of integrity & honesty and that the ONY care you need to take, is not to get sucked in by this despicable message & its intentions.
So, let’s end on a high by wishing you a very happy & safe Soho Pink Sunday and cannot think of a better way of rounding off your partying by joining Alex Erfan, Logan Schmitz, Gaydar and the whole of the Profile & Lo-Profile team for “Superlovers”. We will be there to live nibble size review tweet & report on it all, so if you see us come say hi, but make sure you “Go There! Be There!” (DISCO MATT)
Posted in Recommends | Tags: Alessandro Londra, Alex Erfan, Alexis Houston, Brent Nicholls, Gaydar, Johan Khoury, Lizzie France, Lo-Profile, Logan Presents, Logan Schmitz, Lovechild, Marco Gee, Profile, Superlovers, Tony English | No Comments »
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6 Apr 2012 | 0 Comments
Picks – “Premier Protege Playing” – Play>Time @ Lo-Profile – Good Friday 6th April
It may be Passover in Jerusalem, but its playtime in London this Good Friday, as the club event of the same name rolls out for another sexy & seductive session, Disco Matt choosing “Play>Time”, which takes place tonight (6th April) as his pick of the day, not least as his ...
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2 Feb 2012 | 0 Comments
Recommends – “There’s a Lottie Going On” – Weekend Best Bites – Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th February – Newsletter (Part One)
With Siberian winds & the threat of snow gripping the streets of London this weekend, the thermostat has been turned up to the max across the capitals clubbing circuit, Disco Matt checking out the hottest action across Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch with his Best Bites choices of where to be ...
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1 Feb 2012 | 1 Comment
Recommends – “Brave New Brand On The Block” – Blitz Bar London Launch – Friday 3rd February – Extra Bites Special
London may have been gripped by the terror of the blitz back in the 1940’s, but a new kind of blitz is looking to make a bang in the capital when, some seventy years later, the brave new brand on the block that is Blitz Bar launches with its “Peepshow” ...
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5 Jan 2012 | 0 Comments
Recommends – “Recovery & Resolution Rejoicing” – Weekend Best Bites – Fri 6th to Sun 8th January – Newsletter Part One
We finished the last year on our recommends newsletter right foot, so had to start the New Year on it too, looking at our best choices for where to be & be seen on the scene across Soho, Vauxhall & Shoreditch. But who, what & where top our tree in ...
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29 Dec 2011 | 0 Comments
Recommends – “Happy New Year Highlights” – N.Y. Weekend Best Bites – Fri 30th Dec to Mon 2nd Jan – Newsletter Part One
With the New Year weekend on our doorsteps, Disco Matt gets his Recommends act together and after revealing his plans to split his weekly newsletter into two parts, covers his “Best Bites” choices of where to be & be seen on the scene in this, part one. Looking back over ...
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1 Dec 2011 | 1 Comment
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Having just completed our annual special report on World AIDS Day (WAD), this year we pressing home the message of support for the fight against this epidemic by the smallest of gesture, that being the wearing of a red ribbon with pride, our feature entitled “Red Ribbon Day” (well worth ...
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12 Nov 2011 | 0 Comments
Recommends – “11th Hour Hit On A Trio Of Treats” – Saturday Short Shouts – Sat 12th November
With the last week or so laid to waste for a number of reasons, our latest brush with ravages of London’s roads leaving us pre-occupied with our personal health, we have once again missed the boat with our weekend recommends newsletter, although with a trio of treats presenting themselves tonight ...
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12 Oct 2011 | 0 Comments
Recommends – “Finding A Pulse” – Lovechild “The Big Blue” – Saturday 15th October – Weekend Focus Special
Over the years we have grown particularly fond of certain brands that have braved the capitals clubbing scene, the reasons for our attractions as varied as the clubs themselves, although certain common denominators kind of tie them together, the music & the music makers two perfect examples, although with certain ...
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6 Oct 2011 | 0 Comments
Recommends – “Back In Business” – Weekend Best Bites & Short Shouts Newsletter – Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th October –
After a pretty topsy turvy summer season which started & ended with hospitalisation, that on top of writing prospect promises that failed to materialise, we point ourselves towards the autumn with renewed vigour, this new found furver in our footsteps seeing the return of our weekly recommends newsletter which we ...
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15 Sep 2011 | 0 Comments
Recommends – “A Purple Shade Of Pink” – Lovechild, Logan Presents & Lo-Profile/Profile’s “Superlovers” – A Soho Pink Sunday Special – Sunday 18th September – Weekend Focus Special
We look back to the days of Soho Pride with incredible fondness, the concept which started back in the mid noughties as a result of the de-scaling of London’s main pride event and quickly established itself as the capitals premier gay festival, outstripping the former in terms of both numbers ...
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