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.
This review includes tonight and two revisit summaries (14th Dec 2012, 28th Dec 2012) at the end.
Just here with some friends for a dance – let’s check it out. Here we go!
Lights!
Cubic (Fridays) @ Space Nightclub (Sydney)
Background: The promoters previously closed two of their Friday events, I guess in order to combine the two crowds for tonight’s event . The name Cubic is most likely based on Club Cubic in Macau.
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
Fridays 22:30 – 04:00AM
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. (The lift is preferably no longer in use by promoters)
Venue Website: http://www.spacevenue.com.au
Event Website: http://www.fb.com/cubicsydney
Promoters: UrbanAgent, Infinity Productionz
Occurrence:
Tonight is the second week of opening, while the plan is to have this event on every Friday.
Dress Code / Door Policy:
There was no specific dress code requested by promoters – as a result casual was the minimum required to get in. T-shirts were ok and so were sneakers. Most guys though wore collared shirts with jeans / fancy shoes. Girls generally looked good as well with their going out dresses or whatever they are called.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
$25 for entry. $20 for guestlist entry for guys. Tonight was “ladies night” and all girls who “liked” the Facebook page got free entry before Midnight and discounted entry after midnight. In order to qualify for discounted / guestlist priced entry you were required to line outside to mark your name off and obtain the “VIP card”
Passouts:
No passouts before midnight.
Guestlist:
[email protected] / [email protected]
Cloak Room:
$5 per item. On the expensive side.
Tonight:
Assessment Time: 11:30PM – 3:15AM
Outside Line:
None outside the venue. Inside the Shark Hotel entrance there was a short line of 10 people or so – the line moved pretty quickly at this time.
After leaving Verandah Bar, organisers of Vanity have re-opened at The Watershed Hotel. Tonight is the second week of opening – It’s bloody pissing down cats and dogs and we were all pretty drenched with rain.. so let’s get inside asap please – here we go!
Floor at 12:20AM
Vanity @ The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour, Sydney
Assessment Time: Just before 11:00PM – 2:55AM
Opening Hours: The venue is open all day for the general public but the Vanity entry cash register is in place by approximately 9:30-10:00PM. Closing time would be ap
Lockout: Unknown but we saw people re-entering at 2:00AM
Address: 10 Darling Drive, Darling harbour, Sydney. OK Where the hell is that? It’s NOT ON THE SAME SIDE AS Pontoon or Home Bar! It’s opposite! Find it at Harbourside Shopping Centre. We had an epic discussion (note: argument) about which side the bar was on before asking google maps. My team won 
When you get to the shopping centre its not hard to find, just look for the place around the middle of the centre with the loud music coming out. Entrance is outside by the water.
Parking: Special mention goes to parking. It’s a bitch to park in Darling Harbour, but if you park at the Harbourside Shopping Centre carpark and validate your ticket at the cloak room inside the venue, then you only have to pay $10. Not bad if you hate walking.
Venue Website: http://www.thewatershedhotel.com.au
Event Website: https://www.facebook.com/vanitysyd
Promoters: Urban Agent, ESO Events
Occurrence: Every Friday since September 2012
Outside Line: No line as we entered (10:55PM), but when we got to the counter, about 10 people suddenly were lining up behind us.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Very relaxed policy here. A mix of casual, and smart casual were dressed tonight. So guys can wear normal T-shirts and even hats and any form of shoe. Girls are allowed to wear leopard prints too.
2AM crowd status.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 Normal Entry. $15 on guestlist (before 11:30/12???). Birthday Packages available where birthday person gets free entry.
Guestlist: Ask your preferred promoter, otherwise either of the following emails: [email protected] or [email protected]
A birthday at Arthouse tonight. We kind of debated for half an hour outside in the cold, outside the venue, to whether we should go in or not. Of course, we went in eventually. A second visit for tonight’s event, let’s see how it fares:
AJ Rafael performs (1:30AM)
Flirt Saturdays @ Arthouse Hotel - Saturday Night – 11th August 2012
(some content will be similar to last week’s review)
Assessment Time: 11:35PM – 3:55AM
Opening Hours: “10:00PM” – 3:55AM. The quotes are subject to how long it takes for these guys to setup the DJ equipment and venue for the event.
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 275 Pitt St, Sydney (near Town Hall Station)
Venue Website: http://www.thearthousehotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.fb.com/flirtsaturdays
Promoters: Urban Agent in conjunction with 1nitestand, VIPList, Eso, and others.
Occurrence: Every Saturday since July 2012.
Outside Line: There is a general line and a guestlist line. When we were debating whether to go in or not, there was a line of about 10 people. After deciding to go in inside, the line had been cleared by then – we got in without trouble. Considering the rain, at least they put one small table canopy up for whoever was standing in the front of the guestlist line.
Dress Code / Door Policy: There was no enforced theme/dress code, so casual was definitely okay. I had a long jacket with a double layer t-shirt (Breaking some fashion crimes there) with cardigan, jeans and casual shoes. I looked very daggy, but I was cold, and I didn’t care how I looked today. Half the crowd were casual and half were dressed smart proper.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20 on the guestlist before 12:00AM, otherwise $25. I would recommend getting your name on a discount guestlist.
Guestlist: Send lists to your preferred promoter or check the Facebook page for details.
Inside: Main Room: Enter via the cashier entrance and you are at the back of the room- It’s a large, tall, long-ish room – now split it as such. The whole left wall is lined with lounges, tables and stools. The right wall is the main bar to hold about 5 bartenders at a time, with a secondary “shots bar” with a small selection of shots. This leaves a narrow path in the middle for which people line up and mingle. Right at the front the area widens for what is the general dancefloor area to hold about 40-50 people comfortably. DJ is right at the centre front, with a sight adjustment tonight – there is a large-ish podium in the middle. This was to be reserved for AJ Rafaels performance. Guys and girls were not allowed up on here. Arthouse has gone through a few additions since my last visit, to make it more ‘club’ friendly. There has been a proper segregation between tables/lounges and the mingling area with an open panel wall in the middle – people can dance and others can drink in peace. Also laser lights and squares of LED colour lights have been installed. Let’s also chuck in a few ribbons as well to break up the space – this defintely helps in making the place feel a bit more intimate as the ceiling is like 10 metres high. There is also a common back area for smoking, general chit chat.
Inside: Second Room: Again, the second room had a private party! Luckily the party was to end at midnight so I had the chance to finally get my grubby feet into the House music. Enter the room via cashier entrance and you are at the front. DJ on your right and bar on your left on the far end wall. In between is just dancefloor with lounges lining one wall, with large barrels (literally those barrels you see on pirate ships) along the middle length of the dancefloor to break it up. Also a tall room, and its pretty dark in here.
Promoters have launched a new event at the refurbished Arthouse Hotel! Lets check it out – Here we go!
Flirt @ Arthouse Hotel - 4th August 2012
Assessment Time: 10:00PM – 2:45AM
Opening Hours: “10:00PM” – 4:00AM. The quotes are subject to how long it takes for these guys to setup the DJ equipment and venue for the event. People were let in at 10:30PM.
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 275 Pitt St, Sydney (near Town Hall Station)
Venue Website: http://www.thearthousehotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.fb.com/flirtsaturdays
Promoters: Urban Agent in conjunction with 1nitestand, VIPList, Eso, and others.
Occurrence: Every Saturday since July 2012.
Outside Line: There is a general line and a guestlist line. Nobody lining up at 10PM, so we were the very first! A bit worrying as I expected at least someone to be lining up. When the doors finally opened at 10:30, there were about 30 people in line, and I was literally beginning to shiver – it was bloody cold. I felt a bit sorry for the people behind me in line, as I hear the security guy whisper to his colleague “Let them in 5 at a time – keep it (the rate of letting people in) slow” – So it is true! promoters want to keep a visible presence with people outside, while said people freeze outside. I plead on behalf of us payees, please keep us warm with an outdoor heater or something. A general tip for any clubs with separate lines – if you don’t care about entry fees, line up at the general line to get faster access into the club – security purposely let full fee payers go in as a priority, for obvious reasons.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Tonight the theme is a school uniform party – so ties and shirts were seen, but most just wore whatever they had on. Casual was okay. Girls had their one pieces on and guys were a mix of casual and well dressed. It was more of a casual affair though – my impression anyway. I had some old converse chucks, pants, cardigan with a collared shirt and my old “Class Captain” pin from primary school.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $10 if you were in school uniform theme. Free entry before 10:30 if you had your student ID! Well, lucky old me had a student ID, so I got free entry. The promo girls were nice to come outside to give free entry cards to whoever was in line just before the doors open, despite it being after 10:30PM. $20 on the guestlist before 12:00AM, otherwise $25. Bit pricey in general but normal for the Asian events – I would recommend getting your name on a discount guestlist at the very least.
Guestlist: Send lists to your preferred promoter or check the facebook page for details.