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The Vinyl Word

Shy shows her skillz tonight at MoS. PHOTO COURTESY OF MOS

Glamor, lights, music, fashion, faces and flesh: 18 and 18 for Lovers had it all at last week's opening parties, which The Vinyl Word managed to crash despite the lack of an invitation and the crowds lined up outside.

Inside, there was the usual mayhem of a major opening and it was too full to properly gauge how the two places will do in the future. The idea of two separate but connected venues -- at the Neo 19 building in Warner Village -- is novel for Taipei but gets around the problems and costs of running a bar and club in different areas of town.

The Replay fashion show bared butts, cleavage and midriffs, a former NBA star mixed drinks, while DJ Cliffy put down a lively set of drum 'n' bass mixed with bhangra and house. Decor-wise, the bar area (18 for Lovers) offered a lot of space, a chill-out zone bathed in red light and some elegant design features, such as the mobius-strip-shaped toilet entrances. 18 had a long bar and dancefloor, but the sound system was disappointing. It was like listening to a tinny radio: distorted, no bass and lacking in volume.

``This is my Travolta impression.'' The UK's Cliffy, at 18 and 18 for Lovers last week. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

At Ministry of Sound (MoS) on Wednesday one of the best-looking DJs on the planet hit the decks for the Urban Hip-Hop Room Relaunch Party. Shy, who is a second-generation Korean-American from Philadelphia, cut her teeth at clubs in Los Angeles and has become a name on the party and special promotion circuit in the City of Angels.

Shy said she had been accepted by the notoriously straightforward black and hispanic hip-hop crews because, "They heard me before they saw me and they judged me by my music."

"My first love is hip hop, but I've got broad musical tastes and I know what the ladies like on the dancefloor."

You can catch Shy's final set in Taiwan tonight at MoS, if you're not at Eden for 5th Element -- Marcus Aurelius' phat new weekly night out on a Friday.

"What I'm trying to do with my DJ life at the moment is to focus on the funk," Aurelius said, before mixing his metaphors as slickly as he does his records. "I'm the glue and 5th Element is my puppy. The guest each time is gonna be different, with sounds such as drum 'n' bass, funk, house, the whole spectrum. There will also be specials each week on drinks, secret passwords to get in cheaper and lots of other good stuff."

Marcus will line up with resident Baobao tonight and special guest Maxxx. It's NT$350 to get in, starts at 11pm and goes till late.

There's a lot to see and do this weekend and if Edmund gets you high, get your fix at Luxy tonight with a nu-skool breaks set and tomorrow at his regular monthly A-One event at Eden, plus Jimmy, for some twisted house and electrolash.

It's PS Cafe's first birthday party tomorrow and DJs Creeper, Soundform and Rich of Fibre studios will be spinning from 8pm till 12pm. There will be free snacks for early birds and you are asked to "dress a little glamorous."

The biggest party on the island this week, however, is tomorrow in the mountains outside Taichung and there are enough deck technicians for everyone to have a favorite. The rollcall of names on the first stage includes Saucey, Chi Funk, Marcus Aurelius, Alex D, Han, Wamp and the STR MCs, along with Declan D'Jones, Nancy, Kriz and Matty D on the second stage. Bands include The Anglers, Rhythm Clowns, Orenda and Lux Live. There will be Roman mask dances, snacks, frozen cocktails, a head shop and much, much more. Check www.revevolution.com for advance tickets (NT$350) information and details on how to get there.

"I played at the last two and the weather has always held and it has always been a lot of fun and this one promises to be bigger than before," Saucey said of the annual event.

A bus will leave from Zhongxiao-Fuxing MRT at 8pm. The bus is NT$650 for the round-trip. Just show up and buy a ticket to ride.
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