The Vinyl Word

New Year's Eves are always meant to be the mother of all club nights on the annual calendar, but, increasingly, extortionate DJ fees and the associated hike on cover charges, as well as the prospect of having to mingle with every clubber and his glow-stick, mean that, quite possibly, clubs and their punters have their eyes on the rest of the year for real entertainment value. Luxy, quite wisely, saw in the New Year not with a superstar DJ but the residents playing some good tunes but with a smaller than usual crowd; Champagne 3 was reportedly busier though, that, however, may have been an optical illusion given the smaller size of the venue itself. It seems that many people simply chose to avoid the bigger clubs and opt for more intimate house parties instead: a combination of a lack of taxis in the city, two-hour queues for the MRT, and the usual (and, in the event, unfounded) rumors of planned police raids put people off.

The first week of January is predictably quiet in clubland, as everyone takes a well-deserved rest from the hedonism of the other 50-odd weeks of the year. However, for those not yet satiated or for those who mean to start as they go on, a couple of things are a'happening around town.

Luxy's Sabbatical takes a couple of weeks off from its normal system of bringing over an international name. Promoter Dominik Tyliszczak, aka Hooker, says that the strategy reflects the post-New Year lull, though the decision is not simply financial: "It's hard to drag people out dancing for the first couple of weeks of January, and having someone come over and play to an empty room doesn't make sense: it's no fun for them and doesn't really show what we're doing. Also, it gives us a chance to let our local talent shine through which is important if we want to grow the scene here." Local talent is indeed showcased with residents Scotty Baller, Coffee, Hooker, and Junior and Megan on rotation over the next fortnight or so.