(smartshanghai)
Updated: 2006-11-01 09:03

A low-pitch rumble becomes a heavier thud as the lift ascends to the 4th Floor of No. 1 Huai Hai Zhong Lu. The elevator doors open to a chorus line of "Huan yin guang ling" girls flanked on either side by some well-suited heavy-hitters. Behind them a wall glows with coloured strips of LED much like the "Scratch 'n Sniff"/tasting wall at the entry to Willy Wonka's top-secret candyland in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" but with a darker twist - The real difference is that this factory is all about eye and ear candy, and it's no longer a secret: It's Club G-Spot.

And that's just the foyer! Enter the main room and head toward the dance floor - that low-pitched thud becomes a downright thump thump thump. There's table seating, as well as booths overlooking the dance floor, all lined with a plush purple carpeted wall with circular light rings cut into the design. Form meets function here as the carpeted wall effectively reduces the reverberation in the massive main room. Left of the bar is more raised table-seating and access to another room that acts as both a VIP room or a second dance area with its own bar and DJ booth and retractable wall on bigger nights.

It's opening night and John Digweed is flown in to flex the beats on the new "Systems By Shorty" (SBS) creation - a 4-tower gargantuan arranged to saturate sound in the club's sweet-spot: G-Spot's G-Spot is in the middle of all 4 towers right under the large mirror ball... Head there for some bassbin bliss - it's flooded with bass. The speaker enclosures themselves throw the beats directly onto the dance floor so it's actually possible to stand near any of the towers and still carry out a conversation on just about anything.

The conversation/controversy in the SmartShanghai forum leading up to the opening night was not entirely unfounded - the SBS system rocks it hard, it's very powerful without being loud on the ears. As for the eyes, the combination of multi-colored wall cutouts and ceiling effects along with the massive LED wall behind the DJ booth drench G-Spot with an 80s "Blade Runner" hazy glow.

The "Blade Runner" effect is carried out through the long, black-marbled corridors that lead to the KTV section of the club that effectively occupies about one-third of G-Spot's 2,000 sq/m of space. The halls are bathed in a red glow of lights and mirrors leading to any one of the 8 pimped out KTV rooms. These rooms hold up to 50 and have audio/video feeds from the main dance floor that can be over-ridden with KTV audio. A closer inspection of the club's floor plan reveals a suspicious 9th private room separate from the rest, and one can only imagine what goes on in there...

Club G-Spot
Tel: 021-6205 7999 (Chinese); 13816200834 (English)
Address:4F, Lie Lin building, 1 Huai Hai Zhong Lu, across from Lane Crawford  near
Opening Hours:Daily 9pm-4am or later