One Third Promises to Become Venue of the Year With a Soft Opening That Went Hard
When we first stopped by the new One Third back in mid-September, it barely resembled the one that opened this weekend. Still under construction, we could only really see that it was massive: Separate rooms and dance floors, multiple stories, a catwalk, and an enormous stage fit to serve the hypest of beasts were all left to our imagination to finish and fill out, and boy did our imaginations run wild.
But when we stopped by this Friday for opening night, the new Sir Teen-adjacent mega-club exceeded even our vision. As far as nightlife and promotions, the dynamic duo behind Sir Teen and the late, bricked Boot, Bottle, and Cigar (AKA BBC, RIP) – Douglas Williams and Quinn Johnson – obviously know what they’re doing, and so do their hundreds of loyal patrons, as evidenced by the chaotic “line” to get in the front door on opening night.
After passing through the hectic bottleneck at security, the crowd was able to disperse into the awe-strikingly cavernous space. When we spoke to Williams and Johnson earlier, they had mentioned their vision of a club reminiscent of “those that took New York’s Meatpacking District by storm in the late ’90s,” and we gotta say, they hit the nail on the head.
The laser-laden industrial warehouse space, complete with a steel catwalk and VIP area upstairs, looks and feels just like all the grimy-chic rave scenes from the movies of my youth. The dance floor, peppered with tables for the elite to be seen and enjoy their bottle service stage-side, was almost scary to gaze upon from upstairs: an endless pit of beautiful people writhing amid the bright lights and bass.
Perhaps due to their experience hosting some of the bigger international names to tour through China, you can tell the team has paid special attention to the musical aspects of the club: the stage is proportional to the jaw-droppingly huge dance floor, with what basically amounts to a Jumbotron behind the DJ, and the sound system and mixing are nothing short of impeccable.
At this point, their upcoming performances seem to stick strictly to the international DJ circuit: KSHMR and Hardwell will perform in the coming weeks (for RMB 200 and RMB 280, respectively). But with a stage and venue of this size and caliber, we’re excited to see what big names they can snag in the future outside the realm of EDM (since their next door neighbor and counterpart Sir Teen has proven itself worthy of showstoppers like Major Lazer and T-Pain in the past).
In all, One Third serves as a new and improved incarnation of the classic Beijing recipe: loud, pulsing electronic music, lasers, scantily-clad Eastern European models, and drinks that are probably a step up in quality from the questionable hooch of other huge Gongti-area clubs (thanks to Williams' and Johnson's history of well-made drinks in a more intimate atmosphere). If you ascribe to this very Beijing brand of bougie fun, you'll love One Third.
Photos courtesy of the organizers, Uni You, Mary Kate White
