Weekend - 23rd to 25th July

Hey Folks,

With July moving on at a pace, eyes are beginning to look towards the next big date in the European clubbing calendar as The Circuit Festival will be attracting huge crowds, converging on Barcelona for the week long party. To mark the occasion, we will be bringing you a special preview on what you can expect from this week of clubbing extravagance.

In the meantime and looking at our own backyard, what is on offer across the gAylist capital to tempt you out? Well, with our Weekend Focus reports already out on Impact & Beyond B2B, we run down our best of the rest choices in Soho, Vauxhall & elsewhere here.

First to the original gay village in London and, on paper at least, it looks like being a pretty low key weekend, although generally that means a few surprises end up being in store. As usual Lo-Profile/Profile Bar heads our list of choices and whilst he may have been advertised in the popular press as playing tonight, communicating with Paul Heron on the Heathrow tarmac confirmed that he will be in Brazil this weekend, so we can definitely say that he won’t be playing at Lo-Profile tonight (Friday 23rd July). However, Mikey D will and he is most likely to be joined by Nick Evans, who will be expected to fill Paul’s boots. However, we are waiting on a call from the venue’s Manager, so will share the news with you as soon as we get it. What we can confirm with convocation is Saturday, as Brent Nicholls opens proceedings in this Wardour Street sophisticate of a club before jetting off to Beyond, while Hugh Stevenson takes you into Sunday morning with his bombastic beats. Upstairs in Profile & the team are still in party mood after their birthday bash, Phil Marriot also full of exciting news of his inclusion in the S.L.A.G.S. teams & much more, so should be in fine fettle on Friday, while the Saturday sounds will be steered by Rob Sykes, who like Brent then heads down to Beyond (where’s the staff taxi!?!). The Shadow Lounge is another venue smarting from its birthday celebrations & the mood should be at its brilliant best on Friday with foxy ladies Mis-White & Minx, for another “Therapy” session, while the gorge Andrew Elmore turns up the heat on Saturday, with his pop house infused “Inferno” night. Other shouts go to Barcode’s “The Cave” on Friday, which sees the welcome return of Hifi Sean, following his travels around Europe, so he will have plenty to tell & new sounds to share, while Sicilian wonder Alessandro Londra masterminds the music at Rupert Street on Saturday.

Down in Vauxhall and its seems that Beyond with its B2B event will be taking the plaudits this weekend, although new pretender “Impact” muscles in on the action at Union. Both events have been given our full focus as we mentioned, so check out those reports. Elsewhere and Barcode looks like being ideally placed to offer alternatives to the two big hitters, as Friday sees a one-off special night called “Off The Hook – For The Love Of House”, a night based on the music of US soul soaked & funky fuelled house, brought to you by Bootylicious’s Thomas in conjunction with this South London bar/club outfit. D.J’s Sugarbear, Biggy C, Tyron & Steven Gellar turning out the tunes and should prove a popular draw for Booty fans & their admirers, while on Saturday (24th July), D.J. stars spinning the sounds include Pagano and Hifi Sean. Next door in Area and “Onyx” kind of gears up for their big party next weekend with an extra special back-to-back (or should we say B2B?) performance of their own, Jonny M & Lee Harris holding court together in the main room, while Jamie Hammond hopes the mixers will stand up to his breathtaking beats in the Blackbox room and Lisa German & Ariel play it tough in the Terrace, all paving way for another A.M. session across in Fire, taking you deep into Saturday morning. Two other Area/Fire highlights of the weekend are “Booster” at the former on Sunday evening, with Ferno, Sharon O Love Miss Crazy D & La Gosse monstering the main room, while the new pop-tastic Terrace room has gained huge momentum in the last few weeks , Jason’s Jukebox hitting the mark with guest Heidi Liscious & James St James, while over at Fire, Orange continues its ever increasing popularity runs into Monday morning, with special guest Nick Tcherniak joining Hifi Sean , both going RAW, while main room maestro’s include Paul Martin & The Oli. Other Vauxhall shouts go to “Tonker” at the Eagle on Friday, which sees the return of Tim Jones, following his tour of the US, while The RVT will be on the cusp of its “Hot August Fringe” month of comedy, cabaret, live art & performances, with another “S.L.A.G.S./Chill-out” Sunday with the incomparable Dame Edna on stage and is an institutional must.

Alternative offerings across the capital are spearheaded by Shoreditch once again, The Dalston Superstore starting a whacky weekend with their “Snap Crackle & Pop” monthly Friday nighter, it looking like an East London D.J. battle, with the supremacy on the decks spotlight being contested by the Lovely Jonjo, Isa GT, Mikki Most, Harry James, We’re Not Cool, Ian Robinson, Med Lacoste, Spieltrieb, Carlosi & Jus Fab, wow!, so expect loads of barnstorming beats & frenetic Friday activity. On Saturday it’s the turn of “Optimo” to steal the show, with special guests JD Twitch & JG Wilkes landing of Shoreditch from Glasgow and judging by the last party, this is going to be an absolute corker & is expected to be a complete roadblock of an event. However, Wayne Shires is certainly looking to make his mark on the East End this weekend, with two superb parties at East Bloc on City Road, “Disco Fag Bar” on Friday setting the trend for “Reproduction” on Saturday, which sports D.J’s Jonny Slut, Fil OK & Skinflint, with MC Loud also playing and a live performance from Mikkokoo, the night promising plenty of new wave pop, electro & disco beats. But if you thought it was all about Shoreditch you would be mistaken, as South London gets more than a look in this weekend, with Brixton’s Dex nightclub & terrace serving up new Friday night offering “Disco Motel”, with the musical theme being very much disco house but with a twist, D.J.’s Guy Williams, Matt Sharp, Strawberry K & Ali B the line-up to articulate the anthems, while the venue’s terrace will have (weather permitting) a barbeque and brave party goers can even take a dip in the hot tub. With lots of exciting guest D.J.’s to come over the next few weeks, joining the very strong residency line-up, “Disco Motel” will be getting our full Weekend Focus next time, so keep an eye out for that. However, Dex is also the host venue for the party being talked about right across gAylist London, as Logan’s “UP” takes place on Sunday (25th July) If you haven’t yet received your invite yet, then you may miss out, although it’s worth taking a look at the events page on social networking site, Facebook, to see if you can sneak in on the action.

Talking of Facebook, further details of all these Soho, Vauxhall & alternative happenings can be found on their events pages, but you can also get snippets of info via the popular press pages.

Now, no weekend report of ours would be complete without a mention for tip top clubbing website Seen Queen, considered by most as the number one gAylist clubbing website in the capital and certainly needs no sneaky advertising stunt by an online magazine, that will remain nameless, to promote its services & good word. In terms of club listings, video’s, music links and pics, the site is unrivalled by any other, their blog page having gotten a shiny new look too. Add to that plenty of features and competition offers and the site is very much a must visit at http://seenqueen.com/, even a small segment of our work appearing there.

Right that’s it for another report and we hope there is something within our choices or focuses that will tempt you out. As for us, well what looked like being a quiet one got underway with Industri last night and gathers momentum on Saturday with Impact, then both bits of Beyond, followed by Logan’s “Up” event on Sunday and possibly a drop in on Nick Tcherniak at Orange early Monday morning. So, if you see us out, come say hi, but as we always say.....Go There! Be There!

xDM

Weekend Focus - Beyond B2B

WEEKEND FOCUS
BEYOND B2B AT COLOSSEUM & AREA
SATURDAY 24TH/SUNDAY 25TH JULY


It goes without saying that the club which continues to steal the lion’s share of the clubbing headlines, the largest amount of limelight and un-paralleled devotion, is the Sunday morning afterhours phenomena that is Beyond, a club that needs no introduction and has pretty much cornered the market, wedging itself neatly between the volatile Saturday night scene & the re-emerging Sunday slot of clubbing, that critics would say means that by simply opening its doors guarantees success. However, while there may be an element of that last statement that is true, you cannot accuse Beyond of simply resting on its laurels, oh no, as new promoter of this afterhours audacity at Area in Vauxhall, James Brewer, is injecting new blood into the winning formula, guest D.J.’s, the new Chapel lounge and the lovely Ben Kaye on the door, three great examples of his efforts. But Beyond as a brand in the capital has just gained a new feather to its bow, as the extended “Belief” event concept has been joined by another which was road tested as a “Classic” format back in June, but now finds fresh legs this coming Saturday, 24th July.

Beyond “Back-To-Back” (B2B) now stands as a running mate to the “Belief” parties, offering the clubber the opportunity to savour the delights of this 10 hour extended extravaganza, by providing an even bigger opportunity to make the most of one of THE most popular clubbing brands around right now. B2B was conceived as far back as March this year, at the time planned as a nostalgic visit back to the old days of Beyond at Colosseum, although in truth, unless it was held on a Sunday morning it would never be able to re-emulate those magical days. The event that took place on 5th June confirmed that, while it was great to see Beyond back on original territory, it was never going to have the feel of the old events back in 2001 through 2006, even if Brent Nicholls managed to hit the mark with some brilliant re-works of VIP room classic moments. So, the B2B concept is now firmly a modern one and serves to extend the Beyond experience, encompassing Saturday night as well as Sunday morning, yet offering the clubber two different styles of venues, effectively for the price of one.

So with that now crystal clear, what does B2B hold in store? Well the Colosseum element of the event is masterminded by promoter Alex Erfan; the man responsible for such greats as Lovechild, Hustlaball, Pervert, Gay City Rollers, Lookbetternaked, LGDF, well the list goes on, and is a seasoned pro (he won’t mind us saying that) in the game, so the first leg of B2B couldn’t be in better hands. In acknowledgement of that, Alex has already introduced a brand new element on the Colosseum party in the form of a live D.J. performance in the Riverbank Bar, to the uninitiated, the first bar you hit when ascending the stairs, where Brighton’s Phil Discolove will be spinning what Mr Erfan explains as “...easy on the ear social disco-house...”, which sounds like a perfect entrance in on proceedings to us. Apart from that, we know a sneaky Alex has plenty more up his sleeve which we will be doing our level best to wangle out of him later on today.

However, what we can confirm is that the D.J. line-up gets a new look in the Colosseum main room, which we have to say looked incredibly impressive on our last visit in June, the refurbishments making a striking new difference. Onyx resident and wonder kid of the scene, Jamie Hammond kicks, things off, with we are sure, a rousing & uplifting set, followed by the welcome return to the capitals clubbing decks of Rob Sykes, who will definitely find favour with the masses. Indeed the man’s appearance at B2B has prompted a full on focus of ours in this coming weekend’s Music Is The Answer post, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Adding to the sparkling line up in the main room will be The Sharp Boys, and then polishing off a brilliant B2B leg at Colossem will be the legendary Fat Tony, now it doesn’t get better than that. Or does it? because across in the VIP room both Alan X & then Brent Nicholls return to shake rattle & roll this special space and if Mr Nicholls’ last performance here is anything to go by, the VIP lounge is not to be missed. Now, as we love to bring you a bit of music to prelude the event, check out Rob’s compilation at http://djrobsykes.podomatic.com/, which is an ideal warmer to this event & his set.

Now what can we say about the second half of B2B, which takes place at Area, that hasn’t already been said? Well, we know that Beyond god Steve Pitron is away on holiday (how very dare him!) along with confirmation on our sneaking suspicion that the multi mixing genius that is Alan K is away, although don’t panic folks, as the main room line up is absolutely stellar. Why? well only because the star of Lovechild last weekend, The Oli, returns to kick off proceedings and believe us, if it is anything like last week’s set at Fire, let alone his Gay Pride showing in the same Beyond slot (7 till 9), it simply must not be missed. Follow that Mikey, but we are sure Mr Dower will, as he did on George Sharp last weekend, then Terry Bryan steps into Alan’s shoes to round off the main room in pumping & pulsating style. Paul Christian in The Blackbox and D’Johnny plus the mischievous Jamie Head complete the B2B Area line-up, the whole package looking absolutely irresistible (we feel another trip of audaciousness on the cards!!).

Right, what’s the overall deal? Well Beyond B2B kicks off at Colosseum from 11 p.m. on Saturday 24th July, running through till 7 a.m., while the Area B2B leg starts at 6 a.m., running through until 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, that’s an amazing combined 14 hours of clubbing. Now in terms of tickets, individual £10 advance ones for Colosseum & £12 ones for Area are available online at http://clubtickets.com/, or at Soho outlets Prowler & Clone Zone, as well as at The Box in Covent Garden. However, we recommend you grab yourselves one of the many entry passes available & watch out for Tom’s boys running around Soho & Vauxhall this weekend. But if you do but a ticket for Colosseum that will entitle you to FREE entry to Area, bargain!!

So what’s more to say apart from that, the word of the weekend once again looks like being Beyond, Beyond, Beyond (oops that’s three!) and with B2B added for good measure, while the Pitron cat is away, the mice will definitely play at both Colosseum & Area, so as we love to say, Go There! Be There! (DISCO MATT)

Weekend Focus - Impact

WEEKEND RECOMMENDATIONS FOCUS
IMPACT AT UNION
SATURDAY 24TH JULY


It has to be said that the real revolution in gAylist clubbing in the capital took a tremendous turn in Vauxhall, courtesy of Crash, an underground club at the time of its launch by Wayne Shires, really captured the imagination and laid down the foundations for a vibrant scene south of the river that pretty much remains intact to this day. Whilst Crash has sadly passed into the memories of the mind, there is a new kid on the block that is seeking to re-emulate the feel of Crash, combining the raunchy underground element and the mind-blowing music that made Wayne’s flagship trendsetter of a club the success that it was. Impact launches at Union (formerly Crash) in Vauxhall this Saturday (24th July) and aims itself “...at muscle men, sexy studs, beefy bears and everything in between...” promising a return to that Crash magic of yesteryear.

So what is this Impact branding based upon? Well, promoters Oliver Mohns & Steve Elliot have both been pretty active across Europe recently and have built associations with nightclub event Naughty in Brussels, Impact being modelled on this and other European styled dance & cruise parties. And with this launch party, the Impact brand will welcome Naughty who will centre-stage the theme of the night and, as the name suggests, should serve up plenty of disobedient & indecent activity, all in a good way. The night will fuse all the elements of this notorious Brussels based party, bringing to the capital plenty of sexual intrigue combined with masterful music that, in terms of a concept, should prove to be an absolute winner. And to get a feel of the event, why not check out the trailer video via http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127982143900886#!/video/video.php?v=10150221474240198&oid=127982143900886 which definitely sets the scene in superb style.

In terms of the music, the promotions team are flying in one of Naughty’s resident D.J.’s, Francesco Bellais, who will land in on London direct from his base in Italy and will be set fair to deliver a definitive hardcore underground tech & tribal set that will certainly heighten the sexual mood within Union’s main room. Francesco’s D.J.’ing pedigree is considerable, having been famously head hunted by Madonna to remix one of her tracks and is credited with residencies at some of Italy’s biggest gay happenings, including Billy in Milan, Gay Village in Rome, Skylight in Verona & Pegaso in Catania, although appearances across Europe litter his C.V., Queen in Paris, Space in Madrid, GMF in Berlin & Propaganda in Moscow major highlights. So, his trademark tribal and tech sounds with plenty of electro & energetic influences should prove a real hit with the London crowd and the market Impact is aiming for.

The other big headlining act will be porn star Logan McCree, the man with more tattoos than we have had breakfast’s (well not quite!) and was part of the team of stars that made it to Hustlaball back in May, so returns to the capital sexual stomping ground to perform solo on this occasion, although will no doubt draw in a merry band of admirers to his stunning looks, incredible body paintwork that is his trademark. So the backdrop of the night will definitely be erotic & sexual interest & intrigue, especially with the special cruising area in the middle of the club, allowing Impacter’s to satisfy their desires and devotions away from the main room musical madness. And talking of the music, Mr Bellais will be joined by Oliver M, who will be exchanging his promotion duties for disc deck delivery, fresh from a magnificent performance at Cirque Du Salvation at Lovebox last weekend & also on the back of appearances at La Demence & Cologne’s Gay pride event earlier in the month and will no doubt treat the Impact audience to some prolific progressive, tech & electro beats as beefy as the blokes in situ. Others D.J.’s on rotation include the sexy & saucy Steven Artis who has laid down a special compilation mix especially for this Impact launch and is well worth a listen at http://stevenartis.podomatic.com/.

Now to the all important detail and Impact launches this Saturday, 24th July at Union in Vauxhall, with entry to the club on Goding Street (the old Crash entrance), doors opening at 11 p.m. and the club running through until 7 a.m. Advance tickets are on sale online at direct link http://evolved-events.clubtickets.com/gb/2010-07/24/impact-london or in Soho outlets Prowler, Clone Zone & DV8 as well as at both Barcode’s, priced at £10, but with availability on the door too. Further information on this event can be found at http://evolvedevents.co.uk, while to get the lowdown on club night Naughty and the influence it is likely to make on Impact, go to http://naughty-party.com/.

As we get final details on the D.J. line up for this Impact launch we will share it with you, but all that’s left to say is, Impact, it’s time to make one!! (DISCO MATT)

Weekend - 16th to 18th July

Hey Folks,

Well, what a splendid Spanish Sunday we had in the hands of Logan & his brilliant “Presents” team at the event of the year so far, Matinee’s “Open Air Summer” party and whilst the sheen of our million dollar moment may have been rubbed off, nothing can erase our memories of this magnificent Matinee party. To see why it was so good, why not check out our review at http://discomatt.blogspot.com/2010/07/splendid-sunday-sunshine-soiree-matinee and watch this space for news on the next event.

In the meantime, we point to what looks like being another weekend dominated by that word Love, as two events scream out the word, thus getting our fuller focus, while we run down our best of the rest picks of places & parties to be and be seen this Friday through Sunday.

But before we do, we have to mention two Soho sophisticates that are celebrating their birthdays today. First up is Profile Bar, which re-launched at their uber chic Wardour St venue (right above sister Lo-Profile) exactly a year ago to the date (17th July), so rings a whole year cutting its smart new stride, tonight (Thurs) from 6 p.m. Special guest D.J. Tony English will be providing the birthday soundtrack along with percussionist David H, while the champagne will be flowing and if the sun decides to come & out play, plenty of pimms too. Plus for early arrivals, the limited number of goodie bags could be coming your way, gifts from Space NK, Kiehls & Nickel inside (fab!) and if that saucy barmen in his shorts is on show, plenty of eyes will be popping to match the champagne corks. So, it’s definitely party time at Profile, while The Shadow Lounge also celebrate, their ninth birthday bash getting our Extra Bites attention, so check out our report on that.

Right, lets crack on into the weekend and run down the best of our choices, covering off Soho first and it seems the momentum of the above birthday bashes will see both Profile/Lo-Profile & The Shadow Lounge being the places to be & be seen this weekend, Lo-Profile certainly packing a punch with their line up both on Friday & Saturday, Luke Hope & D’Johnny filling you up with a fulsome frenzy of funky & chunky tunes, while on Saturday it’s the turn of Alessandro start your Saturday in sophisticated Sicilian style, followed by Brent Nicholls, who will surely be rolling out his latest “Nu funk” to shimmer & shake your souls. Upstairs in Profile Bar, Phil Marriot beams out his club nation soundtrack to warm you into the weekend on Friday, while Craig Daniels dishes up some delightful dance music on Saturday. Over at Shadow Lounge and our “foxy ladies” are back again, doing it like sisters at another “Therapy” session on Friday, while the dishy Andrew Elmore ignites your Saturday with another pop & house packed music infusion at “Inferno”. Our other big shout in Soho goes to Rupert Street, who welcome back Brent Nicholls on Saturday, his soothing soundtrack of uplifting & vocal house intermixed with some of that hip swaying & toe tingling funk going down a treat with the tottie, so should prove to be a enriching evening of musical entertainment.

Down in Vauxhall and the headline act is Alex Erfan’s Lovechild, which hits Fire this Saturday (17th July) and gets our new style focus which you can catch via direct link http://discomattweekend.blogspot.com/2010/07/weekend-focus-lovechild-makin-hay. As for the rest, well as usual, you can’t go wrong with the Fire threesome of A.M., Later & of course Orange, which we were pleased to report, was a citric squeeze of a smash last Sunday, the dream team of Raw room Spaniards Gonzalo Rivas & David Jimenez back together, brilliant! Over at Area and another frolicking threesome this weekend will be Onyx, Beyond & Booster, Jonny Marsh’s Friday fantastic warm up for their own birthday bash at the end of the month with a usual immense ingredient mix of mesmeric music from residents that include Phil Marriot, Jamie Hammond, Lee Harris, Lisa German & Ariel, while Beyond are still smarting after their Syke n Sugarstarr smash event last weekend, so go back to basics, although Steve Pitron’s petrol fuelled music pace will be on extra octane following his much awaited podcast release (more on that in our next Music post). Booster fits neatly into the weekend roster, Sunday evenings at Area getting ever more popular and a brilliant curtain raiser for some citric splendour afterwards. Our other two big shouts go first to “Carpet Burn” at The Eagle on Saturday, which will be a way out & whacky Woo wonder, as the fab three that is Ma Butcher, John Sizzle & (who else) Jonny Woo roll out another of their Gay Bingo bonanza’s, with HMD’s Jim Stanton spinning the sounds, while the temperature scales will be tipping in favour of S.L.A.G.S./Chill-out on Sunday, the institution that is The Dame Edna Experience going from strength to strength & is an absolute must see if you haven’t already, both the grassy knoll, then inside the RVT worthy contenders to the Lovebox gathering out east.

As for our alternatives, well as we hinted, Lovebox this Sunday (18th July) looks like being a gigantic gathering with over 20,000 tickets sold already for Sunday and in amongst the audacity in Victoria Park will be Steve Elliot’s “Cirque Du Salvation, this getting our second special weekend focus at http://discomattweekend.blogspot.com/2010/07/weekend-focus-cirque-du-salvation. As for our best of the rest bits, The Dalton Superstore stokes up another hefty head of steam this weekend with “Body Talk” on Friday with a fulsome line up of oldskool underground house courtesy of D.J’s Rokk, Jeffrey Hinton, Jim Warboy & Kusi Kubi, while its anther friendly fusion on Saturday, when superstar Italian Severino serves up splashes of synth pop & Italo disco house along with 2 Bears & Dirtbox D.J.’s. Mind you Wayne Shires has his own momentum of motion, with new(ish) night “Disco Fag Bar” which fits into your Friday at East Bloc on City Road, EC1, with demon D.J. Luke Howard heading up a fine list of fanatical’s that could see you partying deep into Saturday afternoon if last week’s party was anything to go by. And no mention of steam would be complete without our final alternative shout for this weekend, as “Caligula” returns to Bishopsgate’s Bathhouse and welcomes Kris Di Angelis who will be slipping in plenty of souped up electro twisted sounds on Friday night.

As always more details of all these Soho, Vauxhall & alternative best weekend picks of ours can be found in the popular (we hope accurate!) press and/or via the events & group pages on social networking site Facbeook.

Now, before we round off another recommendation report, we just time to give our friends Seen Queen a supercharged shout as not only do they have a complete gAylist directory of the hottest happenings, but they have, just this week, uploading heaps of new house music links, load of lovely pictures and a video full of prodding projections, their lament of Lovechild’s recent party an eye opener as well as a popper. Catch all these features & lots more (including links to you know who’s work) at http://seenqueen.com/.

As for our weekend, well, its starts in earnest with those birthday bashes in Soho, bouncing between Profile & Shadow Lounge tonight (Thurs 15th), then will be rocking it in Rupert St with Brent Nicholls on Saturday, before making hay at Lovechild. As for the rest, well plans of on hold following some disappointing news, but with things likely to change like the wind, you may well spot us on Sunday. So, whatever you do, have a great weekend, if you see us out come say hi and as we always say....”Go There! Be There!”

xDM

Weekend Focus - Cirque Du Salvation @ Lovebox

WEEKEND RECOMMENDATION FOCUS
CIRCUE DU SALVATION AT LOVEBOX
SUNDAY 18TH JULY


From the minute we heard about Lovebox this year, we were extremely excited, not just because we were determined to ensure it didn’t miss our radar, but the gAylist influence in 2010 was considerably boosted by the inclusion of international mega clubbing brand Salvation in the Sunday proceedings, thus making the whole event so much more appealing. Mind you, with a headlining act like Grace Jones, this ostensively straight three day dance festival couldn’t have someone more gay friendly involved, Grace holding near iconic status our side of the fence, so yet another reason to hold this event in high regard.

So with full details of this massive Lovebox festival available at http://lovebox.net/, what part will Salvation be playing in proceedings? Well, with details now finally ironed out, we can confirm that Salvation will be hosting their own arena within the full-on festival, this Sunday (18th July), known for this Lovebox festival as “Cirque Du Salvation”, kicking off from 12 midday & running their considerable dance space through till 5 p.m., while, of course the festival itself carries on until 10.30 p.m. Now, in terms of exactly where Salvation’s arena will be within the park, we are not sure, although as details of this, along with any other tit bits of last minute info come through, we will share it with you in an Extra Bites post.

However, what we can confirm is the D.J. line up and it is very much a Salvation drenched terrific team who firstly welcome back to the fold Oliver M, who played such a big part in their London parties a few years ago. However, with club promotion commitments in recent years & months, Oliver’s appearances for Salvation were sometimes difficult to match with the demands of his other duties, although this engaging & effervescent German is very much concentrating on his D.J.’ing that the moment, his international career behind the decks having blossomed again in recent months, appearances across Europe including La Demence, Rapido, Cologne Pride, a three day tour of Moscow & a Salvation gig out in Tel Aviv. However, we don’t want to say too much on him here, as he is getting full focus in our upcoming Music Is The Answer post, although we couldn’t escape plugging his Lovebox inspired latest compilation now, which you can grab now at http://djoliverm.podomatic.com/.

Also making plenty of Salvation waves at Lovebox will be Pier Morrocco, a man who is definitely one of life’s jet setters, he hardly ever keeping still & in one place, so his inclusion in the line up is a bit of a land. Pier has been part of Salvation for as long as we can remember and we absolutely delight in his funky electro yet tough tech inspired tones which have lots of uplifting beats to them. Plus we are pleased as punch to include a link to a very rare compilation of his which is available at http://events.piermorrocco.podomatic.com/, & is one you should grab while you can, meaning we simply couldn’t resist slipping in here although we think you should re-name it Lovebox , what do you think Pier? Other D.J. inclusions have been last minute Salvation resident additions of Paul Coals & Mis-White, who will replace Danny Verde who will not be able to make “Cirque Du Salvation” at Lovebox due to some complicated technical difficulties. Now whilst we are extremely disappointed with this news, Steve Elliot is at strains to express that “...there will be NO sadness, but smiles all day...” and we know that Mis-White at the very least will prove a real treat for us and indeed everyone, along with Steve’s stellar line up of jocks to gyrate.

Now, music aside, what will be on offer within the “Cirque Du Salvation” arena? Well Steve promises us a surreal & twisted affair with all the fun of the circus, which will include gorgeous go-go dancers dressed to dare as wild animals (we only begin to imagine just how wild they are going to look) and with head dancer Raul Gonzalez masterminding the stunning stage shows which should be a real wow. Then there will be trapeze artists & an amazing aerial strongman, loads of stilt walkers, clowns & other characters to really boost that circus feel, all supplied by Twisted Dreams & Andromeda productions teams. Plus with the deployment of a special LED lighting wall as well as some special show lasers, will make the whole arena look stunning. However, on top of “Cirque Du Salvation” flying the gAylist flag at Lovebox, other attractions across the Sunday will be the more metrosexual offerings of “Horse Meat Disco”, “Wish”, “Trailer Trash” & “Disco Bloodbath” with the likes of James Hillard, Jim Stanton, Luke Howard, Severino, Kath Harding, Dan Beaumont, Ben Pistor, Hannah Holland & Mikki Most performing, so plenty of other offerings to pop your head in on. Plus, Grace herself will be taking to the main stage at about 8.30 p.m., so even devoting yourself to the whole of “Cirque Du Salvation” as you should be doing, will mean you won’t miss out on any of Miss Jones’s prolific performance. Details of all the attractions, shows, performers etc at Lovebox can be found at http://lovebox.net/.

Now, a little birdie tells us that ticket sales are going better than expected with well over 20,000 sold already and we suspect many more running up till Sunday, which you can buy in a number of ways. Remembering that this is a three day festival when you look at prices, tickets just for Sunday are available at £45, although that includes entry to the whole Lovebox festival which, obviously includes the “Cirque Du Salvation” arena. So where can you grab yours? well online via http://www.lovebox.net/tickets, where you will find loads of options & outlet details, or you can pop into Prowler & Clone Zone who are selling tickets direct, failing which just turn up at Victoria Park and pay at the Box Office. In terms of directions, again the website details everything you need to know, although the nearest tube is Bethnal Green (yes its East London, don’t moan!) and, of course, http://lovebox.net/ is THE place to get details of the whole festival, so go check it out.

As for “Cirque Du Salvation” at Lovebox on Sunday, well it should prove to be a brilliant afternoon of music, dance & delight, so gets our resounding thumbs up & recommendation, as does the return of Salvation to London for this special showing. More details on this international clubbing brand can be found at http://salvation-london.com/ and watch this space for news on a full on event back in the capital in September. (DISCO MATT)

Weekend Focus - Lovechild "Makin Hay"

WEEKEND RECOMMENDATION FOCUS
LOVECHILD “MAKIN HAY”
SATURDAY 17TH JULY


There is little doubt that since moving to Fire last November, Lovechild has really found its feet, the Saturday slot proving much more popular than the original Sunday evening segment it held at Pacha in Victoria, its new chapter in life seeing some prolific parties down in Vauxhall, very much cementing its position on the gAylist clubbing circuit in the capital. So, it goes without saying that with its latest event “Makin Hay” which takes places this Saturday (17th July), Lovechild should once again prove the dominant choice in people’s picks of the weekend and is therefore deserving of our first new style focus & more defined approach to our recommendations posts.

So, what can you expect from this latest Lovechild outing? Well, first & foremost, the rustic theme will see Fire transformed into a summer field of fantasy with plenty of hunky chunky farm boys of dancers to delight the eye and massage the mind. Expect plenty of ploughing, furrowing, & frolicking in the proverbial haystack of happenings on the dancing podiums & stages across Lovechild’s main & contact rooms. Creative dance director Thiagio Drewry certainly knows how to get the biggest & best (wink, wink) performance out of his bevy of beauties, his raucous & revealing shows now very much a trademark of any love in with Lovechild. If you weren’t at the last eye popping party, which not check out the superb Seen Queen video via http://seenqueen.com/video/index.htm#sqxtvlc which gives you plenty of idea’s of what’s in sex fuelled store this Saturday.

But Thiagio’s drop dead gorgeous dancers will not be the only ones to get you hot under the collar, as the music to this summer theme to this “Makin Hay” mayhem man-fest is going to soar the musical mercury’s, as a line up of at least six star D.J.’s will be revving up the rhythm across three floors of fun. Longstanding Lovechild residents Mattias, Gabriele Cutrano & Paul Heron will be back, playing it tough & tech fuelled in the contact room (the Mirrorarch in Fire speak!), while the main room sees much more of a new look, as promoter Alex Erfan welcomes two guests to the fold to add a fresh feel to the offering. Making a welcome return to the U.K. is South African Leroy Tayler, who starred at the recent LGDF series of events, landing plenty of new fans at Later’s party that Sunday, so should prove a popular draw again, his distinctly African inspired funky & electro sounds having secured a residency at Cape Town’s premier Crew Club, not to mention being part of Salvation’s touring team. And in celebration of his appearance, Leroy has laid down a specially dedicated compilation which is available at http://events.leroytayler.podomatic.com/, the 117 minute mix very reflective of his afro percussive/electro style & sound and is an absolute gem.

Joining him in the Lovechild “Makin Hay” main room will be D.J. The Oli, who is very familiar with his stomping ground that is Fire, having played out at virtually all their stable of events over the years and will be sure to pack out the main room with his rousing uplifting yet funky beats that saw him go down a storm at Beyond with a superb opening set a couple of weeks ago and so good was his performance then, that we will be focussing on him in our next music post so watch out for that. Other music highlights include those from Phil Hewson, who makes a welcome return after deserting us to play at another love inspired party down under, Sydney’s Love Muscle getting their slice of the Hewson magic, so will have plenty of stores to tell and maybe some of the fetish kind to share as he bounces into Lovechild straight from “Leather Nexus” at Fire on Friday & then shoots off the “Spit Roast” also at Fire on Sunday (erm, you sleeping in the club then Phil?). We expect more D.J.’s to be confirmed & maybe the running order to switch, so will bring you more details as we get them.

Now, with the expectation of the usual amazing lighting, production, effects & pyrotechnics that come with any Lovechild party at Fire, along with stunning visuals from Alan X, all that remains are the all important ticket & other information details. So, when does it all start? well, Lovechild’s “Makin Hay” party doors open at Fire this Saturday (17th July) at 11 p.m., the event running through till 7 a.m. with advance tickets on sale at usual Soho outlets Prowler, Clone Zone & DV8, you can grab one at The Box in Covent Garden or go online to direct link http://www.clubtickets.com/gb/2010-07/17/lovechild-making-hay, where you can grab your £10 advance entry pass. Plus the first 100 paying customers through the door will receive a free wristband for Beyond at Area, which immediately follows Lovechild.

Finally, if you find yourselves in Soho on Friday evening (16th July), you can do far worse than sliding into Rupert Street, where Alex & his team will be throwing their “Makin Hay” pre-party (maybe throwing some hay around too!), with Alessandro Londra spinning the sounds from 9 p.m and some of delectable farm boy’s or dancers sowing a seed or two.

So, it’s time to make hay while the sun shines by tripping down to Fire this Saturday, soaking up the masterfully macho music from the Lovechild D.J. maestro’s & feasting your eyes of the farm boy bevy of beauties at this “Makin Hay” happening and we will be there to report on it all. (DISCO MATT)

Extra Bites - Shadow Lounge 9th Birthday

Hey Folks,

It would be fair to say that we are still floating on cloud nine following a mesmeric Matinee party on Sunday, so have needed to yank ourselves down towards terra firma to give a big birthday shout to a gAylisting Soho sophisticate who will be celebrating its anniversary this Thursday (15th July). with their "Greatest Hits" party.

When it opened back on July 13th 2001, The Shadow Lounge immediately offered something that was a class above the competition, a mecca for those into sophisticated, stylish & sumptuous socialising right in the heart of the gayest of villages we know, its relatively unassuming yet smart entrance on Soho’s Brewer Street, opening up like a tardis of unashamed elegance & opulence that transported you into a different & most luxurious sumptuous space, a far cry from the somewhat shabby surroundings outside and serving up a charismatic combination of comfort & quality unrivalled anywhere in the area. Shadow Lounge’s origins were always as a membership club, the entry policy reflective of the clientele it wished & inevitably attracted, setting it aside from many of its so called competitors, although in truth it had little competition for what it was offering at the time. And this door discipline drew in not just the upper echelons of the gAylist circuit, but the hallowed turf that is The Shadow Lounge was welcoming celebrities & Hollywood stars through its doors on a regular basis, notorieties including Joan Collins, Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Graham Norton, Paul O’Grady, Cilla Black, Kylie Minogue & Sharon Osbourne, to mention a mere few, while it has also attracted coverage in both the broadsheet & tabloid national press, getting the resounding thumbs up from loud mouth journalist Janet Street Porter no less.

Through the years the venue has seen a number of changes in both management and clientele although The Shadow Lounge has ridden the rollercoaster of change within what has proven to be a most fickle scene, competitors like Element, Sweet Suite, The Sanctuary, & Too 2 Much having fallen foul of an audience that takes no prisoners, while Soho’s most sophisticated social magnet has quietly gone about its business and has matined its position as, in its own words, “not only London’s No. 1 gay venue but also one of the most unashamedly stylish, fashionable and sumptuous experiences in the capital”. Indeed some of the specialist nights that were there at the beginning, still reign supreme today, Friday’s “Therapy” & Saturday’s “Inferno” still going strong, while the venue has welcomed some of the biggest promoters in the gAylist scene too, Salvation’s Steve Elliot holding his off-shoot “Scandal” there, Orange’s Steven Sharp having recently launched a Sunday night pre-party within its doors and who can forget the massive success that was “Salon” with legends Minty, Miss Kimberley & Tallulah in charge. Up to date and new weekly Tuesday nighter “OMFG” is making waves, as is the monthly Thursday happening “Hola”, both complementing a pretty full calendar of events, which General Manager Tolis Simpson & creative director Shaun Given are keen to develop to bring the Shadow Lounge back to its former glory.

Part of their plan is to bring Shadow Lounge members special monthly parties, but predominantly to return the venue to its roots of providing a place where you can enjoy either an evening relaxing with friends or alternatively dance the night away in sophisticated style and both Tolis & Shaun are as best placed as anyone to do just that as they were part of Shadow Lounge’s opening team back in 2001. So, their return has already seen some of those prolific monthly members’ events, March’s Gold party & the more recent Greek Summer bash and the Adam & Steve event, great examples where members were privileged with a preview of plans & celebrations before doors being swung open to the public, with free drinks and other offerings and as Shaun explains, “...It is our way of saying Thank You to those who supported us throughout the years...”. However, it is fair to say that the venue remains the epitome of not just gAylist but celebrity A list is still pulling in the stars nine years after making an indelible print of the Soho social scene, showing no signs of slowing down, rather ramping up its following with a period of renovations that have been rolled out over the last few months, the venue now looking its best and in good time to celebrate its ninth year in operation.

So, with this coming Thursday (15th July) marking not just another one of those special monthly gatherings, but Shadow Lounge’s 9th Birthday bash entitled "Greatest Hits" and as a result the evening should prove a huge hit, extra special & full of surprises. The team will be inviting back original hosts, D.J.’s & staff for this celebratory night, inviting people who made history at & for the venue and you can probably expect the odd celebrity or ten to pop in across the night too. With a complimentary drinks reception for members, VIP appearances, the Shadow Lounge dancers, a surprise show by Eurocreme, prize giveaways and the much sought after Shadow Lounge goodie bags, the team will no doubt once again prove just how good they are delivering legendary ones. Members and their guests will be able to soak up all the birthday proceedings from 8 p.m., while the general public will be let loose from 11 p.m., with this brilliant birthday bash running through until 3 a.m. If you haven’t received your invitation yet, you may have missed the post, but for q-jump & VIP guest list request, email now to rsvp@theshadowlounge.co.uk, with more info on the venue available at http://theshadowlounge.co.uk/.

So, this Thursday is the day to polish off your dancing shoes, choose the most fabulous outfit in your wardrobe and get down to Shadow Lounge and as we always say....Go There! Be There!

xDM