IBIZA NEWS - Sunday June 10th 2007
IBIZA NEWS ARCHIVE
IBIZA OPENS WITHOUT AMNESIA, BORA BORA & DC10
Blimey, AMNESIA doesn't open until the 16 th of June, yet it's apparently being forced to close for a month (from the 11 th of June) due to alleged misdemeanours of a couple of years ago, supposedly not being forceful enough in preventing the use of certain substances around the premises - all this according to the local daily newspapers. It's a hazy situation that will become clearer during coming days.
Worse still, other famous manic dance locations - BORA BORA beach bar in PLAYA D'EN BOSSA and DC10 on the SALINAS road, are said to be being shut down for TWO MONTHS . both having only opened during the preceding week of the threatened ban. Mind you, when contacted, OLIVER LANG - one of the four resident DJs at BORA BORA said 'It's all total bollocks' when asked if the ban was true. Fellow BB DJ GORDON EDGE was rather less certain saying, 'well, I'm here, the place is rocking as always, err. all I know is people keep phoning me up to ask if we've been closed. We haven't, but might we?' If they are to be - and the venues have been on previous occasions - BORA BORA losing the last month of its' season three years ago for example - two of the most world-famous island attractions will lose half of their summer trading period, while Ibiza will lose countless thousands of tourist euros as planned trips are abandoned. Whether such concerns will bother the new ruling left-wing PP party, who wrestled control of the island after local elections two weeks earlier, remains to be seen. They were the party who lost power four years earlier following the spectacular unpopularity of their imposition of a daily ECO TAX on all tourists, forcing hotels to charge customers an extra 1.50 euros (or so) during every single day of their stay. Irate scenes at hotel receptions were common (as, for example, a family of four faced having to hand over an extra 42 EUROS, PER WEEK , upon their Ibiza arrival). This calamitous event is inevitably damaging to the island's perceived image and reputation in at least two opposing ways. Firstly by making open international publicity about an apparent drug access problem on the one hand, then further compounding the negative effect by causing the huge number of people who do visit the island FOR its clubbing - the major industry around all else revolves, and feeds off - to rethink their plans. So is this, as many suggest, and early flexing of muscles by the PP party, a warning to all at the start of the season to get tougher and better control what takes place in and around their premises? Short, sharp, severe shock? Hmm, if so, going to war on three of the main attractions of a tiny tourist island, which lives almost entirely off its holidaying visitors, seems to be a strange way to kick off a fresh summer season. Hearsay reckons that court appeals will hurriedly take place on June 12 th in order to try to overturn the bans. Most wouldn't be surprised if large fines are dished out to the guilty, as a compromise - with strong message now delivered forcefully. Or perhaps all will have their 'sentences' reduced by half, leaving AMNESIA to open on time next Saturday, but the others left with a four week ban, meaning they would lose 25% rather than 50% of their seasons? It's a theory. In the meantime - with the shock rumours of closure already spreading across Europe, particularly in the UK where 50% of tourists still come from - many are already claiming to have cancelled their plans to visit on social internet posting boards. By Saturday 9 th of June a petition had spread like wildfire across the island, with the signatories requesting that the threatened closure of AMNESIA be stopped. From bars in San Antonio to the Opening Party of the newly christened DIVA venue in PLAYA D'EN BOSSA it was difficult to find someone who had not already, readily, signed it. Another solution suggested is for CREAM and COCOON - as innocent parties - and for whom thousands of tourists have bought tickets already, and indeed holidays, based around their opening dates, be allowed to take place, with the other nights - AMNESIA'S own - not opening. In a worst case scenario, because the ban was imposed some days before it became public, the timing means that CREAM would - in the event of things staying in place, a ban - lose their first two parties, not four. JASON BYE - The long-time resident DJ for WE LOVE at SPACE , and former CAFE MAMBO and AMNESIA resident DJ back in the mid 90's, is again playing weekends at MAMBO and SPACE this year, but additionally showcasing the new ROCK act project that he's been working on for the past couple of years. His debut gig was at the newly named OPIUM in the WEST END of SAN ANTONIO on June 10 th . The bar is the former CHEERS / YATES' clubbing-bar premises, now overhauled to be 'UPTOWN' in approach, though one of the people behind it reckon it's more 'MIDTOWN' - a sort of middle-way between the new-style thinking behind the Uptown idea, and the classic WEST END style of the DOWNTOWN old style disco-bars. OPIUM actually holds its OFFICIAL OPENING PARTY the night AFTER Jason performs as rock, and will indeed have him in his DJ persona as one of the GUEST STAR ATTACTIONS, alongside ANDY WARBURTON , the ex MAMBO-SAVANNAH-SUGARSEA resident of six years standing, who's now one of the globetrotting HED KANDI DJ team, plus MISS BISTO. OPIUM is aiming to go very much for that fun funky house vibe, to initially attract the girls - "They don't want it all twisted-electro-dirt" says entertainments manager-resident DJ STUART B . "They've always liked it fun and funky and that's what I'm gonna give them - a real good time." Bootiful Stuart, eh. booty-full. The UPTOWN idea in the WEST END of San An was pioneered by PLASTIK and other clubbing-bars like HUSH have subsequently emerged, to huge success. However, the original has surprisingly now moved out of the area altogether and relocated in the Kenya bar, near to EDEN and ES PARADIS . It's a move forced upon them by planned redevelopment of the old location min c/ San Antonio . Next summer they plan to be back at PLASTIK proper, though fully intend to retain the new, more spacious, premises, calling it the PLASTIK VELVET LOUNGE. Like 2006 season BAR M in San Antonio - the beachside clubbing-bar co-owned by MANUMISSION - is once more the location for live ROCK gigs performed by many of the leading lights of the UK scene. THE VIEW kick it all off on June 19 th followed by French female outfit CSS ( CANSEI DE SER SEXY) arrive on 10 th July. A busy flurry sees KASABIAN perform on two consecutive nights on 16 th and 17 th of July, followed by LCD SOUNDSYSTEM the next evening on July 18 th . THE ENEMY invade on July 31 st , wild MIKA returns for a second season on 7 th of August, ARCTIC MONKEYS deliver on September 1 st , the FRATELLIS on 3 rd and 4 th of September, while RADIO 1 DJ ZANE LOWE is on hand regularly. There are support acts - up and coming bands - chosen by Dr Martens and their FREEDM2 brand, in what is one of a number of sponsorships. Perhaps surprisingly, perhaps unsurprisingly, CHANNEL 4 are coming back to film an eight-part IBIZA ROCKS series, following last years efforts which were good on live performances, but somewhat lacking during the banal fly-on-the-wall interludes, which presumably were meant to be funny and enlightening, but instead proved embarrassing to all concerned. Who can forget the closing scenes of the opening programme (and we'd like to forget them, believe me), where a sound check roadie, apparently anguished by the DIRTY PRETTY THINGS being 30 minutes late for a sound check (in Ibiza) barks "Where the f**k are they? I don't DO late, I'm outta here." (As if), while over on the 'tour bus' (presumably for this extensive gigging sojourn around an island about 10 miles by 20 miles in length) a DIRTY PRETTY THING member takes a crap, allowing the bus driver to say "this whole thing stinks" as the credits roll. Makes IBIZA UNCOVERED look like a night of Shakespeare at Stratford-Upon-Avon . IBIZA ROCKS is apparently to gain an AFTER PARTY in the PACHA GLOBAL ROOM during PURE PACHA , the PETE TONG fronted event on Friday nights. Just what this means is unclear. like, do the bands play again? Do they turn up, drink a lot, and hope to get snapped by the Paps for endless coverage in UK celeb mags, perhaps replacing some of the acres of coverage devoted to actress LINDSAY LOHAN and waste-of-space PARIS HILTON in the free evening newspaper deluge each day? Or will is mostly mean that the publicly funded, non-advertising national BBC RADIO stations will get to say the key words SONY ERICSSON , MANUMISSION and IBIZA ROCKS at PACHA an awful lot, for free, for most of the summer months? You decide. DIVA OPENING PARTY in PLAYA D'EN BOSSA took place on the 9 th of June. The new name for the former KISS, SOMNY, LOVE venue, which is now, perhaps surprisingly, owned by a SAN ANTONIO teaming that involves WILLIE , co-owner of BAR M , and various EDEN people. Bar M opened its' SKYLIGHT (upstairs) roof terrace for the season on the same night and then provided a free bus ferry from San An over to DIVA for anyone wishing to check it out. Various Manumission characters were to be seen at the new premises (newly named and owned, it has long existed at KISS of course. No surprise to see MANUMISSION characters - the Bolton Mafioso some might say - out in some force at the DIVA launch event because it transpires that Manu have settled upon the premises for their new Saturday morning AFTER PARTY following Manumission at PRIVILEGE the night before (I say the night before, but of course I mean the preceding 6-8 hours, technically). This would appear to point to a niche positioning for the large two musical-roomed venue as a morning destination, feeding off other major events as SPACE once used to before it moved more towards night parties. The DIRTY ROTTEN DJs duo - THE NORTHERN MONKEY (aka GARY ) and SHMINKY DJ (aka DEAN ) - have been holding their DIRTY ROTTEN SLUT parties in both KANYA and BEVERLY'S - the German swingers club in San An Bay since early May and been causing mayhem. The boys recently opted to depart their residencies at both MANUMISSION (where they were resident in the basement ladies toilets for six years) and BAR M , the San Antonio bar co-owned by MANUMISSION and home to the IBIZA ROCKS events. MARCO LOCO - SMALL MARCO has been installed as the new MANU toilet DJ, with his DA SENDRI partner. Another new party destined to head in there for an AFTER PARTY is LA TROYA - the HOME OF LA TROYA version of BRASILIO - on the Thursday morning following their night event at SPACE . A strange one, given the close proximity of the rival venues, which you would assume will become increasingly competitive. With the apparent closure of DC10 all but confirmed, DIVA might well prove to be a temporary home for the likes of CIRCO LOCO . who knows? After all Philadelphia's JOSH WINK is on board to DJ at half a dozen dates at CIRCO and has committed to being based in Spain for the summer so he will want to play somewhere in the area! GARLANDS , the Liverpool originated club event who've been at EDEN in San Antonio for the past five seasons, are opening a second party front at DIVA which they are referring to as GAYLANDS , which clearly aims for a different crowd that the San An event, those well suited to a more cosmopolitan mix of people quite close to the Figuretas area that houses many visiting gay people. It'll be more camp, closer in sprit to the Liverpool parties, which are indeed gay-mixed-friendly happenings. GAYLANDS takes place each Tuesday night, while GARLANDS remains a Wednesday night affair. Another newly named and controlled venue - HEAVEN IBIZA - is to become an outpost of the famous London venue that has lurked in the arches beneath Charring Cross railways terminal. For the past three decades. The place formerly known as PENELOPE'S was closed last year, after a season controlled by a major club organisation from southern Spain . Before that it was known as ANGEL EL CEL , under the direction of a different owner. Whether the London gay-oriented organisation can succeed where others have failed remains to be seen, but as always, it'll be a tough fight for such a large venue situated in the short distance between EL DIVINO and PACHA. One new UK promotion confirmed for the place is FEDERATION and a moderate refurbishment will be unveiled at a June 26 th launch party, though HEAVEN promised a more major redevelopment next in time for summer. London record label AZULI , not content with the success of CLUB AZULI which has moved from EL DIVINO to SPACE on Friday nights this season, have opened BAR AZULI in the port area of IBIZA TOWN . It's located close to the beginning of C/ DE LA VIRGEN , just as it turns into C/ DE ES PASSADIS. a a quite large interior has been hewn - like most premises in this area - out of the rocky cliff face. There's also an outdoor terrace and quite a few AZULI -related DJ talents are expected to pop in a play throughout the summer. Meanwhile, at SPACE the main CLUB AZULI event will take place at night time on FRIDAYS , on the original covered and newly constructed lounge TERRACES , and be reached via the second club entrance which now divides the old and the new developments. The original door will be utilised for access to LA COMUNIDAD - the local island promotion of PEPO LANZONI , the DJ whose family are behind the JOCKEY beach bar at CALA SALINAS , and who once turned BLUE MARLI N at CALA JONDAL into the cool clubbing destination it morphed into when they took possession and developed it as JOCKEY ON THE BEACH (it later reverted to the former name as new owners took over. Going back to the joint SPACE event between LA COMUNIDAD and CLUB AZULI , despite the separate entrances the whole venue will be accessible to all once inside and pricing policies at both are identical. CLUB AZULI line-ups for their house-to-techy-beats even at SPACE from July 6 th include label boss DAVE PICCIONI as weekly resident, plus JO MILLS a regular. Guests include SLAM, JOHN DAHLBACK, X-PRESS 2, SEAN BROSNAN, SEBASTIAN LEGER, DIRTY SOUTH, JOHN DAHLBACK, THOMAS SCHUMAKER, FRANCOIS K, PAOLO MARTINI, KURD MAVERICK, CHRIS LAKE , FEDDE LE GRAND, ALAN BRAXE & KRIS MENACE, TOM STEPHAN, KAMISSHAKE, AME , AUDIOFLY and TIM ANDRESEN Another UK label-related club event to move into SPACE from another venue (in this case PRIVILEGE ) is XTRAVAGANZA , having swapped THURSDAYS with more minimal-ish event MONZA , which went the other way, FROM SPACE INTO PRIVILEGE . Like so many events at the ever-expanding (both in physical size and in terms of event breadth) SPACE, ALEX GOLD 'S XTRAVA is sharing the venue with German promotion SPIN CLUB , who occupy the original (now covered) TERRACE , with ALEX & CO in the interior DISCOTECA. ISSDAFUNK are at EL DIVINO in Ibiza Town this summer, following their successful introduction to the island last year as a hurriedly arranged, last-gasp promotion at the then brand new interior clubbing space inside KANYA . Once it was confirmed that MANUMISSION had switched from Mondays to Fridays ROB TISSERA swooped to install his event on the newly vacant night. This year however they are taking place on Tuesday nights. KANYA , having lost the successful KISSDAFUNK event, have nevertheless been inspired to push other all night parties at their venue. FERGIE has come for a Monday slot for sunset from 9pm -11pm. Tuesdays alternate, one week STEREO PHUNK , the next MIAMI CALLING . London 's GALLERY are bringing a lot of olde tyme Ibiza regulars back for a classics night on Wednesdays in THE GALLERY presents IBIZA LEGENDS. Talent confirmed includes BRANDON BLOCK, JOHN KELLY, DANIELE DAVOLI, GUY ORNADEL, K-KLASS, ALISTER WHITEHEAD, ALEX P, TALL PAUL, GRAHAM GOLD , LISA LOUD , JON PLEASED WIMMIN and JOHN OO FLEMING. GAVYN MYTCHEL is the weekly resident. O n Fridays, when there's a MADE IN ITALY pre-party for the Italian night at AMNESIA, followed by DIRTY LITTLE FUNKERS from BCM , Mallorca . MISS MONEYPENNY'S bring one of their MINI MONEYPENNY'S ideas, this time called DISTORTED DISCO , on alternative Saturdays, with GLITZ on the other week. CREAM hold huge pre-parties each Thursday, as does JUDGE JULES' for JUDGEMENT SUNDAY on Sundays. MONARCH AIRWAYS have painted the exterior of a number of their planes with illustrations in the style of the famous HED KANDI album cover artwork. Naturally it has much to do with a sponsorship deal for the Saturday night parties being held at EL DIVINO once more this year June 10 th also saw a SUNSET launch party for the latest HED KANDI SERVE CHILLED compilation, with former CAFÉ MAMBO DJ resident ANDY WARBURTON return to the bar where he spent three years playing just such chilled delights from 1998 to 2000. The Serve Chilled CD's were compiled by Andy along with fellow ex-Mambo DJ JIM BREESE , and overseen by PHIL FAVERSHAM. Has there ever been a party like SPACE OPENING on Sunday June 3 rd ? Well, certainly not in Ibiza - it was huge, with over 20,000 reported to have passed through the doors (and I wouldn't doubt it for a second, the specially expanded venue was rammed throughout its 22 hours opening period. I'd like to list some highlights, but, well, so many DJs, in so many different musical areas, who can decide out of CARL COX , DEEP DISH , DANNY TENAGLIA, STEVE LAWLER, JOHN DIGWEED, DJ OLIVER, TOM NOVY, SMOKIN JO, J LOUIS & LORDEE, ABEL RIBALLO & KID CHRIS, BRUNO FROM IBIZA, CAMILO FRANCO, CARLOS SENSE, DAVID AMO, DAVID MORENO, DAVID SANCHEZ, DJ ANDREW, DJ MIKKI, PEPO LANZONI, VILLENEUVE, DUMB BLONDE, DYED SOUNDROOM, ELIO RISO, HOFER 66, IGOR MARIJUAN, JAVA, JAVI CANNUS, JAVI MUÑOZ, JOHN TAYLOR, JON ULYSSES, JONATHAN TENA, JUAN GOMEZ, JUAN RIBAS, JULIO NAVAS, MADAME TINA, NIMA GORJI, OSCAR CANO, OSCAR COLORADO, PLASTIK FUNK, RECHE, SASHA-PATE NR. 1, SIN PLOMO, SUSSO, TERRY, TOMAS HEDBERG, TOMMY VEE, TONI MORENO, VALENTIN HUEDO, VOODOO & SERANO. SPACE also unveiled ANOTHER NEW PERMANENT TERRACE , to the side of the original one. MILK'N'2 SUGARS return to EL DIVINO but with a new slot - Mondays, a night they preferred after seeing a PLAYBOY tagged event ram it in last summer. Talent includes FEDDE LE GRAND, KERRI CHANDLER, TONY HUMPHRIES, TODD TERRY, CJ MACKINTOSH, JOEY NEGRO and BODYROCKS playing classic US House sounds JOSE PADILLA is DJing and promoting his own weekly event called BAR ZIL at glamorous ATZARO in SANTA EULARIA from July. He says it's all centred around BRAZILIAN rhythm and music styles, which are far more varied than simply BOSSA NOVA and SAMBA . It's a first ever promotion for JOSE and actually his first proper residency sine he departed CAFÉ DEL BAR almost a decade ago, so it's something special. Mind you, he did have a brief weekly residency at CAFÉ MAMBO after leaving the CAFÉ , though left abruptly when asked by a member of staff to 'pump it up' in preparation for the arrival of JUDGE JULES, who was to follow him with a pre-party. His CAFÉ SOLO vol 2 compilation is out on Resist this month. THE NEW SAN ANTONIO PROMENADE has arrived after years of threats to do so. It snakes around the northern and western facing rocky coastline from the port and ferry area around to the SUNSET STRIP musical bar area, blitzing through the terraces of SUGARSEA, SAVANNAH, the CAFÉ DEL MAR , CAFÉ MAMBO and REY DE COPAS , then forges onwards across the stretch of wasteland to COASTLINE, SUNSEA, KANYA, KASBAR and into CALO DES MORO , where a bunch of new palm trees have been planted. It's proved an instant hit with the crowds, with all bars benefiting from easier access. The look of the sunset strip bars has altered, with REY DE COPAS suffering least, in fact gaining area and losing nothing. SUGARSEA loses it whole walled Terrace and in face isn't really a bar anymore, so appears to have been absorbed into neighbouring SAVANNAH , though has gained an enormous wooden deck extension for tables out front. SAVANNAH lost all of its' concrete terrace down to the sea, which has been chipped away so that the original rocks are again exposed. Like all the bars it has gained a long wooden platform though. Adjacent CAFÉ DEL MAR lost nothing, since it only utilised the original promenade as a narrow Terrace of small tables, but has now gained a huge stretch of 3-table deep decking the length of three bars (the semi-derelict building next door, plus in front of the car parking on the far side. Meanwhile MAMBO is different, yet much as ever - busy. There are a series of large NEW PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES over the new highway from Ibiza Town to San An - however, the wheelchair-friendly walk required to go up, across and down on the other side, is certain to mean that most will still prefer to run across the road, especially at the one near AMNESIA , despite an elaborate barrier having been instructed so as to virtually force people to use it. That's if AMNESIA opens of course. The new BUS TERMINAL has opened in San An, now situated near THE EGG roundabout, part of the pan to semi-pedestrian-ise most of the port front area, by driving traffic around the back of the town along the recently built new road system. MATCH BAR IBIZA , part of the London Match bar organisation, has opened in the old K-UBE premises on the Ibiza Town port front, complete with Chesterfield couches and other assorted furnishings in an eclectic mix on the large outdoor terrace.. Both PETE TONG and CARL COX have publicity posters and adverts using playing card imagery, and proclaiming each the KING OF CLUBS . Oops.
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