New Club: Euphoria – Ministry of Sound, Kuala Lumpur

Couple of months back, I posted an entry that a well know superclub from the United Kingdom, Ministry of Sound will be opening a new club in Kuala Lumpur. It’s now open!


Check out their official website: http://www.euphoria.com.my.

They put up contact details of the person in charge if you want to book a table or even the VIP table.
Some pictures of the place stolen from Peng’s facebook. 😛 Thanks Penguin


Wow, designated smoking area. Does that mean no smoking in the club?

Freedom 08 @ Admiral Marina, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan – Part IV


We got off from the hotel at around 12:30pm and drove to Seremban for Yee Kee’s Beef Noodles. Some of you may remember that the xes.cx makan team drove down to Seremban for Yee Kee’s Beef Noodles. Many thanks to Ivan Lau for his hospitality.

Yummy Beef Noodles.
Thereafter, in line with the tradition of KL-Lites, we bought some famous Seremban siew pao (pork buns) back home.

Recommended place to get Siew Pao. It’s just a stone throw away from Seremban Town.


Aunty! Siew pao 10 boxes pls!!!
[Note: Those who hasn’t fill up the xes.cx survey, please take few minutes of your time to do so]

Freedom 08 @ Admiral Marina, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan – Part III

Despite the negative publicity, I’m still going to blog about Freedom 08.

Cosmic Gate
The main area was extremely packed. Rubbish was over the place. Getting one place to another was a hard task. Our gang got broken up few times but were fortunate to find each other. Johnson on the other hand was a little bit unlucky as he disappeared without realising that his digital camera was with me. I had to carry it throughout the night.



Huge booth just to sell cigarettes

Performer

Man surrounded by rubbish

SASAU MAXIMUM HAHAHAHA, They were lying on the grass for quite some time.

ivN, Me & Eric

As you can see, it’s Acidtripping Ben’s first time hanging out with us. Only part of his face is revealed.

The gang. Acidtripping Ben saw some hot chick up there.

JohnsonTeoh.com

Acidtripping Ben – I’m a butterfly!!

Like high school photo. Rombongan sambil belajar.



Acidtripping Ben tired. He partied so hard until he had fever the next day.
At 12am, Tiesto replaced the Cosmic Gate. His 3 hours set was excellent – dropping all time favourite hits. Great laser beam show complimented his songs. It was also the first time I see such laser beam show in Malaysia. The only place I’ve seen them was in UK.

This was also the first time I see people selling Domino’s Pizza and Friday’s. They had booths set up just to sell them. They also have a booth selling sandwiches at RM5 per piece. It was quite tasty.

Domino’s Pizza

Friday’s

Sandwiches

Redemption Booth
It ended with a video of him walking away – with his back facing the crowd.
The rave ended at 3am. The gang went back to their rooms extremely tired.

Freedom 08 @ Admiral Marina, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan – Part II

The Star Newspaper ran an article on Freedom 08 two days after the event.

Port Dickson folks irked by youths’ out of control behaviour at rave event

BY SARBAN SINGH

Residents of Port Dickson are unhappy that the seaside town is being used by certain quarters to promote booze, drugs and promiscuity among the young.

Port Dickson assemblyman M Ravi said a recent wild party at the seaside was a real shocker to him and the community here. He said that such parties did more damage to the young than promote tourism.
“I made a surprise visit to a so called world music event in the wee hours of Saturday morning and what I saw was shocking.

“Thousands of teenagers, many drunk and wearing skimpy clothing were misbehaving and some were even involved in substance abuse,” he claimed.


Oblivious to his surroundings: Two teenagers trying to wake a ‘fallen’ mate.
[Note: HAHAHA SASAU MAXIMUM!!]

She said it also made little sense to see some female teenagers wearing swimsuits and other skimpy clothing although it was 4am.
“When I asked them if their parents knew if they were here, they shied away. Most of them are from Kuala Lumpur,” she said.

A friend of hers said it was quite a sight to see several youths lying on the ground clearly intoxicated.

“Medical people were on standby but some of the party goers were too hysterical. Beers were sold openly and some had been drinking for hours,” he said.

Ravi said the authorities should not treat the matter lightly.
“If the idea is to promote PD, then we can do without such events since it creates such a bad image,” he said

He said government departments which give out permits for such events should not “close an eye” when granting permits as this would be tantamount to endorsing social ills.

Source: The Star Newspaper

First of all, this article paints an extremely bad light on raves in Malaysia. As boob_omatic put it, “only sohais go to these kind of sohai events”. This article no doubt has caused negative effects on the public.

My group of friends and I went in free of drugs and sober. The ultimate aim was just to enjoy ourselves and meet up with friends that we’ve not seen for ages. On the 2nd day, the rave ended at 3am. Music was off and everyone was ushered out. If the patrons wants hang around the are until 4am, there is nothing the organisers can do if they are not within the perimeter of the rave. Further, there was police all over the place. They could have just asked everyone to go home. There may be bad apples that tainted this event but I personally think that it shouldn’t be a bar for raves to be held in Malaysia.

I hope they don’t ban all raves in Malaysia cause my friend Abang Fai (Fai Kor) wants to pei (trip) and he needs to do it outdoor. FAI KOR! YOU STILL GOT NEXT WEEEK!!

Freedom 08 @ Admiral Marina, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan – Part I

It’s been a while since I went for a rave. The last time was probably at Speedzone @ KL Tower in April 2007.
Freedom 08 was a 2 days dance event held at Admiral Marina, which is around 78km away from Kuala Lumpur. first day consists of DJ Ferry Corsten and DJ Tiesto. Second day was Cosmic Gate and DJ Tiesto again. Patrons have the option to opt for a 2 days ticket or a 1 day ticket. It’s the second time a rave was held at Admiral Marina. The
The gang, Acidtripping Ben, Angeline, Elaine, Eric, ivN, Sharon Dilirius, Jimmy, Heidi and I battered the traffic jam before reaching Port Dickson in the evening. We were stuck at one slow moving stretch near Seremban for half an hour – only to realise that the cause of the jam was one stupid hole in a divider.

Jam aaaaa!
Jimmy and Heidi came all the way from Jakarta, Indonesia to attend this rave. Acidtripping Ben on the other hand joined us to a rave for the first time.
We stayed at one hotel by the name Selesa Beach Resort, which is 2 hotels away from Admiral Marina. The room was pretty crap. ivN and Acidtripping Ben’s room smells of wet dog. And they don’t have warm shower too.
We had dinner at one waterfront restaurant nearby our hotel. It’s a very nice place but the food was crap.

Port Dickson beach – looks nice but polluted like hell.


They also forgot my order. I was so frustrated that I screamed, “WHERE THE F*** IS MY BURGER??”. It came few minutes later and they were nice enough to give me a complimentary ice lemon tea for the error. I hope they didn’t use my buns to wipe their armpit.

My 2 Litre Asahi Beer from Langkawi
Getting into Admiral Marina was painful. It was extremely crowded and hot. We had to endure a pushy crowd through their ticket and security counter to get into the venue. The crowd control was terrible. There were a few lanes opened for everyone to enter and everyone had to fight their way into the lanes – loads of queue cutting and pushing involved.

The crowd at the entrance

Someone actually wore this slipper to the rave. It’s our hotel’s slippers. Oh, one guy came in wheelchair too.
Security was pretty tight this time. They went through everyone’s pockets, wallets, handbags, cigarette boxes and even shoes to check for weapons, drugs and forbidden items. Some girls had their bags flipped upside down and shaken.
I was told that one of the forbidden items was candies (including chewing gum) and many had their candies confiscated. The worst bit is that recording gadgets are not allowed. Some friends had their camera batteries confiscated.
On the first night, some people were arrested after they were caught for drugs. A friend was arrested after they found pills hidden in his pocket. Hope he’ll be fine.
The venue made up mainly of 2 rooms, electronic dance music (main area) and R&B music. The main area was located on a sandy field. By the end of the night, I had sand everywhere.
Just as we stepped into the main room, someone screamed, “WOOOHOOO FERRY CORSTEN!!!”.
Elaine: What a noob. Cosmic Gate is spinning la. Ferry Corsten was last night.
It is unfortunate that Cosmic Gate had to play before DJ Tiesto. It would be great to see Cosmic Gate to go all out.

Part II Coming up!
In the meanwhile, check out the following movies I took.

Tiesto’s first track of the night.

Tiesto – Love comes again

XLive Music Festival @ Genting Highlands, 17.5.2008


XLive Festival will be the first outdoor music festival to be held in Genting since 2005 and will also be the first time that a music festival is being held at the Genting Outdoor Theme Park. The festival will be divided into 3 arenas namely the XLIVE MAIN STAGE, XL-TRONIC & XLR8.
Each arena will feature a multitude of quality international, regional and local acts which includes Missy Elliot, DJ Yoji, Dan The Automator, Filo & Peri, Marcus Schossow, Stylustiks, and Goodnight Electric and more.
In addition to the live performances and DJs at the 3 main arenas, festival-goers are also entitled to FREE theme park rides such as the Spinner, Cyclone, Astro Fighter and other rides to their hearts’ content.
DJ Line Up
The main stage:
MISSY ELLIOT
MALIQ & D’ ESSENTIALS
PARKDRIVE
STYLUSTIKS (DJ SET)
SPACESHIP FT. GOLDFISH & T-BONE AND POSSE
The XL-Tronic stage:
YOJI BIOMEHANIKA
FILO & PERI
MARCUS SCHOSSOW
DEREK K
GREGOIRE PAGNOUX
RAYSOO
The XLCTRC stage:
DAN THE AUTOMATOR (DJ SET)
ALHACA SOUNDSYSTEM
GOODNIGHT ELECTRIC
LAP SAP
B4C
TWILIGHT ACTIONGIRL
Ticket prices:
RM250 (VIP) – Available from 24th April to 17th May 2008.
RM188 (door sale) – Door-sale available on 17th May 2008 only.
RM118 (pre-sale) – Pre-sale starts from 24th April to 16th May 2008
Celcom Xpax subscriber may get VIP tickets by sending XLIVE to 28881 and reloading RM50.
Tickets available at Axcess outlets (1 Utama, Rock Corner, MidValley, Tower Records KLCC, The Actors Studio) and Genting outlets.
Related Links:
XLive Festival website
Axcess Tickets Sdn Bhd :: XLive Festival tickets, dates

Dancing in the streets

Credits to the Star Online
Source: The Star Online – Dancing in the streets

By IAN YEE

BY ABOUT 5pm every Saturday, the open space outside Maybank at the Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan Ismail intersection in Kuala Lumpur becomes the venue for a huge outdoor party. Teenagers just turn up from everywhere, with music blaring from portable speakers hooked up to their MP3 players and cellphones.

They would slowly find members of their crew, and start to chat and catch up. But many of them have a different purpose for meeting up.

Hidden identities: This group of shufflers came ready with their masks last Saturday, which are worn during dance-offs with shufflers from other groups.

Johnson Lau, 18, has been taking the train there every Saturday from his home in Sentul. Five months ago, he discovered something there that has become a passion – shuffle dancing.

Shuffling is now more than just a hip dance move. It’s a movement. Almost every state in Malaysia now has a shuffling community, and the shufflers are hardcore. They participate in huge events and competitions, and some of them are sponsored by big brands like Hotlink and DiGi.

They take their moves seriously, working hard to elevate it to more than just a dance. It is now a legit street culture with a massive following among teenagers.

At Jalan Bukit Bintang, around five to 10 shuffle groups come each week to create their own dance floor by gathering together in a small circle. Cheering and jeering each other, they take turns showing off dance moves to music from their little portable speakers.

“I think it’s fun,” Johnson said about their weekly gatherings. “I love to shuffle because it helps me to relax, and every time I dance it seems like I have an escape from all my troubles.”

Showing support: These kids are wearing shirts bearing the logos of their shuffle group.

Fellow shuffler Mohammad Nazlee Abas, aka Katong, used to be a DJ and b-boy before he found shuffling. Now he’s already a semi-pro, and a well-known name on the shuffle circuit. Katong is part of a group called the Underground Shuffle Squad, or USS; and claims it is sponsored by a big corporation to enter shuffle competitions.

But at these weekend gatherings, teams like USS and Johnson’s group, Hardstyle Republic, often challenge each other to what they call “full battles”, something like a dance-off. And apparently, they get pretty serious.

“We have a ritual, where the loser – the one who can’t match the other person’s moves, or runs out of ideas – has to give up the shirt he’s wearing (which usually bears the logo of the team), and the winner will have to burn it,” said Katong.

And they really do burn them. Right on the pavement, in probably the most crowded intersection in KL. Even more bizarre is the practice of wearing masks while going into dance battles.

“Sometimes we wear these masks to conceal our identities when we dance-off. That way only after the battle is over will we know which groups our opponent actually belonged to,” Katong, 20, said.
He added that the weekly gatherings at Bukit Bintang aren’t that big compared to the events and competitions they go to. Sometimes they meet at Taman Titiwangsa where hundreds of them come in their pimped out rides to shuffle, with music pumping from their car stereos.
The shufflers are not the only ones at the Bukit Bintang pavement. Hardcore metal heads and rockers also gather here on Saturday evenings, and they aren’t too impressed by what they see from the shufflers.

Join the party: The crowd, a mix of shufflers and rockers, in the Bukit Bintang area in Kuala Lumpur on Satuday.

It’s easy to tell the two groups apart. The shufflers have a more hip-hop style, with baggy T-shirts and pants with reflective strips that make their moves flashier. The rockers sport dark colours, have multiple piercing on their faces and have punk-ish hairstyles. To some of them, the shufflers seem like hip-hop posers, and they find their dance moves silly.

When asked about the rockers, Johnson simply said that he “doesn’t want to cause trouble”, so he and his group leave when the most hardcore of rockers and mat rempit guys come in later around 10pm.
Rocker Mohammad Alif Fitri, 23, known as Slay, however, prefers a more understanding approach to his shuffling peers.

“I don’t mind them, really. They should do whatever they want as long as they’re enjoying themselves. I think it’s better to just make friends,” said the well-mannered rocker.

Slay first started getting into rock/metal culture when he was 13, after being introduced to heavy metal music and other hardcore rock genres.
“At first it was just the music, but when I was in Form Three, I started to pick up the fashion too. Surprisingly, the teachers were alright with it! Even now my boss doesn’t mind, because I still do my job properly,” he said.

Nevertheless, Slay feels that some people still misunderstand and judge them based on their appearances. Even his parents found it hard to accept his clothes and piercings at first, but now they have slowly realised that rock is part of his “jiwa” (soul) and that there was no point dissuading him anymore.

According to Slay, all the rockers do every week is hang out and meet other people like them. And sometimes at “events” like concerts or gatherings, other rocker communities from other parts of the Klang Valley like Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya and Putrajaya will join in.
“Actually it’s just a social circle. We meet up to talk about the latest rock trends, dressing styles, discuss music, and just hang out. We don’t cause any trouble, so usually the security guards and police don’t chase us away or anything. It’s just a hobby and fashion style,” he added.

But in spite of what they say, when such a large number of rowdy young kids gathers together in what is essentially a display of machismo, trouble is bound to flare up particularly between the shuffle groups who are there for some “friendly” competition.

Last Saturday, things started to simmer when one or two minor scuffles broke out. Some of the kids fled, sensing things were about to get ugly. Soon enough, just as it was getting dark, a mob of around 20 angry teenagers were seen dragging a guy into a back alley. The others on the street – the youths, tourists, security guards – just watched in silence.

And this was literally seconds after a security guard assured us that the rockers and shufflers almost never caused trouble.

The security personnel hired by the management of private buildings around the area have no jurisdiction to disperse this youth crowd, or to take action against them if they misbehave.

Or perhaps it’s just more convenient for them to take that approach because handling the mob of over a hundred youngsters must be daunting.

“People think they don’t cause trouble, but that’s because they don’t want to be responsible. So they pretend nothing happens. But the truth is, these guys get into fights pretty often.

“Anyway, there’s a police booth right across the street,” said one of the guards there.

The police booth is only a few metres away with a clear view of the pavement.

“All we can do here is patrol the area,” said one of the three policemen who went to check out the scene. “We chase them away sometimes, but they always come back after a few minutes anyway.

“They fight all the time, almost every week. But we can’t do much about it. There’re so many of them, and so few of us. We can’t be watching them all the time,” he said.

After saying that, the policemen proceeded to clear the area, slowly walking around the pavement shooing the kids off. Within five minutes, not a single shuffler or rocker was to be seen.

All that was left was an empty pavement, with barely a trace of the huge celebration of teen culture and passion that was in full swing just minutes ago.

But they were still around, hanging out somewhere in the Golden Triangle just waiting for the right time to reappear and continue partying the night away.

My 2 cents
What the crap is happening to the Melbourne Shuffle in Malaysia? Why are there clans for shuffling groups?? It’s not Counter strike man!!!
Gone were the days when the Melbourne Shuffle was done exclusively by a small group of clubbers. I don’t know whether it’s because of the way Melbourne Shuffle was portrayed in the above article or it has really gone down the drain.

Ok, I better shaddap before I get beaten up on the streets.

FREEDOM Festival, Admiral Marina, Port Dickson,


Date: 9 & 10 May 2008, from 5pm till late.
Ticketing
FREEDOM Members
Privilege Sale
1-day Pass – RM78 per ticket *
2-day Pass – RM128 per ticket*
General
Pre-sale
1-day Pass – RM88 per ticket*
2-day Pass – RM153 per ticket*
1-day and 2-day Passes are on sale at the following Axcess Ticket outlets:
• Axcess Ticket Box Office, 1Utama
• Rock Corner, Mid Valley Megamall
• Axcess Office, Jalan Semangat
• Tower Records, KLCC
Cabanas (for groups of 20 pax only)
FREEDOM Platinum – RM303 per ticket*
FREEDOM Gold – RM253 per ticket*
Ticket price includes 2-day Pass, drinks, cabana in exclusive private area, bar service staff, easy access public amenities and 10% discount for drink carton sales.
FREEDOM Platinum and Gold Cabanas are available at:
Scenique Productions Office,
Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7781 7302
Door Sale
1-day Pass – RM113 per ticket*
* Ticket price is inclusive of RM3 ticketing charge
Please call the Festival Hotline for more information
Festival Hotline: 03-7781 7302
Ticket Hotline: 03-7711 5000
Event strictly for 18 years and above only.

Hotel accommodation in PD

Admiral Marina & Leisure Club
5 ½ Mile, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 0888
Fax line: 06 – 647 0889
Bayu Beach Resort, Port Dickson
7 km, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 3703
Fax line: 06 – 647 2507
Unit 8D, Level 8, Wisma YPR,
No 1, Lorong Kapar, Off Jalan Syed Putra,
58000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
General line: 03 – 2273 3551
Fax line: 03 – 2273 1730
Avillion Village Resort, Port Dickson
3rd Mile, Jalan Pantai,
71000 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 6688
Fax line: 06 – 647 7688
Hotel Seri Malaysia, Port Dickson
Lot 49, Jalan Pantai, Batu 4,
71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 6070
Fax line: 06 – 647 6028
The Regency Tanjung Tuan Beach Resort, Port Dickson
Batu 5, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 3013
Fax line: 06 – 647 5219
Selesa Beach Resort, Port Dickson
5th Mile, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 4090
Fax line: 06 – 647 4792
Residence Desa Lagoon Resort, Port Dickson
5th Mile, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 7515
Fax line: 06 – 647 7996
PD Perdana Condo Resort, Port Dickson
5 1/2 Mile, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 647 7788
Fax line: 06 – 647 9828
PD World Marina Resort, Port Dickson
Batu 7, Jalan Pantai,
71050 Port Dickson, Teluk Kemang, Negeri
Sembilan, Malaysia
General line: 06 – 662 6367
Fax line: 06 – 662 7808

Note :
Free shuttle buses are available at all hotels mentioned above.
Operating hours: 7.30pm – 3.30am on the 9th and 10th of May ’08 only. To and fro trips are provided every 20 minutes.
More info @ http://www.freedom-08.net

Diamonds & Pearls ft. DJ Anatta @ 7atenine – 22.3.2008

As part of the F1 party series, aunty DJ Anatta played an awesome set at 7atenine.

7atenine is a…well it’s hard to explain. It serves food – al fresco dining with Asian and Western cuisine. It also has a DJ console and small dance floor. It’s owned by the husband and wife team who also owns Souled Out and Café WIP in Kuala Lumpur.
The interior is excellent and has great view of the Petronas Towers. Music is not too loud, great place to chat. Drinks are reasonably priced too.



[Pictures courtesy of Sow]
Cris, Sow, Melvin, ivN, Eric and I went on ground to give our support to DJ Anatta. Right opposite us was a group of ladies tearing the dance floor with DJ Anatta’s music. We were pretty amazed as this group of ladies are umm.. looked like they’re having their time of their life as their husbands are not in town.
We later found out that the group of ladies were actually DJ Anatta’s ex classmates. O_o
Before DJ Anatta’s session ended, we were given free pasta (in a paper box). I was told that this was a practice by 7atenine to clear their leftovers whenever their kitchen closes.
Map

7atenine
The Ascott KL, 9, Jalan Pinang.
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03.2162 7789
Fax: 03.2163 7789
Business Hours:
Mon-Thurs, 5pm-1am, Fri, 12-3pm, 5pm-2am,
Sat, 5pm-2am.
Closed Sunday
Official Website: http://www.sevenatenine.com/

New Club: Euphoria – Ministry of Sound, Kuala Lumpur

This just came in. It is reported that the well know superclub from the United Kingdom, Ministry of Sound will be opening a new club in Kuala Lumpur. I heard that the club will be in Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. The exact opening date is unknown but it was mentioned that it will be opened on Spring 2008. Malaysia mana ada Spring???

Anyone has more info?
Stay tuned on updates!
[Edit: The club is now open!]