Captivating Carlos Confinement

When we look back across the last few years in clubland London, hardly a bank holiday weekend goes by without a slice of Spanish splendour exerting its influence, Matinee being the main protagonist, although in more recent times, competitor brand SuperMartXe claiming its stake in this prized possession of a party placing. However, with the former having faded into the background and its natural rival also slinking into the sidelines, the coast was clear for a third protagonist to take hold, WE party having already made a massive mark on the capitals clubbing circuit, exceptional events “Candy” & “Heroes” cementing its position as the leading international import clubbing brand in London and thus making it a hot ticket for the final bank holiday of the year. That said, with a hectic schedule of parties, WE was assuming what has been acknowledged as the weaker night of the long weekend, Saturday proving a sticky wicket for many, including the might of Matinee & the splendour of SuperMartXe, leaving us to question, would the wonder of WE succeed where others have failed?

For their latest billboard bash, the combined forces of WE’s Madrid men & London lot had decided on the title “Prison of Love”, the theme that had received critical acclaim at the Spanish capital’s pride event back in July, The Coronet in Elephant & Castle being the next stop for this next chapter in the increasingly impressive & seemingly invincible march of this magnificent meet. Plus, while the expansion of WE across Europe & indeed the world had now captured destinations including New York, Paris, Rome, Mykonos & Ibiza, London was seen as the closest replication of the might of Madrid, the huge scale of La Riviera being emulated by The Coronet, allowing promoter Victor Pallas & his Spanish team to easily fit the concept together here in the capital. So, the scene was set for another prolific party and possibly a repeat of the roadblock reaction to both “Candy” & “Heroes”, well on paper at least, so how did this latest Orange Group orated outing actually turn out?, did that Saturday wicket stick come into play?, and were we locked in love with WE or crying out for an early release?

WE Wording

Having missed out on the last event in London, which, interestingly had taken place on the same night that “Prison of Love” had done in Madrid, we were determined to make this latest WE Party wonder, although coming out of a two week clubbing curfew, heading out on a Saturday night at just before midnight was feeling faintly foreign to us. However, arriving at the doors of The Coronet to the familiar faces of Tom Fuller, Ben Kaye & Minty, as well as the typical trait of a considerable queue, the popularity of this event quite evident to our eyes, we suddenly felt right back at home and ready for our lock in with love. So, with greeting & entrance formalites over, even what was looking like a longer wait for the coatcheck was over in a trice, a fabulous feat considering just how busy this WE party was already, this becoming even more evident when we stepped into the main room, the dancefloor absolutely packed with party people and virtually every other space crammed with cavorters lapping up this London marriage of minds with Madrid.

With our wrist wrapped with a VIP pass, we made the most of this special & much welcome treatment, by heading onto the bespoke balcony, arming ourselves with refreshments for the antics ahead, the view of the stage from where we were standing the best we would get all night, while our surveyance of the territory spotted D’Johnny in charge of the D.J. decks, treating a capacity Coronet to a storming set of tech fuelled yet uplifting beats that was befitting of the occasion & matching the Madrid music montage magnificently. But with the stage still blacked out in anticipation of the expected exceptional LED led stage show ahead, we decided to venture down onto the dancefloor, our arrival greeted by Ross Peterson & his posse, all fresh from their Circuit Festival foray yet still savouring more Spanish splendour, they not alone as the whole venue was alive with action, the atmosphere a brilliant buzz and this “Prison Of Love” event already laying the spooks of that Saturday sticky wicket to rest, the E&C enclave every bit as busy as the two bashes before, WE London certainly riding on a high wave crest of crowd captivation.

Dynamic Displays

However there was much more to come, not least the arrival of Spanish superstar & WE resident D.J. Carlos Gallardo, a brief respite trip of ours missing the fanfare of the stage spectacle unveiling, but our return reaped with rapture as the music magician was waving his wand of wonderment over us, a simply stunning set that was engrossing our ears & massaging our minds with spectacular selections. And matching his energetic & eruptive emissions were the explosions of pyrotechnics & ticker tape showers, matched equally by the larger than life LED displays, immense images engulfing this event with their enthralling excess, even the drop dead gorgeous muscle bound male dancers pailing in significance to their superior size. So, soon finding ourselves taking in the enormity of this “Prison Of Love” party from a vantage point behind the dancefloor, it was clear that WE had made significant strides since our last full-on bonding with this brand, the winning formula of this prolific party playing out perfectly.

So we had now been well & truly locked in love with this prison party, even pushing our departure key out of reach for a while, rather continuing our cavorting around the cavernous club, bumping into familiar faces, one after the next, Mark Forns, Sophie Pearson, Pablo Teixeira, Altina Ha, JJ Clark & Chris Ho all huge highlights, although it was another Chris of the Jepson variety that caught us off guard yet again, accosting us close to the dancefloor, in a nice way of course, we fortunately finding ourselves simply saying hi rather than licking his boot (don’t ask). But with a rather strange female fizzing our hair, coupled with more than one or two bum pinches, we retired to comfortable distance as a slight slowing of the music signalled the rather long overdue PA performance, although one we probably could have done without, Tara Macdonald not quite hitting our sweet spot along with a score on notes in the recording renditions she was attempting to emulate, a so so showing nowhere near the perfection of Peyton who will forever be the wonderful WE performer on our pronounced pedestal.

Superb Spectacle

With scintillating Carlos service resumed, the man absolutely nailing yet another superb, possibly the best we had witnessed yet, we were content to see out the rest of our stay at this WE winner on the VIP balcony, only encounters with first fat Tony then Mikey D making us feel a tad Beyond-ish, our minds beginning to focus on their bank holiday big top bash. But Mr Gallardo was going to have none of it, a successive string of sounds striking rapturous resonance and sending us into a spin on our spot, a fleeting glance & then chat with Tom Fuller the only intervention on our indulgence in Carlos’s ingenious music making. Then, just as we were about dig deep for the key to our release from this “Prison Of Love” party, a stunning set of visuals held us back, WE shouting a spectacular statement its international credentials with flags & associated wording that spoke volumes about this brilliant brand, we spotting Victor Pallas passing by us suitably pleased with his lot and for good reason, as this had turned out to be yet another exceptional event, leaving us to head home and reflect on just how good it had been, also deciphering the huge amount of highlights that made this a memory making marvel.

Since its launch in London back in December last year, WE has ascended close to the top of the tree in the capitals clubbing calendar, the combination of more accessible music compared with compatriots Matinee & SuperMartXe, along with the simply stunning stage shows and uniquely dynamic LED displays, have made this brilliant brand become a firm favourite with the clubbing fraternity.  And with this “Prison of Love” event, it is clear to us that WE has cemented its security in the ever changing scene that we find ourselves within, it seemingly now able to attract even the diehard supporters of its competitors to the fray, a capacity crowd laying to rest the misconception that bank holiday big brand bashes on a Saturday simply don’t work as well. In terms of our highlights, while we cannot escape the obvious, the charming company we held and the exceptional effects we experienced, the pole position to chequered flag fabulousness of Carlos Gallardo tipped our scales the most, very much getting our vote of confidence as the best Spanish D.J. export to London we know, he more than anyone else ensuring we were locked in love rather than raring for release from this prison inspired party. (DISCO MATT)