Gmikan Places...

Remember the 80s and the early 90s? For me, it was the best years of my partying life. Faces, Metro, Kudos, Jealousy, Equinox, Subway, Euphoria, Giraffe, Mars, Blue Cafe, those were the happening places, and I made sure that I did the rounds. I was out almost every night, even on Sundays, partying like there was no tomorrow. I started going out when I was 15, and this is Manila, they don’t ask for IDs here. My first time to go to a disco, which they now call "clubs", was in Subway. Coco Banana was on its swan lake already so most homosexuals made Subway their new home. The look of the place was respectable, no hanky panky inside, just plain dancing. If you like someone, you give them the ‘eye”, and as the popular deodorant advertisement slogan goes, “what happens next is up to you”. Malate was in its infancy stage, with minimal bars and restos, there was Library, Moviola, Elephant, Blue Café, and Piggy’s. This was before the implosion of ecstacy and metamphetamine hydrochloride was the drug of choice. People were mostly on natural high, and made sure that they enjoy every minute of it.

Then Faces came into the picture, replacing the old haunts such as Rumors, Zigzag, Where Else, Stargazer and Lost Horizon. Suddenly, people were lining up in the old Greenbelt Park building atop Scharwalder to get a piece of the action. Velvet ropes were rigidly administered and you must be on the VIP list to be able to come in without paying, unless you were a VIP cardholder. Culture Club eventually became Mars and the 3 cornered competition began among Mars, Faces and Euphoria. Faces took a leave-of-absence thus people discovered Kudos in Mile Long since Metro and Equinox was too passé for their taste. Oscars was the hottest resto at the basement of Kudos, but eventually, Faces came back with a vengeance. Then Studebaker and Hard Rock Café were born, offering bands and disco place in a single venue. Then Fashion Café came into the picture, with its camera shutter reception area, despite the glitz of the troika of Linda, Naomi and Cindy, the place went out of fashion. Giraffe was unbeatable in attracting the crowd, it ruled the party scene from ’94 to the next decade, and this was before a "dress code" was implemented by an ageing PR diva that replaced Louie Cruz, Louie allowed anyone in Giraffe, whether one's wearing a suit or in shorts, as long as they would fill the place up to the brim, well and good. I remembered New Year's Parties in Giraffe were the best and they lasted until 8 a.m., those were the days . Newer haunts such as Cat’s in New World and Zu in Makati Shangri-La wanted a piece of the pie, but Conservatory at the Peninsula was gaining momentum. Out of nowhere, Alabang became another “in” place, with its Fat Tuesday and Spoon bars. Then, there was Le Taxi, a short-lived popular watering hole in Pan Pacific that suffered from a flash-in-a-pan syndrome, 3 months to be exact. Tequila Joe's in Makati Avenue surprised everyone with its small venue and upscale clientele. The “conyo” crowd came by the drove. The Fort gave birth to Mondo and Fat Willy’s but eventually lost its sparkle. As the Prince’s song goes, “Party like its 1997”, Venezia came into being, topping the list as the “place-to-be”, but Pravda didn’t go away, from a Russian restaurant, the place transformed into a happening place eventually. Let’s not forget the Spanish place called “El Circulo” in Pasay Road. Havana in Malate was for those who love their mojitos shaken, not stirred. If you want salsa dancing and white meat, then that was the place to be. ABGs and the Laureano Compound was reserved for the alternative crowd, with the Edralins and Angelo Villanueva giving unforgettable parties. Stars at Glorietta 4 saw a lot of “le scandale”, a terminology used by a columnist, but eventually, the place lost its sparkle and it is now “Bread Talk” and “Heaven And Eggs”, wholesome places compared to its predecessor. PowerPlant gave birth to a strip that hosts a number of bars, which was populated early on but eventually became as empty as Artic, the continent not the vodka, dahlings.

Now fast forward to the new millennium and we have newer options. Temple, Nuvo, Museum, Citrus, Embassy, Fiamma, Capone’s, Government, Bed, there’s a lot of places to go to, but I guess old age has caught up with me. I just came from a “one night event” held in One Ayala (formerly Where Else, Louie Y's or Euphoria, depending on the era you were born). The place hasn’t changed a bit, the place is still much the same, four small rooms that used to be called “spring”, “summer”, “autumn” and “winter” are still there. I can’t help but be nostalgic about my lost youth, and I am too happy that I am over that “partying stage”. Let’s leave parties to some phony bar owners pretending to be a pied piper of what’s popular and what’s hip, at least they get new clients for their bar while maintaining daytime jobs, that’s a potent mix of PR and genius that defies logic. Sozy Hopper is dead, anyway, and Kitty Go made money already from 2 bestselling confessions, we may be too fabulous for “cosmo Manille’s shallow, unprofessional and social climbing celebrity, fashion and social scenes, to quote Ms. Go’s book. You may quote me as a nobody who has observed and written about society under a dengue spell, I have high fever and sore joints, checking in Makati Med anytime soon.

I miss the old “Aunt Mary’s Aunt”, “Tia Maria’s” and “A Different World”, nothing beats “Peps” and “Reason” along Pasay Road. I miss the old times, nevertheless, I love going to bed, not the bar, but the one in my room. Nothing beats sleeping and catching up with lost sleep..