SmartShanghai | Interview: Mattia of Pervert Party

Interview: Mattia of Pervert Party

By Morgan Short, Jan 30th, 2010 | In Nightlife

A towering, towering, towering pillar of the Shanghai nightlife scene, Mattia Visconti is a manager or owner or some such thing at MAO (the club not the music place), and impresario behind the French Decadence and Pervert parties. He comes to us with a background in Milanese and Ibiza clubbing, and is well-appreciated in Shanghai for importing European-style clubbing to this city, albeit with a significant stylistic debt to Sodom and Gomorrah.

He also rocks it on the flyers (click here and here and scroll down).

His main thing these days is the Pervert party, which is B(on) D(age) S(ado) M (asochism) themed affair, with guests encouraged to gimp it up large in latex, vinyl, leather, chains, and what have you. The throngs are thereby whipped into a corrupt frenzy by erotic live shows and performances all night long. Huzzah.

Pervert parties offer debauched tableaus, live bondage shows, sexy drag queens and kings, and even a "fetish dwarf" dressed to theme. The last one at Lounge18 drew about one thousand Shanghai pervs to the door. Serious. One thousand people. So many people, in fact, that the entire Bund area was enveloped for days in the sticky and fetid scent of warm lube.

The Pervert Party returns this Saturday, bigger and harder than ever before, at Chinatown.

SmartShanghai talked to Mattia about procuring dwarves for ignoble purposes.

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SmSh: So how is MAO doing these day? What have been the stand out nights there for you?

Mattia: MAO is doing really well, now that it's an established club. I'm really proud to be partner there. I put a lot of energy into it, and before it was really hard, and I needed to push a lot every single night. Shanghai MAO is my first love.... I need also thank Ale in the kitchen, Nico at Martini bar, Marchino, Dimitri and Razor for that... in that period it was a really hot the Italian crew!

My favourite parties at Mao were the first and the second Pervert Party that I organized with Radek from Easee Model. I don't remember exactly... but we counted more than one thousand at the door, and many, many strange, colourful and cool people showed up that night. And was something new and different in Shanghai... good vibes!

The second one was my first Chinese new year. From that night Mao started to be really full every weekend, and I loved the fireworks we shot in front of the club. I never saw before all these fireworks at the same time in the sky... I love CNY!

For this CNY, I'm organizing a party in Bar Rouge -- for sure is the best place to admire the Bund and enjoy the fireworks!

SmSh: So let's talk about this Pervert party then. Now, in the press release you promise the presence of a "fetish dwarf". There are several things I would like to know about your "fetish dwarf".

Mattia: Yes, he's great. We had another dwarf but he didn't like it so much, but the dwarf we have now has a great time.

SmSh: What was wrong with the other dwarf?

Mattia: He didn't like the party so much, but this one likes it a lot and dances around.

SmSh: Where do you find a dwarf? How does one locate a dwarf?

Mattia: There is a place and you can hire a dwarf -- they ask you if you'd like a laowai dwarf, a dancing dwarf, a talking dwarf...

SmSh: [Gales of laughter].

Mattia: Yes, yes. And I just gave them the costume and said that he was to wear this. He has a good time. You can see pictures of him on our Facebook site.

SmSh: He has a good time huh.

Mattia: Yes, he enjoys it. And I think there is a special place for him to dance at Chinatown. A small balcony at the top of the stage.

SmSh: That's awesome. Okay. There are some other points about this Saturday's Pervert Party thing you could elaborate on. This is the description of some of the shows that are planned. I'm going to read to you from your email send-out:

“In the Bedroom scenes: Raked bed on stage, curtains open to reveal scenes (no special music), each last about 5-10 minutes: Slumber Party/pillow fight; Girls changing clothes; Strip, to under the silk sheet; a couple experimenting.."

What's this about "a couple experimenting"?

Mattia: Would you like to be in the couple experimenting? [Laughs.] Actually, this is from Chinatown. Well, the bed was something we've had before. Most people are surprised to see a bed in a club, so it makes them act differently.

SmSh: "Lover's Box: A series of scenes located in one of our boxes, spotlighted throughout the night to reveal an Edwardian style man and woman who partake in masqueraded seduction. The silent scenes use props, costumes, and lots of implied naughtiness."

Mattia: [Laughs.] This is the logistical information from Chinatown -- the shows they have planned.

SmSh: “Oil Up: Begins with two girls on stage in bathing suits and a bunch of baby oil. The two girls rub oil over each other in scandalous lighting, then a third comes on, both girls oil her up, more girls come on until they all have oil on and all you can see is lots of moving, rubbing oiled flesh. The curtain closes. Requires plastic tarp on stage."

I think the thing to note here is the closer: "requires plastic tarp on stage."

Mattia: [Laughs.] Yes well, I think it's because they don't want to ruin their stage, you know.

SmSh: How did the idea for the Pervert party come about and why did you want to do it?

Mattia: I used to work in Milan where I was partner of two clubs, and also in Ibiza -- Formentera -- where there are many crazy parties with really amazing choreography, dancers, gorgeous girls, and costumes. In Shanghai, I never saw something like that before!

Also at the time there wasn't a party that welcomed gay clubbers, models, and hetero people having fun together. I like the mix. (But I'm still hetero!)

SmSh: So for the Pervert parties, would you say it’s more like a fun dress-up thing or are you getting people coming who are seriously into the BDSM?

Mattia: I think there's some real BSDM so be careful... but who knows exactly where they are gonna hide on Saturday...

SmSh: How crazy does it get? How X rated does it get?

Mattia: Enough X -- but we are not exaggerating it.... The most important thing is to have fun. I don't like vulgarity. In the '70s in Italy we had this kind of popular movies that were sexy comedies. In these movies, the girls where hot and sexy and "classy" and really funny. So there wasn't vulgarity... but it was still really sexy! Recently Tarantino bought the rights of these movies, so we’ll see...

SmSh: Mattia, talk to me about the flyers. Look at this one. What's going on here...

Mattia: We made many good flyers too! Not only bad ones. We did one with a 25cm ruler with the tag line, "is this enough for you?" with the handcuffs. Then the next one was 30 cms... that's pretty pervert!

SmSh: Fair enough. Thanks Mattia!

The perverts invade Chinatown this Saturday. Head on down earlier if you fancy getting in. Free entrance until 12am with the password "John Holmes". 100rmb after.

Tagged: Bar Rouge Mattia Visconti Pervert Parties