Fridays @ Side Bar
(Assessment time: 10:30-2:30am)

Address: Corner of George and Pitt St, Sydney
Dress Code: Casual allowed. Hats allowed.
Entry Fee/Cover Charge: Free all night
Crowd: Backpackers from mixed backgrounds
Music: Top 40, Pop, Rock, Rnb, House – general party tunes. So some tunes you’ll like, and some you wouldn’t.
Atmosphere: It was pretty cold outside, so the place hadn’t reached capacity yet.  it was probably 40% capacity. The important bit was that there were people always dancing in the floor area.

Timeline
Feeling bloated
I just felt bloated for the first two hours so I was drinking cups of water non-stop. My dancing wasn’t on par at all. Suddenly, the nauseating feeling that comes from drinking too much earlier, had disappeared! That’s when I started to bust out the moves.

Busting out moves
I was just killing it! Someone I met tonight asked if I was part of a dance crew – no way – i wasn’t good enough. However at the bar, I was definitely the best =) A scottish girl even came up and asked for a dance with me. Later a group of girls see me and readily dance with me as well. That was fun!

Me at side bar, with my scarf

People farting
We hung out at the back, and let me tell you, its a bit annoying when you have open room but then someone lets off a fart. yuck. that’s all I have to say about this smelly matter.

Michael Jackon tributes
In the beginning, it was pretty dead in terms of people dancing. Then the DJ starts playing some Michael Jackson. He had died the previous week. People got up to dance. Another MJ song, and another, and pretty soon the floor had everybody dancing. We all love this guy.

Coda
We just left due to exhaustion at 2.30am, and there was a slight risk of the place becoming a sausage fest. I would  probably only go here with friends tonight, as it was a little dead compared to other nights.

We arrive, and the register clearly has a $20 sign. However they just stamp us and let us in. Strange…

Manhattan Lounge (Fridays)
Website: http://www.themanhattan.com.au/
Music: RNB
Crowd: Asian
Entry: $20 stated. $10 was also reported, but we got in for free
Location: 50 Elizabeth St, Martin Place (Right next door to Hotel Chambers, Across the road from Verandah Bar)
Space: Walk downstairs and its about the same dance area as Bamboo/Hotel Chambers, without the outside bits. It’s long, pretty narrow small, and provides a cosy atmosphere somewhat. Again, no photos, I’m sorry.

NB: This was the last of the in-house Fridays. A new organised event is now in place for Friday’s at Manhattan, called FunkInk. www.funkinkonline.com

Timeline
Bumping into people
1/ Bumped into my uncle’s best friend. He’s almost 30 but still looks early 20′s. We have a bit of a chat. I ask if he cleanses, tones an moisturises. He confirmed it, and even had the time to exfoliate every week. I can’t wait to be 30.

2/ Bumped into a girl I met at Crystal Bar last year. We had kept in contact, but she has a very stuck up attitude. She demands I give her attention. Her view on things make me laugh and I brush her off. Later as we dance, she comes right into our circle and grinds with me. It’s hard to ignore someone when they throw themselves at you. Her friends were normal, and I actually wanted to go for them instead.

Atmosphere / Music
Given the small area, people were all cosied up near each other. So whenever you were in the dance area, it was always seemingly ‘not dead’, when it probably was. However the place and vibe wasn’t too bad at all. Music was typical RNB to keep people happy.

Family Run Bar = slow.
Took about 15 minutes to get served glasses of water. Even then, we only got half a cup full, as they were so busy. The bar looked to be run by a family, as they all looked very similar.

Coda
Friends left 1.30. I left to go onto Side Bar

Side Bar Timeline (2am-3am)

I had a bit of a boogie at Pavillion but it was dead. Went to Side Bar, and it was going off!
Entry is free
Music was a DJ playing rock, pop, rnb, house, anything for that matter.
Crowd was just full of euro backpackers.
Theme was black. All the bar staff and some people were wearing black garbage bags. Hilarious. How did I not find out about this event?

I truly danced my heart out until closing. I like this place.