The ladies of W4W Toronto got the full VIP treatment @ Eight Below Sun Aug, 6th - Caribana weekend.

We went to Warner Entertainment's Caribana Sunday affair and we were not disappointed. The club was packed downstairs, and management opened up the entire club to the revelers. The music was a blend or R&B, hip-hop, house, and old school jams. The crowd was a trendy, upscale, and 23 and up.

We were in the VIP of Eight Below, adjacent to the main bar and across from the dance floor. Beautiful, plush leather, glass, and mohair furniture, adorned the room, which could hold about 10 people sitting, and about 16 dancing. Lace, see through curtains, and an adjustable chandelier completed the decor.

We have many more pictures taken later in the night that shows several of us "letting our hair down", but are too outrageous to be posted ;)

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 81/2 People - 91/2 Ambiance - 10 Love factor - 10

Eight Below - VIP room

Aug 6, 2006 - 7 Photos

This is London - July 21st, 2006

www.thisislondonclub.com

Three words - Bad Boy Bill.

We went to This is London on a Friday for house and to check out Bad Boy Bill. In spite of our collective dread of electronic house, we knew that this DJ could turn it out with some soulful house, trance and garage all blended together like the smoothest of shakes. At least that was the jist of the tunes that we heard on his "My Space
site. I especially wanted to check out TIL on a Friday because of the much heralded afterhours house music party scene.

Entry was acceptable enough after getting on Evan G's email guestlist. We initially thought that with the young crowd and and the overall vibe, that we were out of place. The median age had to be about 24yrs old. However, they were a well dressed crowd that came to party.

After downing our first round of drinks ($27 for 3 Red Bulls mixed with vodka)., we headed over to the VIP area. As it was, one of my girls knew some of the people in the VIP. The music over the next half an hour after our arrival seemed a little too heavy/harsh, and it was hard to get into a dancing mood. We left to go have a smoke, and had to line up to get upstairs to the patio/smoke room. Unimpressed, we stayed in the 10 minute line and after mixing and mingling in the smoking room, and another round of drinks, we had a new resolve to go back in and enjoy ourselves.

Back in the VIP once again, Bad Boy Bill really started to turn the party out. He put on mixes of Bob Sinclair's "World Hold On", Crystal Water's "Gypsy Woman", and Mr V's "Da Bump". We were in a zone, and danced until our stiletto's caused our tootsies to scream for help. Although he continued to mix the garage with trance with electronic, Bad Boy Bill knew how to keep a party going by pleasing everybody. We received plenty of attention from the fellas, and happily enjoyed everything about being at TIL.

The club itself is very nicely laid out. The main room is large and spacious with a great sound system. The VIP area is comfortable enough, and is in an area where you can still be part of the action. The smoking area is one of a kind. It is a tastefully appointed, elongated room with walls at least 15 feet tall, and no roof! The women's bathroom is large, well lit, clean, and spacious, and has an attendant.

We will certainly go back to TIL on another night, perhaps for a 25 and over crowd, or for another house night house.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 9 People - 71/2 Ambiance - 81/2 Love factor - 8

Dream Lounge - July 20th, 2006

205 Richmond Street West, Toronto

Thursdays at Dream is called REUNION THURSDAYS with renowned Toronto DJ Starting from Scratch. We ended up at Dream after leaving a poorly packed Fluid Nightclub.

Entry into Dream was a rigamarole. The bouncer was a pasty beast of a man with absolutely no personality. He repeatedly had people get in one of 3 lineups, and would keep you waiting at the door for no apparent reason. The smokers had to smoke where people were trying to get in and security was a mess in validating who was already inside. It was one of the most disorganized schemes I’ve ever seen.

After gaining entry 10 minutes later. I was not sure if I wanted to stay. Apparently the music would be old school r&B, etc, but I saw a lot of younger urbanites whose style of dress made me wonder if they had any home training. I asked the short man down stairs guarding entry into the club if I could take a peek in before committing, and he adamantly refused. Before I knew it, my girlfriends had already paid for me, so now I had to go in. What an unaccommodating idiot he was.

The first thing you see when you are in Dream proper are the beds. Full sized beds right where everyone can view your business. Sounds interesting, but believe me it is not. It is a total waste of space, and could be better used by making it a lounge area with comfortable leather couches. You can’t even see the dancefloor from where the couches are located. If you are going to have beds in a club, put them on a platform or on a different level so that the people in them can see the dancefloor.

We walked around to the bar, got a drink, and then proceeded to the main room. We found a space in the VIP area and took root. At first the hard sounds of dancehall reggae was not turning me - or my girlfriends on. Eventually the old school r&b found its mark in our hearts and we had to get our boogie on. No really, we couldn't stop dancing! The vibe was on point. The crowd was fabulous. People came to dance and have a good time. Starting from Scratch ended the night with Prince’s “17 Days”.

All in all a great time at a club made special by the vibe of the crowd and by a well seasoned DJ.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 81/2 People - 8 Ambiance - 81/2 Love factor - 8

Fluid - July 20th, 2006

www.fluidlounge.ca

This review is about the new and improved Thursday night that they have going @ Fluid called Candyland. Carlos Promo is back and doing this R&B, hip-hop, and reggae night. Fluid Thursday’s is the longest running Thursday night in Toronto.
We have not gone to Fluid in about a year. They apparently did a reincarnation around the Christmas holiday and now they are back. I have to say that I am not impressed with the new set up. It looks almost like it did a year ago, except for some hanging glass dew drops from the ceiling in the main room. I can’t figure out what other changes they made, but the place needs a little… je ne sai quoi.

Getting in was easy enough. “Edwin” was gracious enough to put us on his VIP guestlist. We got there around midnight, and walked in to the lounge area of Fluid and saw about 10 people. Hmmm, we thought, this Candyland night is just getting off the ground. We had some drinks by the bar, said hi to some people, and chilled out to the old school r&b vibes. There was nothing happening in the lounge area that really made me want to get my groove on.

We then strolled over to the main room. The sound system was much better, and there were more people present, but standing away from the dance floor. The crowd was a mix of trendy younger individuals interspersed with 40′ish males (in last year’s get ups). Strange brew. We dance for a few jams, but the crowd was a hard sell, and only about 8 people, including us felt like dancing. Come on people it’s a club, if your not talking, you should be dancing!

Overall, the strength of the music was not enough to keep us in Fluid, and we left to go to Dream nightclub across the street at around one o’clock.

We just may go back for the music, but the crowd needs a lesson in “letting go”.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 8 People - 5 Ambiance - 61/2 Love factor - 6

Lobby - July 19th, 2006

192 Bloor Street West

I have been to Lobby several times, and the thing that strikes you about it right away is the Miami feel of the place. With the stylishness of the white on white decor, and clean lines, you can't help but think that there is a body of water near by.

Very rarely is there a cover charge, and when you take a look around at the people who like to frequent Lobby, you can see that this a venue that attracts posers, socialites, hanger-ons, the elite, wanna-be's, and people watchers. One does not really go to Lobby to dance. They go to eat, drink, and mingle with friends and friends of friends. If you can get past the sometimes obvious pretentiousness, Lobby is one of the best places in Toronto for social networking on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday night.

Let's discuss our Wednesday night visit. Lobby's hot new Wednesday night called "Lounge Series" with DJ. Kleen serves up house, electro, and urban beats. We arrived at just after one o'clock at night and the place was packed. Everyone seemed to be in fine form and very "liquored up" or something, because they were the happiest Lobby crowd that I have ever seen. As well, DJ Kleen really knew what songs went well in succession, thus showing his skill as a DJ.

We ordered 4 mixed alcoholic beverages and our male friend who offered to pay ended up footing a $48.00 bill! A word of advice - try not to spend all your money drinking at Lobby or you will go home broke. On the other hand if you can afford to drink at Lobby, then by all means help make the various owner's richer. Honestly though, the bartenders do offer up properly mixed drinks that do not skimp on the alcohol.

Lobby's downstairs room always seems to be unoccupied. It is a small but cozy room, that no one ever uses to entertain themselves. Perhaps if a proper speaker system was funneled into the room, people would want to use it as a second dance floor. Around the corner are the washroom areas. My major complaint with the washrooms is that it is too dark in the stalls. As sexy as it looks in there, no one has any idea just how dirty the stalls really are, and you can actually feel creepy using the facilities. The candle lit stalls are also hypothetically moments away from going up in flames from an inebriated patron tipping over the candle into the toilet paper. Perhaps that's why an attendant has finally been hired to keep an eye on things.

In summary, Lobby remains an impressive place that reeks of style and attracts only those who are sure enough of themselves to be found in such a place. Go on a Wednesday if you want to dance, and socialize.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 9 People - 71/2 Ambiance - 9 Love factor - 7

Brant House - June 10th, 2006

522 King Street West

www.branthouse.com

Unless you are a regular or go early (by 2100hrs), you will have to wait in a steep line up on a Saturday night. We fortunately enough had to do no such thing, since we "know the owners".

Now they do serve food at Brant house but, since this is not a restaurant review we'll just stick to the describing the club scene.

I'm not a huge fan of the decor. The open loft design is stark, with the 7,000 sq. ft. space being far from cozy unless it's packed with people, and the feel of dark wood and mixing old with new design is disturbing. On this night as it is with every Saturday night the place was packed to the gills, therefore the the "ugliness" of Brant House was blurred out.

We adored the musical selection, and although we don't remember who was spinning we give all the kudos to him. Brant House does not seem to have a regular DJ for their Friday and Saturday nights, and mainly do an event DJ type thingy.

BH attracts a hip, 25+ crowd, and the ladies seem to love this place. You will meet everyone from Bay Street up-and-comers to male and female social climbers seeking to broaden their contact list. The dress code is fashionably casual, and with a big helping of trendy on top. The revelers actually go there to dance, more so than chat loudly over the music. After spending some time on the floor, we made our way to the side door where people were converging for their ritualistic inhalation therapy. We quickly went back in and headed to the VIP section of BH.

Now the VIP area is where it got most interesting at BH. We were almost body checked by the assigned bouncer when we ascended the first two stairs to get into the VIP. We were looking fashionably well dressed and attractive I thought, so what was the problem? We never did figure it out, because before we could protest for longer than a minute, we were rescued by a friend who was already in VIP and who obviously had some kind of clout with the burly bouncer.

While in the VIP we thanked our friend and took a look around. The people in VIP are absolutely boring, and usually so pretentious that you can't stand them. BH's VIP squatters were no different. We left after 15 minutes and went back to the floor scene. We spent the rest of the night dancing, and evading drunken women who apparently turned into weekend lesbians, and aggressive Euro-looking men with long hair and unshaven faces. Overall it was fun, but not to be added to our list of things to do.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 8 People - 7 Ambiance - 41/2 Love factor - 7

M LOUNGE - Thurs April 6th, 2006

241 Richmond Street West

www.mlounge.ca

M Lounge had the hype, and the buzz amongst the industry and professional set. That being said, we thought that the opening would be something special. Although M tried to captivate, it fell short on many fronts.

Getting in was pleasant, because we arrived early. There were people who had arrived earlier than us there as well, but even so we could clearly see that "M" was no Ultra or Eight Below. I am not sure what kind of space it really was trying to embody. The bar was off to the left of the entrance, and was circular in nature, but otherwise non-descript. The servers were enthusiastic, but slightly better than average looking men and women. Walking away with a drink in hand and heading south, we saw the strange lilac/mauve colored walls (devoid of art), cheap-looking flooring, and glittering chandeliers overhead (that looked strangely out of place). The large VIP back-room area was slightly different and more attractive. However, it is one large VIP room, lacking privacy from other VIP'ers, and therefore a serious lack of coziness that one typically looks forward to in a VIP room. You are also effectively "cut off" from seeing the other revelers in the main room. While in the VIP room, the owners of M did have on view a half-nude covered female with sushi strewn across her breasts, but it was not artistic enough to draw you in.

Back outside in the main area, bright lights in a corner heralded a photography session with the servers, and other female staff who worked for M. I am not sure what that was about at all, but the glare of the lights was most annoying. The music, oh yes…well a serious lack of bass, and absence of enough foot-moving house tunes, managed to make me forget that in this venue one could actually dance.

Honestly, M appears to be a hotel lobby gone wrong. There are so many vital elements missing from the venue, that it will not become a place for the upscale clients it seeks to attract. If it wasn't for the fabulous company of women I was with, I would have left after an hour. In fact we gave it a chance, and left after two hours to head over to the wonderfully improved, Eight Below.

Overall, M did not live up to the hype of "models, models, models", exclusivity, top-line treatment, and "wowism" that was promised. I don't think I will be going back anytime soon.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 5 People - 5 Ambiance - 41/2 Love factor - 5

Ru Paul at Ultra - March 17th, 2006

314 Queen Street

ww.ultrasupperclub.com

The event: The wrap party after a week of Fashion events and parties for Toronto Fashion Week (now sponsored by L'Oreal).

The scene: Fashonistas, revellers, bookers, agents, models, wannabes, scensters…

Just getting into Ultra was an ordeal. Ultra is turning into Studio 54 (oh…they wish) from yesteryear, and even when they recognize you as a regular, you have to be a "somebody" type regular in their stupid opinion.

After being on the guestlist, and arriving before the designated cut off time of 11pm, our party and several other parties were made to wait outside, while we were made to bear witness to a disorganized herding of individuals being led into Ultra.

After much talking and persuasive action, we finally made it in and had a good time. Interesting scene, and if you are a people watcher like myself…it was fun.

Now for Ru Paul taking stage. Hmmm…I did not readily recognize Ru Paul. His six-foot five-inch tall frame seemed a little hefty around the midsection for a "supermodel" drag queen. His nose was much thinner, and he had pronounced cheekbones.
I thought I would see this: http://tinyurl.com/nljg9

However, it has been over a decade since he was at his most fabulous (he is 46yrs old after all), so I'll forgive everything, but the crazy outfits he periodically changed into. Those outfits needed Jesus…that's all I'm going to say.

As far as his performance, Ru Paul was pretty much doing his thing. Although it took him a while to actually feel the vibe. He sang several songs from his 1993 & 2004 albums, including his most famous hit, Supermodel (You Better Work).

Ru Paul is still all diva, but Ms. Girl had better "work" to stay there.

Ultra better work to stay honest as well. M Lounge, and Circa are opening up, and mistreatment of Ultra's bonified regulars will result in the its patrons leaving never to return.

The Foundation Room - Jan 20, 2006

19 Church Street

www.foundationroom.ca

The Foundation Room is a sweet downstairs club/lounge that soothes the senses, and perks up the imagination. A bouncer or two is always at the front door and the provide just enough attitude to make you feel that you are entering into a special place.

On this particular Friday night, there was a private party, with the DJ spinning delicious house designed to move your feet. The entire length of the space can be a dance floor if you choose to groove. Or you can move towards the back and have a more exclusive feeling amongst the Moroccan inspired chairs, curtains and tables. The decor is warm and sexy…enticing one to be…warm and sexy. The bar located near the front, has fleet footed servers, and moderately priced mixed drinks at $7.00 for a rum and coke.

If you happen to meet the owner you will notice that he is both amiable and affable. Jamil Kamal simply wants you to have a good time at his place regardless of sexual orientation, or class. One simple rule that is implied - dress to impress. The more personal style you show, the better. This appears to be a hard and fast rule especially for Saturdays when the place is almost impossible to get into, due to the fact that the room is packed to capacity with beautiful people.

As a way to start your night off, The Foundation Room will soon be offering a tapas selection. "The Room" is the perfect clubbing or lounging experience in my opinion.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 81/2 People - 9 Ambiance - 91/2 Love factor -81/2

The Lux - Jan 12, 2006

720 King Street West

www.luxonking.com

We were not on the guestlist and decided to try our luck at the door. As luck would have it, the grand opening of this revamped nightspot saw us standing in the VIP line for almost 1/2 hour. Waiting in line? Unheard of…we simply don't do such things. In light of the mild temperatures however, we decided to cool our heels and see what the all the fuss was about this place.

The party was literally spilling out on to the sidewalk, as smokers hunched together on the "patio" facing King Street, and patrons tried to bypass each other getting in and out of the club. When we finally got inside we had to spend some time negotiating our way to the east side of the club only to find nothing was happening but for some seated people trying to talk above the music. What a misuse of space. Why would the owners have so many tables and chairs taking up valuable space, then try to jam customers in like sardine into a matchbox?

We then proceeded to the west side of the club, and that alone took ten minutes. There apparently was a bottleneck that consisted of the bar on one side, and more loungy type furniture on the other. Come on guys, a serious planning error there.
We finally got to the other side and ordered a drink. We took in the music and realized that it was too ecletic to taken seriously. One minute Coolio was on, then the next Sum 41. This was a mostly residential building so I had the feeling that the place was not designed to accomodate a lot of bass. We peeked in the women's washroom around the corner. It was one of the smallest I've ever seen. Two stalls, but clean and tastefully decorated.

There were some interesting characters in the audience. Some older blondes with younger men, older white men with young black women, a young European looking guy who was a 1/2 hour past baked in the face made my aquaintance. He introduced himself and his buddy. An extremely tall googly-eyed individual who spoke too much and even repeated himself in the 15 minutes we were in each others lives.

The Lux overall is a well appointed, elegant type of loungy space. One can sit at a table and talk business, or sit on the sofa's and relax. Then on weekends it strives to be a place where one can dance their cares away.

We will have to go back get a good look at the actual space however.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 61/2 People - 8 Ambiance - 8 Love factor -7

Boa Redux - Nov 4, 2005

www.boa-redux.com

360 Adelaide West

Boa now has a new location, now with a liquor license and larger than the last spot on Spadina. The owners are apparently only doing a Saturday night now instead of the weekend thing.

This is an after hours club deluxe, with metal detector, security and the same sound system transplanted from the previous location. The place is much bigger, with two well sized rooms. However, much like the last location one only wants to stay in the much nicer upper room. The upper room feel more comfortable and club like with seating areas and a smaller dance floor. The sound system also feels different as well.

The lower level feels warehouse-ish and sparse. The decoration is lacking and so is the ambiance. However, there is more room to dance and to see and be seen. Jo Jo Flores is a regular here at Boa in the downstairs area, but do wish he would spin upstairs. Although we partied to his vibe, it was our general consensus that we did not like the downstairs room…lol.

As expected the music in both rooms when JoJo is not spinning is progressive and/or tribal house. Again I am for soulful house, with some lyrics splashed into the beat. Alas, this type of music does not seem to be popular with the masses of people who attend after hours just to keep their high going.

The crowd remains the same - a mix of gay and straight, young and old. Makes for some excellent stories about the night though, so we shall return.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 81/2 People - 7 Ambiance - 7 Love factor -7

Century Room - second visit - Oct 15, 2005

580 King Street West

Ok. My worst encounter with a bouncer ever. I arrived at 1120pm at Century Room with 2 of my friends. We were on the guest list and we were told to speak to Crystal at the door.

The large bodied, steroid-taking bouncer of East Indian descent could be heard barking various orders and instructions to patrons waiting on the sidewalk in
the VIP line. I approached him and said we were on the guest list and could we speak to Crystal who was visible 4 or 5 feet behind his large frame. He asked how many of us, I answered and he told us to wait in "this" line. Fifteen minutes later I asked to speak to Crystal again. He said everyone wants to speak to Crystal. Five minutes after that I said I didn't understand what the problem was. He said ok we can go in but we have to pay full price of $20 each. Like duh!! I asked him, so what is the guest list for? Banana boy replied that it's for those arriving before 1130pm! Um, like…what? Imagine my chagrin!

So, like…we DID arrive before 1130pm and were kept in line on purpose by an overgrown gorilla on a power trip. Having had enough, I hollered out Crystal's name and we made eye contact. She signaled for us to come through and ape man had to let us in.

That's what patience gets you…sore feet. Action, and a well controlled temper is required to enter this club if you are not a regular.

Century Room the club was interesting, but not memorable. The front room though pretty and inviting, had several VIP arrangements and parties going on, but the sound system was loud and acoustically challenged. The main room also had several VIP booths at full capacity. The dance floor was a regular thoroughfare with no one dancing. Really, the club was ram packed by 1230am and no one was dancing anywhere!

Out on the patio, we settled in for some chilly, but fresh air and conversation. Looking around the patio I would say it was pleasant, however, the heat lamps were not all working and the bricks slabs on the ground were uneven and dangerous for high heel wearers.

Overall the best part of the night was the 30 minutes we spent inside dancing to some soulful house beats which came on at 0100am. By then several of our friends managed to be escorted in by a well known regular and we made the best of it. We left soon after we got our fix.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)

Music - 5 People - 3 Ambiance - 3 Love factor -1

State Theater - Oct 14, 2005

Formerly Tangier Nightclub

69 Bathurst Street

They say people make the party. That was so true for the entourage of models and friends that took over State Theatre on this Saturday Night a la NAM Personal Management. All proceeding happened in the main VIP area. There were several other smaller VIP arrangements, but our area had the most prominent pole for…pole dancing. As far as VIP areas go, this place has a nice arrangement, because you still feel as though you are part of the larger party that is happening on the dance floor. The exhibitionist in you will love this place. The overall look of State Theatre is well - dark and can use more colour in the main room. The bar is quite small for such a well visited club, but the service is reasonably quick, and the female bartenders are very attractive. Bottle service in our VIP area was also satisfying.

The music in this place was great. The sound system was more than adequate, and the R&B blending into soulful and progressive house was very nice. I think they even played a couple of rock songs! By then no one cared, because all the action was happening on the pole. Funny how a long silver pole after a few drinks brings out the exotic dancer in all of us.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 81/2 People - 91/2 Ambiance - 7 Love factor -91/2

Century Room - first visit - July 30, 2005

Formerly the Mockingbird

www.centuryroom.com

580 King Street West

There was a party of about 30 or 40 of us and we were doing our thang in a reserved VIP booth. The booth we had was large and spacious with flowing white curtains that really offered no privacy (not that we wanted any). The booth style seating was plush and comfortable with a table taking up the middle at just the right height for the bottle service that is a must with booth seating in clubs nowadays.

We were all a bit inebriated, however I didn't get a really cozy feeling from Century, just kind of a dark cellar-with-lights vibe. Our table had a great time and everyone seemed to be enjoying the music. I liked the variety of R&B, hip hop, and some house I heard, however I found the bass to be lacking and acoustic not well thought out for our location.

The bathrooms where attractive individual co-ed cubicles. There were four or perhaps 5 or them (not nearly enough) and people could do whatever they wanted in there with complete privacy. Hmm…

Overall on this visit I gave the following rating:

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)

Music - 5 People - 7 Ambiance - 3 Love factor - 5

Boa Redux - Saturday July 23, 2005

www.boa-redux.com

270 Spadina Avenue (now relocated to 360 Adelaide West)

I have just one thing to say - LOUD!!!! Boa's main room has an extremely loud beast of a sound system pumping out tribal and progressive house in all it's variations. Entry is strict and involves an acceptable level of patting down for drug, contraband and God knows what. Then one must pay at another flight of stairs, and then finally scale some more stairs to get to the main room, whereupon the thunderous assault on one's ears takes place. The place is basically a beautifully renovated theatre made for dancing, with a stage on the left and several levels of dance plateaus on the right. Hundreds, if not thousands of people can fit into the main room, because it extends back as far as the eye can see.

On the other side of the theatre layout there lies another downstairs room with chairs and tables and it's own DJ spinning soulful house with lyrics on the night we were there. What keeps Boa fresh is that although there are resident DJ's, there are also invited guest DJ's that spin there as well. The DJ on the ones and twos in the main room was one such guest DJ, his name being Sandy Rivera (Kings of Tomorrow, Defected). My three friends and I spent the night going between the two rooms and dancing to whatever came on.

Overall people are going to Boa to hear appealing music on a sound system that is only rivaled by System Sound Bar. Some people are also going to dance off their Ecstasy or similar drug haze, so we were very aware of the occasional stoned and off-balance humans maneuvering on the dance floor and throughout the club. In light of this, one can appreciate the no alcohol served rule at Boa. Not to worry water, power drinks, and Red Bull are all available at the bar for about three times what you would pay in a grocery store… heh, heh, heh.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 9 People - 7 Ambiance - 8 1/2 Love factor - 6

SCHMOOZE - Friday July 22, 2005

www.schmooze.ca

15 Mercer Street (south of King St. and west of John St.)

I've been to this place on a Friday several times with my girlfriends, and I must say it is a unique experience each time. Essential to getting your Friday evening party started right, is showing up at Schmooze before 8:00pm. Before this time entry to the club is easy, the bouncers are cordial and let you right in.

As well, you will be able to get your hot little hands on as many drinks as you can buy. At $2.50 for martini's and $1.50 for beer and mixed drinks, you will want to keep those hands full. Schmooze, the entity is well laid out with two large bars on the main floor, and whole lot of mingling room on the multileveled floor. The ceilings are loft like, with pillars and rich wood accent throughout. Also on the first level are the main washrooms. The wash areas are co-ed so expect to share a sink and some small talk with the opposite sex. The women's individual stalls offer a freaky surprise that I won't give up here, you'll just have to go and find out for yourself. Ascending the grand staircase to the second floor, you'll find another set of non-coed washrooms. Finally, on the third level a spacious rooftop cedar patio with a bar offers up a space to smoke, or just sit and chill.

Schmooze on a Friday is a place where the faster you get liquored up the more fun you have. The eye candy factor is not bad either, just make sure you've assessed the candidates before you get sloshed. Everyone of the hundreds of bodies in the place is feeling good by the time 9 pm rolls around. You'll likely meet people you would never meet anywhere else. The music starts getting louder and more up to date as the night goes on until it reaches club mode. You and your peeps will effortlessly move from schmoozing, to dancing to r&b, salsa, house, and old school with other fellow schmoozers. In the end it's all love and good times.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 71/2 People - 8 Ambiance - 9 Love factor - 9

BUDO Liquid Theatre - Saturday, June 25, 2005

Formerly: Society, Abracadabra

www.budo.com

137 Peter St.

I went to this place on a much touted Tuesday after convincing a girlfriend of mine that we needed to check it out. We owed it to ourselves as seasoned clubbers to check out this place that we had heard so much about. After all we do live in Toronto, and Budo is know to attract a "celebrity" crowd. We decided to just go get up and go, so we did not call ahead or email anyone to get on a guest list first. So of course we arrived late at 2345hrs and we saw three line ups. One to the right one to the left, and several pushy people right in the middle cozying up to the bouncer and having their way with him. My friend decided that we take the middle route, and it worked. We were in like Flynn in no time. The cover was $10.00 and we paid. I handed the fella at the cash a $20.00, he gave me back a $10.00 (keep this in mind).

Inside the club was sparse, probably because all the smokers were outside on the sidewalk. I took the place in gradually. Nice decor, sweet ambiance, great use of space. We headed for the back and had a drink at one of the two bars on the main floor. An attractive woman with a boob job serve me my drink. I complemented her on her twins, and she smiled. Just off of the back bar was a VIP section that we tried to enter, and we were flatly rejected. As good as we looked, the bouncer said "VIP only". I peered through the railing, and for the life of me I couldn't see any VIP's. Just a bunch of guys mostly drinking, with one or two girls. We then proceed to hang out at the main bar. If you are a people watcher like myself, Budo is a great place to see a mix of all cultures - Black, Asian, White, etc. - youngish females 19-27yrs, older guys 19-55yrs. There is a small misplaced dance floor that just seems impractical. The DJ seemed to be fond of music by Bobby Brown, En Vogue, and a bunch of other stuff one could do with out at a 2004 party. There was also plenty of reggae and Bajan jams as well.

Later in the night the hip hop and R&B from this century was more prevalent. I started to dance to a couple of tunes, but was interrupted several times by people walking through the floor to get to the bar, or to the VIP room. I'll say it again, the dance floor is just in a really silly place. I went to the main bar to order a drink and paid with the $10.00 the guy at the door gave me. The very young, very blonde, female bar server wet the bill on purpose and it fell apart in her hands. She showed this to me and informed me that it was a fake. I immediately went back to the door and explained the occurrence, and only with a bit of hesitance from muscle dude did I get another $10.00 bill.

After that we went upstairs to the second level. Great design, loft like, but with low ceilings. No one was upstairs at the time. We then went back downstairs, danced, and walked around some more, and then tried upstairs an hour later. Upstairs now had a ton of people and there were also individuals trying to get outside to the roof top patio. That was news to us. We didn't realize that Budo had a roof top patio. It was an ordeal trying to get on the roof top, as we were told it was a private party. I saw several males getting the go ahead to get in, and I began wondering what was up with the people who ran things that night. Where was the love for the women? I though that maybe the roof top was reserved for a private gay party or something. After spending 10 minutes in line, we were asked if we had a bracelet. What the F%$#? Nobody had a bracelet from what I could see, and besides, like I said…only men were getting onto the roof. My friend turned around and gave up at that point. I said to the dude guarding the roof top - "hey I just want to check it out". To my surprise he said o.k. So I forged ahead alone up several flights of stairs. I finally got to the roof and - Oh My Goodness! There were like hundreds of people up there partying. Champagne was flowing, music was bumping, and the party was absolutely packed with wall to wall people. It was overcrowded actually, but everyone looked like they were having a good time. I stayed up there for 5 minutes and then went back downstairs to find my friend. I wanted her to have the same experience that I had, so she agreed to go back through the whole process of lining up again to get on the roof. Well now the line up had grown, and again the women were getting no love at the roof top door, so without further ado, we went back downstairs again.

We ended up leaving at 0230hrs. Budo certainly is full of theatre and spectacle, however the Tuesday night promoters are not woman friendly. Ladies you will get better treatment in a real gay bar, and not in this mixed up and confused environment.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 5 1/2 People - 7 Ambiance - 8 1/2 Love factor - 2

Roxy Blu - Sat June 12 2005 *Rest in Peace*

12 Brant Street, just north of King St. West and 1 block west of Spadina

Now the fabulous Eight Resto Lounge is in it's place (review coming soon)

I've been to the Roxy several times on a Saturday night and it has always had an interesting crowd feeding off the same great music. If house is your forte then this is the place to be. Not just any old house, but deep soul influence house. Roxy's sound system has enough thumping bass to reset your pacemaker, so come prepared to feel the vibe. There are two rooms on the "main" floor - the loungy bar area, and the large open room where the actual parting goes on.

The lounge area has it's own DJ spinning everything tribal to progressive house, but it is the open room that has the percussionist's accompanying the soul sessions of resident DJ Winston Thompson. Downstairs there are also two adjacent rooms that they call Surface. Again you are libel to hear all things house - from progressive to garage, to techno. The recent smoking ban has transported the smokers to the little makeshift patio Roxy has facing the sidewalk. This area could also be mistaken for a lounge area judging from the number of people occupying every square inch of it. Overall, I had a good time dancing to the beats. However, as far as male and female eye candy goes, the casually dressed crowd was a little lacking in that department. I would say that the women had far superior eye candy factor to the men, because they actually came dressed in their Saturday's finest . The love factor was also lacking on this occasion, which is somewhat unusual for the Roxy. Too many people were milling around trying to talk over the heavy beats than actually dancing for me to feel the warmth that night.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 8 People - 6 Ambiance - 7 Love factor - 4

Cache - Sat April 30, 2005

469 King St West, just East of Brant Street

A ways away from King Street's sidewalk. As a matter of fact you may think the place is dead as you walk along the courtyard. How wrong you would be on a Saturday night.

The bouncers were old, with trimmed beards and they seemed almost proprietary….like the lounge was their baby. Whatev! Step into Cache and I've got 2 words for you 'sweet' 'ambiance'. This place is like your getaway party spot, vacation like in the atmospheric exuberance of party people.

There are two levels, an upper and a lower, but they both have the same hardwood floors, dance space, and feel. The upper level has more places to sit and observe. Comfy lounging couches, and of course the all important DJ. This DJ was pumping out soulful house and trance and it was hard for anyone in the room not to dance. The speaker system had absolutely no reverb, and acoustically was right for this space that holds about 280 people. Cache's engaging decoration, lighting, and music are a wonderful combination. You could find a more über chic spot, but I bet it wouldn't be as accessible AND as fun as this lounge.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 9 People - 8 Ambiance - 9 Love factor - 7

Touch Lounge - Sat April 30, 2005

499 King St West, at Brant Street

The space was originally intended for Mitsubishi, but when the appeal of having a lounge in the space surfaced, the owners redesigned this car ‘garage’ to accommodate. Touch has great potential to be an events club and has a space at the back that would make for an exclusive VIP or private lounge.

Anyhoo, so much for the almost car dealership now turned lounge… a la IKEA. Yes, Ikea furniture can be seen strewn across this space, even down to the lights hanging from the ceiling and the black $29.99 lounge tables. Touch is a wide space with a very lofty feel, curtained off VIP booths, elevated seated lounge spaces, projected images onto large screen TV's, and a huge open dance floor. The bar, however is to the very back and can be almost inaccessible due to the throng of bodies one must navigate to get there. The ceiling is very high, and therefore the music in this space reverberates like mad. You feel the beat everywhere but your chest. The DJ does not have much space to work with and the booth looks almost like an after thought. I do like the curtained off tent like structures in the outside courtyard for a few of ones closest friends. However, you have to navigate (again) through the smoking crowd stationed at the inside entrance before you can get to the courtyard.

Lastly, the women's washrooms are lacking and atrocious. The doors and handles fit incorrectly, and one feels like they are in a luxury outhouse. They even have the nerve to employ a washroom hostess in such a paltry pee area. We left this space after an hour or so and headed for Cache Lounge.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 4 People - 5 Ambiance - 6 Love factor - 5

The Laurentian Room - Jan 7, 2005

http://www.geocities.com/salonnoir

Address: 51A Winchester St. (Enter through sidedoor and go upstairs)

The buzz was out for this one before the doors were even open - and it's only been open for a few months. Even so, my friends and I have managed to frequent The Laurentian Room several times.

This gorgeous space is an art deco bar/lounge that exudes class in the most unlikely of locations - above the Winchester Tavern in Cabbagetown. There’s history up that flight of stairs—the Laurentian Room was, back in the days of Al Capone, a ladies-and-escorts-only lounge. The size of the space is what surprises initially. A long, shiny bar (with drink options sandblasted on the mirrored glass behind) is the perfect place to scan the hip gay, lesbian, and straight crowd under a tall, glowing recessed ceiling.

Go early and it’s an excellent place to sip martini's cozied up in front of one of the 4 fireplaces; go late and it’s a great place to dance to the uptempo beats of special guest DJ's. You're likely to meet one or two of the four stylish and amicable owners mingling with the crowd. One can start their night, or end their night at the Laurentian Room all by your lonesome with the feeling that you are amongst friends.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 91/2 People - 9 Ambiance - 91/2 Love factor - 9

FILM Lounge - Sat June 12 2004

www.thefilmlounge.com

393 Dundas W. before Beverley St. Entrance on Dundas St. west just before Beverley St.

Music Played: House with DJ's Aadil, JELO, J-PREZ, DEKO-ZE, Kenny Glasgow, Sydney Blu

On my third jaunt to Film after hours I can say I had the best time. My friend and I went over to Film after Roxy's at about 0300hrs on a Saturday night. She knew the bouncer at the door and thereby saved us a collective $40.00, and an incredibly long line up.

Film Lounge has a moderately sized dance floor which does not allow for much thorough traffic (bonus!). They also have a VIP section just off to the right after entering the club. Most people seemed to be using it as a detox room. Which leads me to this point - the one great thing about Film is the people. You will be hard pressed to see such a diverse collection of people who love music in one spot other than Film. The lighting is a little too extreme for that hour of the night, but the sound system makes up for the offense. You can actually see the sweat dripping from the clubbers when they dance, not a pretty sight. However, the lighting is a God send if you are picking up people for other reasons if you know what I mean.

I am not a huge fan of trance house (check out their web site for a sample), but that is basically what they play and the crowd loves it. All the various characters were in good form dancing the night away. There is a huge love factor at this place and they can appreciate a person who is having a good time. There were many characters ranging from the little Asian man who kept gyrating to every beat non-stop, to the buff fitness dude who appeared to have a severe case of gorilla-itis and a stiff neck. Then there were the Pamela Anderson wanna-be's, dancing next to perfectly normal looking people. Oh, and how could I forget the fun teen Barbie in her club clothes bouncing around for 2 hours straight. This place is one after hours that should not be missed.

Scale of 0-10 (10 being the best)
Music - 7 People - 7 Ambiance - 7 Love factor - 7