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.
Tonight:
Assessment Time:
11:30PM – 2:30AM
Outside Line:
Two separate lines. One for guestlist entry and one for general entry. The guestlist line was longer as general lines get priority – about 8 people. The general line had about 2 people lined up. It didn’t matter as the line progressed very quickly. No longer than 3 minutes and we were in.
Inside:
Walk to enter the front of the club. DJ setup and main dance area “Marble Room” on your the left. The long bar spans along the length of the venue on your right and takes up most of the space. As you walk down, there are lounges spotted along the left (likely the ‘bottle service’ or simple birthday areas). At the very back there is a 2nd smaller whiskey bar with various lounges in front, and walled off as another private area.
Outside opposite the main bar, is the RnB “Silk Lounge”. It’s more of a “Silk table and stool and stand up area”. On the left are tables, stools. On the right its more of the same, with the DJ tucked in the far corner. Very little dance room – you could hold maybe 10-15 people. This is definitely just an outdoor chatting area with a DJ included.
Midnight // Outside Area
Bar Prices / Line:
I didn’t drink tonight. When bar staff are busy they neglect to refill the water.
Bathroom Facilities:
Relatively clean throughout my experiences.
Music Style:
It’s been a long time coming but these guys have acknowledged the popularity and dominance of EDM / Electro / House / David Guetta (lel). RnB and hip hop has been relegated to the outdoor area while big beats heavy bass and multiple drops rule on the inside. I am surprised at this shift, but I don’t mind as I’ve always preferred electronic music. My friends and a lot of the other crowd noticeably don’t know many of the songs but still dance anyway.
Crowd:
Mostly Australian Asian crowd. The main room has attracted a lot of younger people in their teens / early 20’s while outside in the Hip Hop RnB room it’s moreso people in their mid-20s and up, or people who just like to smoke or aren’t really into dancing. It’s hard to determine the ages. Perhaps a handful of Caucasians in here.
Ratio:
Lots of dudes inside, less dudes outside. Still, there were dudes. The girls were mostly dressed very well.
Entertainment:
Just MC running the shows inside and outside.
Atmosphere:
It was about half capacity upon entry at 11:30PM, and slightly got a bit more busy at its peak.
Inside. Quite Dark. Laser lights and all do make it more of a club feel. At the front it got quite warm, so we delegated ourselves to the side of the club where there was a bit more room to breathe and dance. Between the front and back there is a small empty space, and then once you hit the back reserved areas, its quite busy and full of people who are mostly drinking and socialising. The crowd inside mostly face the front and dance around amongst their own groups. I was lucky enough to be dancing to “Harlem shake” and some random dude literally went behind me and grinded the hell out of my ass, like my ass cheeks were the last coffee grains on earth.
Outside it’s very, very packed. Just full of people standing up, trying to squeeze past each other. There isn’t much room to dance. Well, there isn’t much room to do anything due to the lack of space. It’s definitely more chilled out here. People are very chatty outside. Little dancing.
Video:
Walktrhough and timeline
Upon Departure
Departed 2:45AM. Most of the people had left by 2:00AM
I left my jumper behind, and it took a lot of talking with security to let one of us in to get it back (Lockout laws). They really try to enforce it. Security pretty much walk by your side to make sure you don’t order a sneaky drink.
Final Thoughts & Recommendation
This event is new, the venue is smaller, slightly cheaper than usual. Full of the younger crowd with the focus on EDM, and not RnB as you would typically find in other Asian-crowded places. Keep it in mind. Otherwise people here seemed like they were having a good time. I had a pretty good time here as well. I have no problem coming here again. 6.5/10