IBIZA NEWS - MONDAY JULY 2nd 2007
IBIZA NEWS ARCHIVE
CREAM OPENS DESPITE AMNESIA STILL BEING SHUT!
CREAM held a free opening party at MANUMISSION'S BAR M beach bar on June 21 st once it became clear that their real host venue, AMNESIA , were unable to put on the event due to their current ban (which ends on Friday July 6 th - if you prefer, technically at midnight on the 5 th . which would allow CREAM to put on this weeks event, though they appear reluctant to do so while legal issues still linger). Last week CREAM seemed semi-assured that AMNESIA would indeed open in time for their second party, and thus went into full-on promotional mode for three days, selling a phenomenal amount of tickets - an assured sell-out it seemed. However, on the day prior, Wednesday, ticket agents were told to stop selling more, and offer potential refunds for any sold. Things were looking less certain. By 6pm Thursday - six hours before the start time - they were forced to cancel, since AMNESIA still had no firm guarantee that all was well. The venue had wanted them to wait until 10pm , it's rumoured.
The launch party of MADE IN ITALY suffered a similar fate the next night, with posters everywhere, but for an event that would not take place. In the event AMNESIA were still not open over the weekend and now certain to serve their full ban, ending, as stated, on FRIDAY 6 TH , meaning that the second MADE IN ITALY party is now likely to be the AMNESIA OPENING PARTY too.
Those who've seen the latest equipment investments at AMNESIA tell me that the new laser system which has been installed is mind-blowing. a mighty claim since the laser system that was already in place was mind-blowing enough. Can't wait!
DC10 overturned their two month ban and went ahead and re-launched with CIRCO LOCO on Monday 25 TH OF JUNE (I highlight this date only because it's a personal favourite of mine, my birthday - gives me a sad little thrill). However, all was far from smooth running as the police - who usually attend in an undercover capacity - decided to stand around the venue and dance floors in full uniform, from time to time obliging the music to be turned off completely for 15 minutes or so to disrupt proceedings.
Far more concerning was the action that saw the lawmen stopping and searching almost everyone entering DC10 , and giving a full (and intimate, internal) body search to many including, reportedly, scenes of men being bent over cars in the car park area and other places, to be publicly humiliated by having fingers thrust up their arse holes in search of 'substances' of an illegal nature, presumably. Tales of guys from CALLE DE LA VIRGEN and hotels in FIGURETAS rushing down in the hope of being searched, and others clad in camp fancy dress cop uniforms joining in the FINGER OF FUN activity with unsuspecting clubbers are of course totally unfounded. No doubt they intention is to ensure that the July 2 nd CIRCO is attended by a far less ENTHUSIASTIC and TRIUMPHANT crowd (apart from the male gay community of course).
Just where this kind of kind of activity (extreme public searches) is written into any European human rights act is surely debateable, but then on an island that seems to so often be run outside of the law in a business practice sense (the island allegedly does not receive its full potential EU grants due to the suspicion of substantial iffy practice and tax avoidance - some claim it's a giant BLACK ECONOMY - shock horror, surely not!) is it any surprise if the law itself begins to allegedly and apparently step over the line of acceptability too? Especially at locations they deem to be culpable in some of the activities they are now fighting earnestly against, in their opinion. (Or at least so the ruling of the overturned ban would suggest, in their opinion). A form of intimidation seems to be a big tactic being applied around the island, with almost every club night currently involving groups of GARDIA CIVIL (Local Police) parked outside venues (not San Antonio ones actually) and along routes into to. For example last Friday at MANUMISSION was another example, with numerous cars being stopped continually along the already awkward entrance to PRIVILEGE (host venue), though this is far from the only example of this taking place.
The island belief is that from next summer, or earlier, all After Party activity will be barred, and that nightclubs will only be able to operate from midnight until 6am or 7am , to 'normalise' the Ibiza experience.
If this were actually to take place venues such as DC10 would of course cease during the day - thus CIRCO LOCO would move times, venue or fold away. How would it affect BORA BORA (or TAHITA in its temporary absence during its own ban) in PLAYA D'EN BOSSA at the moment? Likewise so many events at SPACE , especially a 16 hours of WE LOVE , all of IN BED WITH SPACE , MATINEE and so on? The regular wild WORKER PARTIES in the BAY of SAN ANTONIO ? This would indeed be a becalming measure.
This leads to other possibilities. With promotions squeezed out of daytime slots, will some look for spare night time gaps, or push others out of their venue? If so will there be a dozen or more After Party and displaced promoters looking for new spaces to work with? And if so does that give more power to large-to-medium sized club spaces like DIVA (the old KISS ) and HEAVEN IBIZA (the old ANGEL EL CEL / PENELOPES ?) It's a possibility, and could be why UK organisations like HEAVEN (and potentially others) are now investing in real estate rather than just promotions. I say this as rumours (well founded ones) suggest that a number of major UK organisations are indeed looking at following HEAVEN'S move into the island. Common belief on the island is that the latter's gamble is a long shot, doomed to failure, given the venues' recent history and its close proximity to two of the island club superpowers. But who knows, they're
Apparently aiming for a niche, similar to that they have in London , so despite their apparent island naivety, can HEAVEN IBIZA pull it off? Their experience this summer will doubtless have an effect on other club powers outlook.
There was once a time when UK promoters moved into Ibiza on THEIR terms, the tail wagged the dog. Then the Ibiza venues generally wised-up, realised that the promoters NEEDED to be on the island, so turned the screw and closed down the deal to their advantage - indeed the middle-man promoter was almost entirely replaced by venue-controlled nights featuring DJ stars or record label brands. The logical step for certain club organisations with international presence would certainly appear to be to take control of point of sale - the outlets - and install their own product directly. But as I just said, that's the LOGICAL step, and one thing Ibiza is not is a logical environment in any way, shape or form.
It can be a GIVING place though.
The CHARITY CANCER RESEARCH FUNDRAISING FESTIVAL has been organised by DJ-promoter TRISTAN INGRAM. It takes place at GALA NIGHT in BENIMUSSA , a couple of kilometres up the hillside behind San Antonio, on Wednesday August 8 th (just prior to BBC RADIO ONE 'S annual IBIZA WEEKEND beano - traditionally the busiest week on the island). The event runs from 5pm until Midnight in three outdoor arenas, with an all-night 'AFTER PARTY' (catch 'em while you can) in the interior club space at the venue through until 6am . Advance tickets are just 10 euros from all SAN ANTONIO ticket outlets (with all proceeds going to the cancer charity). Already 50 DJ's have vouched their free services (and will doubtless further cough up their 10 euro entrance fee). They include ATOMIC HOOLIGAN ( from KISS 100), ROB TISSERA (KISSDAFUNK promoter-resident ), JONATHAN ULYSSES (SPACE resident ), OLIVER LANG (DUSTED & BORA BORA resident ), DES MITCHELL ( BCM MALLORCA resident), SLIPMATT (SLIP BACK IN TIME resident ), TRISTAN INGRAM (IN BED WITH SPACE / RANDOM / JUDGEMENT SUNDAYS, IMMACULATE TOUCH), MISS DIVINE (LA VITA / HUSH resident ), VICKY DEVINE (JUDGEMENT SUNDAYS / ANGELZ OF FUNK resident ), DIRTY ROTTEN DJS (JUDGEMENT SUNDAYS / DIRTY ROTTEN SLUT PARTY promoter residents ), RYAN O'GORMAN (ELECTRIC SEX, REVOLVER, VITALIK promoter-resident ), ENZO SIRGUSA (ELECTRIC SEX resident ), ALEX ELLENGER ( EDEN resident ), ROB BURNE (KANYA resident ), SHAKE DJS (BABYSHAKE residents ), DANNY GRAHAM & ELLIO RISO (SOLO RECORDS owner / WE LOVE), SCOTT MARTIN & JAMIE GITTENS (FILTHY GORGEOUS promoter-residents FREQKLASH), LEE JOHN (SUMMERDAZE resident ), DERMOT C (PLASTIK / PUKKA UP / IBIZA RESIDENTS resident ), JON CONSTANTINE (IBIZA RESIDENTS / BASEMENT / GLITZ / DISTORTED DISCO / HUSH resident ), LEE BRINX (JELLY resident ), ROB COCKERTON & CRAIG BENITEZ (WARNING TOO DIRTY residents ), CARLOS & PUGSY (RANDOM residents ), JIMI DEJA (HUSH manager-promoter-resident ), MARCO LOCO & DA SENDRI (GLADRAGS residents ), JAY MOORE (PLAY 2 resident ), DJ BLU ( EDEN ROOMS resident ), ASHLEY MCKENNA ( NICE & DIRTY resident ), TRISTAN D (DIRTY LITTLE FUNKERS resident ), ROB HARDING (FREQKLASH resident ) . with promoters like RANDOM, LA VITA , IMMACULATE TOUCH, FILTHY GORGEOUS, JELLY, BABYSHAKE, SLUT PARTY, WARNING TOO DIRTY, IBIZA RESIDENTS, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO, NICE & DIRTY, FREQKLASH, DIRTY LITTLE FUNKERS, SUMMIT, ADDICTIVE CLUBBING, ITACA, SOLO RECORDS, MEGA MUSIC .
MANUMISSION are collaborating with WHAT NOT TO SHARE - the HEPATITIS C TRUST ( www.whatnottoshare.com ) in order to help highlight the heath risks of a risky habits (sharing stuff). The 'LA CHATTE AGILE' ( VIP ROOM ) has been party given over to the trust who are bringing talents like GARY POWELL, CARL BARAT and ANTHONY ROSSAMUNDO of DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, ANNALISA ASTARITA of BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS , plus DJ's DAN PEPPE of WALL OF SOUND and LISA MOORISH . 3,000 MANU -DOLLAR BILLS are also being distributed each week to further highlight the problem. Each features the line 'SHARING BANKNOTES OR STRAWS TO SNORT SUBSTANCES CAN TRANSMIT THE HEPATITIS C VIRUS. SHARE THE WEALTH NOT THIS NOTE.'
THE ZOO PROJECT at GALA NIGHT in BENIMUSSA kicked off with two immense Saturday evening parties, taking place from 5pm until midnight . The San Antonio worker massive took to the old ZOO venue and the wild animalistic action like crocodiles to water. The costumes - primarily by JO of MINX EFFECTS - were amongst the best seen anywhere on the island, the activities numerous and continuous, the music, played by people like MISTRESS DA FUNK , a pure fantastical acidic tribal underground concoction, and the whole thing now goes into pirate mode for two weeks - with a boat party and a secret event, before returning to GALA NIGHT on the 21 st . A NEW SKOOL IBIZA LEGEND in the making? Look out MANUMISSION.
And also MANUMISSION might look out from within!? (Just joking here). JILL CANNEY , their press person, runs her own GIRLZ SKOOL party on the island, at IBIZA TOWN port bars, throughout the winter months, though calms it all down during summer in order to do the dirty deed for MANU . Even so, there is summer life in the girly party event, as PRENSA PITIUSA, the local weekly newspaper shows, with gigs in places like Germany already under their belt. What next, a winter season in the USA ? (For GIRLZ SKOOL , not MANUMISSION , obviously!). Or will she be happy with her off-season Ibiza Town lot?
Part of JILL 'S job is to distribute a good and positive spin on news, though a minute ago she was obliged to send the sad news that tonight's (JULY 2 nd ) IBIZA ROCKS event, with SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO has been cancelled due to the act being unable to get their equipment to the island on time (possibly not unrelated to various Airport bombs, or in Ibiza's case on Saturday, the phone threat of a bomb at the airport, which caused mass panic and evacuation, plus the blowing up of an empty suitcase. The SMD chaps sent a message to their adoring, but distraught public, which reads: "We were really looking forward to playing IBIZA ROCKS this Monday night. Circumstances conspired against us however as we found out yesterday that it wasn't going to be possible to get half of our live kit (including our lights) on to the island in time for the show. We'll reschedule the live gig for another time and hopefully you can catch us DJ'ing at MANUMISSION throughout the summer. Apologies again. See you soon." SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO .
As a make-up to the fans IBIZA ROCKS will, tomorrow night (July 3 rd ), throw a FREE GIG to all-comers with THE HUNGOVER STUNTMEN on stage to perform much of their forthcoming new album, which is currently being recorded at DURAN DURAN geezer ANDY TAYLOR'S studios on the island. This will be followed by DOES IT OFFEND YOU YEAH? Getting on the decks (or laptop, or whatever they use) alongside the regular GASH DJ'S and both will be spinning at IBIZA ROCKS' so-called AFTER-PARTY which takes place in the PACHA GLOBAL ROOM at the DEFECTED night. (Let's be serious here, an AFTER PARTY in a massively LARGER VENUE as part of someone else's major promotion? It's just another club gig, right?)
DIVA , less than three weeks after launching, has dismissed its management team and decided to focus on a new direction, where local-meets-underground. They intend to develop a few strong events rather than attempting to run a full weekly roster during their first season - they did, after all, only take on the venue 45 DAYS prior to the opening party and have had little time other than to spruce up the premises so far. Promotions on board officially so far are, from Saturday 14 th of July, MANUMISSION with their SLEAZEVILLE CARRY ON , from 8am onwards. They actually held an unadvertised and unannounced debut CARRY ON at DIVA on June 30th and pulled in 600, so the signs are good. Another party doing OK is the Wednesday night UNDERCLUB with its multinational-local DJ line-ups. Not so successful was GAYLANDS , the GARLANDS offshoot, which pulled immediately and decided to concentrate solely upon its Wednesday event at EDEN in San Antonio instead. GARLANDS did try a similarly doomed excursion to PLAYA D'EN BOSSA some years ago when they launched a weekly PRE -PARTY at PIN-UP , next to the beach, but soon reverted to their spiritual KANYA home for the pre-parties when things went awry with that particular hyper-trendy-but-soon-to-be-doomed venue.
GARLANDS have instead joined forces with what is calling itself the 'OFFICIAL' IBIZA BOAT PARTY for their PRE -PARTIES this year They leave at 6.30pm from San Antonio harbour for a three hour cruise (yes, a three hour cruise), which, is a bit of a bargain when buying a ticket includes a free GARLANDS MIX CD and also FREE ENTRY to the later EDEN event. DJ's are GARLANDS ' own DAVE BOOTH, LES CALVERT and SI EDWARDS , plus top island guests.
Went to the newly re-opened BLUE ROSE club venue in FIGURETAS , which opened on Thursday 28 th (though help a private party the previous Saturday). The place - and name - was previously the original Ibiza AMERICAN-STYLE POLE-DANCING CLUB , of course, but with so many more raunchy venues now and more sexually overt venues now spread liberally around the island the place had receded in popularity. Hence the revamp as a cool underground clubbing venue for smaller-scale parties. At AMBER on Saturday (a promotion by RYAN O'GORMAN and JOE ASHTON ) I was thinking to myself 'it's the UNDERGROUND crowd' and 5 seconds later turned to see LEWIS of Underground (or his twin) there on the edge of the dance floor. So I mentally rested my case! Others there were JOHANNES who runs COCOON and, ooh, y'know, the mover-and-shaker crowd. At 5am is still wasn't especially busy, but those there were in-the-know and you do indeed know that this place should work.
However at that point I raced to SAN ANTONIO to hit the similarly-sized KANYA for the final 30 minutes of DISTORTED DISCO , the new MINI -MONEYPENNY'S all-night event at the beachside venue. It was rammed with wild party-goes, primarily Brit workers and local kids, who follow the DIRTY ROTTEN DJ's - who were playing from 4am - like a religion. I naturally considered how I regularly get slagged off by Ibiza Town-oriented people (and had been at BLUE ROSE once more) for generally supporting SAN ANTONIO as a primary musical and party entity, yet once again I wasn't bothered by SAN AN types for highlighting good things about IBIZA TOWN . All I will say is, THE COOL WORKER-KIDS of San An REALLY like to have a GREAT TIME and PARTY to the MAX , as often and as long as possible, it's infectious. Meanwhile the COOL WORKER CROWD of IBIZA TOWN tends to prefer admiring how much cooler they perceive themselves to be. If there's a difference between the attitude of worker-versus-worker, that's it.
LEGENDS NO MORE! Not all KANYA night parties have been so successful. The Wednesday night THE GALLERY presents IBIZA LEGENDS has been dropped following a tepid second party - the highlight of which saw a worse-for-wear BLOCKO (BRANDON BLOCK) diving in the terrace pool at 2am , then wandering around the extensive venue in a towel flashing his bits and pieces at girls, before hitting the DJ booth, waving crazily for a bit, then collapsing in a heap, to sleep, on the little sofa-seat that's inside the box. Can't fault the IBIZA LEGEND for SHOWMANSHIP and natural ability to be talked about and attention-grab, however, the currently the in-vogue thing for DJs to do is to actually be seen and heard SPINNING a decent length set once in awhile too - once BLOCKO remembers to add this technique to his other undoubted skills the IBIZA LEGEND will truly be back. For now, sadly, THE GALLERY will not. Strangely, on the previous Opening Party date of IBIZA LEGENDS , the music policy - thought to be the IBIZA CLASSICS - turned out to be a more contemporary selection, so all in all little wonder the host venue became a mite confused and decided it was best to pull the plug on such a chaotically conceived promotion. The event is now rumoured to be heading for the EDEN FUNKY ROOM.
HAT CLUB is a one of the new nights taking place in the SAVANNAH BACK ROOM (new name for the FUNKY LOUNGE ) from 11pm through to 6am - and they're all free entry incidentally. It's definitely got GARLANDS-ESQUE sense of good-natured dress up fun and party potential, with entry refused unless you wear a hat. No need to fear either, if you are out and about and hat-less because they've flown in 10,000 hats from the UK to dish out to the unprepared, it's just a matter of WEARING them (personally I don't suit, guv). I mention them in connection with GARLANDS because those with memories of the Liverpool promoters early seasons of 2001, 2002 and 2003 will recall the amazing free fancy dress parties at the old KANYA where a thousand would turn up in dress for such themed events as, indeed, the HAT PARTY, CAMOUFLAGE and so on. The winner of best dress at one happening had stuck dozens of plastic Coca Cola bottles together and come as 'THE BIGGEST COKE HEAD ON THE ISLAND' (though it'd doubtful that could be true!). Meanwhile HAT CLUB will run weekly until September 18 th , with house music played by DJ's like SPACE resident JONATHAN ULYSSES, BORA BORA'S GORDON EDGE , plus residents FILTHY RICH, LEE GARRETT and MARK BUNN . Looking forward to seeing how it works out.
SAVANNAH'S BACK ROOM has a full weekly roster night events this summer. Free to enter and open until 6am , amongst others the cool clubbing-bar offers TOO DAMN GLAM on Thursdays, plus the interesting looking FAUNA IBIZA on Saturday nights. FAUNA features class DJs such as Ibiza legend PIPPI (yes, a real one, not a promotion of the same name), KING KENNEDY , plus guests like IBIZA LEGEND (the promotion one, but also a real one) BRANDON BLOCKO (they're installing a mattress behind the DJ booth as I write).
Following the installation of its huge new wooden deck terraces and the promenade at the SUNSET STRIP venue, the CAFÉ DEL MAR have now re-installed their distinctive flagpoles and blue and white sunshade drapes. The move is simple, yet it doesn't half look like the old CAFÉ DEL MAR once more, even if the high table-covered boardwalk has rather distanced the venue from the rocky beach below, lending an US- AND -THEM , rather than ALL -HERE-TOGETHER vibe about the bar (and whole beach for that matter.
VIVA bar, at the top of San An's WEST END , (formerly known as BEAVER BAR ), is owned and run by NATHAN SEAL , who recently left his senior post at EDEN to concentrate on the place. Since opening in may it's been rocking every night, with huge crowds of predominantly 'worker' types thronging the place, a factor no doubt influenced by the fact that they are allowed to purchase any drink or mix at the bargain price of 1.50 (knob-heads are kept at bay by being charged normal tourist prices). The compact outside street terrace is without doubt the new social hub of the area - a sort of down-market BASE BAR for San An, if you like! (And it's got a party crowd inside too).
It looked a simple enough plan - MICKY SLIM filming live parts of the video to his 'JUMP AROUND' (a HOUSE OF PAIN variation) single in the EDEN FUNKY ROOM during JUDGEMENT SUNDAY last night / this morning. People, umm, were jumping around in it, I imagine. But the filming wasn't the end of the jumping. MICKY (allegedly) got wasted, then bumped into someone and handbags were drawn. To be honest, it SMACKS (so to speak) of making a decent FIST (err, so to speak again) at getting some timely publicity in the UK tabloids for the release, but who knows, maybe he IS a bad boy after all.
EDEN has been having it right off most nights so far this season - I've seen the masses at JUDGEMENT, GATECRASHER and TWICE AS NICE to name but three. TWICE AS NICE moved over from ES PARADIS this year, and celebrated their 10 th YEAR on the island as a promoter with a huge party on June 28 th that featured impressive live performances from the likes of SO SOLID bad-boy and HARVEY , who were adored by the adoring sing-a-long female massive. The rivalry with the new URBAN themed LOVEDOUGH over the road at ES PARADIS has been intense (why not run on different nights?) but currently STEVE GORDON'S long established event seems to holding sway - helped by the masses of females the night draws, no doubt. As his slogan goes STYLISH & SEXY!
JUICY IBIZA - ROBBIE RIVERA'S DJ & label associated club event - opens at AMNESIA on Sunday 8 th of July (at last, a promotion that can confidently confirm that it's opening at the venue on a specific date), and running through until September 9 th , an extended season, expanding from last summer's debut six events. It's about electro-house, techno, and synth-rock, with DJ's like GABRIEL & DRESDEN (at the Opening Party), MARCO V, MARTIJN TEN VELDEN, ANTOINE CLAMARAN, SEB FONTAINE, RICHARD DINSDALE, ABEL Y RAUL, WILLIE MORALES and of course ROBBIE RIVERA as weekly resident alongside BRIAN CROSS .
With JUICY IBIZA being a record label related party event there's an accompanying CD album, of course, called 'THIS MUSIC IS JUICY' , though not necessarily dedicated to Ibiza it should be noted. There are 22 tracks by RIVERA and also producers including STEVE ANGELLO, FEDDE LE GRAND, DAVE SPOON, D RAMIREZ, RICHARD DINSDALE, GABRIEL & DRESDEN, BRIAN CROSS and MARK KNIGHT . Recent releases like 'FLOAT AWAY', 'INSANITY' and 'REPLAY THE NIGHT' feature alongside previously unreleased versions of ' EYES WIDE SHUT' and 'THE SHOUT' . There's also his variation on AHA's 'TAKE ME ON' - a track called 'TAKE ON ME' (which 80's pop fans will know was the second hook line of the original vocal).
HEY! You know all this news I'm relating is in fact GOSSIP , observation and personal opinion (plus occasional Press Release, but not too much) right? It's all; probably true, or close to it, though not necessarily FACT . So I'm always happy to be corrected. One previous minor error pointed out is that I suggested (ie: I'd been told by someone very close to the action) that ANDY TAYLOR of DURAN DURAN might well be one of the key characters in the MANUMISSION stage show this summer (this was prior to the event actually opening, I hasten to add). I was unfortunately wrongly advised - or there was maybe a late change of planned personal. Either way, the person playing the role of rock guitar-wielding BADDIE (opposite PACO FERNANDEZ'S flamenco guitar-strummed GOODIE - which I DID get right) is MANOLO DIAZ , "a staple of IBIZA GUITAR LIFE for many a moon", as my latest 'inside' advisor more accurately informs me. (Usually the term 'an insider said' means that the newspaper made it up and don't want to be asked to deliver an actual verifying source, however, when I use the word 'insider' rest assure I mean it.
OTHER CORRECTIONS WELCOMED - perhaps the fingers up the bottom story is fantasy, perhaps AFTER PARTIES are being EXPANDED next summer, perhaps CREAM will indeed OPEN THIS THURSDAY with EDDIE HALLIWELL at AMNESIA , and not the one after. Who knows, it's a ISLAND OF SURPRISES .
All text & photos cRR / NATIVEIBIZA - not to be used without permission
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