Prelude: We just survived a crazy set from DJ Shogun at Manning Bar. We met Shogun afterwards and asked what he was doing after? It was already 1:30AM. “I’m going to the Shanghai Nights thingy to party! Come and party with me!” Oh my god. Shogun wants us to come with him. Anything you say Mr Shogun. Time to go!

Shanghai Nights @ Space Nightclub

The name Shanghai Nights has been resurrected as a replacement for the Cubic event. It’s the same promoters, but the obvious target audience now are Chinese expats, rather than Cubic trying to attract both the locals and expats. Memories of Shanghai Nights at the previous venue conjour up images of busy crowds, cigarette smoke and asians everywhere. Probably not going to be the same here tonight but it’s always good to find out!

Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:30PM – 4:00AM?

Address:
127 Liverpool st – enter via the second line to get your name marked off guestlist etc. Otherwise you may enter via the normal Shark Hotel line and walk in. After entering the Shark hotel floor, you may proceed to level 2 where Space Nightclub is.

Venue Website: http://www.spacevenue.com.au

Event Website: http://www.fb.com/shanghainightssyd

Promoters: Urban Agent, et al.

Occurrence: Every Friday since February 2013 at Space Nightclub.

Dress Code / Door Policy:
I was really casual. Jeans, running sneakers, t-shirt, leather jacket and I was let in.

Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
$25 after midnight. Cash only accepted.

Passouts:
No passouts before midnight (??)

Guestlist:
rob@ua.com.au

Cloak Room:
$5 per item.

Tonight:
Assessment Time:
Around 2:00AM – 3:00AM

Outside Line:
No line outside or inside shark hotel. Everyone was inside, and people were steadily leaving to go home. We were super late to the party. Hoping Shogun is already in there ready to kick it.

Inside: Nothing much has changed since the Cubic event:

Side Room:
Space nightclub tonight is configured over two rooms / areas. When you first enter the club, you will enter the private area / chillout room. There is a roped off reserved area for a large contingent / party of people with bottle service similar to clubs in the US (and Marquee Sydney). The smoking room/box is also on this side of the venue to fit 20 people tightly.

Main room:
The rooms are separated by a wall with a common bar in between the rooms. Through the doors to the other side is the Space venue. Tonight the whole area is open. DJ and MC sit aloft on the elevated stage with a wide podium in the middle to fit 5 to 8 people. The dancefloor space is square-like (besides the podium) with approximate space to hold approx 250 people standing.

Also there’s a cage in the middle of the floor! A dancing human cage to fit 4-5 humans. Oh wait, I have a picture! I think it’s quite a funny one. If you find it funny as well then we should be friends, you and I. Seriously, contact me. I’m desperate for friends.

The only girls left in the club

There are also tables and lounges that line the walls, far from the central dancefloor, hiding in their own dark corners. All the flashy laser lights and beams etc are setup here which is well suited for a trance party.

Bar Prices / Line:
Didn’t drink tonight.

Bottle Service:
Unknown

Bathroom Facilities:
Didn’t use them tonight

Music Style:

At time of entry it was mostly EDM, but there was some RnB thrown in.

Crowd:
Can’t tell the crowd age, but most people – I mean all people, were Asian, and probably of Chinese Mainlander descent.

Ratio:
About 8 guys to 1 girl. No different to the Shogun show earlier.

Entertainment:
Just an MC bouncing around

Atmosphere:
it was on its way to dying. People here were only familiar with the RnB songs. Whenever some trance song or EDM song came up, the crowd would stop dancing, and our little group would be the only ones dancing, haha

Video: Walkthrough and Some clips through the short time we were here

My own night
Let’s see if I can find my future wife here at 3AM in the morning.

Say hello to my friend
We’re talking and dancing, her hands all around my neck, all that lovely stuff. I fantasize about our future lives together with our five children. It’s so romantic, really.

And then she goes to spoil it all by saying something stupid like
“Hey!! come meet my boyfriend!”

Ok what the hell? Her boyfriend was 5 metres away staring at me the whole time. Before I have a say in these matters, she grabs my hand and walks me towards him! Oh my god. I can’t tell if he has the crazy killer eyes, but he’s definitely Asian. Thoughts race through my head of the various ways I’m going to get into a fight. I can’t leave this world tonight. Not like this, not in a club. I imagine what would my friends think? Probably  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised James died in a club’ . Nice one, imaginary friends.

Anyway my brain commands me to Run away! So I quickly went somewhere else to where it was very dark, where no Asian eyes could see. She was last seen with her arms around her boyfriend, so lovingly. Grrr, that should be me.

The number two rule of walking into a Chinese club
Here I am, talking to some girl. It’s going alright I think.

Her “Hey, I like you. Got WeChat?” Ok, its going alright
Me: “No, whatsapp?”

She immediately walked away. Whaaat!! Seriously just walked out, like I have lived under a rock. I have been, but man, what ever happened to just a simple phone number i can message and call incessantly? My ex explained to me WeChat is what all Chinese folk use.

Nek minnit, signed up for WeChat.

Upon Departure
We waited the whole time for DJ Shogun to pop up for the after party, and ended up snobbing us! LOL. I think he was too tired. So we left as well.

Final Thoughts & Recommendation

It isn’t fair to bag this place out. I only came in at 2AM when people were leaving. Though a real banging club like Marquee would have still a packed dancefloor at this time. This is the same as any other Asian rnb place. If you wanted purely a Chinese International based crowd at 2AM, I would probably consider the Me2 event rather than this event. But it probably is good earlier on in the night, unlike the Me2 event.