So you’ve worked relentlessly all week, put up with the constant nagging of your obnoxious boss, and feel the need to wind the week down by kicking back and having a few drinks (or two or three). You make plans to meet up at the local club, pub bar or even Tank Nightclub.
Tank Nightclub??
For many years Sydney clubbers have known Tank as a successful venue that often sports a queue that stretches far down the street, playing the best of house and electro music. Many would not consider heading out to Tank on a Friday night as a chilled-out way to wind down the week. Furthermore, when word spread that Jam Music was to present Dirty Pop as the newest event to be hosted at the club, a night supposedly dedicated to R n’ B hits, I for one questioned the validity of the decision. Little did I know that I was more wrong about the night than Bush was about Iraq…
I decided it was time that I made my presence known at Tank on a Friday night and get first-hand experience of what Dirty Pop had to offer. Adding to the experience was the fact that I got to meet the event manager Ravi, who gave me a quick run down on the event. He assured me that the underlying concept of the event was to offer a different type of clubbing experience that had yet to be experienced in any Sydney club.
So I hear you ask, what makes Tank so different to the other clubs open on a Friday night? While I’d question as to why you’d need to wait until Saturday night to have a large one, those who prefer to have just a quiet drink or two can do so at Dirty Pop. The night also seeks to deliver a musical policy that expands across many different genres of music. While many clubs might simply focus on playing one or two styles of music throughout the night, this was far from the case at Dirty Pop. DJs like Troy T and Moto played songs that you don’t often get to hear back to back: tunes from Whitney, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Prince were played alongside current chart-topping artist like Beyonce, Kanye West, Gwen Stefani, Pink, OutKast and Justin Timberlake. You’d also expect to hear a little bit of house music, it being Tank after all, so it was with no surprise that the clubbers were putting their hands in the air for songs like Put Your Hands up For Detroit and Love Don’t Let Me Go. The crowd was obviously enjoying the night as the dance floor was never empty: in fact it was even overcrowded at times.
As clubbers boogied away on the dance floor, those who felt the need to sit back and relax found their chance in the back room on the ground level, listening to chill out and old school tunes. Others spent their time in the back room downstairs, taking time out to listen to classics from Mase and P.Diddy, where you’d hear Aretha Franklin played alongside the likes of Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back. In fact, the night presents the old and new in an environment safe for all: for many clubbers R n’ B events in Sydney have been stereotyped as troublesome, earning themselves a questionable reputation, but Tank is definitely what you could call a safe venue. With a strict dress code applied to the punters seeking entry, the focus of Dirty Pop is to not only provide an event that is a fun for all, but also to ensure the venue is safe for the ladies at all times. A place where your sister or your girlfriend can feel comfortable from start to close.
For those keen on heading out to tank on a Friday night, you can be confident you won’t hear the same songs played again and again, and the staff is also rather approachable and friendly. Dirty Pop is obviously growing on people as the word gets around, reflected by Friday night’s large attendance. After a long week at work, it was good to break into the weekend with a chilled-out night, and a twist of hardcore dancing as Saturday morning approached.
