Clubbing with James Tran

RnB

Bamboo @ Martin Place Bar: Saturday 17th July 2010

by James on Jul.17, 2010, under Hip Hop, Martin Place Bar, RnB

Bamboo was having a white party! Oh god I hate this place but it was a white party – I had to go.. and to make sure I wouldn’t change my mind, they threw in free entry all night and a free drink for anyone dressed in all white!! With the sad news that Sensation White was cancelled and no longer returning to Australia (the promotional ad had ironically told people “why wait for Sensation this year?”), this was a rare chance to whip out the good old Gandalf the white outfit, so I rounded up some friends and got this thing started – here we go!

Jesus with worshippers at Bamboo

Jesus with worshippers at Bamboo

Bamboo @ Martin Place Bar – 17th July 2010
Assessment Time: 11:00PM – 04:00AM
Opening Hours: 10:30 PM- 04:00AM
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.urbanagent.com.au , http://www.martinplacebar.com.au
Address: 51 Martin Place, Corner of Elizabeth Street Sydney
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual allowed. Half the dudes are smart casual, and the other half are just.. casual. Girls are all in dresses and wearing their faces. Lots of pretty girls. And they’ve relaxed policy somewhat – they have allowed hats to be worn inside!
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Free entry all night if you wore white. Otherwise standard cover charges apply. $20 on guestlist before midnight. Free on guesetlist if you get to the counter before 10:30 (small chance), and $25 after midnight.
Guestlist: eric@urbanagent.com.au
Occurence: Every Saturday only.
Inside: Walk into a small bar to hold about 150 or so people – DJ at the front corner. Bar on the right hand side of the venue,taking up half of the floor space. 4 podiums are dotted along the length of the dancefloor, including one with a dancing pole. Small private area at back but was really open to anyone who walked in. Outdoor smoking and BBQ area on the left of the venue.
Cloak Room: $5 for all items.
Bar: I can’t remember. 3 ABC shots for $36 ?
Music: Primarily Hip Hop / RnB tonight. Top 40 and Commerical House mashup as well. DJ’s are mixing it well, keeping the crowd always active and dancing.
Crowd: Dominantly Asian. I spotted 2 white girls, 3 black guys as the minorities here tonight. There were probably a few more handful of the minorities. Age wise it varied, but most people I met were in their early 20′s. It seems as all the teens have gone to Funky. Bad news in a few years time for Bamboo as they would soon have no base.
Entertainment:Theme tonight was White. White balloons all over the place. MC to keep things going. Podium dancers, but only one or two. BBQ outside to feed your tummy. Similar to Shanghai Nights (well, it is the same promoter)
Atmosphere: At its peak, the place is extremely packed, and you would be hard pressed to find some floor space to dance – you would really need to hop up on the podiums to have your own dance action. Outside of peak periods it was still pretty busy. Most of the crowd are singing along to the songs, so pretty vibrant.
Video: 360 of Bamboo @ Martin Place Bar (at the back)
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Funky (Buddha) @ Sanctuary Hotel: Saturday 26th June 2010

by James on Jun.26, 2010, under RnB, Sanctuary Hotel

Random photo with Pikachu

Random photo with Pikachu - Beauty and the Geek theme

I already did Sanctuary Hotel last week – I do try to avoid going to the same venue twice in a row – you risk getting bored easily. The problem was that I made a promise to a friend I would come here tonight. Well, apparently it would be even more busier than last week – lets find out shall we!

Funky @ Sanctuary Hotel
Assessment Time: 9:00PM – 02:00AM
Opening Hours: 10:00PM – 03:00AM (?)
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.funkybuddha.com.auhttp://www.phatentertainment.com.au
Address: 545 Kent St - Corner of Liverpool and Kent St, Sydney. Behind 3 wise monkeys.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Tonight, the theme is Beauty and the Geek! Casual OK. Hats allowed. Guys are wearing a mix of casual and smart casual. Girls are mostly in dresses. I saw someone walk in with a Pikachu outfit.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 Standard Entry, $20 on guestlist. Free before 10:30PM. The only slight hope you could get in before 10:30 was to be on a birthday guestlist, and line up in the birthday guestlist line at 9PM. If you got there 9:30PM, you wouldn’t make it. We were on a standard non-birthday guestlist. We got there 9PM AT THE VERY FRONT, and we only managed to get in after 10:30PM! We just stood there as we saw birthday guest after birthday guest walk in. We even stood there watching hopelessly as people off the street just cut the line! Amazing that bouncers could not be more strict on this or have a more foolproof way of being fair on people who actually lined up. Usually lining up 9PM gets you in before 10:30 but the organisers have actually done the right thing, and let the birthday lists have priority. This is how it is meant to be, unlike other venues where it is first come first serve, with birthday people not given priority at all. Well at least cut us normal people some slack. 90 minutes in the cold – give me my $5 discount!!!

Waiting outside Sanctuary with fellow free entry seekers

Waiting outside Sanctuary with fellow free entry seekers

Guestlist: info@phatentertainment.com.au
Occurence: Every Saturday
Inside: The entrance is not at the normal Sanctuary Hotel entrance. It is via the TAB area further along on Kent St. The room upon entry is where people can have a chat and chill out without actually going outside. Walk in further to the main area, and the large carpeted room has been converted to a dancefloor. DJ on the wall, and a 3 tier podium smack in the middle, dividing the room into two halves. Bar along the far back wall.
Cloak Room: Cloak services are located in the entry room. Standard rip off prices for the event. I think it was $4 for small bags, and $8 for large bags, possibly $5/$10. Who knows. I avoided the cloak room and placed my stuff behind the ATM on the dancefloor. It held up the whole night.
Bar: I didn’t buy any drinks tonight. Waiting time 3-4 minutes or less.
DJs: Sefu, etc etc.
Music: Mostly Contemporary RnB / Pop, with the occasional house mashup.
Crowd: Mostly Asian, and mostly teenagers
Entertainment: Last week the podium was a three tiered podium. This week it is 3 separate podiums. One podium was rectangular to hold upto 5 or 6 people, while the other two were solo podiums which could hold upto 3 people. This freed up some dance room to walk around. Also an MC to keep things up.
Atmosphere: It got pretty busy quite quickly, then it got immensely packed on the dancefloor. Lounge areas – most seats are taken.
Video: Walking around the dancefloor 
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Funky (Buddha) @ Sanctuary Hotel: 19th June 2010

by James on Jun.19, 2010, under Hip Hop, Pop, RnB, Sanctuary Hotel

Me with one of the fans in the attempt to keep the place cool

Me with one of the fans in the attempt to keep the temperature cool

It’s my birthday weekend, but I really didn’t plan anything for Saturday. A friend has invited me to Sanctuary Hotel – The last time I walked in, the air con wasn’t working correctly for large crowds and it became stuffy and overheated. Since then I have been assured things were ‘fixed’. So let’s check it out – here we go!

Funky (Buddha) @ Sanctuary Hotel
Assessment Time: 12:15AM to 02:45AM
Opening Hours: 10:30 – Unknown
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.funkybuddha.com.au, http://www.phatentertainment.com.au
Address: 545 Kent St - Corner of Liverpool and Kent St, Sydney. Behind 3 wise monkeys.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual ok. Hats allowed.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 standard. $20 on guestlist before midnight. 
Guestlist: info@phatentertainment.com.au
Occurence: Every Saturday Night.
Inside: The entrance is not at the normal Sanctuary Hotel entrance. It is via the TAB area further along on Kent St. The room upon entry is where people can have a chat and chill out without actually going outside. Walk in further to the main area, and the large carpeted room has been converted to a dancefloor. DJ on the wall, and a 3 tier podium smack in the middle, dividing the room into two halves. Bar along the far back wall.
Cloak Room: Cloak room is located upon entry. Not utilized tonight but I would imagine it to be the same rip off pricing as of previous nights at the previous Verandah Bar venue.
Bar: Did not utilize tonight, but the wait was a bit longer than usual. Line was 2 or 3 deep. Bar closed altogether at 2:30AM, in a safe assumption that too many fights spoil the bar.
Music: RnB, Pop and some House mashup
Crowd: Mostly Asian. Mostly teenagers or early 20′s. You can tell via the baby faces and hair styles. I fit right in.
Entertainment: Podium dancers throughout the night. It’s good enough.
Atmosphere: It’s setup to encourage lots of dancing, which is good. The humidity of the last time I was here is gone – Fans are installed and air con is setup just right for a danceable experience. People are not as friendly but what else do you expect from 18 year olds. Carpeted area gives the place a more friendly vibe as well as the second room to allow people a breather is also good. It’s also pretty busy on the dancefloor itself, enough to have your own dance, but not sardine packed.

Podium dancer - Funky @ Sanctuary Hotel

Podium dancer - Funky @ Sanctuary Hotel

Fights: I saw two fights break out tonight. One you may see typically at a club, but two in one night is bad. Ha. Teenage angst and alcohol.
Videos:

Walkthrough of the dancefloor area. 
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360 View
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Addiction @ The Tunnel (Dragonfly): 18th June 2010

by James on Jun.18, 2010, under Dragonfly, RnB, The Tunnel

Marty, random drunk dancer and I - The Tunnel Nightclub Sydney

Marty, beer breath dancer and I - The Tunnel Nightclub Sydney

It’s my birthday weekend, but I’ve already had two dinners, a karaoke and meat tray raffle birthday party. My friends are getting sick me celebrating, and I still had a house party to host as well. Tonight was my clubbing choice of night out, so here we go!

Addiction @ The Tunnel (Formerly Dragonfly) Sydney
Assessment Time: 11:30PM – 03:30AM
Opening Hours: – 03:30AM
Lockout: 02:00AM ? We tried to leave at 02:30AM but was told it was lock out if we tried to re-enter.
Website: http://www.tunnelnightclub.com.au, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166455593127
Address: 1 Earl Place Potts Point / Kings Cross, Sydney
Dress Code / Door Policy: Smart Casual. Hats were allowed inside. Groups of guys are allowed, and people of non-caucasian backgrounds were welcome tonight. Can you believe it?? The racist door policy of the old Dragonfly club on Fridays was no longer evident. This is primarily because tonight is an RnB event. However I do not know if their Saturdays have relaxed their door policy. Guys inside tonight are dressed mostly with collared shirts, and the girls are all dressed up and looking very good. There was a dancing girl with multicoloured boots with funky lycras and loose shirt etc, like a dancer from the fluro 80′s, and so it is safe to assume as long as you look good, you can come in no matter what you are wearing.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: I got free entry as it was my birthday, but if you submit a standard guestlist, the cover charge would be $10 before midnight. I am unsure what the standard non-guestlist entry fee is. I would assume this to be $20.
Guestlist: I sent mine to nathan@exclusivproductionz.com.au, though there are probably other email addresses as well. There is also the Facebook group.
Occurence: Every Friday
Inside: Similar to the old Dragonfly, as you walk in you are presented with lounges with a bar behind. Surrounding the bar are booths and lounges. One of these booths was mine. On the left is the dancefloor, which seems more open. The DJ booth has moved from the far left wall to the side of the dancefloor closer to the bar, to replace a booth that used to be there. In the old place of the DJ seat, is an elevated podium for the show offs to dance to the side of the crowd. A glassed off private area to the left exists as well but nobody has booked it tonight, and it remains closed off for the entire night.
Cloak Room: Yes, there is a cloak room offered (its on the far left behind the dancefloor) but I am not sure of the pricing. We just left our stuff on the booths during the night.
Bar: I didn’t drink alcohol tonight but waiting in line didn’t take long at all, at most 3-4 minutes, unless there was a big order in front of you. No more than 1 person deep.
Music: Primarily RnB and pop, with some house, Baltimore, etc as advertised.
Crowd: The crowd tonight was mostly Euro. Minority consisted of blacks, us asian dudes, some backpackers. You can’t tell who were the backpackers as they are all dressed like everyone else. Most of the crowd are young, but there are some older folk (ie myself) in their late 20′s and met some people in their 30′s.
Entertainment: There was an MC to keep things moving along.
Atmosphere: A pretty friendly atmosphere. The staff and security are pretty friendly so long as you don’t get on their bad side. No fights tonight that I witnessed.

Photo from my booth at the back of The Tunnel Nightclub

Photo from my booth at the back of The Tunnel Nightclub

Video: 360 view from my booth
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Video: 360 view from the dancefloor taken at 1:00AM
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June Babies @ Macquarie Hotel: 12th June 2010

by James on Jun.12, 2010, under Macquarie Hotel, RnB

Macquarie Hotel Sydney Liverpool Dancefloor

Macquarie Hotel Sydney Liverpool Dancefloor

I am celebrating a friends birthday at Macquarie Hotel, so here we go!

June Babies @ Macquarie Hotel
Assessment Time: 10:45PM – 03:00AM
Opening Hours: 09:00 PM- 03:00AM
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.macquariehotelliverpool.com.au/ , http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121829681183563
Address: 269 Macquarie St, Liverpool Sydney
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual allowed. Most guys here were indeed wearing casual t-shirts, runners etc. Girls were half dressed up half csual. Surprisingly hats are not allowed.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Free all night.
Guestlist: Pointless as it was free entry. People who were born in June were encourages to create guestlists to be entitled to 6 free drinks. I sent a guestlist of one person (me)
Occurence: The birthday event is Monthly, but Macquarie Hotel in general is on every Saturday with the same crowd regardless.
Inside: Walk inside to the gaming area. Bar to the right for the area. Keep walking into the main bar area where the bar is also to the right. Bar area has various tables and chairs, and is carpeted. Following up is a strip of patch and a set of lounges. Past the row of lounges is the dancefloor, with overhead convertible roof. Dancefloor to hold about 150 people. Side room to the left for smoking, if the overhead roof was closed. There is also a secondary entrance on the right corner of the dancefloor.
Cloak Room: None
Bar: Shots can only be ordered at the main bar before midnight.
Music: Contemporary RnB for most of the night.
Crowd: Mostly Asian, mostly teenagers. There are a handful of older locals in their late 20s and 30s but these are the minority. I met someone who was celebrating their 18th here. Also my other 18/19 y.o clubbing friends were here. The birthday girl tonight was 22/23 – I can’t remember.
Entertainment: There’s an MC.
Atmosphere: Vibrant, busy and packed on the dancefloor. Way too packed. People openly smoke on the dancefloor as it is open air. Otherwise everyone here is into the dancing / jumping up and down here.

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Satisfaction @ Tao Ultra Lounge: Saturday 5th June 2010

by James on Jun.05, 2010, under RnB, Tao

We have just left a birthday party at a warehouse, and its 3:00AM. Have been asked to go to Tao Ultra Lounge… haha why not, so here we go!

Assessment Time: 03:00AM – 03:30AM
Opening Hours: 10:30PM – 03:00AM
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=288588253950, http://www.syndicateevents.com.au/
Address: 396 Pitt St, CNR Goulburn St (Old Mandarin Club)
Dress Code / Door Policy: Smart Casual is recommended.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20 after midnight. I scored free entry deceptively.
Guestlist: See websites for details
Occurence: Every Saturday Night.
Inside: Beneath the former Mandarin Club (Now Mr B’s Hotel), Tao Ultra Lounge/Bar is a small area split into even smaller areas – A carpeted area where most dancing occurs. It holds 50-80 people. There are two lounge areas on either side of the dancefloor. A DJ is along the wall next to the bar on the wooden area. The wooden floor area is the general ‘lets stand around and chat each other up’ area with bar and some tables and stools.
Cloak Room: Assumed to be at the counter, but I did not notice.
Bar: Didn’t drink tonight.
DJs: Unknown
Music: RnB, House Mashup
Crowd: Mostly Asians in their 20′s.
Entertainment: MC who seemed a bit tired of it all.
Atmosphere: It was average but do not expect much at this time. A handful of people on the dancefloor, some people lounging around. At least it wasn’t too dead on the floor.

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Blue Butterfly @ Arthouse Hotel: Saturday 22nd May 2010

by James on May.22, 2010, under Arthouse Hotel, RnB


Blue Butterfly Arthouse Crowd - 1AM

Blue Butterfly Arthouse Crowd - 1AM

Another weekend, another birthday. Tonight it’s Arthouse, so here we go!

Blue Butterfly @ Arthouse
Assessment Time: 01:00AM – 2:30AM
Opening Hours: 10:30PM – 03:00AM
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23591850198
Address: 275 Pitt St, Sydney
Dress Code / Door Policy: Smart Casual. Everyone is dressed well. Guys collared shirts. some t-shirts. Girls are almost all in dresses. I spotted a short lesbian with jeans.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 standard entry. $20 on guestlist
Guestlist: See group and follow events to find guestlist details
Occurence: Once a month or so. 
Inside: Within the arthouse only the main room is open for clubbing. You walk into a hall-like room. Half is occupied by stools, chairs, and the other half a wooden dancefloor for about 100 people. Bar on the right to serve all patrons. 
Cloak Room: None
Music: Mostly RnB tonight.
Crowd: Mostly Asian. Some Aussies and Euros.
Entertainment: An MC was here. 
Atmosphere: Good, considering it was past peak time.
Walkthrough:
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