A friend was coming here for the return of this once off event on Boxing Day. I couldn’t think of any other place to go tonight, as it was a Sunday. I’ve always been unsatisfied with dance events held at Pumphouse (moreso than others) so I have come in with low expectations.. here we go!

Pumphouse Crowd Main Floor II

Mix @ Pumphouse
Assessment Time: 11:30PM – 02:40AM
Opening Hours: 10/10.30 – 3/4AM?
Lockout: Didn’t appear to be a lockout when we left.
Address: 17 Little Pier St, Darling Harbour, Sydney. It is right next to the Entertainment Centre.
Venue Website: http://www.pumphousebar.com.au
Promoter Website: http://www.thesyndicateevents.com.au http://www.myspace.com/colab3000
Occurrence: Tonight was a relaunch of the event, but at time of writing it is unknown whether it is a regular event.
Outside Line: There wasn’t much of a line at all. There were 3 patrons in front of us lining up. Very quick.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Most attire is accepted tonight. Most girls dressed well with heels. Guys were a mix of collared shirts and normal t-shirts with jeans. Hats were allowed in here. Chucks / sneakers are allowed. It’s a very casual scene tonight.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $15 for pre-sale tickets. Otherwise $25 at the door.
Guestlist: I’m not sure. This appeared to be a pre-paid ticketed event and not a guestlisted event.
Inside: Entry is through the side of the covered patio on ground level. The cloak room can be found here. Walk to your left into the main open area to a wooden dancefloor to hold around 150 people. Various lounges line the 2 walls. A stairwell on the left and the sole bar to the right cover the other two walls. Overhead along three walls is Level 1, where the DJ is positioned as well as extra chairs, lounges and patio. You are able to look down upon the crowd from here. Smoking take place outside the entrance.
Cloak Room: $3 per item. Perfect.
Bar Prices / Line: You would have to wait 1 or 2 orders before you got your turn here. Around a 5 minute wait. Prices unknown.
DJs: Moto, Edo, Biggie, Bonniez, Flipsta, Stunna
Music Style: Tonight is American contemporary RnB, and the DJ list reflects this. There are also some house songs and old school 90’s and 00’s RnB songs thrown in. There wasn’t anything to complain about here, it was a good safe typical rnb mix of songs.
Crowd & Ratio: Crowd is mostly Asian Australian. Age would be low 20’s to high 20’s on average, from what I could ascertain. There are also some regular dancers here who show off their dancing at times. Ratio wise, there were of course more guys than girls here, but just enough girls to not become a sausage fest.
Entertainment: MC Phili to keep things going.
Atmosphere: The dancefloor is busy throughout the night. Upstairs is pretty dead throughout, even though it is open access to all patrons. Most people kept to themselves here – the socialising was done outside.
Video: 370 view from the corner of the dancefloor


Timeline
I hath my wig on my head,  I hath my wig on my head
I still had my wig from 2 nights ago in the car, so I decided thought why not, I’ll wear it again. Most of the night I didn’t wear it at all. I just had it stuffed in my pocket. The one truly amazing part when I did take it out was when the DJ started to play “I whip my hair” by Will Smith’s daughter – whatever her name is. I whipped my wig out, and pretty much ‘whipped my hair back and forth’ as per the lyrics. Everyone around found it amusing. Damn right it is. However the next 2 or 3 days I severely regret doing it, as my neck was very sore for 2 or 3 days after that night. It was totally worth it though.

Arrivederci
Left due to being pretty tired at 02:40 – plus it was becoming a sausage fest.

Recommendation
Probably one of the better times I’ve been to Pumphouse, but there is just something about it that isn’t clubby enough for me. Maybe the dancefloor area is too small – most small clubs are this size – but this isn’t a small place – its’ two levels. It could be the crowd itself – not friendly enough? Remedied with booze. I don’t know. I left feeling okay on the inside.