Epitome
Club Party Plus More
By Mikee dela Cruz
PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 2009

Focus on the “more.”
Epitome, better known as E, is actually a multi-functional venue – disco cum performance space cum sing-along bar cum sauna cum sex club, so it caters to all preferences.  And this, the multi-faceted aspect, should have been the major appeal; alas, no, it’s the sex part that is.  Not that – heck! – I will complain.

Usually closer to the weekends, E hosts various shows – from stand-up comedians/comediennes to visiting performers to gogo boys to… let your imagination run wild, they have had it once or twice or more.  This, in itself, makes E a venue worth visiting – after all, when everything is usually closed on the earlier part of the week, this place is happening somehow.

Having said this, the place has a dancefloor, too, happening on the weekends, when the resident or visiting DJs spin what’s hip – on occasion, there are event theme gatherings, a la Club Government’s MADONNAthon and KYLIEthon and MARIAHthon, aimed at attracting fans and fanatics to do some shaking of their groove to the music of their idols.  For this, particularly when there are special events, this place is packed – so packed, you can hardly move around.

This leads to the “more” part.

E doubles as a sauna and bath house (lower floors, with the third floor serving as the club area) – complete with a gym, sauna, hot/cold showers, steam room, et cetera. And this is mainly why you would want to head there: for sexy – sleazy, even – fun.

Pros include: 1) Lack of airy attitude among the E-goers, so that, when the mood’s right, you can score right for sure.  2) An airy area, so that when everything gets too stuffy, there’s always that venue to cool down.  3) Coverage of preferences – well, almost, with the video room, private rooms, Jacuzzi, et cetera.  4) Nice staff.  5) Et cetera.

Cons?  1) There’s the yucky dirt – walk around the labyrinthine areas, and you get the point.  2) There are days when the crowd sucks, and not in the way you may want them to.  3) Facilities often have problems, e.g. steam room not working, Jacuzzi only works until this time, toilet is barado (clogged), et cetera.  4) Even with problematic facilities, prices can stay steep.  5) Et cetera.

As the only one of its kind in the City of Manila, though – a one-stop gay venue, so to speak – E remains popular (oh, okay, if not popular, then at least relatively quite frequented). 

So will you be seeing me party there?

Perhaps.  Oh, okay, maybe not just perhaps, for this one is, after all, still a club party plus more.