That remarkable marketing man Turtle is opening two clubs for the price of one this weekend. And naturally there are two parties to celebrate.
"There are two areas in one place: 18 and 18 for Lovers is a bar and a club, with secret entrances between the two," Turtle said. "We will be mixing lounge and club people. It will be like a one-stop shop, with a bar and dancefloor."
Turtle said he reckoned that city crowds are tired of the superclub experience and want something friendlier and more sophisticated. There will be NO cover charge except for special events.
"Forget about the cover charge, that is just to see the artists we really like. This is different. All the big clubs are going down, so we gotta get back to the basics, good drinks, atmosphere and stuff."
"I think the big-name DJ thing has gone too far and it's really funny. The way I'm gonna promote the DJs and artists is gonna be really different, I want underground and loungey."
New styles of cocktails with fresh fruit and other innovative ingredients will introduced at the bar, which will be run by a British expert flown in to oversee the drinks department.
Turtle and his band of celebrity investors were behind Room 18 in the Warner Village area and BWT on Xinyi Road, so 18 and 18 for Lovers has been keenly awaited by clubbing cognoscenti. The club will be open Wednesday for a ladies night, Friday and Saturday. The rest of the week -- or "124 just for rent" -- is for private parties. On Sunday there will be latino and live performances.
There were rumors that the group was thinking of opening up a club in the Taipei 101 building on the 85th floor, but regrettably that fell through. However, the Neo 19 location in the basement of 88, Songshou Lu in the Xinyi district (台北市新壹部松壽路88號B摟) should be interesting.
As for the two opening parties, tonight's invite-only affair will feature models and other attractions, but even The Vinyl Word was told invitations are hard to come by. Oh dear, further loss of face for your favored column. Tomorrow at the public opening, Japan's hip-hop DJ Mayumi will be spinning some magic.
Also tomorrow, Nina, @llen, and Da will spin at their monthly Love Groove party at Eden. Unfortunately, the club's been so successful recently that they have instituted a cover charge policy of NT$500, that includes two drinks. On the plus side, Nina will be giving out her new mix CDs.
Tonight at Luxy, it's Gabriel & Dresden playing trance music, while the monthly Liquid Lifestyle party the same night in the Galleria will be emceed by Hammeresque. Next week look out for Iron DJ, the latest installment of the monthly Drum and Bass competition.
In Taichung, Chi Funk Old Skool presents Domingo Yu at Mash. The DJ from Detroit has pedigree -- having played with Derrick May and produced tracks for Eminem -- so it should be a good one. Coming up, "The Peace Tree Party" next week will showcase 15 DJs, five bands and three live acts on two stages.
Send your events and listings to vinylword@taipeitimes.com.
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