Park Party Pitched Perfectly

Casting our minds back some ten to fifteen years and looking at a London clubbing landscape that was littered with special events both indoors & out, the likes of Famous Five & Universe attracting huge numbers on Bank Holidays and this marking a time when outdoor Pride parties were never more prolific, happy happenings at a host of alfresco areas, Clapham Common, Victoria, Kennington & Finsbury parks, all significant, while memorable Brockwell Park meets particularly stuck in the mind, a string of outstanding outings culminating there with Purple In The Park in 2002. But by this time, the penchant for a park party had pretty much fallen out of favour, not least due to a succession of soaking sessions, London’s premier Pride party in Hyde Park proving a wash-out two years in a row, even Purple suffering a similar fate. Yet, despite the weather, there is nothing quite like a park party and while Brighton seems to have survived & indeed thrived, whereas London has lost out, but when news hit our desks of the re-launch of an exceptional alfresco event that well & truly rocked Brockwell Park and was best of the bunch, we simply had to give it the support it deserved.

Summer Rites was, without doubt, the best alfresco outing we have attended, the launch event some twelve years ago making its mark pretty much instantaneously with the most prolific party we can remember, an outing that saw us accompanied by our then close companion, Chris Reardon, when the likes of Ultra Nate were headlining the massive main stage, while a pack of peripheral parties within this massive festival very much hit the mark, not least Monday morning madcap meet, Warriors, which took over the lido, creating a water park style splash that we will never forget. But like so many of it park party bedfellows, Summer Rites became a victim of that tide change we talked about, outdoors being swapped for in, leaving the whole creative concept pretty much dead in the water. However, with the vision of its original organisers spotting a new gap in the festival market, no doubt spurned by the success of Lovebox, along with the marriage of minds of brands like Salvation, XXL & Popstarz, combined with the more cutting edge east end events, Gutterslut & meat, very much gave this boutique festival credence to the clubbing circuit crowd, meaning, on paper at least, there was nothing stopping Summer Rites “Remixed” from being a resounding success. The question was, how did it actually fare? And what were the real highlights for us?

Shoreditch Park Splendour

Having succumbed to a totally unplanned trip to Beyond on the Sunday morning, initially agreeing to leave after just one hour, it was The Oli that stalled our departure, the rest pretty much history, although we blame a storming set my Mikey D that really did the damage., So, with plans to arrive at Summer Rites bright & early laid to waste, it was Lovechild’s promoter Alex Erfan that came to our rescue a very welcome chauffeur style ride to Shoreditch Park by Queer Nation’s (and many more) Patrick Lilley, transporting us from SW4 to E1 in an instant, although a little later than planned, we hitting the ground running (well nearly the ground actually) a just after 5 p.m.. However, with the distinctly rain filled clouds having cleared by this time, we couldn’t have timed our arrival more perfectly, the sun suddenly shining and a glorious greeting on the gate by the ever smiling Stewart, just the started we needed, particularly in our fragile state, but then there was no one else to blame for our Beyond bawdiness that had caused us to feel this way, a pick me up very much in order, although right from the off we seemed to be left a bit begging.

Finding out feet momentarily, we gazed upon this Shoreditch Park splendour of a Summer Rites “Remixed” alfresco audacity, the mix of tents & stages pitched perfectly, although some were finding favour over others, our first stop being the Bootylicious bus, which had a faithful following of its usual mix of colours & creeds, Messrs Lilley & Forbes in their element. Then it was a case of slowly (thank heavens!) making our way around the park, our next port of call the XXL tent, Christian M in charge of the tunes, a brief stop soon finding us across that the main stage, in the hands of international clubbing brand Salvation, Elliot J Brown taking centre stage with a myriad of magical music mixes that had us on a monetary upsurge of energy, the considerable crowd also lapping up his dance delectations with real gusto. But we were keen to spot out the East Bloc tent, not least as both awesome alternatives, Gutterslut & Meat were sowing their hands, the likes of Per Q.X. & Tom Stephan masterminding the music. And, we weren’t to be disappointed, as not only was the atmosphere amazing inside, but it was packed with familiar faces, Ross Paterson & pal, fresh from their Madrid Pride exploits, as well as the Brazilian bunch including Sophie & Giuseppe, all throwing themselves into the Gutterslut slice of this alfresco antics afternoon.

Booty Bus

However, our tour of the park was not yet over, with the VIP area still to investigate, but not before circling the park to take in the Popstarz tent, although being caught in our tracks by fab photographer Chris Jepson who instantly snapped us together with our “mature boy band” partners before heading off to click his camera at more unsuspecting targets. With the Popstarz tent pretty empty, save for a handful of pop pickers, Max Sanna included, we waved farewell to both Patrick & Alex had had seen what they wanted to see, the VIP area our next port of call and that much needed “pick me up” that our Beyond bedraggled body had been crying out for. Mind you, with the scene glitterati floating around, The QX top brass, the Boyz boys, a smattering of D.J.’s & other scene faces, we soon fell into captivating conversation with Tony Tansley who seemed grateful he was the right side of the organisational side of the fence, having been part of the original Summer Rites team, but now enjoying this “Remixed” festival as a patron. But it was then the amiable Antoine 909 who engaged us fully, we talking D.J.’ing, pride partying, festivals & all sorts of other topics, we realising just what a tremendous guy & talent he is and one that the London scene sorely misses (a comeback pleaaase!!).

With our VIP socialising over and the evening sunshine peeping through, we were main stage bound, the lion’s share of the remaining festival frolickers glued to a spectacular set by our very own foxy lady, Miswhite, who was clearly revelling in her big stage appearance, further familiar faces within the crowd, including Phil Marriott & Russell, both camera clicking, a quick pop backstage seeing a chance meet with the adorable Paul Vlad who was in fine fettle. However, we were waiting for prolific P.A. Peyton to hit the stage, so back front we went finding more captivating company, this time in the form of vivacious vocalist Lizzie France, who like us, was praying for a prolific Peyton performance. And we weren’t to be disappointed, as he pretty much stole the Summer Rites “remixed” show, with a clutch of towering tunes including “Trapped” leaving us once again breathless in admiration of his scintillating stage showing & powerful presence. So with our Shoreditch park festival box well & truly ticked, we pointed out now flagging body towards the exit & a saunter home to reflect on one of the best gay outdoor gatherings in a long while.

Peyton Packed The Park

So what was our verdict on this return of Summer Rites? Well, there was absolutely no doubt that it had all the right ingredients that make for a successful park outing and we were particularly impressed with the marvellous mix of club tent & entertainment offerings, bringing in all colourful corners of this superb scene that we are so lucky to be involved in. And, while the park was never packed, the turnout was impressive enough, although we suspect that the entry price may have been a distraction for some, while the weather was always going to play its part, that fateful British summer not letting us down, with a shower & sunshine parade that was probably a deterrent for others. Yet, with the choice of clubs represented balanced well, the inclusion of the mandatory fare rides, market stalls & food stands, along with the all important drinks outlets, Summer Rites had it all, was a park party pitched perfectly and ended up be a very enjoyable excursion, so well worth the trip across town. Highlights have to have been Peyton’s prolific performance & that awesome atmosphere in the East Bloc tent, while the amiable Antoine made our day pretty much complete, meaning that we sincerely hope Summer Rites & all its terrific trappings will be back, bigger & even better next year as it certainly gets our vote. (DISCO MATT)