Took a break from Primary venue Sienna @ Establishment tonight to visit Brooklyn Hotel. It was dead, so I decided to came here.
Shameful, that I keep returning to this place. I can’t help it – its free. I am surprised though, that the upstairs club floor is actually packed! It really must be schoolies.. the poor kids.
Here’s a video of upstairs:
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Intent on going to Empire Hotel tonight but it was dead as – there were already cleaners cleaning the place up! Strange for only midnight. Random promoters for Ladylux give us free entry passes on the street, so the matter of ‘what venue do we go to next?’ was pretty much sorted out – here we go!
Robin Hood with M's Russian Commisar hat
Fridays @ Ladylux Nightclub, Kings Cross Sydney
Assessment Time: 12:10PM – 01:45AM
Opening Hours: 9:00PM or earlier ~ 03:00AM (facebook page states 06:00AM, but Dj set list lasted until 2AM.. so I wouldn’t know to be sure)
Lockout: No lockout.
Address: 2 Roslyn St, Potts Point (Kings Cross), Sydney.
Venue Website: http://www.ladylux.com.au
Promoter Website: Appears to be self promoted
Occurrence: Every Friday and Saturday is open. Saturday are the more heavily promoted nights while Fridays rarely get a mention.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual ok. Half the guys wore casual t-shirts while the other half wore collared shirts. Girls were mostly in dresses. Hats were allowed. I was dressed up as Robin Hood with feather hat.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $10 is the full cover charge. We were given promoter cards on the street to get free entry all night. A very fair deal here.
Guestlist: Submitted via the website. The existing link at time of writing is at http://www.myguestlist.com.au/mgl/ccp/ladylux/index.html
Inside: There’s not much of a giveaway that the entrance is of Ladylux. It’s just a doorway in the side of a building with 2 security guards outside. As you walk inside, there is a private VIP room to the immediate right. I didn’t go in there, but I would be making an educated guess based from the outside walls that it would only hold about 10 people. Continue walking past a small lounge area on the left – as you look around note the wallpapers – white with fuschia-coloured flowering patters on the walls. Continue to the next small area which is the bar. Once you reach the bar you are now at the edge of the dancefloor, which takes up probably two fifths of the entire floor area of the venue. DJ corner in the far right. The dancefloor area is about 5-6 people width by 15-20 people long. There are sofas along both sides of the dancefloor as well. At the far end wall are a set of lights that flash around looking pretty. The video below will walk you through the setup.
Cloak Room: No cloak room. Well I didn’t ask, but I didn’t see any signs indicating presence of a cloak room.
Bar Prices / Line: I didn’t drink tonight, but lining up would set you behind 2 or 3 other orders.
Music Style: Primarily Commercial House and Electro. The occasional RnB mashup song thrown in as well. I quite liked it as I knew the songs and people were singing along to it. Songs were mixed well without complaints.
Crowd: Almost entirely Caucasians, all young 20’s or teens. From the people we spoke with, backgrounds were a mix of locals and backpackers who mysteriously ended up in here. The ratio was about 35% women 65% guys. By the time we left at 2:00AM, it was almost all guys.
Entertainment: No extra entertainment.
Atmosphere: It’s pretty dark in here. The entire first half of the place (lounge areas) have been decorated with various Halloween things hanging from the ceiling and what not. Pretty cool. However, even before you notice the decorations, the first thing that hits you is the pungent smell of the whole place. It kind of smells like a mix of dried up alcohol spilled on the floor combined with the results of a very poor urinal flushing system, or someone peeing all over the entire place. It wasn’t powerful enough to scare you out of the club, but at various points throughout the night your nose would be wondering… ‘What on earth is that smell?’. Kind of like when I was in India – the yucky smell was always there in the main cities, but you tolerated it. People wise, the dancefloor itself always had people on it, so there was no need to feel lonely. Most kept to their own, there were also a few drunk guys as well.
Video: Walkthrough: Starting at the cash register – walk through the lounge area, bar area and dancefloor. (12:11AM)
Video: 360: Dancefloor from the corner where the DJ is (12:30AM) 
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Miles Dyson, the German DJ I accidentally experienced in 2008, was in town again. I had been given copy of his Triple J mix up CD that night, and by now I was a fan of his music, so I thought I would check it out again, so we go!
The Main Room of Oxford Art Factory
Fridays (Miles Dyson) @ Oxford Art Factory
Assessment Time: 12:30AM – 03:15AM
Opening Hours: 8:00PM – 5:00AM or 6:00AM
Lockout: None
Address: 46 Oxford St, Sydney
Venue Website: http://www.oxfordartfactory.com
Promoter Website: www.atmydestination.com
Occurrence: Every Friday
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual was the norm here. anything goes.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 for the main room. Free in the smaller room. After 2AM, it was free for all. I think this was total bullshit, as the main DJ Miles Dyson’s set didn’t finish until 3AM. People were able to experience one half of the DJ set. I wouldn’t complain if I was on the freebie side, but tonight I am on the paying side of things, and I wasn’t happy about it. The guy who was supposed to check for stamps via the back entrance was just hanging out at the other back door protecting the beer storage. Useless.
Guestlist: None
Inside: Walk inside and underground to the first room which was the main stage area for DJ acts. This room had an upper lounge area overlooking the dancefloor, which could hold 100 people or so comfortably. Bar on the right wall, and stools, chairs, lounges on the left side of the lower floor. Continue walking to the other room which is a bit smaller. Bar on the left, lounges on the right and a narrow strip in the middle to mingle around. This could hold about 80 or so people.
Cloak Room: Located in the smaller room entrance for $3 an item. Non-Asian venues get it so cheap.
Bar Prices / Line: Didn’t drink tonight, but in the small room the line was a few people deep, while in the main room, there was really no line at all – you could get service anytime you wanted.
DJs: Main room: 9PM-11PM Random Weapon, 11PM-1AM Datadex, 1AM-3AM Miles Dyson (GER), 3AM-4:30AM Karton (ACT), 4:30-Close Audiophilez
Music Style: Electro House, Breaks. I do like my electro house music. Miles probably played a lot of his classic songs and some new ones thrown in as well. You would enjoy this set if you were familiar with the music. There was a moment or two where I couldn’t feel the rhythm and dance halfway through the set but otherwise I was pretty happy with the set. The euphoria of having Miles come back was good enough to keep me going throughout.
Crowd: For the Miles Dyson set, it was the initial core of Miles Dyson fans and friends they dragged along. Mostly a 20’s crowd, caucasian. Spotted probably 4 other Asians in here.
Entertainment: No extra things here
Atmosphere: Initially only about half the dancefloor was packed, and I was surprised. Last time when Miles came down to play there was a noticeably bigger crowd, but it might have been today was a Friday. Who knows. It appears the crowd here was here for the music, and pretty much everyone was dancing away.
Video: 360 in the main room
Video: Jump from the second room to the main room
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A friend’s birthday tonight, and my first time to the popular Candy’s Apartment on a Saturday – here we go!
Candys Apartment - Best photo I could get of the main dancefloor
Saturdays “Shake Shake Shake” @ Candys Apartment (Potts Point, Kings Cross, Sydney)
Assessment Time: 01:30AM – 03:50AM
Opening Hours: Early – 5:00 or 6:00AM
Lockout: No lockout
Address: 22 Bayswater Road, Potts Point (Kings Cross) Sydney
Venue Website: http://www.candys.com.au
Promoter Website: Self Promoted
occurence: Open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and probably Sunday as well. Tonight’s review is for Saturday.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Pretty much anything is allowed, including dirty sneakers. Just don’t look drunk or cause trouble. It took about 10-15 minutes of lining up outside, and another 5-10 minutes lining up in the stairs to get inside. I didn’t exactly time it but its an educated guess.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20 standard. $15 on guestlist before 10PM. $15 after 2AM for everyone.
Guestlist: carol@candys.com.au – see website for updated guestlist details.
Inside: Tonight the entire place was open. Walk downstairs underground to enter the rear of the main dancefloor to hold 100 or so people. DJ on the far left. Upper lounge and dance area that runs on the left alongside the dancefloor to the DJ area, where you can also dance next to him/her. Bar on the right of the dancefloor. Lounges behind the dancefloor, and behind the lounges is the backroom and second bar area, where it is close off on smaller nights.
Cloak Room: $5 for all items.
Bar Prices: Didn’t drink tonight, though the line didn’t seem that long. No longer than 5 to 10 minutes to get a drink from the backroom. I would say the same for the main bar as well.
DJs: Slappin’ Plastic, Brojo le Fro, Ember, Smokin’ Brojo Mekhael, Teez, Diskoriot, Black tie Dj’s, DJ Frostii, We Can Solve Mysteries.
Music Style: Each DJ had their own different styles. The underlying style was house music, whether it be mixed with rock songs such as Chop Suey or recent house songs such as Barbara Streisand. It was definitely good enough and thumpy enough to dance to.
Crowd: Mostly caucasian crowd. Mostly young 18 and early 20 year olds.
Entertainment: No extra entertainment
Atmosphere: Dark and loud throughout the club. It was pretty mush packed on the main dancefloor the entire time we were here. The backroom didn’t receive as much attention, but half the time there was someone dancing there. It got pretty smelly in the backroom after someone vomited. The crowd here was well into the music back in the main room, and even one of the DJs was into it, drinking and taking in the crowd.
The backroom was open tonight - Candys Apartment Sydney
Video: Walkthrough – Side to the front DJ area. Jump into the front of the dancefloor through lounges to the backroom.
Video: 360 of the Main Room Dancefloor 
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Note: This event has been superseded by the “Pacha” event as of November 2012. Review at http://www.jamestran.net/?p=4218
A drop by here on urging from a friend . an unintentional visit, but I suppose we can go see what its like!
Ivy Bar Dancing Girls
Pureivy Saturdays @ Ivy Bar Sydney
Assessment Time: 11:00AM – 01:15AM
Opening Hours: 6PM – “Late”. Late being at least 3AM
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 320 George St, Sydney
Venue Website: http://www.merivale.com/ivy/ivybar
Promoter Website: http://www.experienceentertainment.com.au, http://www.pureivy.com.au
Occurrence: Every Saturday
Dress Code / Door Policy: Collared shirts are expected with a tidy appearance. Girls are very neat and beautiful. Guys are similarly dressed very well in here. You probably would call this place pretentious.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20 flat entry charge. On guestlist, it is $15 before 11PM
Guestlist: rsvp@pureivy.com.au, guestlist@pureivy.com
Inside: Line up at the back lane entrance behind George St. Two ways to enter, via the stairs to Level 1 or via the Elevators to the level 2 area. If going up via the stairs, you walk up to be presented with the bar on the left, restaurant and lounges on the right. In the middle of the courtyard is the dancing area for about 70-80 people with DJ above the water feature in front. Garden plants are spotted around the open area. Lounges and second bar in the far right corner. Walk up the spiral staircase to a bar, and more lounges in a one way walkway pattern around the perimeter of the building. From Level 2 you can peer down the middle to the bottom level. The decor is of someone’s clean backyard with colours of white and yellow throughout
Cloak Room: No cloak room services
Bar Prices: I didn’t drink tonight, but I overheard from a girl buying drinks that upstairs is more expensive than downstairs. Friend bought two drinks which cost him around $26 downstairs. This place is not cheap.
DJs: Resident night – Minx, Tass
Music Style: Popular songs mixed in a electro house/ house manner. The tempo is not too fast, and the DJ has a saxophone player and bongo drum player for support. It’s pretty similar to what one gets at Cargo Bar or Bungalow 8. It’s a safe music style.
Crowd: Mostly Caucasian here. Mostly older crowd of 20’s and above. There were a few spots of Asians and blacks here. Normal folk would call this crowd pretentious, and I guess in some ways they are, but I just see it as they don’t want to get all dirty and sweaty as in a normal club. Well, maybe that is pretentious. I found that the crowd was seemingly friendly. Perhaps it was the dancing types that are friendly, and not the normal bar types who don’t dance at all who give the pretentious perception for the rest of these well dressed guys.
Entertainment: The DJ has a live saxophone and bongo drum player. There are also for periods of time, 2 dancers dressed in white whom dance in the center garden piece.
Atmosphere: Pretty airy, pretty cool, thanks to the open ceiling. Inside the dancefloor, people are just bobbing about. It’s too squishy in here to be able to properly dance without hitting other people. You could really only raise your hand in the air and wave it around when a favourable song begins to play. Seeing as the bar was of an open air design, people are free to smoke as they please anywhere in the middle courtyard.
Video: Walkthrough Level 2 and Level 1
Video: 360 of the dance area
Main courtyard dance area taken from the back
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After multiple times coming here after 3AM, it was time to give this place a fair go. Guestlist sorted out, so here we go!
(All images / video removed by request of the promoter Phat Entertainment)
Zaia @ Space Nightclub
Assessment Time: 10:30PM – 04:00AM
Opening Hours: No idea on when doors actually open. Possibly 09:45PM – 04:00AM
Lockout: None
Address: Level 3, 127 Liverpool St, Sydney
Venue Website: http://www.spacevenue.com.au
Promoter Website: http://www.phatentertainment.com.au
Occurence: Every Friday.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual allowed. Hats allowed. My sneakers were allowed in. Basically anything goes here. Guys were a mix of casual and collared shirts/dress shoes. Girls were mostly in dresses.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: (On guestlist) – Free before 10PM, $20 between 10PM – 11:15PM, $25 afterwards. If you ain’t on the guestlist, it’s a $25 flat charge. There is no separate guestlist line.
Guestlist / Birthday Package: Sent mine through musesydney@yahoo.com.au, the 3rd party promoters for Zaia. Reserved area was sorted out for M’s birthday, but no birthday free passes were given to us as promised, despite protests at the register. Package included bottle of champagne, which was given in the form of drink passes. However no cloak room pass was given, nor VIP table service. Admittedly there were 20-30 birthdays tonight, and I did not specifically ask for free entry, cloak room pass or VIP table service, but I did ask for the birthday party package which, I was told, would include these things. A birthday boy or girl DOES NOT have to go through the motions to ask for these birthday things.
Inside: Please note Space has been renovated since early 2010. Walk up the stairs to the Shark Hotel level, where red carpet and cash register awaits your money. No longer are the elevators used to enter the venue. Walk up another flight of stairs to enter Space Nightclub into the Trance room. The wooden dancefloor has been largened to accommodate more people. A stereoscopic light has been installed which dishes out some funky light patterns. Dancefloor holds about 40 people capacity. Bar servicing this room on the right, and an internal smoking room at the rear to hold about 20 people, like you see at some airports. Enter the bigger room via either of the two doors to be presented with a large dancefloor for about 300-400 people. Tonight, the cage podiums have been rid of! Instead, a catwalk like setup has been created, right into the middle front of the dancefloor, for the bikini contest later on. Two single podiums reside next to each of the columns holding the ceiling up.
Cloak Room: $10 Large Items, $5 small items. $3 Recheck. Ridiculous pricing as usual from this promoter.
Bar Prices: $8.50 for a Vodka Cranberry. There are two bars tonight, and the shorter lines were always on the Trance Room side. People at the RnB side waited about 20 minutes for a drink, while in the Trance Room I waited about 5-10 minutes.
Music Style: Primarily RnB in the large room, with some hip hop later in the night and some house mashups thrown in the mix as well. Repeats of songs were experienced – Mixing was done well though
Crowd: Primarily local Asians. A handful of white people, but I would say no more than 10 or 20 in total.
Entertainment: Bikini Party – Competition for a $5000 first prize. More details later. Also podiums to which only girls were allowed to dance on in the earlier part of the night.
Atmosphere: RnB: It wasn’t too busy at 11, but at around 11:30 it pretty much picked up and peaked until around 2AM – 2:30AM when the bikini contest concluded. Dancefloor was pretty busy throughout – you had room to dance around, and only about half the time you had to move around to let other people through. In the Trance Room, the trance music really only came on at around 11:30PM, and you always had enough room to bounce around and spin and do stuff, but it always managed to stay busy enough to not look too dead. In general the crowd vibe was friendly. The rest of the non dancers just stood around the edges of the dancefloor or lounges.
Trance: Dark throughout the night, smoke machines, and flashy nights with loud noise. People are more reserved here as we are all about dancing. Pretty warm and stuffy in here as well as the night wore on.
Video: Walk-through – Trance room , RnB room, smoking room, back into the trance room.
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Video: Trance Room 360
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Video: RnB Room 720
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