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| Maison - The
Showbar |
Date:
Saturday 8th November 2003
Address: The Showbar, Bournemouth Pier, Pier
Approach, Bournemouth,
Dorset
Occurrence:
Fortnightly
Hours:
9.30pm - 3am
Ticket Price:
£9
Genre: House
Dress Code: N/A
Capacity:
TBC |
| Line-Up: Cliff
Lay (5 Hr Set) |
I don’t think
even Cliff Lay himself would argue too much if I
said that on paper, this wasn’t the most startlingly
‘must see’ event Maison has put on this
year. What started as a little mouse in the world
of House has quietly amassed huge acclaim and can
now boast one of the most consistently quality DJ
line ups in the country. If we trace a role-call
back through the calendar it would read like a checklist
of British talent, and this was confirmed when DJ
Magazine announced that Maison would be short-listed
for ‘Best Club in the South’ in this
year’s roll of honour. The mouse has well
and truly donned his best velvet suit and shades,
and now salsa’s with clubbing’s coolest
cats. This month, however, it fell on the decidedly
mouse-like shoulders of the club’s co-promoter
to provide a whole night’s worth of entertainment,
and satisfy a crowd that now quite rightly expects
only the very best from a chilly Saturday night
by the pier. What Lay proved was that no matter
how big the names are that grace the decks from
time to time, it is a quality resident that not
only acts as the foundation to a successful club
night, but also sets the tone for the whole music
policy behind it.
What is so brilliant about this fortnightly event
- and crucial to it’s success - is that the
music has always remained the most important factor.
It may not be the biggest, or the best venue in
the country, but it is cool, intimate, and unique
enough to capture the funky fun that is the spirit
of Maison, and keep it firmly rated above it’s
tiring and obese Dorset competitor, Slinky, despite
being a third of the size and lacking all of the
dangling sparkly things and lasers. And Lay turned
on a fantastic display, that left the punters (oh,
sorry, did I call those pseudo-classy Bournemouth
types punters? I meant to say well dressed disco
connoisseurs) salivating for more. It was (without
sounding too gooey) a text-book night out. The club
was quieter than normal, but still brimming with
energy, and Lay took the mood in a number of directions
– starting deep, moving to progressive, and
building up to a pumping, jacked-up crescendo, with
a spattering of well chosen crowd pleasers from
the likes of Kelis, Chemical Brothers, and Prince
thrown in for good measure. There literally was
not a dull tune in the whole 5 hour set.
A few may be disappointed by the 3am eviction time
when compared to some of the Capital’s venues,
or those oop north, but it was a refreshing change
for this adopted Londoner to go back to his home
town and actually quit a night out while he was
ahead for once. There was not a walking corpse,
lunatic reprobate, or shivering trout in sight at
the close of play, and we walked out with fitness
levels high, and brains bulging with short, sweet
memories (ok, I’m elaborating, but it was
an improvement on the traditional spirit-crushing
end of night shuffle). In fact, everything about
Maison says less is more. It’s a small venue,
a short night, but like an a-la-carte dish, that’s
what makes it taste so good (although I don’t
condone a-la-carte meals – they’re a
ridiculous waste of money). And it was epitomised
by resident mouse Cliff Lay, who will surely emerge
from beneath the shadow of his creation, and hopefully
at the same meteoric rate. Oh, to witness him donning
his own velvet suit and shades, dancing a mincing
waltz with the A-list DJ Cats would be a sight indeed. |
Venue: 8
Music: 10
Crowd: 9
Sound System: 8
Total: 35 / 40
Rating: Gold Award |
| Review written by:
Antony Ireland |
anthony@uk-cl.co.uk |
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