NB: The Bank Nightclub was forced to close in 2013 after a successful 3 year run. This review remains on the site for archive purposes.
The Bank Nightclub
Absolutely sick of RnB clubs and lack of diverse offerings on Friday lately, so I decided to go to Kings Cross – Specifically at a place called The Bank, where I read it was refurbished recently. I needed some house music, and M comes along. What do you know as we walk in – It’s RnB! ahahah far our brussel sprouts. It looks really nice though and I don’t see many asians at all, so we go in anyway – here we go!
Addiction (Final Night) @ The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross, Sydney
Assessment Time: 11:00PM – 01:30AM, 02:00AM – 03:45AM
Opening Hours: 10:00PM – 04:00AM (closing time uncertain)
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.thebanknightclub.com.au , http://www.meentertainment.com.au
Address:42 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross Sydney
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual ok. Hats are ok. It’s mostly urban here with the guys, and the women are all dressed up.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20. Free before 10pm and discount after, if on the guestlist.
Guestlist: info@meentertainment.com.au
Inside: The venue itself is definitely suave with the feel of elegance. Dark polished wood everywhere, carpeted lounge areas. Ground level holds the narrow but long dancefloor for 150 or so people. Upstairs overhangs a balcony / 2nd tier lounge dance area but it is closed off for tonight. Bar is on the right with a shelf of alcohol which adorns side wall. So many bottles of Jagermeister 🙂
Cloak Room:None offered
Bar: $5 for most drinks before 11pm. Standard prices thereafter.
DJs: I don’t know but at one point they had DJ’s at the same time, albiet alternatively spinning and mixing into each other’s songs instead of playing at the same time.
Music: Hip Hop and RNB, mostly on the Hip hop side of things. Usually at the RnB club , you would hear Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre west coast rap at 2am – tonight it was being blazed out at 11pm. It may not be for everyone. I do like my hip hop, but there were some songs that I didnt know either. There were multiple moments where M and I considered leaving the club due to a questionable or unknown song being played by the DJ, but since we already paid $20 to get in, we stayed another song. Also throughout the night a random house song would be played out as well. It was a mind fuck, and not in a good way. Also near closing time, the DJ was guilty of playing songs a second time, even thought it was a different DJ. – totally wrong
Crowd:Initially an even mix of aussies, wogs / euros, and black / african people. There are also a handful of asians. Ages were probably 20’s or older. There did not seem to be any policy or any pretension in this place. Later on in the night approaching 2-3am, the crowd becomes a ratio of 50% black african and 50% everyone else. Some of the girls left were hot so it kept us staying. Shameless.
Entertainment:MC to keep the vibe going throughout the night. No other entertainment. At one point in the night, 2 DJ’s were playing , switching songs with each other, which was something I hadn’t seen before at a club.
Atmosphere:Initially at entering at 11pm, it’s pretty good and everyone is dancing, which is bloody surprising. Hopes are up, however it doesn’t really get any busier, and stays at the busy state throughout the night, which is still good. In terms of friendliness, it was dark enough to dance on your own, but since it was such a small dancefloor cross-area, you are always under the eyes of someone as you dance.
Video Walkthrough of The Bank Nightclub
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We had just finished an epic day at Future Music Festival, and my body was about to go into shock. I was going through a mini-hangover from the drinking earlier in the day. I was starving, I was thirsty, I was tired from the walking and dancing. My body was royally screwed over and crying for some rest. But you know.. it was only midnight and the night was still young… Haymarket Hotel was nearby so I scoffed down some nutrients from a Korean restaurant and then I went down for a little visit.. here we go!
The Market @ Haymarket Hotel
Assessment Time: ~12:30 – 2am
Opening Hours: 9pm – 2am
Website: http://www.themarketvip.com
Address: 661-663 George St, Chinatown, Sydney
Dress Code / Door Policy: As stated on the door “STRICT DRESS CODE APPLIES.. Guys collared shirts or jackets are essential – no sportswear, shorts or runners”. I was still wearing my American Indian outfit from Future Music Festival a few hours earlier. It was just brown pants with the indian top on, non-collared. I walked up to the scary looking security woman. She looks at me and my outfit and lets me in – telling the girls at the counter “Don’t worry let him in – He’s alright!!!”. Hell yeah – Chief Breaking wind is awesome! (Edit 24/03/10 – Truth be told, the promoters knew about Future Music Festival and apparently have ‘relaxed’ the dress code for tonight for any FMF party goers)
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20
Guestlist: Discount if on list. email themarketvip@gmail.com – free entry before 10:30 . Before I got in, some people spoke with me and said I could pretend to be on “David’s guestlist”. However when I got to the counter, guestlists were finished at 12am, so it was no longer relevant. I know the promoter, but only if he were here tonight I could’ve scored free entry.
Inside: Promotional material claims 3 levels. Well its 3, but more 2 and a half. Bottom level is the Mi Cocktail lounge, and is very loungey, and dark. It has a bar and the lounge area is cut into 3 smaller areas, and for the promoters point of view it is presumed these can be used for birthday events. Ground level is where the main bar is and main dancefloor is. The actual dancefloor itself is very small. As small as the one they have at Bar 333. (Yes, they do have a dancefloor, its that small) – about 4 x 5 metres square. Even the bar here is bigger than the floor. Stools are everywhere around. Top level upstairs hangs over the bar and lounge area, to overlook the ground floor. I didnt go upstairs because I was told a group of gangsters were chilling out over there. (All the gansters have matching leather jackets with their gang sign emblazoned on the back) This is where also the DJ is spinning his tracks.
Cloak Room: None
Bar: I didn’t drink tonight
DJs: Kai, Willtown, Biggie, Beef, Nam (obtained for the 20th March event, but these are usually the same DJs for the weeks prior).
Music: RnB, HipHop, House Mashups. I can’t believe they have one DJ to service all 3 levels here. Could it be a money saving exercise? Who knows, it’s a different approach though.
Crowd: Asian, and mostly older. There is a 30th birthday party here, and I see some other asians I recognise around the 25 year old age mark.
Entertainment: No extra dancers or MC that I could recall, but there probably was an MC
Atmosphere: It was busy, but it was not at capacity as it was a few weeks ago when I tried to get in. Interesting. Half the asians being at Future Music Festival and going home afterwards may have been a factor.
360 view video from the ground floor dancefloor
Keep reading more on the timeline ..
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Highlife - Favela Podium
I’ve always wanted to go back to Favela. With Privilege Bar closed, their Friday RnB nights moved to Favela – It was time to check it out – Dance buddies C and M are with me tonight – here we go!
Highlife @ Favela Nightclub Sydney
Assessment Time: 12:50am – 1:50am
Website: http://www.favela.com.au, http://www.paulstrangepresents.com
Address: 1 Kellet Way, Potts Point, Sydney
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual ok. Hats were ok in here.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20
Guestlist: send to guestlist@paulstrangepresents.com
Inside: This is a two room setup. As you walk in, you will see lounges and a central bar. On the lower level is a tiny dancefloor area for 20 or so people and a DJ. This is where the old school and funky house is playing. There are two separate flights of stairs to go up to the main room. Here is a slightly larger floor for 50 or so people. Bar, DJ, and lounges along the side. There is also a VIP room if you choose to borrow.
Cloak Room: None
Bar: $4 Tap Beers, $6 House shots. The wait was about 5 minutes for a glass of water.
DJs: Moto, Tikelz, Samurai, Mo Funk, Maurice Beats
Music: RnB, Hip Hop, Old School, Funky House. No real complaints.
Crowd: Mostly white. I think we were the only asians in here. Everyone here is young and good looking.
Entertainment: There is an MC in the main room to help out with the atmosphere. The lights help as well.
Atmosphere: It was pretty crap throughout the whole place. I heard Saturdays are packed, so I assumed Friday tonight was to be awesome as well. Well, it wasn’t. It was pretty shit. There were no more than 5 people on the dancefloor below, and no more than 10 in the main pit of the dancefloor.
Videos:
Walkthrough:
Video of the ceiling lights:
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“No” I say…. “I hate pumphouse!” I say…
It was Saturday night and my friends really wanted to go here. i didn’t. I couldn’t ditch them.. sigh – I wonder if it’s better now… here we go!
Static @ Pumphouse Review
Assessment Time: 12:15 – 2am
Dress Code: Casual ok. Everybody here dresses up in their dancing rnb/hip hop gear. Baggy pants, MJ jackets, and hats are the norm.
Cover Charge: $25. Discount on guestlist before 11pm I think.
Music: RNB and hip-hop. When I mention hip-hop, I mean lots of rapping, and lots of rnb songs which you can dance your heart to. It was good tonight.
Atmosphere: Average. The place wasn’t packed nor was it empty… in essence it was a bit disappointing as there were people on the floor, but upstairs there were only about 15 people, looking down. you could easily find a place to sit down here.
Inside: 2 square podiums for the dancers, and wannabe dancers, dancefloor to hold a good 100 or so people. Upstairs is the DJ area and another small dance area, but nobody really goes up there.
Walkthrough video:
360 Video
Entertainment: Female podium dancers. Good stuff.
Podium dancers, and a MJ fan with his red jacket
Bar: No shots after midnight. Booyah. This was a huge dealbreaker for my friends tonight. We wanted a place to have shots all night!
Crowd at static @ pumphouse
Timeline
Again, everybody is a great dancer.
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Leadup
“ITS A BURLESQUE PARTY TONIGHT! COME!!” Green says
“Where?”
“I don’t know – we are being driven. COME!”
Hmm women dressed in lingerie… check
Hmm a free ride to the city… check
But where was the party at? ……
“Pumphouse” the driver says.
“WHAT!!? Are you serious??” I was just at Pumphouse the week prior. I’m not a fanatic of it and I don’t completely mind going, but visiting it twice in a row was too much for old James. Here we go…
Pumphouse
Location: 17 Little Pier St, Darling Harbour
Website: http://www.pumphouse.com.au
Inside: 2 floors. Top floor was just a gallery / patio section to allow viewing of activities downstairs, and to relax. IT gave the whole place a hall-like feel. Bottom floor was a medium sized floor which could hold probably 70 or so people. Lounges in the back, and two podiums in the middle.
Event: Static
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $15 before 11pm on guestlist before 11. Unsure about between 11-12am, but after midnight, you pay $25 .
Opening: 10pm-4am
Attire / Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual accepted. Hats accepted. I got in past the bouncers without hassle.
Crowd: Asian
Music: RNB / Hip Hop / House (I didn’t hear any House though) Typical tunes were more on the hip hop side – i.e. none of that slow slow rnb stuff. It was all pumping, it was all good.
Atmosphere: People were dancing, jumping, and people were sitting. I suppose if you were sitting down you wouldn’t have had a good time. There weren’t that many people (its a small place), nethertheless the energy was definitely there.
The view of Pumphouse main floor from the above level
Timeline
A review from a regular patron – mixed feelings:
I was next to some guy in line, lets call him Orange. Orange starts talking to me. He talks about how he used to visit Pumphouse every single week before it temporarily closed. Now that it opened again under new promoters, he’s only started coming back recently.
He said to me, in the ‘old days’ of Pumphouse, if one could dance really well, the hot chicks would come to you. Now, they only come to you if you look good. You can’t even approach any girl without getting brushed off immediately. Nobody cares about the dancers anymore he wails. That’s a shame. It would be difficult to pick up here? He still came here though, as there weren’t any other decent hip hop places to dance to (I certainly cant think of any other hip hop venue – Bamboo is more on the lines of rnb, and Hunter Bar – not for me either)
A female professional dancer!
They finally got a hot female professional dancer, compared to the two men last week. I have a video but its really really small sized:
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A friend’s birthday to say hello!
Pumphouse
Location: 17 Little Pier St, Darling Harbour
Website: http://www.pumphouse.com.au
Inside: 2 floors. Top floor was just a gallery / patio section to allow viewing of activities downstairs, and to relax. IT gave the whole place a hall-like feel. Bottom floor was a medium sized floor which could hold probably 70 or so people. Lounges in the back, and two podiums in the middle.
Event: Static
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Discount on guestlist before midnight, $25 otherwise.
Opening: 10pm-4am
Attire / Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual accepted. Hats accepted. I got in past the bouncers without hassle.
Crowd: Asian
Music: RNB / Hip Hop / House (I didn’t hear any)
Typical tunes were more on the hip hop side – i.e. none of that slow slow rnb stuff. It was all pumping, it was all good.
Atmosphere: People were dancing, jumping, and people were sitting. I suppose if you were sitting down you wouldn’t have had a good time. There weren’t that many people (its a small place), nethertheless the energy was definitely there.
Timeline
I was at the register. The people in front were guestlisted and when it got to me “SORRY! Guestlist has ended!”. It was midnight Arghh nooo if only I got here earlier!! Shame on me for playing two extra Guitar Hero songs before I got here. I grudgingly handed out the $25, knowing i wouldn’t be here long..
Bopping with a lifelong friend
I found the birthday boy. We’ve known each other since I was born. This was the first night we’ve hit a club together. So the whole time, he’s got his arm around me so tight.. so happy to see me. Likewise, it was good to see him too! There wasn’t much room to manouvre around, so basically we stood there, screaming out various ‘yeahs!’ and ‘woos!’ to the music, while I had my finger poking the sky. It was a simple affair. However, didn’t get the chance to waltz around and dance / meet others.
Podium dancers – MEN!
I like my podium dancers, and I ilke my podiums – but at this event, they had TWO GUYS as dancers!! They seemed to enjoy themselves. They were doing the hip hop thing. It was something different, but we all prefer scantily clad chicks, don’t we? I wonder if I could apply for a spot, and show off my average dance moves.
Coda (12:40am)
I was inside for a total of 40 minutes. That’s a rate of $37.50/hr to dance. *dies*. It wasn’t so bad with my friend around. I head down to Brooklyn for my next stop.
I am would only recommend this place unless you love your hip hop/rnb, your dancing.. and only if you go with friends.