The Juice Box

A quick trip across the pond to spend time again with friends in London and to hit a few of the local club events. Always a great time, fun, silly, hands in the air and lots to do. So here are the reviews of some of my London highlights this time around.

RVT Sunday

Rating: 3 out of 5 Bottles of Water

by Jim ‘Juicy Fruit’ Hauck

Sunday of a bank holiday weekend in London at the RVT is a bit different than a typical Sunday party. The Dame Edna Experience opens the event, and the usual DJs with Andy Almighty and Simon Le Vans and Sean Sirrs make for a great level of consistency. Sadly, Simon was not in town, so there were some sound glitches for the Dame Edna show and the music selections were not as impressive. However, Andy Almighty did not disappoint with that high energy sound we have come to love. Sean Sirrs keeps the energy going and made for a nice evening at the RVT.

The Sunday of a bank holiday also brings in a slightly different crowd for the kick off of a night of clubbing, so you get a less of a usual bears, fun, silly, cute and serious Taverners. The anthems are still sung at full voice, and hands go in the air regularly, but the energy is different.

The Dame Edna Experience show was not as impressive either, with a dedication, lots of slower ballads, and no encore for the crowd. The humor was not as good and D.E. did not seem to have her heart in place for that night, perhaps holding out for a better show on Monday.

Orange and Trade at Fire

Rating: 3 out of 5 Bottles of Water

by Jim ‘Juicy Fruit’ Hauck

It was great to get a chance to return to Fire for Orange and Trade on Sunday night. If you have never been to this club, certainly make a point to check it out. A fantastic space within the arches of the rail lines with several dance floor and different music to enjoy. Fire is definitely the be seen club, with a mix a gay and straight people in attendance, all there to have fun! Fire opens at 2AM and goes well into Monday evening before closing, not a light weight night, certainly a place for the serious clubber.

The main room, where Orange was held, has a amazing LED lighting system, lasers, foggers, black lights and a new Nitro blast as well. The only thing that was a bit challenging about this room this time was the risers put in the middle of the floor on an angle from the DJ booth, which caused some challenging restrictions for movement. Musically this was our room of choice for the night with all of the appropriate anthems and some trance as well, to move the night along. Only a couple musical oddities for the hole night, so no serious complaints.

The Trade room, is at the main entry, with a great video wall and less fancy lighting. The music in this room was mostly house, and a little slow for me, so we did not spend much time there.

The other nice room is the Light Box which reopened this weekend. This room has LED lighting on the walls and all the way over you on the ceiling of the club. This lighting effect allows for images to sweep around the entire room, sometimes causing vertigo, but certainly making for a very fun experience. Sadly the light box opened at 7AM and the first DJ was late in setting up, and after dancing since 5PM at the RVT and then heading to Fire for 2AM, we chose to not wait any more but to call it a night.

A fun night of dancing and silly times.

RVT Classics Monday

Rating: 5 out of 5 Bottles of Water

by Jim ‘Juicy Fruit’ Hauck

The Monday Classics Anthems party at the RVT is priceless. A shorter night with everything compressed forthe midnight close, it is a night where you get goose bumps up and down your body, you smile until it hurts, you dance hard and fun, your hands are in the air all the time.

Monday is a night of classics, and even the Dame Edna Experience show was a bit more on and alive with the music she does well, the humor we all love. The show was a bit long and started an hour later than Sunday, but the addition of an auction is probably what extended the party the most.

Simon Le Vans was back to the decks, removing any sound glitches. We were also entertained by a young rapper, ENV, who we just happened to have dinner with on Saturday night at The Ivy restaurant. While I am not a huge fan of rap, this young guy had a great sound, fantastic energy and really kept the crowd entertained. Keep your eyes open for ENV to be in the US on tour soon!

DJ Andy Almighty pulled onto the decks after the D.E. show and gave us everything we expected in a very time compressed set. We had all the classic anthems from “I Just Wanna Dance”, to “Body Rock”, “I Promise Myself”. A full on evening of hands in the air, more goose bumps and lots of fun.

Sean Sirrs continued the evening to close out a nice night full of handsome men, friends, and a down and out good time. In the words of my traveling mate and best friend Steve Mueller, two words call out for the RVT – “Just Go”. I agree with Steve that the RVT is a bit like the Studio 54 of our times, with a few twists, but certainly the home of some of the worlds greatest fun and dancing. If you have never gone to London, what are you waiting for – JUST GO!