The Juice Box

Stealing the theme from United Airline Hemisphere Magazine, Three Perfect Days, I am expanding that for a review of a Bank Holiday Weekend in London. The weather for this experience was perfect, almost too perfect, with beautiful warm and sunny day times with a few spotty clouds followed by just slightly chilly nights. This weather made for great afternoons of roaming through SOHO and grabbing a pint or two and hanging out on the streets chatting it up. The parks were crowded and many a shirtless boy or man could be seen. As the weekend drew to a close the clouds returned and sprinkles of rain started to fall, almost a fitting end and mood shift to 4 perfect days in London. And with that, a perfect Bank Holiday Weekend in London would not be complete without a few clubbing stops, so here are the reviews of what I took in during this trip.

Tonker

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 Bottles of Water

by Juicy Fruit

Tonker bills itself as a booze, cruise and tunes party, and that is exactly what it is. Held at the Eagle, DJ Tim Jones did not disappoint with a soundtrack for the background of a cruisy and chat filled evening.

As I was enjoying the evening, catching up with Wil and Martin, I was realizing just how small the global community becomes once you start traveling a bit. Walking through the Eagle I was greeted by friendly faces from Vancouver who I met at White Party in Palm Springs, a few friends from San Francisco who were in town, and a plethora of local London gents who I have gotten to know over the past few year. Later in the evening, following a few pints of beer, we were taken further on our musical journey as DJ Wayne G took the helm, delivering a darker, sexier, yet still very London sounding set, with selections of vocals and driving tracks to keep your toes tapping and certainly keep a smile on my face.

The pub never seemed to get overly crowded for the night, which was a pleasant relief. The crowd ebbed and flowed as the night progressed and we staked out a great spot near the coat check, allowing us to catch friends like Ben, Paul and Tim, in town from SF as well as some of the local boys known to Wil and Martin. It was also a pleasant surprise to run into DJ Pagano and have a chance to chat and say hello again. Being this was my first time at a Tonker, I would say it is a fun event, cruisy, sexy, and with a soundtrack to make it all tie well together.

Megawoof

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 Bottles of Water

by Juicy Fruit

After a second beautiful day complete with brunch at Smith’s a walk through SOHO shops and a stroll through St. James Park, the evening was upon me. Now, I am normally one to get out early, but this time, I actually held back and left the hotel around 2315 bound for Megawoof and what I hoped would be an off the hook night of fun. Along the way, I finally took the chance to stop at Barcode, and enjoy a little bit of pre-dancing music and cruising. This was a nice time delay that put me at Megawoof just at midnight.

I had been to Coliseum before for a party called Matinee, and while the crowd did not do much for me, the space was interesting. Picture a corporate office building, with a floor that has a night club. Megawoof uses this space just slightly different, and this was a good thing. While it was still a little bright, which there is not much that can be done with low ceilings and club lights, it certainly has a decent amount of room to dance, cruise and mingle.

The crowd was decent at midnight and grew quickly to fill the space by 0100. I was happy to have so many San Franciscan’s at the event, and even got up on the box with Paul C. and Steve S. to do a little tribute to our own SF Box Cub Marcus. The crowd seemed to settle into a happy, friendly, and frisky state by the 0100 hour as well, making the event everything I had hoped, and had heard, a Megawoof should be.

Musically, the journey was what you expect with a London scene, with 2 hour sets by a variety of DJs, giving you sexy chunky beats with an icing of vocals and standards. This mix certainly put a step in my booty and kept me dancing until nearly the end, when my posse decided it was time to cash in and head home – hey it was 0430 and the crowd was thining, so I am all about getting out while you still have some dignity left.

One thing I will highlight about the space is that despite the large crowd of hot guys (temperature and looks) the dance room stayed relatively cool, and that makes it much easier to keep the dance stamina up for the night.

RVT – SLAGS and Dame Edna Experience (Sunday and Monday)

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 Bottles of Water

by Juicy Fruit

A weekend in London is not complete without a trip to the RVT (Royal Vauxhall Tavern) with the Dame Edna Experience show and SLAGS (South London Action Girls Society) party. This weekend was the actual 10th anniversary of the start of the show, and throughout the past year the Tavern has been celebrating.

I am in awe that week after week, and in the case of Bank Holiday Weekends, Sunday and Monday, the show goes on. The humor, while sometimes repetitive, still has fresh new things added in. The vocal covers by Dame Edna are so spot on to the original artists that at times you have to remind yourself that it is not the original artist.

Of course, the whole evening is not complete without the musical talents of Andy Almighty. The man can weave a musical journey of layering songs and teasing you with hints of music throughout the entire experience. There is no greater sense of glee and excitement than when his vocal mixes pave for you a dancing journey with your hands over your head and singing at the top of your voice. The crowd is quickly whipped up into a frenzy for this experience and smiles are found everywhere.

In many ways, a dancing weekend in London, for me, does not start until I have had the party on the RVT floor.

Hustlaball

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Bottles of Water

by Juicy Fruit

Learning of this party prior to heading to London, I decided to take a chance on something different than a normal clubbing run and see what it was all about. With an impressive 12 DJs on the line up and at a space called the Renaisance Rooms, I was excited to see what I would find.

The space is also a skating rink, so it was large and open, with many rooms to wander through. However, this same layout in many ways was the undoing for the flow of the party. The restrooms and smoking lounge were located on the opposite side of the dance floor, and with so many folks standing and modelling (not dancing) there was a challenge working along the periphary of the club to get to these restrooms and smoking area. Also, in these areas were two stair cases that became a choke point of people entering and exiting the space, ultimately making it a large pushy challenge.

The main dance floor was too bright for my tastes. This was not a skating party, and I would have expected a darker more subdued lighting for a fetish type dance. Well, the reason I learned for so much lighting was the excessive level of shows on the stage by a range of pornstars. Now, the shows in general do not bother me, nor do go-go dancer, but photo opportunities and lots of interruptive talking do bother me and steal the power away from the dance event. For this reason, I spent more time in the “Hard On” dance floor space, which was darker, sexier, and had a great driving dance beat. In this room, the go-go boys were on boxes, and worth enjoying as they danced more and posed less.

The party had a share of backrooms as well, that seemed to be off and on busy, and added that seedy sexy element, making Hustlaball like a smaller version of the Black Party in New York, just with better music. Also going up against a Recon Full Festish dance at the Arches, the crowd was only slight dressed in festish gear.

Overall I enjoyed the party, but called it an early evening, because it had been a full day. I would certainly consider attending this event again, being more educated and prepared for what I will see and experience.

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