I’ve been living in a country town. I’ve made a special weekend trip to Sydney to visit friends, family, and a new club event. Let’s check it out!
Mink @ Martin Place Bar
Mink has been running since July 2014
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:30?? – 2:15AM
Address:
51 Martin Place, Martin Place, Sydney
Parking:
Come later in the night and you can find street parking within 2-3 blocks around.
Website:
Event: https://www.facebook.com/minksaturdays
Venue: http://www.martinplacebar.com.au
Promoters: Clique: https://www.facebook.com/cliquesydney
Occurrence:
Every Saturday since July 2014. Prior there was another short-lived event, #Fabric run by competitors Syndicate Events
Dress Code / Door Policy:
Theres no dress code enforced tonight. People wore whatever they wanted.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
Paid $25 at the door.
There are weekly free entry specials so long as you enter the venue before 11:30 or before midnight.
Guestlist:
mink@clique-ent.com
Cloak Room:
Didn’t use cloak room facilities tonight, but based on earlier events, you are probably looking at $5 / item.
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A birthday! At the Retro. It’s been a long time since I’ve been. Let’s go!!
Saturdays @ The Retro Bristol Arms Hotel
This review incorporates elements from tonight and a prior visit in 2010.
Assessment Time:
11:30ish – 02:30AM
Opening Hours:
Open during the day until 3:00AM (Possibly later?)
Lockout: 1:30AM at time of writing
Address: 51 Sussex St , Sydney
Venue Website: http://www.theretro.com.au
Promoter Website: Self Promoted by the venue
Occurrence: Every Saturday are the themed nights, Friday does not seem to have themed nights
Dress Code / Door Policy: Anything goes. Half the crowd wear casual while the other half, are wearing costumes and outfits. It’s pretty cool.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Free if you dress up in the weekly them. $20 Standard cover charge between 9PM and midnightDiscount on guestlist. Tonight’s theme is bikies or something. Some of our friends are of those who are like ‘I hate dressing up’ types – you know exactly EXACTLY what kind of friends I am talking about. They rather cough up money than dress up. The closest phobia is masqueradeaphobia. No line upon lining up
Guestlist: See website.
Inside: The retro is attracting a smaller crowd as opposed to a few years ago. Not sure if due to lockout laws or due to other factors. The ground floor is no longer a dance area.
Level 1
Walk inside to directly enter the stairway upstairs to level 1. It’s the 80’s and 90’s level, split into two areas – Chill out lounge room on the right – where there are sofas a pool table and small bar. On the left is the dancefloor area where there is a bar on the left, a the DJ in the far middle centre, with a podium in front to hold about 10 people. There are sofas spotted to the right along the walls and a private taped off VIP area to the left corner. The middle is dancefloor space dotted with the holding colums.
Level 2
Up to the top 90’s level where you walk through to a carpeted dancefloor room. Bar and VIP/sofas to the right. DJ on the far left corner. Coloured flourescent retro lights flash in sequence. Two podiums on the left to hold about 8 people each, and dancefloor space left to hold about 100-150 people. There are also some beer pong tables.
Cloak Room: Couldn’t find it.
Bar Prices / Line: Didn’t drink tonight. Line at the bar was quite the wait – it’s tragic on level 1 as there is like 1 bartender – the wait is 10-15 minutes. Level 2 there is 2 or 3 bartenders with the wait being approx 5 minutes.
DJs:
Unknown – Level 2 was pretty good, friendly, joking and mixed well
Level 1 DJ was pretty bad. Played songs in their entirety and quite a few songs even I didn’t know and/or the crowd didn’t seemingly were into. It was truly retro.
Music Style:
Level 1 was dedicated to 80’s and 90’s retro dance and rock music, while the top level was dedicated to 2000’s retro rnb, pop, whatever was well known.
Crowd:
Wildly varied ages from early 20’s to probable late 40’s and 50’s. However dominantly were people in their 30’s as evident by the birthdays and hen’s nights. Dominantly white crowd of Ausises and Euros. Only some Asians were here.
Entertainment:
Beer pong competition on level 2
Atmosphere:
Level 1 1980’s retro was a bit dirty and crowded, but people were enjoying themselves. Like an older version of a backpackers bar. It’s quite a happy vibe with happy tunes playing. Much the same can be said for the top level, but not as ‘happy’ as the middle level. Upstairs was more of a dancing atmosphere due to the younger crowd, smoke machines and less lightingIt is really the upper levels that are the highlight of the venue, and where most of my night was spent.
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A bunch of Asians walked into the Casino. Haha. But this time its 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 Fridays @ Marquee Nightclub Sydney (The Star)
This event is now Every Friday night. It used to be on a Thursday.
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:30PM – 4AM
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.fb.com/OPMSydney
http://www.urbanagent.com.au
Promoters: Urban Agent
Occurrence: Every Friday since early 2014, and previously ran on irregular Thursdays from mid-2012
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual clothing is allowed tonight, but don’t risk it despite the dress code being relaxed significantly since the grand opening of Marquee Nightclub. Most guys are wearing collared shirts at minimum, while girls are pretty glammed up.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 at the door, but a friend was asked to pay $30. The highest cover charge price you’ll pay for a Friday night.
Table / Bottle Service: Starting at $1,600+ for a 10 person table including entry and the equivalent price for drinks. Higher packages can reach $3,000+ . Welcome to Australia
Guestlist: See event website or contact your local promoter
Cloak Room: $5 per item. The cloak room would be right at the entrance to the club after you go up the escalators
Tonight:
Assessment Time: 11:00PM – 4:00AM
Outside Line: Arriving at 11:00AM and expecting long lines, we were surprised to see a line of about 10 people. It went by quite fast. It could have been because all the other Asians were at the Jay Chou concert tonight On previous nights I’ve spent from 1 hour and another time, 3 (three) hours lining up in the pre-paid line from 11:00PM to finally get in at 2:00AM due to capacity issues. So be aware when buying pre-paid, as general lines (who pay more) get faster access.
There was also a guestlist line, a general line (for people who just rocked up), and also a VIP Bottle Servce entry line. Four lines in total! The line roping is almost as big as the club.
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Since Kinki @ City Hotel stopped, two events have popped up. Fabric, and tonight’s review – Taboo. We were at a booze cruise earlier, a bit tired but still keen to club. Lets check it out!
Taboo @ Verandah Bar, Sydney
Taboo used to run, years ago, down beneath Mr B’s hotel, then I think it popped up at Equilibrium / World Square Pub, before going into hiding again. It’s finally made a return to Verandah Bar.
DJ booth (yes that’s a purse)
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
9:30AM – 4:00AM (?)
Address:
55-65 Elizabeth St
Entry is only available from Elizabeth St for the club event.
Venue Website:
Event Website:
Promoters:
Kick On Entertainment, Got Game Entertainment, X, As One Ent, B Diamond
Occurrence:
Tonight is the public grand opening. There was a VIP only soft launch the previous week. The event aims to run every Saturday from March 2014
Dress Code / Door Policy:
“Strict Dress Code Applies” is encouraged. I got in with black pants, shoes, and a daggy striped jumper. My female friends wore simple black dresses. One wore flats, other heels.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
Paid $25 at the door full entry.
$20 on guestlist. Unknown what time the guestlist expires, but typically a guestlist will end at 11:30PM or Midnight.
Passouts/Lockout:
1:30AM Lockout applies tonight to this venue
Guestlist:
info@taboosaturdays.com.au
Table / Bottle Service
Available on enquiry. Prices unknown.
Cloak Room:
$5 Cloak per item, $2 for recheck
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It’s a grand opening, some friends were going and I had some time – so let’s check it out!
#Fabric Saturdays @ Martin Place Bar
It appears the promoters Syndicate Events and their friends have decided to end the old Kinki event and go with two separate events next door to each other. Tonight let’s suss out the offering at Martin Place Bar – #Fabric (One assumes the hashtag is silent)
2:15 // Main Room
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:00PM – 3:00AM(?) unconfirmed
Address:
51 Martin Place
Venue Website:
http://www.martinplacebar.com.au
Event Website:
http://www.fb.com/ClubFabric
Promoters:
Syndicate Events, Colab
Occurrence:
Every Saturday since March 2014
Dress Code / Door Policy:
There is no longer a dress code recommended or enforced tonight as per previous events here. Half the crowd was casual and the other half, smart casual. I got in with just a t-shirt, pants and shoes. My friend Marty got in wearing his hat. It would probably be too much to ask patrons to dance to EDM in a business shirt. Or is it?
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
$20 Full cover charge, and $15 for guestlist entry! Wow, no longer $25 entry? $20 is back on par with other ‘premium clubs’ (barring Ivy/Marquee) but these guys were previously charging $25 for other events. Perhaps people are getting tired of clubbing, or perhaps there is lots and lots of competition. Perhaps they make all the money with bottle service.Perhaps paying $20 for a small venue like Martin Place Bar is more appropriate.
It’s probably a mix of these factors and, in the end, the average tight ass punter wins.
Passouts/Lockout:
Passouts/Stamps to re-enter are fine. However 1:30AM lockout laws apply to this venue.
Guestlist:
Visit the Facebook page for details.
Cloak Room:
$5 for checking in your item
$2 for recheck.
Continue reading »
A birthday tonight, its time to revisit this place!
Kin.Ki @ City Hotel (updated 2014)
(Review combines visits on 20/5/2012 and 19/2/2014)
About: Coming from the same promoters who do the “Perfect” @ Pontoon / “Flow Fridays” event, the name “Kin.Ki” is based on its location on King St. Regardless, word was that this place was getting popular, so here we go!
Assessment Times: 12:10AM – 3:30AM (20th May 2013), 11:25PM-2:30AM (19th Jan 2014)
Opening Hours: 10:00PM – 3:30AM (on expected busy nights it may extend to 4:00AM-5:00AM)
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 347 Kent St (Corner of Kent and King St)
Venue Website: http://www.cityhotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.facebook.com/Kinki.Saturdays
Promoter Website: http://www.syndicateevents.com.au
Occurrence: Every Saturday night since February 2012
Outside Line: We arrived a bit late, but lucky for us the line is barely there, and we got in within 5 minutes. (We did try coming here on an Easter Weekend, and the line was about 2 hours long and we gave up – so be careful. ) It was quite cold tonight and I was pretty happy to actually pay this amount, just so I could get out of the cold. If you were on the guestlist, you had to actually wait a bit longer (to time you out of discount entry).
Dress Code / Door Policy: Guys are expected to wear at least collared shirts and jeans/pants to fit in. Girls are expected to look “chick”. i.e. dress your best. Most are dressed well. No hats, thongs, singlets, runners or dirty shoes allowed. Clean sneakers appear to be okay. I had jeans / sneakers / skinny tie / collared shirt.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Guestlist entry $20 before midnight. I paid $25 full entry. For a special guest appearance night (e.g Mario) it is $30.
Guestlist: Send them to your preferred promoter (not me) or kinki.saturdays@gmail.com ,
Inside: Walk inside to the atrium area where there is a second room up the stairs on your left. Seating and the main bar are right in front of you and serves as the non-smoking chill out area, while the DJ and dancefloor are on the other side of the bar. The bar is of circular configuration against the right wall. It takes up about half the width of the floor space.
The dancefloor itself is just a big square floor with lounges along the walls with the DJ booth in front. Overall it is of medium size, but compared to other “Asian” oriented events, the floor relatively larger, and can enough to hold about 150 people or so. Continue onto the rear outdoor smoking area where there are numerous more tables, couches and a second mini bar on the outside serving limited variety of shots.
Front of the dancefloor
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For the first time the first big summer festival has gone for 2 days. With it came a $200+ price tag. Hilarious as on the day scalpers were desperately selling their tickets, and friends were snapping up tickets for as low as $40.
I dressed up as a Banana, because the costume was just lying there.
Call me Eric
In summary
– Two days (Saturday and Sunday) was a bit too long for me (I did go clubbing after the first day on Saturday, though).
– $8 cloak room
Drinks:
– Expensive as usual $8 for half strength middies
– $11-$12 for Vodka Red Bull cups.
Food
– $12 for lamb souvlaki hot dog
Disappointing things
– David Guetta / Armin , as much as I like them … just never sound as good on an open air stage. Though “ping pong” by Armin van Buuren was a highlight of his set.
– Nobody seemed to enjoy Empire of the Sun until they played their big hits.
– The price of drinks and food. At least some bartenders gave discounts to me 😉
– Security policing two person ladders in some rooms!! Boo
– Cigarettes everywhere
– It was absolutely so shit that the Ferry Corsten Room / Kabuki Room was relatively ‘small’ and was closed off earlier in the day.
Good things
– Axwell (played a lot of Swedish House Mafia Songs)
– Andrew Rayel
– Gareth Emery
– Zedd. Nice save in the middle of his set when the music cut off. He got the crowd to sing along to Clarity until music went back up again. Some crazy German girl grinded my banana suit for about 20 minutes and forced me to hold her. I only wanted to enjoy the music.
– That temporary DJ that stood in for Alesso, mainly cause he played hit after hit.
– Calvin was alright as well
– David Guetta looking like Jesus, as per Champagne Showers.
– Nandos is cheaper than normal shops here. (it was the same price as normal Nando outlets)
Videos
Me Harassing someone at Stereo
Stereosonic Sydney Main Stage Music Timeline
Full On /Kabuki Room presented by Ferry Corsten (Day 1 only)
Photos
Would I go again?
I was quite hesistant to go this year (I have seen most of the acts already from previous festivals), and I am less likely to go next year unless its an epic line up or price drops considerably. But you never know.
My advice (if you have been to a festival before) is to wait until some of the headliners announce side shows, as they usually stay in town for a few days to play surprise last minute side shows. Armin has done it two appearances in a row and some others have done sets at other clubs as well.
If you haven’t been before, its good to go for the experience, and then don’t go again. Unless you’re into shredding and parading your gainzzz.