It was 4AM and Marty just got kicked out of the Oxford Art Factory – I asked some trannies on Oxford St what was good at this time. Arq was the definite place to go at this time. Sure thing, here we go!

Ground Level Arq Sydney

Twinkland @ Arq Sydney
Assessment Time: 4:25AM – 6:55AM
Opening Hours: 9PM – Late (apparently until midday next day?)
Lockout: None so far as I am aware of.
Address: 16 Flinders St, Taylor Square (off Oxford St)
Venue Website: http://www.arqsydney.com.au
Promoter Website: Appears to be self promoted by the venue .
Occurrence: Most Fridays. Exceptions are special events such as Fomo, the massive Foam Party regularly held here.
Outside Line: There were just 2 people in front of us when we approached. We quickly got in without any trouble, though the security was pretty strict on not letting drunk people inside. He just stares at you while he asks the standard sobrierity question “How are you tonight?”. Bloody scary.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Anything goes here. Most of the guys dancing have taken off their shirts to set the standard – don’t expect any less in a gay club.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Free all night. Free entry policy was introduced in May earlier in 2011.
Guestlist: N/A
Inside: Arq is comprised of two levels. Ground level and Underground. (1) Ground Level: Walk through revolving doors to enter the one large floor shaped in a diamond. On the right is the bar, while in front of you is all dancefloor, with podiums in the middle and back. The entire floorspace looks like it could hold 250 people easily. Through the back door you can walk downstairs to the smoking area. Down another flight of stairs and enter (2) Underground Level, where a similar layout exists to the top room, except the bar is on the left rather than the right. It is a little bit smaller than upstairs in terms of floor space as well. There are pool tables in the corner to keep you entertained, and some lounges at the back, probably for making out.
Cloak Room: On the right, straight after you get past security. $3 each item to be stored.
Bar Prices / Line: I forget.
Bathroom Facilities: Not utilised
Eviction Count: None seen.
DJs: Scott Tanner, Kitty Glitter
Music Style: Described by most people as progressive Trance/House, with some pop, I would agree.
Crowd: Dominantly male gay crowd tonight. Ages varied from young to older guys I met, who were probably in their 40’s. Wide variety of backgrounds as well, but most of the crowd appeared to be local Sydneysiders here.
Ratio: I’d say 95% guys, but I have no idea on the gay:straight ratio. There were definitely other straight guys here I suspect.
Entertainment: Shows from Summer Salt, Millie Poppins, Ripley Waters (aka The Glamazons). MC Benita to keep things going (I didn’t see the MC tonight at this time)
Atmosphere: Pretty much up until 4:45, everybody was on the ground level. I mean, ground was more superior than underground in terms of strobe and laser lighting I guess. Then once ground level had closed, everybody moved underground, or went home. I don’t know why they just kept ground level open – it might have been for noise reasons but who knows. Throughout the entire night there were sufficient numbers of people to keep this place busy. Quite surprised at how many guys were still up and about bouncing around the place. Both rooms were pretty dark, with lots of smoke machines, so you do get that dirty club feel for sure. It did get eventually stuffy after a while though. People are also quite friendly here, well the guys are anyway.
Video: Tour and music sample

Timeline
Feeling quite buggered
I’ve been dancing for quite a while now, and I regret not having a nap before coming out to attempt this 24 hour marathon, because I am just super freaking tired. We played a game of pool here but that didn’t help at all. I was still getting really tired. I must.. keep.. dancing!

Gay clubs – Not so scary anymore for me
The guys here are quite friendly and will talk to you, or you can talk to them. They love to give everyone a wet kiss on the ear/cheek so dont be surprised when it happens to you for the first time. I think if it was my first time at a gay club I would be freaking out, but tonight I was pretty relaxed about being here. It might have been just this particular club as it’s not as bright or smelly/dingy as other ones I’ve been to. I think the main reason I avoid gay clubs now is that there are no girls in them, rather than because there are gay guys there. 

Don’t play pokies
Killing time in the Pokies room I decided to put $2 and try my luck. The machine took my $2 but didn’t register the credits! Fucking bullshit. I hate technology so much.

Arrivederci
All I could do was yawn for the last 30 minutes. As I type this up, I am actually yawning. That’s pretty bad that you have to yawn, when you think about yourself yawning in the past. I had already been awake 20 hours, and I dont think I could do another 17 hours (I still had the 11 hour Stereosonic Festival in a few hours time), especially after all the drinking tonight. Marty and our female accomplice had pretty much given up a long time ago as well, so it was time to leave and to try the 24 hour party attempt some other time.

So we all left for some breakfast before going home. Next attempt, it will probably be done on a Saturday night, without any drinking, and with plenty of rest beforehand.

Final Thoughts & Recommendation

Arq is a pretty good club in its own right, and definitely one of the best gay clubs out there considering how it can still hold a crowd after 4AM. For free entry on Fridays its defintely worth checking out. I love progressive trance so it was a bonus too. Friendly crowd too. Though if you are not used to the gay scene, then I’ll leave that upto you to whether or not you choose to come here for some dirty late night dancing.

Score – 8.0/10