We wanted to visit another club tonight but from the outside it looked really, really, shit, so we didn’t take any chances, and went down to the Martin Place precinct to visit one of the clubs there..  here we go!

Front w/ DJ

Luxe (Formerly Vanity) @ Martin Place Bar
Assessment Time: 12:25AM – 3:00AM
Opening Hours: Around 10PM – 4:00AM ??
Lockout: Unknown, but they were still accepting entry fees for people after 3AM for entry.
Address: 51 Martin Place (Elizabeth St corner), opposite hotel chambers.
Venue Website: http://www.martinplacebar.com.au
Event Website: http://www.facebook.com/LuxeSaturdays
Promoters: Urban Agent, VIPList, ESO
Occurrence: Started 3rd March. Previously it was called Vanity, held next door at Verandah Bar, and it has recently moved here to Martin Place Bar.
Outside Line: The line looked long. 30-50 people lining up. It took about 15 minutes to get in. It is frustrating to see other people being able to cut the line and get in beforehand by knowing the promoters et al. , it always is.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Quite a few people are here from Future Music Festival, so the dress code is very relaxed tonight – people in their singlets and outfits mixed up with people who came here dressed up for clubbing.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 Full entry.
Guestlist:Contact your preferred promoter or use any of the following: Info@eso.net.au luxe@viplist.net.au luxe@urbanagent.com.au

Inside: The short version: It’s pretty much almost identical to previous setups of WOW Saturdays or late Bamboo Saturday layouts when it was held here, except that there wasn’t a huge ass podium at the front of the dance area.
The Long Version: the traditional glass doors are closed and everyone needs to walk through via the back smoking area via the back. The outdoor smoking area would fit 50 or so people, plus there is a BBQ here setup for your sausage needs. Inside the club it is a long rectangular layout. the DJ is posted right up at the Northern end against the wall. On the left is the lengthy bar spanning the whole wall. The podium that traditionally sits in front of the booth at prior events here is removed, to free up more dancing room. There are 2 or 3 medium sized podiums along the middle walls of the bar. At the back there is a second smaller bar with presumably a VIP section, which is quite dark, and has a small square layout with lounges and chairs/tables to seat 15-20 people. There also exists more ‘reserved’ areas for seating in the back right corner, just by the smoking areas, you could fit 2 or 3 small birthdays here.
Cloak Room: In the far back corner by the pokie machines. Cost unknown. It would be at least $5 for an item if I would make an educated guess.
Bar Prices / Line: $36 for 4x Jam Donut shots, $8.50 for a Gin and Tonic. Tonight wasn’t as packed as other nights, so it was quite easy to get drink service without having to push in or defend your spot against other women who were good at pushing in.
Bathroom Facilities: Considerably clean.
Eviction Count: None spotted
Music Style: DJ at midnight played a few house tracks to go along with the commercial RnB, keeping in mind that there were a number of people who came straight from Future Music. Later on in the night it defaulted back to commercial Top 40 rnb / pop.
Crowd: Mostly Asians tonight, and mostly local ABCs. Age of the crowd was mostly early 20’s to mid 20’s.
Ratio: The ratio would be 35:65 or 30:70 girls to guys, but the girls who actually here were looking pretty fine.
Entertainment: Jason the korean bum dancer was probably the only real extra entertainment here. I was surprised he wasn’t at Bamboo next door at Verandah.
Atmosphere: After seeing the long line outside, I was surprised to see only about half the club being full. Just crazy, having us wait outside when there is plenty of room inside, and it was already $25 for everyone anyway. (It will never be as bad as the old Cherrijam event where we were forced outside 10 minutes, only to enter a club that had 20 people inside). Despite this, I would say this was the only decently populated event we could find tonight, so I will give it that. At the front there were quite a few guys just creeping around, while at the back there is plenty of room to dance, shuffle, do whatever you like. You were only allowed to dance on the podiums at the rear – the front podium appeared to be reserved for security to stand on. What’s the point of the podium? Music was pretty loud inside but that was expected. If it is your first time here, keep in mind that the wall between the outside smoking area and the inside area of the club is non existent, being opened up by floor to ceiling windows. You *WILL* come home smelling like cigarettes in your hair, skin and clothes. It’s a pet hate of mine. Aslo at the front it got pretty warm/stuffy by the end of the night.
Video:

Timeline
Blessed with a rose
No idea how, but I found a fake petal rose thing, so I stuck it on my chest and told everyone “Happy belated valentines day!”. I don’t think the girls were in much of a romantic mood tonight at this loud, banging, busy, club. Regardless, I am going to shamelessly use this bad ass rose at future events ahaha.

I got the moves, like a Dagger
Dance dance dance is what I did. Danced on the podium. Danced on the floor. Danced at the back, the front, whereever. Walked outside and someone came up to me. He came close and told me these four very words I would never forget:
“Your fly is undone.”
Oh… fuck my life.

Arrivederci
Nothing much else to report, except that seeing some other people wear costumes made me miss wearing one too. It’s long overdue. We left at 3AM

Final Thoughts & Recommendation
Tonight pretty much confirms my theory that club nights are dead or not are at their peak upon festival days. Though this place seems to have held up fairly okay. I would imagine lines would be longer at the bar/outside and less room to dance. I would be hesitant to pay $25 to come here, so try to get a guestlist sorted or check out another venue. If you are into your Asian clubs, then this would be a safe spot to go to find a crowd.