Monday, 24 May 2010

SupperClub, London


It has been a request of one of my friends, WW, to organise a SupperClub night for almost a year and finally another friend, P, took it up as part of our “No More Secrets-London” group. Not realising it until a week prior to hitting the Portobello club, I have actually been to both the Bangkok and the Istanbul flavours of this clubbing sensation and seriously enjoyed both… SupperClub is basically an experience rather than just a club….

Rocking up at 7PM you are invited in to an average looking bar where you liquefy yourself with overpriced but well made cocktails. At 8:30 the huge double dours swing open to reveal a large white room, surrounded by Huge white beds with little glass tables supporting a selection of crystal!.... As the night goes on your 5 course meal is served and the entertainment is put on, this ranged from cross dressing overweight opera singers to cross dressing fire breathers.. pretty immense…

High lights of the night would be rugby tackling each other across the beds and the masseuses doing their thing!

I would definitely recommend this place, putting it above Istanbul and Bankok simply due to the club layout, but make sure you go for the whole package rather than just the clubbing, as the groups that arrived later 11PM and on, didn’t really get much more of an experience than you would heading to any other standard club…





Drink: Grey Goose Magnum
Type: Bed Club
££$$: ££££/£££££
Best memory: falling asleep to a masseuse while watching a cross dressing opera singer and being fed duck
Worst memory: Jack Cam biting everyone

Monday, 22 March 2010

lIfe iS tEtris

in addition to yapping on about all my little adventrures I have even more to say....
Basically a running commentary of my thoughts....

Check it out...

The Lost Angel, Battersea, London

This place was a huge surprise, being a regular to lost society near Clapham we had never heard of this little place, which turned out to be immense and not so little. Unlike lost society and artesian well, £5 taxi away there is no queue at a pumping electronic location, more a heaving bar than a club, but still an impressive night… The place closes early so heading on somewhere like MOS may be an idea if your still looking to party. This will most definitely be added to the repertoire of random London fun!! 

Ministry of Sound, London


I have only ever been here once before, and all I had in remembrance of the night was a photo I took on my phone. This time however I got to experience what I would call a less hidden slightly more commercial “EGG”. We arrived at 3am to find out the Pete Tong was playing a set at the time…and wow! He did an absolutely mind blowing job… The place is as you expect, very large, full with a huge mix of people from slightly rah to ghetto, the music is immense, considering they put on a 24hr radio station from the building this would be standard and of course it’s very very loud….There is an amazing hot dog stand and huge smoking areas… If you are looking for a safe grimy night which is walking distance from waterloo get involved… 

Sunday, 7 March 2010

ROUNDHOUSE, Camden and O2 Academy, Brixton - London

Two for one .... Recently I have been trying to mix up our party experiences and have found that live music is not only amazing, but a total different experience with every different act... Two experiences I have recently had and definately recommend are the round house in Camden and o2 academy in Brixton.

I went and watched Calvin Harris, yes I know it's very 16yr old girl, at the round house and it was very impressive... The clasic center stage with a standing area and a second floor circle for the sitters.... Nice and small, so you really get to have the full blast of the music.....Calvin Harris was actually brilliant and really knows how to get a crowd going slash laughing....

Second show was hot chip and casio kids in Brixton. This place is much cooler than the roundhouse however it is quite a bit bigger and hence you have to push through a huge number of people to get anywhere near the stage. The entire theatre is slanted, giving a good view to everyone standing and almost a colloseum feel...hot chip were immense, much louder and fun than the standard recorded music... Casio kids, the supporting act, were awesome!!! 



Hitting Chemical brothers in May at the Roundhouse - should be immense!!


Get involved!!

Thursday, 25 February 2010

Cape Town, South Africa

Following on from my review of my home town, Johannesburg, I feel that
I should let whoever reads this know what I think of the more
entertaining side of south Africa. Cape town is a world renowned
destination at the moment, known for it's St tropez style parties and
it's immense beaches. It is much more designed for the heavy pocketed
individual looking to strut their stuff on the many beach front
bars...


I got to sample la med, a younger cheaper fun side to CT as

well as caprice, which is notorious for silly celebs, but both are
absolute awesome fun, especially in the sun.... What I have been
talking about is Camps Bay, and I would recommend this area to anyone
who enjoys the upper class side of the world...

In comparison, Long Street is very different and yet equally as
awesome. This place is close to q hippy heaven, huge numbers of
chilled out bars and late night cheap restaurants, that all seem to
never shut... The beer is cheap the atmosphere is chilled, basically
what Captonians are known for......

Cape town is of course known for it's wines across the planet... The
garden route has many many wine farms, yes in Sa they are wine farms
and not vineyards. There are multiple ways of experiencing this, the
two I have had the chance to sample and recommend are taking a cheap
£50 group tour, in which I promise you will not remember the end :-)
or organising a true wine trip, in which you stay in b&b's along the
way...

Basically the combination of the above and the recommended climb up
and down table mountain make for an awesome holiday, and this is one
of the places in the world I would recommend to almost everyone ....

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Johannesburg, South Africa

This little bit of information is something I really felt I should attempt to share, the reasoning behind this is I am originally South African and from Johannesburg, with 26 years of experience of the city I reckon I should have a good understanding of the place, especially as a tourist due to the last 10 years of my life visiting Joburg as exactly that....


Johannesburg has always got one of two very wrong perceptions from everyone I meet that has either not been there or has not got their international head screwed on. These are either an African Village with people using lions as pets and riding elephants to work OR the scariest place on earth... Both of these are very wrong!!!

Joburg is essentially very similar to any other very large 'capital' city, it has its built up areas, down town, expensive locations, scary places, cultural landmarks and will soon have the reputation of holding a world cup and the landmarks that brings with it... Of course apartheid has given it a bad name to many, this having ended in '94 and the place turning into a rainbow nation has very almost abolished heavy racism, but there are of course some who hold grudges, but you do not get to see this unless you know people on a one to one basis, in their own homes... The violence is rife in areas, a number of my friends have been hijacked, but this is mostly in dodgy areas in which you shouldn't be travelling and any local tourist adviser will openly tell you this... I have personally experienced much scarier things on the night beaches of Thailand or running through the Favelas in Rio....

However I must say Joburg is not the place in South Africa I would suggest to my friends to go visit if they wanted to party and live the sunshine life, that would most definately be Cape Town or Plettenburg bay... Joburg is where you go to see some culture, learn about apartheid, see the monuments, visit Soweto (the largest shanty town), get to know the real South African people and now of course visit Soccer Stadium.....

I have had the luck of living in this awesome city for a long time, and now visiting it yearly. With a good group of friends in the area I have the local knowledge on tap and when it comes to going out there really are some sexy joints... A nice chilled night may start in the very nice Grill House in rosebank, for a steak and a couple of South Africa's best reds, followed on by a short drive to Attic in ParkHurst for a couple of beers and then an ending to the night in Tokyo Star just up the road... It is simple, take radio taxis everywhere and stick where you feel safe and you will have an off the hook night, the trouble comes exactly as it does anywhere else in the world, when you get to drunk and start wondering the streets alone, stumbling and basically attracting attention... Silly Silly, and I am the worst at it, but have had a few hundred nights out in this place and never had a "bad experience" worse than getting pushed in a club for drunkenly stumbling....

There are a number of smarter clubs which I would easily compare to Mayfair style London clubs, such as Manhattans.

If you want the "African" experience make sure you visit Moyo, the food here is immense and there is definitely a push for that African feel.

If you want to get a feel of an old school, South African pub, make sure you visit the Radium Beer Hall, there is nothing that special about the place, except good cheap food like Lorenzo Marks prawns straight from Mozambique, good live music, Castle draft and a local feel... in fact it's perfect... and the pizzas are pretty immense to...


My overall view is that I love Johannesburg, and feel everyone should visit it once in their lifetimes, for all my UK friends what I would suggest is to make it a 4 day add on to your wine tasting. sun soaking trips to cape town, Durban and the game farms....

X

Borough Market, Southwark, london

Sometimes I like doing things that do not involve loud music, alcohol and memory loss... Borough Market meets most of those pre-reqs... Jump off the tube at London Bridge and take your taste buds on a cultural journey on the streets of London... This is basically a food market, where locals come to display there goods, from warm cider to raclette this place really does have everything for your culinary delight... I have been here a few times now and always land up eating somewhere random and drinking something odd, my favourite food has to be the boring turkey baguettes underneath the railway bridge and I must admit warm cider on a hangover in the cold is perfect to start the day off... Take some cash as there are the random good bottle of wine, red meats and of course cheese, that should all be tried and enjoyed... Plan to walk around for a while, my view is to turn up an hour before lunch and leave maybe 2 after... There is an impressive restaurant above the market called "Roast" which I think you can guess what they serve... go enjoy 

Guanabara, Holborn, London


This is a really good late night Brazilian venue... There is a serious amount of impressive live music played on the front stage in which everyone dances around, drinking Quilmes (argentinian beer), Brama (Brazilian beer) and of course there are ready to rock caprianas lined up behind the bar... The crowd are mostly foreign, Latin American, which means it is hard to strike conversation but they are all friendly and all there to party... It's a short walk from Covent garden and only costs a tenner to get in, Guanabara  I recommend to all who are looking for a "cheapish" dance and some good live music!!! Get Involved!!!


Drink: Quilmes and Caprianas
Type: Brazilian live venue
££$$: £££/£££££
Best memory: dancing to the lambada, a live band and some "brazilian" (russian) belly dancers
Worst memory: I can't think of any, a nice little place with a good vibe!

Sunday, 17 January 2010

Infernos, Clapham, London


So after the fourth visit, I feel i can finally write a personal review on Claphams infamous high street night club. Infernos is hugely popular with all recently graduated Londoners looking for a very MESSY night out, and of course the good chance of picking up some form of male/female lying on the dance floor with beer goggles, helmet, sunglasses and visor on! The place is huge, it has multiple dance floors, an uncountable number of rooms and bars and is actually quite pleasant in the way of friendly staff and low entry price and drinks.
I would recommend this to all who really want a mad night or are new to London, its a good place to meet new people, get drunk and dance the night away, it is not good if your looking for a smart elegant night....
After all my complaints and unjustified moans about Infernos, it really does have its purpose and I can see why it is so hugely visited by the fun young crowds.


Drink: cheap double vodka
Type: fun young cheap dance club
££$$: ££/£££££
Best memory: dancing away surrounded by large numbers of friendly females
Worst memory: closing time is 3..lights come on, beer goggles come off

Sunday, 10 January 2010

arch one, Waterloo, London


perfect place for a follow on of anything in and around the Waterloo area. Arch One is an average 2 floor bar/club, serving reasonably priced drinks (do not attempt cocktails, lemon caiprohina) with a late licence and a good party vibe... So if your in the area, say Las iguanas (Southbank) or even the Oxo tower, and you want that few extra hours of bad behaviour, this place offers a safe bet... of course buddah bar is just around the corner if you don't agree...
Songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V775PPuBc7Y
Drink: lemon caprihina
Type: generic new age electronic club
££$$: £££/£££££
Best memory: bartenderesses :P
Worst memory: lemon caprihina! just wrong!

Barcadia, Kingston, London

Absolute blast from the past.... Kingston in general seems to me to be a great place for only two situations on a "drinking" night, either to get into a large London style club, Oceana, when underage or to experience what I call the Magaluf effect!! Very easy women, and enough fights to make UFC look tame....
On this occasion however Barcadia was a treat, due to VIP and a connection with the owner, though the way I see it, simply do not venture to this area, let alone the chest barging, uneducated crowd of Barcadia... Unless, like us at one stage, your underage and looking for a scary big night out!!

Thursday, 3 December 2009

Zebrano, Greek Street, Soho, London

I can't even count how many times I have been to this joint, it seems to appear from the depths at totally random times... Greek Street seems to be positioned well enough to engulf the few, looking for late night madness, people leaving Covent Garden, Piccadilly and Leicester square... The place is pretty datty and at the same time has a nice warm feeling as it seems to be an old terraced house that has been modded into a double floor bar come club, closing late on most days and usually providing some pretty hectic music :0..... just staring down at my slips from a previous night, and think I may be the benefactor of the place... shots are not cheap... 
CHANGE
So... I have decided to attempt to slow down, this means swapping triple nighters with no sleep for the occasional big one accompanied by a couple of more sophisticated drinks sessions... This is in aid of improving my verbal conduct, where this blog began... over partying has lead to my brain functioning at what I can only call a small percentage of what it should be.... So in order to keep this blog going, I think I will divulge more on what I think of the countries I visit... the people I meet... the cultures they express... and of course the occasional event/club/bar/festival I visit.... change can only be a good thing :)

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

Crazy Bear Members Club, Covent Garden, London


Delicious, absolutely delicious... this Place is pretty Impresive, its basically a private members club, meaning you need to be invited or have a £900 yearly fee paid up... the place is decorated very interestingly, with different themes on almost every table, especially in the downstairs drinking area... The cocktails are superb and the Asian food is at a very high standard... If you want to impress get involved....

24, Kingly Street, London


Quite a nice alternative to Mayfair, if you are location dependant, offering a very similar experience to Vendome or Whisky Mist. A feature we spent some time on, as we turned up early, was the digital air hockey table just off the dance floor! So we got a few funny looks, as we got quite competitive, but all was good as the average age on the Friday night seemed to be 19 and therefore to save ourselves from awkward Saturday mornings we decided pushing the geekness was imperative. The drinks list is quite impressive, front lined with shot shakers and cocktail glass jugs, average electronic music and shared table areas give the club a simple feel, making it a safe bet for new arrivals to London however I would not take anyone here in order to impress. -mY lOndon-


REVISIT 13/11/09
Back again, with a larger group and no VIP, again the waiters were fun, and the people a little older made for some interesting conversations.. a big improvement on the last visit.


Drink: Oversized cocktails
Type: generic rah rah
££$$: ££££/£££££
Best memory: playing digital table hockey
Worst memory: 18 year olds trying to use themselves for drinks

B@1 Bar and Wahaca combo, Covent Garden, London

This is a little combo I just thought I would recommend, after 2 successful visits it seems to deliver a safe chilled evening. Wahaca, having been voted London’s best Mexican 2009, is hugely popular and on most nights requires a wait of up to two hours due to their “no booking” policy. So in order to avoid the wait, you can either get a drink in their bar, however it is again hugely busy, or go to B@1, which is a small cocktail bar near by. The eye catcher is the 191 cocktail list which each barman knows off by heart, this combined with a lively atmosphere makes for an interesting pre-drink (you will only get a table if you turn up pre 6pm or book). Following this Wahaca has a very random menu in which it serves classic Mexican dishes, such as Enchiladas and Burritos in Tapas form, so you can have a huge mix of the different food types , or the large dish form if your feeling boring. I would suggest this for a group of friends, not looking to spend to much but attempting to get away from the crowds of tourists you find in this area, it is definitely not for impressing potentials. You are guaranteed a triple whack of your daily calories from these two….-mY lOndon-

Thursday, 5 November 2009

Bavarian Beerhouse, Old Street and Katzenjammers, Southwark - London



If your feeling a little German and want to get drunk and enjoy good food, these are definately a must. They both follow the same feel of a classic German Bierkeller, a pub decorated in classic german style selling German beer, both selling a good selection of beer in Litre Stein glasses. Located underground with low ceilings and long wooden pub benches, these places are designed to get people drunk. The night should also include food sampling with large varieties of sausage and Sauerkraut and freshly baked pretzels... Calorie OVERKILL...  London Bridge is much newer that the Old street beerhouse, and you can tell by the level of authenticity shown in old street, however the Beer is amazing at both locations...

Thursday, 29 October 2009

333Mother, Old Street, London


If any of you have been stuck on a Tuesday night in London with nothing to do but a buzz to go and party, you most likely have landed up here! The place is basically a well known understated dance club that seems to be open when nothing else in our big town is!! Simple make up of a large dance floor with a live DJ looking over your every move and a chill room filled with a lot of random folk who are most definitely not 100% legit! I would say this is one of those places to keep in your back pocket for random occasions with strangely friendly bouncers and speedy bar staff. When the doors shut you can always walk around the corner to the Russian Bar, even though it does sound seriously dodge and there are a multitude of Russian flags covering the walls and possible some nukes in the basement, it is quite a nice little end the night joint to bust a groove and meet some...Russians!


Drink: vodka / whisky and coke
Type: chilled out dance club
££$$: ££/£££££
Best memory: finding somewhere to go, when everywhere else closes there doors on you at 11
Worst memory: Knowing that it's a working day and that tomorrow is one to!!

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

The Vodka Train, Russia, Mongolia and China


It's not that I am simply bored at work that I am writing this, but because this was one of the most amazing trips I have ever been lucky enough to venture forth on. The Vodka Train, the company we used and the experience we had, is basically either a Trans-Mongolian or a Trans-Siberian railway trip, crossing Russia, Mongolia and china or Russia and China respectively, both passing through Siberia.

The route we chose was a 3 week tour starting in St.Petesburg passing through Moscow, through Siberia, through Mongolia and finally ending in Beijing. Three weeks seems a very short time to cross part of Europe and then the worlds Largest continent, Asia... and it was pretty rushed but the Vodka Train had planned it so that in every location there is a local student, who shows you the sites and hidden vodka gems and in return the student gets a little bit of dollar and the chance to practice English.

This is obviously not a 5* trip and accommodation off the train is in the form of hostels ranging from 8 bedders with bed bugs in Moscow to plush wooden cabins in the mountains of Siberia... You are offered to upgrade at every location, making it a little more comforting for some... The interesting part however, would have to be the train itself, which at some stages you spend up to four nights on. Each room has 4 bunk beds about 6"2 long and a tiny table in the center, which is most commonly used for eating, or in our case vodka bottles and poker sets...food is pretty dire for the first part, being 2 minute noodles on the train and Russian attempts at western dishes.. On arrival in Mongolia this elevates to some more interesting dishes involving a lot of sheep and a bit of horse. China of course has food to KILL for at prices that are jokes!

I suppose a trip like this should focus on the history and culture, but I suppose the social side of a country is a huge part of the culture... The train is made up of a mix of locals travelling in cattle class, travellers, such as ourselves, travelling in the tight 4 bedder rooms and then the more sophisticated travellers in red satin twins. The journey is basically a drunken one, in which you bring your own beer and vodka and a little bit of food. It is easily possible to fit 10 people in one room and have a loud party, in which if you are lucky the cleaner ladies will get involved lol. I suppose the more cultural thing, which I would hugely recommend is getting the locals involved.. they love the fact you have "expensive" vodka and will gladly share their home-grown chickens and tomatoes... Vodka shots with random foods seem to be the thing to do on an elderlies night out! like it!!
 Traipsing through Russia with a student is really good fun, as Russians love their vodka and live rock and electronic music. In Moscow as you would expect there are a lot of clubs, we however visited a large d&b club called “JumanjI” which looked like a group of teenagers had set up with their own speakers and table cloth bars... we took this as the aftershock from communism.. However outside in the local park there was a "corner shop" with thousands of brands of vodka with the most expensive being around £4 which the local beings had massed and started their own party.
Mongolia was a little more tame, with some good out-door bars and a lot of drinking in the Gur's, however there was more focus on the activities such as horse riding and mountain climbing. Where as China, just like any massive city, had some seriously dirty side streets and some seriously swanky clubs...

There are nights out every second day and there are also outings organised almost everyday from Moscow circus to Swan Lake there is always something on offer.

After typing a mini essay on what I thought of the countries we visited and their hidden secrets I remembered my English is really bad, so I would just like to say All 3 are amazing, and throwing Siberia (which I know is part of Russia) into the mix is most definitely the icing on this overly sized cake.

Basically I want to do it all again...

CDLC, Barcelona, Spain

This place is awesome!! It combines the kind of outside sofa bed style bar you would expect to see in St Tropez or Puerto Banus with a restaurant and a club, decorated like something straight out of a Thai Ibiza... Carpe Diem Lounge Club is an amazing place to lounge out during the summer with a bottle of Rose or have an exquisite pan-Asian meal and simply roll on inside where the tables are moved aside and the live DJ's bring the floor to life... As usual I would recommend buying a bottle, as you are going to spend at least that much in any case, this secures you a paper white sofa bed in VIP... when the restaurant turns into a club it is made out of a medium sized dance floor avec dancers, vip lounge area and cornered off dance floor and finally an asian styled sofa slash bean bag chill room... even the website is awesome! Following this we tasted Opium (the club) next door, which is about twice the size and much livelier followed by a visit to Seven Crowns, which we depicted as a prostitute laden underground hallway club...


Songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_KITvKSPA&feature=related
Drink: Grey Goose Magnum
Type: pan-Asian sea terrace restraunt and club lounge
££$$: ££££/£££££
Best memory: sitting back with my feet up watching the dancers
Worst memory: closing time is 3

Whisky Mist, Mayfair, London

After a lot of talk bouncing around my friendship groups I have had the pleasure and pain of experiencing what the Mayfair Hilton's belly has to offer. On the first journey a booboo was had in which one of us got spiked and landed up in A&E, now usually this would put one off going back to such an establishment, however we returned... The club is basically a single dancefloor accompanied by a large bar and a huge VIP room. The music is a mix of house and top40 and the feel is chic with a lot of pretension. My personal view of this place is that it is an impressive joint with some serious A-listers visiting the VIP on a regular basis, but the general admission dancefloor and bar it is simply to packed. There are some positives that make this worth while, the bar staff are stupidly relaxed and pleasant, the doormen seemed genuinely concerned about our initial incedent and the cocktails and shots are very elaborate and generous (of course this is reciprocated with the handover of dollar) . There is nothing spectacular about this place except its clientele, but if your in the area WhiskyMist is worth checking out.

Songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr_LfbuuvEw
Drink: Jaeger shots
Type: A-list
££$$: ££££/£££££
Best memory: ibiza classics coming on, on the dance floor
Worst memory: waking up at 5:30 and attempting to get to work
Thank you -JB-

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Salt Whiskey Bar, Maryleborne (edgware), London

Being a non-smoker I have always enjoyed shisha due to the head rushes it gives me! Edgware is known to be London's place of choice to go for shisha and Salt is my bar of choice... There is a smart atmosphere in comparison with the more traditional shisha bars along the road, with an upstairs restaurant, large leathered whisky bar downstairs, which holds hundreds of whiskeys, and bar staff who have the knowledge to recommend you one from your usual preference of drink, for those like me who have no clue about single double bourbon malts... The added bonus to this place is that it serves shisha very well on its 6 outside heated tables with a large selection of flavours and constant coal replacement :).... Salt also has live DJ's later in the night.

Fire & LightBox, Vauxhall, London


After an extended coherent night in the depths of Vauxhall I feel I am finally able to diagnose the truth of this infamous railway arch clubbing scene. Vauxhall consists of a number of pubs and clubs all situated either under the bridge or in close enough proximity to pick up on the odd-ball waves which seem to be generated from this area. There are a wide variety of locations in this area, making it what I would call a mini SOHO. Most of these venues have both standard nights and then nights with a twist. These include the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, from the outside it looks like a standard english pub but on some nights it hosts cross dressing and transexual nights, Hoist, a leather fetish club, Factory, Union, Area and Fire who all host straight nights but have a reputation for being some of the most popular clubs in the gay scene, Hidden, which is really just a labarynth venue, but has been known to host some hectic fetish nights... Overall I would class this place as either heaven if you are not straight or into early morning tear drop electronic music or absolute hell if Kings road and Mayfair are more your cup of tea.

On this occasion a group of us visited Fire for the second time, and unlike my first expereience which was a harsh one, the club provided a more friendly atmosphere and the semi-famous Sneaky Souns System headlining with a good live performance, there were of course the few odd remarks and scary figuerines wandering the depths, but that is what you should expect if you are going to party Vauxhall side. For interests sake we also ventured forth into LightBox for the first time. The club is basically the same set up as Fire, 2 dance floors a triplet of bars and a very large smoking concrete garden area, which has a selection of well presented woodern furniture (random comment but I take it is a highlight in the summer). The night was one of drum and bass filling only one dance floor with very serious faces. Think this may have to be visited again on a larger night as the experience was not worth paying for and my plan to usea a bartering chip "Will" payed off on a quick escape.

Drink: vodka redbull
Type: gay electro
££$$: ££/£££££
Best memory: The Bang of the glitterati exploding over the crowd
Worst memory: walking through lightbox, attempting not to make eye contact with some of the minions

Cirkus Cirkör, the emotional circus, London


i originally designed this blog to be a personal venting ground, then after some large amount of clubbing I thought I would turn it into a club review blog, but after my realisation that there are many more amazing things to do than just go clubbing I changed it to my view on anything I like and think others should experience... Following on from this i have got to see a number of circuses (random again, i know) from the moscow circus in moscow to la clique london side... This saturday i was lucky enough to stumble onto something new. The only way I could really describe Cirkus Cirkör would be an eclectic mix between La Clique and the intro to the TV show House. It is basically an emotional journey about life and death put together by a group of multi talented circus folk carrying out some pretty impressive moves. The story is helped along by Irya's Playground, a Swedish Rock band who i think most definitely take influence from Skunk Anansie except with a softer more harmonising voice, the group includes a very talented and crowd pleasing beat-boxing DJ who gets involved in the act just as the other members of the band. Overall it is a roller-coaster of funny, impressive, sad and wacky acts. I would recommend this to all ages!! I would also highly recommend listening to irya's tunes, very moving... Ps... The "ringmaster" is awesome! If not on drugs :p

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Vendome, Mayfair, London


sO... after a hectic weekend including convincing Vanessa Feltz that chicken chow mein is the best pot noodle of them all - F&cking Random I know - I am back in the office on a Monday morning attempting to look and act sprightly, however the destruction that I put myself through on Friday night and SaturDAY is still being processed by my body... The location for this boisterous misbehaving was Vendome Mayfair....I have been here three times now, and I have identified a trend... this place is basically a chic electric club with a tight door and elevated prices, but this is made up by a constant stream of good music from the live DJ booth in the center of the lit up dance floor, secluded table conclave, well mannered staff and a lot of pretty people... I would highly recommend this for special or simply smarter occasions...

Leading on from this, I feel like having a rant!! I have noticed that a huge percentage of the people I speak to about clubbing, refer to clubs, such as Vendome, Mahiki, maya, Movida...etc, as Posh Rah clubs... Now this I hugely agree with, however this does not mean they are crap.... they are expensive and they do have dress codes... But you go knowing this and you are rewarded with a smart environment and usually some impressive music and drinks!! If it's not your thing don't hate it just go to Cargo :-) which again is awesome fun

Update
been back multiple times, and the place always has the nice lush feel, however the music is a yoyo, some nights are great original electronic music, and then others are r&b classsics mixed in with the top40... make sure you know what your going to get and check their webpage slash listings....
Drink: Grey Goose and Dom
Type: up market electro
££$$: ££££/£££££
Best memory: dance floor antics
Worst memory: the bill

Tuesday, 6 October 2009

my Top 10 London Clubs

mY vIeW

1.The Egg - electronic Dance for all, 3 floors and a garden - Kings Cross

2.Mahiki - up market tropical cocktail lounge and underground dance floor - Mayfair

3.Fabric - Large electonic with big names live - Farringdon

4.Chloes - up Market bar, restaurant and club - South KensingtonKensington

5.Roof Top Gardens - flamingo gardens on top of London - Kensington

6.Vendome - up Market electric dance floor - Mayfair

7.Pacha - small version of the real thing for 25+ - Victoria

8.Cargo - awesome live music venue - Shoreditch

9.93 East - live music, club on weekends - Brick Lane

10.Matter - London's largest electronic, lots of big names - O2

For some
Heaven - GAY, except on mondays, huge electric - Charing Cross

And for memory sake, for those of you who had the luck to walk out of these two when the sun was rising... RIP
The End
and
The Cross
ps. not sure about the order ie. egg has been crap recently!

my Top 10 World Clubs

mY wOrLd ViEw

1.Pacha, Ibiza - no explanation needed

2.Baoli, Cannes, France - Bono, live bongos, just out of this world

3.Halikarnas, Bodrum, Turkey - an open air, sea side colloseum

4.Amnesia, Ibiza - HUGE with the most amazing live shows

5.Beachcomber, Fiji - an entire Island dedicated to Party

6.KARE(MENT), Monaco - huge and stylish

7.Bed Supperclub, Bangkok, Thailand - a club in a tube. amazing food, beds, massages

8.Home, Sydney Harbour, Australia - amazing location and amazing music

9.Manhattans, Johannesburg, South Africa - middle market and safe :)

10.Bamboo, Bucharest, Romania - disgustingly rich and full of prostitutes and gangsters

The others

Metro, Melbourne, Australia - huge with igloos on the dance floor (now called Palace Theatre)
Flashbacks, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa - messy fun
Full Moon Party, Hadrin, Thailand - a collection of clubs, speakers the size of cars, this beach bash MUST be done once in a lifetime
Ministry of sound, London - simply do not remember this
Space, ibiza - amazing, and known as one of the worlds best, but obviously went twice on bad nights
Aquarium, London - oddly this is rated one of the worlds best clubs, probably due to a full size swimming pool and seriously hectic opening hours
Prime, Kiev, Ukraine - shisha everywhere
Pacha, Bucharest - humongous with hundreds of dancers
Maxx, Bucharest, Romania - amazing european electric with live shows
Cheeky Monkeys, Byron Bay, Australia - so much fun when your young dancing on tables
Farinets, Verbier - little bar under hotel, love standing on tables and having beer poured all over me

Friday, 2 October 2009

Guildford / Farncombe BARGING, UK



I would definately recommend this to both UK residents and tourists, as it is both an awesome way to see the country side or/and get very drunk and enjoy the randomness of captaining a barge down the river Wey...

The deal is simple, you arrive early in the morning, and pick your barge up, fill it with nibbles and drinks and then head off, driving the motor boat yourself with no crew, with your max of 9 others...

heading through farncombe and then through Guildford stopping off at pubs of your choice or simple grassy patches for picnics... Our recommendation would be to drive into Guildford and moor up across from the Weyside Inn, which serves a good meal on the river. Then either head back if you got caught up with the socialising or carry on under the A3 and pop into the barge museum and then head back. The day ends early at 5:30pm so a plan for afterwards would be recommended, either a braai/meal in Surrey or hit one of many amazingly bad clubs in the G :)



the barges are equipped with fridges, stove and toilet but bring your own music and ICE...PS. drink driving rules apply :-P



Sunday, 13 September 2009

Ibiza, Spain



So I finally made it to the big cheese of music "Ibiza"... and absolutely loved it!

Obviously visiting Pacha, Space and Amnesia on more than one occasion, avoiding Privelege as the 10000 strong crowd is only strong on a Tiesto night, which we missed.

The clubbing in Pacha and Amnesia was out of this world! We were able to see live performances by Roger Sanchez and Aarmin Van Buuren in Amnesia... But the most insane night I have ever seen would have to be David Guetta ot the Fuc% Me I'm Famous night at Pacha where Dr.Dre made an appearance... this blew away my trips to Pacha in London and Bucharest...

On another note there is a huge hippy feel with millions of nudist beeches and other more standard picturesque beaches which many a relaxed day can be had :-). So if you are not into the clubbing scene you can still go and experience some culture in the old town or some amazing meals at the previously mentioned restaurants...

There was much missed, and I suppose it would be the more chic side of Ibiza, including a lot of the better restaurants such as Aura, Ocho and Blue Marlin... Though I most defiantly plan to go back and experience these properly...



Drink: caipirinha
Type: Club Island
££$$: ££££/£££££ (entry fees average between 35 and 55 euros)
Best memory: Dre bouncing on the Pacha stage
Worst memory: checking the bank balances

Thursday, 3 September 2009

Nottinghill Carnival and Paradise Pub, London

Nottinghill carnival is INSANE!! this is the third year in a row I have been, but the first I took "part", Sancho Panza was amazing with hours upon hours of live music, £2 road red stripes and thousands of happy policemen and obvious drug dealers walking around with bottles of congnac... If you are going to go to carnival get involved, dance, drink (if needed), eat jerk chicken, see the parade... simply wonder...



Paradise,19 Kilburn Lane,
Ending the night here with DJ Yoda and Kissy Sellout, this place is pretty awesome dual floored old school pub ran and arranged like a pub. The music was amazing and the crowd was hyped.. defo check the line up if you want a big one, otherwise there is a messy second floor which I am sure will provide on any night.


SW4, Clapham Common, Clapham, London

After 2 years running of get loaded (same location more mixed music) we decided it was time to check out Claphams offering of electronic music including aarmin van buuren, erik prydz and Danny Howells. As usual immense day, starting at 1 and ending at a sad 9pm, with a number of tents and a main stage. Would recommend a single trip in everyones life to this event, however from past experience this should be accompanied by a visit to get loaded the day after and of course Nottinghil carnival post that.

Only hates would be Claphams policies on noise and closing time, tres sophisticated.

Thursday, 20 August 2009

Hed Kandi, Kandi Vision, Marbella, Spain

The reason for the picture in this little view of an amazing night out is due to the fact that the location of this club/night out is on the beach front of Puerto Banus, which happens to be a large expanse of very sexy white beds covered in white beds and masseuses.... The setting changes to a smart dance floor beside a bedded VIP area, where Hed Kandi is either streamed live from abroad or played live. The waitresses and waiters look the part and behave to please slash make you spend money..... overall a very enjoyable night that anyone who ventures to Puerto Banus should visit making a change to the more chavy money rich establishments spread around the Port.


Drink: Grey goose and Moet
Type: electric beach front disco
££$$: £££/£££££
Best memory: hmm, getting in for free on Tuesdays
Worst memory:realising the bartenders were very good at making you spend money by making you feel good lol

Sunday, 9 August 2009

Maya, Soho, London

I liked this joint, classy people, short skirts, seriously impressive coctails. It is a small establishment with a dance floor and DJ booth sorrounded by VIP tables, which would make you feel out of place if you do not have one to go back to after a little jig. The staff let you play, dancing on tables and walls with very impressive live DJ's. The cost of this kind of treatment however is pretty steep, double vodka on the rocks costing £20. But you know what you are getting yourself into, so go prepared and don't moan. Only rael grudge I have would be with the door staff, making us wait 20 minutes to get into an empty club which opened 20 minutes prior, obviously proving power where physical strength is obviously the only strength one has.
Drink: double Cirocco
Type: Smart VIP electric
££$$: ££££/£££££
Best memory: dancing on walls
Worst memory:waiting outside, knowing that no one else was inside.