Classy clubbers in disappearing dancefloor drama!
IBIZA'S gone a bit funny this year. The punters insist on marking their 'bonky' credentials: body-painted Dutch teachers score ten. Brits in Union Jack shorts, one. The advertising for Pushca Meets Trade 'Very sexy, very London' has been appropriated as a term of abuse: ''What do you think of my glitter pants?'', ''Oh they're very sexy, very London dear!"
Comforting, then, to find that Renaissance is still going strong, three years since it last held a UK residency. So they're promoting one-nighters in Clacton-On-Sea to no more than 100 punters? Don't let that fool you. According to Geoff and Jo Renaissance, it's all part of the master plan and a quick stroll into Pacha, Ibiza's only year-round venue (est. 1973, no less) will show you that their plan's unfolding rather nicely.
The watchwords of Renaissance at Pacha are 'quality' and 'attention to detail'. A team of ten worked round the clock to prepare the venue for last week's opening (featuring an awesome six-hour set from Frankie Knuckles, his first date in Ibiza for three years), and their efforts have paid off, albeit in the languid sofa setting of the Spanish bar, the breezy terrace of the last roof- top bar in Ibiza (swaying to the laid back beats of DJ Dave Chambers) or the intimate intensity of the back room.
Though Pacha is a top venue, the complex of hidden bars and dancefloors confuse many a club cabbage: "Have you seen the dancefloor? I'm sure it was here a minute ago..." But the Renaissance designers have retained the disorienting maze of chill-out rooms and candle-lit watering holes, while concentrating the club's focus on the central dancefloor. It works a treat.
With tonight's rival opening of Clockwork Orange at Es Paradis, Renaissance takes a little while to get going, but by 3am it's rammed and Ibiza's own DJ Pippi (the most influential Spanish DJ on the island, claims Geoff) is embroiled in a set of four-to-the-floor house and infectious rolling breaks. Fathers Of Sound keep the funk flowing before Dave Seaman stiffens the basslines with an industrial sound that's hard enough to persuade a pair of
Euro-bonky Germans to start tapping away with their Converse trainers.
But don't let that put you off because Renaissance's cosmopolitan crowd is a feature not a flaw and it's unlike any other on the island: Spaniards, Italians, French and Dutch rub shoulders with the best-dressed Brits. This is partly a result of Pacha's reputation among the locals but it also represents payback for the international tours and promotion the team have put in over the last three years.
Renaissance are looking to have their new English home a Grade II listed building in Nottingham, that's just waiting on a liquor license open for January 1999. The way Geoff Oakes sees it, "England deserves a venue with Pacha's quality." And he's the man to deliver it.
Renaissance
July 1st,
Pacha, Ibiza
DJs: Dave Seaman, Fathers Of Sound, DJ Pippi
Top Tune: David Morales pres. The Face, 'Needin' U' (Azuli)
Crowd: Bigger, better, bonkier
Happiness: Dave Chambers' chilled noodling on the roof terrace
Sadness: Four squids for dodgy orange juice? No thanks
Disco verdict: Quality and quantity MMM
August dates: Roger Sanchez, Dave Seaman (5th), Joe T Vanelli, Fathers Of Sound (12th), Jon 'Pleased' Wimmin, Judge Jules (19th), Graeme Park, Andry Nalin (26th)
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