The Xtasia Phukt 2 event, will probably be the clubbing event of the year, if the guest list and the last one is anything to go by, and Xtasia is, we will say better than good, when its got a good crowd, we would say it's amazing.
There are some clear demographics in the make up of types of people who go to clubs on the scene and while there is a huge percentage of people who find music and dancing being integral to their night out (And we count ourselves among those) there is easily an equal number where that is really not important to them at all.
And even though we personally still rate Xtasia higher than some of the other clubs in the area, alot of people on our team prefer Chams, and who are we to disagree with them? (Our number one choice, is not their number one choice) that's what they like. Some of them, like both clubs equally and it just depends what their in the mood for at the time, it changes. Alot of people came to swinging through the rave scene, so those people will love this kind of event, but alot of people didn't come via that route at all.
We just did the CLUBS vote again with the team for the top 5 clubs in the UK, we've done this three years running now, and Xtasia has always been in the top 5, it was number 4 in 2011 (joint with Infusions)but everyone who reviewed it said it needed changes. Fortunately Paul and Flirt were looking out for the bat signal and arrived to take over and in our view, massively improved the club in every way they could, and still continue to do so.
In 2012, it was still 4th place, this time joint with Abfabs.
In 2013, it was joint 2nd place, this time with Atlantis.
The big leap in votes was because almost everyone on the team made a point of going back to the club to see the changes, and some on the team who had never been decided to give it a go for the first time, so about 80% went to this particular club. A couple of people didn't like it (They didnt hate it, it just wasn't for them) but mostly the praise was universal.
Its probably more accurate however to say that the 'Phukt 2' event is the thing that is the most talked about on the scene, which Xtasia happens to be hosting, and this event is drawing in large numbers, proving that there is a large crowd who want good music, not just good sex. Also credit has to go to the organisers of this event, and not just the club itself. Those people who went to the last one will remember quite clearly how much of an effort the organisers actually made to move around and socialise with people. This is really key. (Ie, NOT, thanks for coming, cheers for the cash, fuck off)
Any club is only as good as the people who attend, and Xtasias one weakness, if it has any, is it does need a good number through the door to look busy because unlike most venues, it has alot of space to fill. A club with alot of space however is NOT a negative thing, we predict the scene will grow and grow, and there will be more music orientated events on the scene of this type.
We have no doubt Xtasia will continue to be sucessful and Paul and Flirt, who are amazing hosts (All the best clubs are run by amazing hosts) will continue to work hard to make it even better.
But any list including ours is subjective. Not everyone on our team can go to every club in the country, but we make a point of making them go to clubs they wouldn't go to normally and we dont let them review their own local club either for obvious reasons of bias. No club is ever the best for everyone. If you took a different 50 plus people to vote for their top 5 clubs, you would have a different running order every time and certainly while we are willing to bet that some of the clubs would be in the top 5, that in our top 5, we very much doubt that they would be in the same order.
The good thing is that alot of the best clubs in the UK are now all striving really hard to be better, you only have to look at the number of changes overall at the main contenders in the last 5 years. Chams, VA, Liberty, Atlantis, Club F, Tease II, Infusions, LC, to name but some have all made improvements and changes to their venues. This is nothing but a good thing for the scene, long may that continue.
For anyone thinking of opening one, aim high with your standards, or it simply isn't worth your effort at all.
Of one thing, there can be NO DOUBT - We know the event on Saturday, will like the last one, be something that will go down in swinging history. |