The event ‘LKF’ has been closed at the Civic Hotel, and thank god for that. The promoters have moved their Saturday event to another venue, Mr. Tipply’s under the new moniker “Nova”. Time to check it out!
12:50AM peak time on the dance floor.
NOVA Nightclub Saturdays @ Mr. Tipplys (Formerly City Hotel)
Nova has been running since September 2014 on a Saturday weekly basis. The promoters aim to keep out the riff raff by promoting the event as for VIP only (i.e. Men with money to spend on alcohol) and promote attractive waitresses for “one on one” service. Kind of borderline sexual. The promoters directly target the Overseas Chinese crowd in Sydney by bringing in popular Chinese celebrities or DJs.
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
10:30PM – 4:00AM
Address:
349 Kent St (The old City Hotel)
Parking:
There is nearby street parking on Kent St or at the Kent St carpark with weekend flat rate.
Venue Website:
Event Website:
Promoters:
Mizuya Entertainment, Dynamic Entertainment
Occurrence:
Every Saturday since September 2014
Dress Code / Door Policy:
Smart casual at minimum, but I got away with running shoes, a hat and t-shirt. (I had just returned from the Hardwell concert) To be sure, we asked the promoters and security if it was okay to get in looking like poor uni students. They said it was fine.
They let me in like dressed this.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
Tonight it was a full blown $30. It’s finally happened outside of Marquee and Ivy. Massive hole in my wallet.
Passouts: No passouts before midnight.
Guestlist: See website for details
Cloak Room: $5 initial reservation and $2 for bag re-checks. Standard for an Asian club.
Bottle Service / Table Service:
There are ten bottle service areas inside the club. Any object that resembles a table is converted to a bottle service table. The pricing per table is unknown, but typically you are looking at for a few hundred dollars per bottle. 
Tonight:
Assessment Time:
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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.
Continue reading »
The promoters for the old popular Saturday nights at Zeta Bar called it a day, and the gap has been filled by Urban Agent et al, for tonight’s event. Let’s check it out!
11:50AM
Embassy @ Zeta Bar
This review encompasses multiple visits: Grand Opening night (May 2013), various visits in between, and a 19th May 2014 full visit.
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
09:00PM – 04:00AM
Address:
Hilton Hotel, accessed via 488 George St. Zeta Bar is on Level 4, but you need to wait outside in line as the elevator is guarded by security.
Venue Website:
http://www.hiltonsydney.com.au
Event Website:
https://www.facebook.com/embassysydney/
Promoters:
Urban Agent, et al.
Occurrence:
Every Saturday since May 2013
Dress Code / Door Policy:
Encouraged that collared shirt and dress shoes for guys, and at least decent dresses for girls. Not too casual. Quite a number of guys were very suited up / dressed well. No homo.
I got in most recently (20/4/14) with a t-shirt, jeans and my running shoes. I was not planning to go clubbing this particular revisit.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
$25 Standard entry if you are coming off the street
$15 before 11:30PM if you submitted a guestlist. Grand opening, I got the $15, then the week after I sent my own guestlist a day before and they didn’t find my list on the night, so I had to pay $25 second time round..
Drinks
I didn’t purchase drinks here.
Bottle Service
$330AUD for a bottle of 750mL Grey Goose with unlimited soft drinks – Only available for reserved tables.
Passouts:
No passouts before midnight.
Lockout laws in place.
Guestlist:
embassy@ua.com.au
Cloak Room:
$5 for any item in the cloak room. The cloak room is just as you walk in on the left wall, at the realms of the dancefloor.
Tonight:
Assessment Times:
19th April 2014: 11PM-03:00AM
10th May 2013: 11:30PM – 1:30AM
3rd May 2013 (Grand Opening): 11:20PM – 2:30AM
Outside Line:
(19/4/14 ; 11:30PM) Took about 10 minutes of lining up.
At 11:20PM: (3/4/13) It took 5 minutes to get to the front of the line, but at that point in time, the venue reached “capacity” at 400 people. I had to wait a further 20 minutes (11:45PM) before I could be let in. No idea how long the people behind me had to wait but it would have to be had been quite some time.
Inside:
The layout has remained exactly the same. Elevator to take you up to level 4. Come out and turn left to enter the near front of the narrow, marble stone, hallway-like venue. On the right is the DJ set with dancefloor (for about 50 people) and “fireplace” which isn’t really on. There is also the largest of the reserved areas, which is the same size as the dancefloor.
Turn left and walk down the hallway to the rear. On your left is the long main bar which serves cocktails and standard drinks. It can serve probably 15-20 people.
At the far end is the second bar, to hold 10 people at the frontline. In this rear there is a second, “minor” DJ playing beats separate to the main area at the front.
On the right are small curtained off reserved areas for people who like sitting down in a nightclub.There are about 2 large reserved areas and 3 smaller, non-enclosed areas which are just like sofas. On the far left is the outdoor smoking area / terrace overlooking george st.
It’s quite the long and narrow place and almost resembles Martin Place Bar (where the same promoters used to promote) but more relaxed and classier.
Bathroom Facilities:
Pretty well maintained. The kind where there is a permanent person in the washroom giving you paper towels.
Music Style:
Mostly Rnb, Top 40 and some daring trance / house / EDM tracks. Lots of hands in the air kind of tunes.
Crowd:
(19/4/14) Mostly Aussie Asians. Mix of ages, but mostly people in their mid-20’s late 20’s.
(2013)Opening night it was a mix of Asian and non-Asians who thought it was a regular night. The following week there was pretty much all Asians.
Ratio:
Not too favourable. There were plenty of guys to go around the place. Best guesstimate 1 girl to 3 guys.
Entertainment:
No extra MC’s or dancers
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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.
Continue reading »
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
Continue reading »
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 friend and I have flown into Singapore just to attend the ZoukOut festival this weekend. It’s the biggest turnout out of its 13 year history with 41,000 people attendence and a relatively strong line up. Also with the cancellation of Alesso for the Stereosonic Australian Music Festival shows, it would be a great opportunity to see him. So let’s put on some onesies and see how it is!
ZoukOut Music Festival 2013 @ Silosa Beach, Sentosa Island, Singapore
ZoukOut Festival
Essentials:
Opening Hours:
Friday: 8PM? – 5AM
Saturday: 8PM? – 8AM
The times suit the climate of Singapore, as it often rains during the daytime, while at night there is a lesser chance of rain occurring. Both nights the weather at night turned out clear.
Address:
It’s held on Silosa Beach, Sentosa Island
Parking:
Pretty much everyone caught a taxi here or caught a shuttle bus from a nearby MRT station. If you were lucky you could have booked a hotel on Sentosa.
Venue Website:
http://www.sentosa.com.sg
Event Website:
http://www.zoukout.com
Promoters:
http://www.zoukclub.com
Occurrence:
Every year since 2000
Dress Code / Door Policy:
Pretty much anything is allowed, bar being nude. A guy even brought in a blow up doll without any troubles. I wore my bumblebee onesie, which turned out to be one of the worst decisions made in a humid place such as Singapore.
Beach pre drinks
Entry Fee / Cover Charge:
Two Day Festival Pass: $168 SGD
Day 1 Happy Hour (entry before 10PM): $88
Day 1 Advance [1st release]: $98
Day 1 Standard [2nd release]: $108
Day 1 Tickets at the event: $118
Day 2 Happy Hour (entry before 10PM): $98
Day 2 Advance [1st release]: $108
Day 2 Standard [2nd release]: $118
Day 2 Tickets at the event: $128
Each day is assigned a separate wristband. My friend got caught out and we assumed the wristband applied for both days (as per Stereosonic). He didn’t bring his ticket for Day 2 and the guys at the counter would not accept a wristband and online receipt as official acceptance of payment – he had to sit out Day 2.
Passouts:
So long as you had a wristband you were able to go in and out of the beach as you please.
Cloak Room:
Yes. $20 SGD
Tonight:
Outside Line:
Day 1: Quite fast
Day 2: Quite slow. Loads more people attended Day 2 and a lot of cutting the line was involved.
Inside:
Entrance is on the East Side of Silosa beach. Various bars and stalls are scattered around the beach. The Star Stage is the first big stage on the right, while the Main Stage is on the West Side of the beach. There are other smaller areas with swimming pools and ‘VIP’ areas to hang out which have views of the stages. The best VIP area would probably be the Citibank area, with well a lit decor and front Pool, while being near the Main Stage on the Western side.
Strawberry
Bar Prices / Line:
The wait was about 10-15 minutes for a drink on average. This year saw the introduction of the pre-paid card system for drinks, which is becoming the standard for most music festivals.
$10 for all Mixed Vodkas, Gins, Bourbons, Whiskeys [Mixed with Green Tea, Coke, Sprite or Soda]
$5 for Redbull, Soft Drinks, Green Tea.
Tip: As in most Asian countries, the cheapies (including myself) pretty much got their pre-drinks from 7-Eleven and drank outside on the beach before going in. There was only one 7-Eleven on the way to Silosa beach and it was packed. The 7-Eleven employees were just dishing out the alcohol and beers, while people queued for drinks.
DJs: (Internationals listed here, but there were also many other local acts)
Day 1: 12th Planet (US), Benga (UK), Afrojack (NED), Example & DJ Wire (UK), Ferry Corsten (NED), Krewella (US), NERVO (AUS) ,Otto Knows (SWE)
Day 2: Teal / Nitelist Music (WOMB, TOKYO), Alesso (SWE), Danny Avila (SPA), Dash Berlin (NED), Kölsch (DEN), Lee Foss & Anabel Englund (US), Martin Solveig (FRA), Seth Troxler (US), Solomun (GER), Zedd (GER), Cyberjapan Dancers (JPN)
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