Always wanted to go here. Last time I lined up but the line was like an hour long. So tonight was another chance to go. Had some predrinks and off we went – here we go!
Starfuckers (SF) @ Club 77, Kings Cross / Potts Point – Saturday 30th Mar 2013
A longstanding event known for its messiness and gay friendly crowd.
Crowd at 1:30AM
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:00PM – 6:00AM
Address:
77 William Street, Woolloomooloo (Potts Point / Kings Cross)
Venue Website:
http://www.starfuckers.com.au
Event Website:
http://www.starfuckers.com.au, https://www.facebook.com/pages/STARFUCKERS/25283175755
Promoters:
Self promoted?
Occurrence:
Every Saturday since March 2006.
Dress Code / Door Policy:
There is no strict door policy at all. Singlets, shorts are welcome. Sneakers and dirty shoes are fine too. People wore hats inside, while I just had jeans, a t-shirt and my Easter Bunny ears on. Quite the casual affair.
So basically leave your collared shirt and white shoes at home.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
$20 at the door. (we got in at Midnight)
Passouts:
None
Guestlist:
Unknown.
Cloak Room:
Couldn’t find one / Not available.
Tonight:
Assessment Time:
12:00AM- 3:30AM
Outside Line:
We were welcomed by a crossdressing easter bunny. The line only had 5 or 6 people when we got here and we were in within 5 minutes. This was surprising because last time I tried to line up here, the place was at capacity and the line wait was about 1 hour.
Inside:
Walk down underground to enter the rear of the club. To the left are lounges and the bar. The right side of the place has two or three big sofas as well, with the main dancefloor in a lower and upper part. The lower part holds 25-30 people while the upper part is a mini square-like/stage that can also hold 20-30 people. Behind this podium, at the far end of the club, is the DJ booth. Adjacent to the DJ booth on the right are the ladies bathroom is a small smoking area. To the left is a dancing cage for 2-3 people, and a pinball machine.
Previous porn mag decorations of penises and vaginas since my last visit (of which i rated it 0/10) have been rid of, and now the walls around the bathrooms are quite empty and boring.
Bar Prices / Line: (
Didn’t drink here tonight, but the line was always looking short. With three bartenders at the helm you wouldn’t have to wait long.
Bathroom Facilities:
A bit “wet” on the floor.
DJs:
Starfuckers – The trio include Mr Disorder, DJ Hookie, DJ Trentertainment
Thursday and the beginning of a long weekend, and a new event is on! Looked promising, so rounded up some friends, we got our presold tickets and were ready to go! Check it!
12:40AM. View from the front podium
ZEN (Grand Opening) @ Ivy Bar, Sydney – Thursday 28th March 2013
In a response to the successful OPM @ Marquee nights by Urban Agent, competing promoters Syndicate (Kinki/Perfect) and Mizuya (Me2/LKF) with a whole subset of smaller promoting companies decided to launch their own equally big event at a big venue named ‘Zen’, down at the large Ivy bar. Ivy bar would be one of the few venues that would be able to hold so many people.
Essentials:
Opening Hours: 8:00PM – 3:00AM
Address: 320-330 George St, Sydney
Venue Website:
http://www.merivale.com.au/ivybar
Event Website: None as of yet. Refer to promoter websites for info.
Promoters: Syndicate Events, Mizuya Ent., Colab Ent.
Occurrence: Tonight was the grand opening. It is unknown whether repeats will happen, but considering the sell out, there will most likely be future repeats of this event. It won’t be every Thursday, but just on special days such as long weekends or when uni students are on holiday.
Dress Code / Door Policy: “Strict Dress Code” applies were the words tonight, but everyone was being let in. I wore dress shoes, black pants, white shirt, vest and skinny tie.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
- $25 first release (super limited)
- $30 second release (which “sold out” two days prior).
- On the night 8PM-9PM the entry fee was $35(?) then after 9PM it goes up to $40.
This high pricing could only be successfully pulled off at big venues like Ivy and officially sets a new record high for an Asian clubbing event, since Vanity (now closed) charged people $35 to see some dude sing on one particular night. Also considering only one of the Ivy buildings was hired tonight, these guys have made an absolute killing.
Passouts: No passouts before 11:30PM.
Guestlist / Reserved Areas: See promoter websites for details. Reserved VIP areas require min spend of $1500 at the bar.
Cloak Room: Since everyone has paid such a steep price for entry, the cloakroom was free tonight. A saving grace. Though at the end of the night, the line to get your stuff was ridiculously long. Probably 20-30 minutes.
This weekend I’m in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a wedding. So while I’m here, it’s time to visit the club well regarded by the locals, Zouk Club.
Line up to the club (11PM)
Saturdays @ Zouk Nightclub, KL, Malaysia
Zouk Club is the sister / child club of the original Zouk Club in Singapore (apparently it has lost a bit of its glam with the Singaporean locals compared to newer establishments, but here in KL it still is as popular as ever.)
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
Club: 10:00PM? – 3AM. The 3AM shutdown was only enforced for Zouk this year. It was enforced by the government for public safety reasons (also other clubs close here at 3AM so you’re not missing out).
The Cafe area of Zouk (outdoor bar) is open from 10AM in the morning
Address:
113, Jalan Ampang 50450 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Parking: There is nearby parking on the opposite side of the road.
Venue and Event Website: http://www.zoukclub.com.my
Occurrence: Zouk is open every day of the week except Monday.
Dress Code / Door Policy: The Legal age is 21 here, however only the Zouk (main room) of the club is open for 21 year olds. All other areas require patrons to be 23 years or older. This is probably to target more of the working class crowd. Thank god I am no longer a teenager. I suppose its also better to stop the children from drinking from an early age.
Dress code – casual is okay but to use the upstairs Aristo room and Terrace Garden, you must be dressed sharp (collared shirt, dress shoes at a minimum is advised)
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Something like 45 Ringgit (approx $15AUD at the time of writing) for the guys. Girls get cheaper entry or free entry.
Guestlist: Contact the Facebook page for details
Cloak Room: I don’t remember seeing any cloak rooms
Tonight:
Assessment Time: 10:30PM – 3:00AM
Outside Line: At 10:30PM there were not excited punters lining up. It was empty – we strolled in, and the cigarette/other company promo girls at the front were all over us like they have never seen a customer before. The line started getting longer at 11:30PM and by midnight the line was pretty long, perhaps a 15 minute wait to get in.
Inside/Atmosphere:
Zouk is split in primarily three large dance rooms and three smaller dance rooms with associated drinking areas. Most of these rooms focus on seating and drinking with relatively small dancefloor areas:
1. Zouk / Pleasure Dome Area. This is the primary room for Zouk Club. All ages above 21 are welcome here. Large room with main dancefloor and second balcony level. Lounges around the walls. LED lights / screens above along the balcony looking down on the floor. Quite a darker, club atmosphere
2. Phuture Room: Also a two level balcony setup. Big projection wall on the left for video clips to be played. Lounges/VIP areas around the walls and above on the balcony. Little stick out dance areas for attention whores as well. Bar in the back. Dancefloor to hold about 40-50 people. A more “friendly” lighting scenario where its lighter.
3. Velvet: A louder two tiered room. Lower tier upon walking in is just a bar with carpeted floor and tables, chairs for people to mingle. Dark lighting. Upper tier is also relatively medium-dark lit dancefloor, with many VIP/reserved bottle service tables around. Also podiums around the immediate vicinity of the dancefloor, closely guarded by security. I jumped up on the podium and started shuffling, but security didn’t like it and pulled me off. It’s loud, and I think much more people were in this room than that of the Phuture Room. By peak of the night (midnight-2:30AM), this room had literally no moving space. If you got caught up in the dancefloor it was almost impossible to get out.
Velvet Room – random podium clubbing
4. Aristo and Roof Garden: Appeared to be a more relaxed room, and I would guess one of the last rooms to get full of people. This was the last room to have music setup and was one of the first rooms to close when the place started to close up. Don’t bother going to this room unless you’re the quiet or seductive type.
5. Barsonic Room: A smaller, intimate room but still blurting out some tunes. Didn’t get to spend time in here sadly.
6. Terrace Bar: It’s just an outdoor bar to take a break from it all or have a ciggie.
A bunch of Asians walked into the Casino. What’s new? It’s the less-than-a-year-old Marquee Nightclub that these younger Asians are heading to. So rather than losing money at the Sic Bo or Roulette tables, these guys invest their money into entry fees and expensive drinks. I don’t want to miss out, so let’s check it out!
OPM @ Marquee Nightclub Sydney (The Star)
A Thursday Asian RnB/House event held once a month or every two months – whenever it suits holidays or public holidays. It is NOT held every Thursday as many of my Asian friends perceive.
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:30PM – 5AM+
Address:
80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont. It’s within the Star (Casino) Entertainment Complex. Walk in through the main entrance on the Eastern side, and the entrance to Marquee is immediately to your right.
Venue Website: http://www.star.com.au
Event Website: http://www.urbanagent.com.au/events_opm.html
Promoters: Urban Agent
Occurrence: Thursdays, every month or so (usually during university holiday breaks and public holidays) since mid 2012.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual clothing is allowed tonight. Dress code has relaxed significantly since the grand opening of Marquee Nightclub, though it is encouraged to dress your best.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20 Pre-paid tickets, $25 at the door.
Guestlist: [email protected]
Cloak Room: Didn’t check, but other Urban Agent events usually charge $5 per item. The cloak room would be right at the entrance to the club after the registers (if it is open).
Tonight:
Assessment Time: 11:00PM – 4:00AM
Outside Line: We spent 3 (three) hours lining up in the pre-paid from 11:00PM to finally get in at 2:00AM! The explanation was that venue reached capacity very quickly, very early on and the lines were not allowed to progress.
The worst part of it was that this was in the pre-paid line. One would assume that the pre-paid line would get priority entry, but it was clear to everyone that people in the “normal” line were also being let in, who had to pay the full $25. More money in the coffers for the promoters while the pre-paid people who actually committed to coming tonight stand outside and suffer. I have never in the entirety of my life (really) have spent so much time lining up for some event.
There was also a guestlist line, a general line (for people who just rocked up), and also a VIP entry line. Four lines in total! Even the “VIP” line people had to wait for a ridiculous amount of time before being let in. So much for that.
So by the end of the whole ordeal, we all had made friends with each other in line – united by the sheer hatred of lining up for 3 hours. With so many Asians, it was the great human wall of China. Creatures from other planets could probably see this line.
It seems everyone in my circle of clubbing friends has been here except me. It’s finally time tonight to check it out!
Main Room – 12:40AM
Masif @ Space Nightclub Sydney
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:00PM – 05:30AM
Address:
127 Liverpool St (Level 2 – enter via entering Shark Hotel)
Venue Website: http://www.spacevenue.com/
Event Website: https://www.facebook.com/masifsaturdays
Promoters: Hard Dance Sydney, Masif, HDA, Krazy
Occurrence: Every Saturday night
Dress Code / Door Policy: Anything goes, no restrictions.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
$25 full entry fee after midnight (guestlists end at midnight).
$20 on guestlist
Guestlist: Contact your preferred promoter or directly at [email protected]
Cloak Room: $5 ?
Tonight:
Assessment Time:
11:30PM – 2:30AM
Outside Line:
This is one of those places where the line outside gets longer as the night goes on. It would be helpful to line up before midnight.
An event called D.T.F – There’s no beating around the bush when it comes to promoting to the lowest common denominator amongst humans. I mean, what has the world come to in that we have to use such terminology to promote an event? It disgusted me, but the hilarity of this event name was good enough to get me to commit. I cleared Thursday out, called out a local friend and off we went – here we go!
D.T.F Wednesdays @ Epping Hotel
A local Wednesday night in the Epping region.
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
Unknown – 3AM(?)+
Address:
58 Beecroft Road, Epping, right opposite Epping train station
Parking: Plenty of parking around.
Venue Website: http://www.eppinghotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.fb.com/DTFepping
Promoters: Self promoted
Occurrence: Every Wednesday
Dress Code / Door Policy:
Almost everyone was wearing a t-shirt. I think I counted only two other people wearing a collared shirt, so this is quite the norm for this local hotel. Girls are still a bit dressy so its alright. No shorts, singlets or thongs though
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
Free entry all night.
Guestlist: N/A
Cloak Room: None
Tonight:
Assessment Time: 12:15AM – 2:30AM
Outside Line: No line outside
The overseas event Pacha has come to Sydney to open up their event in Ivy! Along with raving reviews the word is that dress code has also been dropped. So it was logical to suit up – so I grabbed some friends and got some tickets. Here we go!
Just before midnight in the main room
Pacha Sydney @ Ivy Bar (Sneaky sound system, Denzal park)
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
Aaround 8:30PM – 4:00AM+
Address:
Ivy Bar, 320-330 George St, Sydney
Venue Website:
http://www.merivale.com.au/ivybar
Event Website:
http://www.pachasydney.com
http://www.fb.com/pachasydney
Occurrence:
Every Saturday night since November 2012. Tonight was the third week of opening.
Dress Code / Door Policy:
Ivy isn’t as uptight as it was before on Saturdays – Dress code now is less strict. People with t-shirts and jeans can come in tonight. The Pacha promoters even encourage costumes and dress ups! Just no thongs or shorts thouogh. The actual dress of the crowd was a mix of very casually dressed folk with people who were smart casual. I went for the suit which was in hindsight a bad choice.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
Tickets can be pre-paid online for $35 first release. $40 for second release, and $40 at the door (usually) It’s more expensive than that of Marquee Sydney ($30 standard) and makes Pacha the most expensive regular nightclub ticket in Sydney. I told a friend about it and he was instantaneously put off and refused to spend so much. Despite this, first release tickets usually sell out.
Guestlist:
Contact your preferred Pacha promoter for a discount. Otherwise there is no email address to send names to and you will need to pay for tickets directly from the website.
Cloak Room:
$3 per item. The cloak room is on the ground level in building 2, opposite to where the elevators are. Easiest way to get there is rather than turn left to go upstairs after getting past security, go straight ahead and you will hit the cloak room
Tonight:
Assessment Time: 11:25PM – 3:45AM
Outside Lines:
The line is not from George St but you need to go around to the back alley lane to enter Ivy. There are three lines:
1. Pre-paid ticket holders: The fastest moving line. Took us less than five minutes to get 6 of us all in. Used my phone showing the ticket email attachment as my “ticket” and I was let in fine.
2. Guestlisters: A shorter line but not as fast.
3. General line: For everyone else who wants to pay at the door: Slowest line of them all and quite a number of people lining up.