Vienna (11/10/24)

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This weekend in Vienna I played the after party for a party before the party itself took place.

Let me explain a bit better. Over the weekend I attended three parties, two in the same venue, and two of which I played at, though not in the same venue. Some people from the first party were at the second party, and some from the second party were at the third, but I am pretty sure I was the only person at all three. Ok so I’m not explaining it that much better after all. It sounds a bit like one of those logic puzzles – “Tom is younger than Dave but older than Jill” – so maybe the best thing to do is go step by step.

Gaze D’Amore @ Flucc

The first party I went to was Gaze D’Amore, a collaboration between the two well-known Vienna (Gaze) and Berlin (Cocktail D’Amore) queer parties as part of the latter’s 15 year anniversary celebrations. I had seen the Gaze-hosted stage at Lighthouse Festival a couple of years ago (report here) and, since that excellent introduction, I had been waiting for the chance to see the party on its home turf. The venue was Flucc (it rhymes with ‘look’ not, uh, ‘luck’) a two-decades-old cultural institution to the East of the city centre consisting of a large downstairs club room and a smaller upstairs bar-like room that nonetheless works as a cosy club in itself. After a much-needed disco nap following a 6am start that morning, I arrived at the venue around half past midnight and found both dancefloors popping. Downstairs, Vienna DJ Anxious T was playing amped up garagey tunes to a pleasingly diverse crowd dancing beneath hanging jellyfish decorations. The sound was a bit boomy in the big space but mostly controlled. An expansive stage behind the DJ was as yet empty, but it was clear it would only take one or two brave souls to get up there for it to become the dancing platform of choice. One of the reasons I’d really wanted to make it to this party was to see Stella Zekri repping Cocktail, and this was where she’d be taking over at 2am.