Clubnight review: Shade: A Night of Vogue
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Opening nights for any club night can be difficult. Getting the right acts, attracting a decent crowd and actually making sure it all runs smoothly isn’t always easy. But, for Shade and all involved, it’s fair to say the opening night was a resounding success.
With the unconventional and intimate Bakery Warehouse as its setting, we were promised a modern club-infused take on Vogue - the energetic contemporary house dance originating from the LGBT community in Harlem. Taking on a theme as stylized and flamboyant as this was perhaps a brave move for a club night taking its first steps, but the lads at Shade put in the effort in all areas to make sure it worked.
Upon entrance to the main room and its strikingly vibrant hand-made décor, we were greeted by the sound of classic vogue tunes and disco (courtesy of Theo Temple) playing over the award-winning 1990 vogue documentary Paris is Burning. The scene and premise of a great night was instantly set and, before there were even 10 people on the floor in the main room, there was already a pretty unique and tangible atmosphere building.
(The Bakery Warehouse's main room)
As the buzz about the place increased and the first set came to a close, twin-duo Fizzy Milk took over the reins with an infusion of house and poppy old-school party vibes. As they came to their close, it quickly became evident that the Bakery Warehouse had filled up fast and proper. For a venue that has such a feel of intimacy, I was pleasantly surprised how many people it could take upstairs and down without at all feeling too overcrowded.
By the time main organisers TMOG and Miyabi (Links to their Soundcloud profiles HERE and HERE) took over for their B2B, the place was already buzzing. But, with their raucous mix of vogue, jersey club and grime, they took things up a further gear and brought downstairs to a boil for over an hour. It was a tirelessly high-powered set full of some massive grime bootlegs and some never-heard-before remixes of Madonna’s Vogue and Bring in the Katz. And with the backing-visuals draping the wall behind them with clips of the true kings and queens of the original Harlem scene that inspired the night, they even managed to get a few people full-on-voguing.
The evening continued in a similar vein as Manchester-based Grizzle closed the night. By this stage, things for me had unfortunately descended into an irretrievable haze, but I’m assured by all that he smashed it too.
We were promised a modern club-infused take on vogue. But, at only a fiver entry (with all profits going to charity), we got much much more. With no official cameraman in sight, the night was a massively refreshing step away from Liverpool’s more mainstream dance scene into the vivacious underground world of Vogue. Shade not only illuminated the potential of a unique and new up-and-coming Liverpool club night, but also emphasised the value of independent underground venues like The Bakery Warehouse.
Good music, the perfect setting, and a great opening night – hoping there’s more to come from the boys at Shade.