26/09/08: Wonderland Closing @ Eden

Whaddya mean Wonderland is closing? Wasn’t it only yesterday Miss W was speculating about Eden’s revamp (ummm, amazing), whether the club would pull any punters (wellllll, just a few consistent thousand week in, week out) and whether or not the night would be a success (err, no brainer really)? And here we are, celebrating the closing already…

Why is it that we celebrate a closing party anyway? Miss W thinks it should be like a mourning ceremony, given the fact we have to wait another whole eight months before we can experience it again!

But it would be rude of me to let my sadness spoil the party spirirt so it was off to Eden for one last time this summer to say farewell to Pete Tong, Groove Armada, Jo Mills and co at the end of their hugely successful debut season of Wonderland.

Feeling a little bit apprehensive, I entered through the hallowed VIP entrance – something that’s become a bit of a ritual over the last three months – to the sounds of Rob Marmot filling the main room. Considering the hype this party’s received over the last few days, I was surprised to see the dance floor looking sparse, but perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that Pete and Jo were both playing a free pre-party just up the road at Kanya, where many clubbers were eagerly getting a first taste of what was to come.

My prediction soon proved to be correct as the room filled up fast – just in time for Groove Armada’s first set of the evening. That’s right folks, Andy and Tom just can’t seem to get enough of Wonderland and thus two set times were in place – once in the main room and again later in their own room, The Lovebox. Belting out the rave-esque sets Miss W has come to look forward to each Friday one last time…

Upstairs in The Looking Glass it seemed it was resident’s rules, as Jo Mills and Tomas Hedberg DJed back to back for four solid house-flavoured hours, throwing in a few new tracks of their own creation – expect to hear more on this as the year progresses.

And of course, at the end of the night, it was all down to one Mr Tong to wrap up the ceremonies to the thrill of the heaving crowd – saying sayonara to the burlesque dancers, the incredible LCD screens and globe displays, the oversized W-shaped chairs and everything else that made Wonderland the success of the season. I’m sure I heard Miss W’s mentioned in the thank you speech at least once…

THE LOWDOWN
THE GOOD: The man of the hour, day, week, month and year, Pete Tong was spotted doing the rounds of each room, giving the nod to his faithful residents, much-loved guests and the behind-the scenes crew that make a good night like Wonderland come together – just the way it should be.
THE BAD: Outside at the entrance there was a striking Flamenco dancer doing her thing atop one of the oversized W chairs when sadly, one of the neighbours (yes, nightclubs do indeed have neighbours) complained about the noise of her stamping her feet. Oh come on neighbours… it was the last time this year, give the girl a break!
THE GOSSIP: The vodka was free-flowing tonight though it seemed the bar staff were not too happy about the number of drinks tickets coming across the bar, choosing to serve paying customers over the VIP invited guests. Miss W hears this even resulted in certain staff members being dismissed on the night. Come on girls, surely a measly tip or two wasn’t worth the hassle?