The great chamber that is Privilege has seen a lot in its time, but last night's SupermartXé still caused a stir among the rafters. Although the show proper was not due to start until 3am, the main room was already heaving when I arrived an hour prior. And when I say heaving I quite literally mean heaving, the floor above the inside pool visibly sagging under the weight of hoards of frenzied part-goers moshing like pogo sticks to their favourite commercial house anthems.
I advise EDM purists to leave your musical prejudices at home - this night is about the spectacle and the sing-a-long, and SupermartXé does both rather well. With that in mind I amiably nodded along to Calvin Harris, Flo Rida and Gotye, but couldn't quite bring myself to join into the chorus of Swedish House Mafia. The crowd around me, meanwhile, was as enthusiastic as they come, the gay-friendly night bringing with it some adventurous outfits, energetic dance moves and many a manicured brow-line.
The show began with an aerial ribbon performer and his female accomplice; a captivated crowd watched as he twisted and tugged his way up and down the red satin cascading from the roof, whilst we were officially welcomed by a man in a tight pencil skirt, clown-style blouse and a peroxide victory roll atop his head, by way of garnish. Then the aerial acrobat and main curtain dropped simultaneously - to great dramatic effect - revealing a dazzling red stage decked out in Moulin Rouge theme, complete with a windmill centrepiece and provocatively posed ‘creatures of the night' in a less is more approach to costuming (with the exception of decadently bejeweled groins and headdresses feathered with the wings of a thousand fowls).
Singer, Nalaya, strutted to the fore-stage with ferocious back up dancers in tow and gave French her best shot, busting out the Lady Marmalade chorus peppered with some unfortunate beat-boxing attempts. The almost-beat-boxing belter had some kind of giant beaver attached to the back of her head which I can only assume was masquerading unsuccessfully as hair, but otherwise seemed extremely comfortable on stage and riled the audience into a frenzy with her throaty roars. From here my eyes were dazzled with lasers, feathers, fire, jewels, muscles, more muscles, sequin-covered man-parts and almost-naked ladies with really, really huge…er… hair. Creature after sparkling creature tottered out to the front and undulated for his or her fifteen minutes of fame, whilst the music alternated between radio house classics and take-no-prisoners bass drops.
Other highlights included the cheeky lasses expertly splashing their way around two giant cocktail glasses - to the delight of the bodies underneath (swiftly followed by dismay as their eagerly extended camera phones were drenched by a sassy flick of the ankle). Nalaya also returned for an extended set, cementing her position as the reigning Queen of Hype and casually spitting out uber high notes like they were watermelon seeds. With the exception of a slightly unholy We Will Rock You and Wonderwall mash-up, she proved herself a voice to be reckoned with.
Personally, I think I'd enjoy this best with a comfy chair, some popcorn and a pause button so I could freeze the more outrageous moments and discuss their 'artistic' merits. . . but in lieu of that, I'd happily enjoy it in-situ again. SupermartXé is an evening everyone should experience at least once.
