By Jill Alphonso

EVERY party-goer is in pursuit of The Vibe - that ever-elusive thing that makes a great party.

And those who attended the latest Heineken Green Roomevent - part of an ad hoc, roving party series - that was just held  at the former Police Coast Guard Headquarters in Stadium Lane at Kallang last Friday,found it in droves.

The event turned out to be a big hit. About 1,000 party regulars showed up to dance to the  music of Los Angeles DJ The Gaslamp Killer (the fabulous big-haired freakazoid who played everything from dub to Turkish music) and British DJ Tayo.

With an underground feel - no effort was made to change the place into something it was not; it excelled in having a good sound system, cold beer and minimal but well-placed lighting and stage props - the party was a success when it came to having The Vibe.

Now, every party organiser will tell you that it is The Vibe that really makes a gig. Part of a club's success can be reliant on the act coming in to perform, but that's not the whole deal.

How the music is played and presented, the people who attend the gig and how they respond to the music, as well as the venue itself and how well everything from sound to lighting is executed - all these factors contribute to a delicate equation which is never, ever formulaic.

The failure of any one factor in the equation could cause total disaster, but the perfect symmetry of all three is pure voodoo magic. To those at the gig, it would feel as though the planets are aligned. The gig transcendsmere music to become an unforgettable,  unrepeatable, almost spiritual experience.

And while 18-year-old club Zouk may bring in manydance-music bigwigs, it is thesmaller parties these days that are truly vibe-ing. (It must be  noted that Zouk contributed to the success of Green Room last Friday, booking the music acts for the evening, though those acts are by no means well known.)

Indie nightclub Home Club at The Riverwalk, is also brimming with The Vibe. The sixyear-old club hosts the occasional  international name but is a great supporter of the Singapore scene, as it regularly schedules nights like +65 (played with Singapore- based DJs) and various indie nights like Beat!.

Whereas other venues aspire to be offbeat, unexpected and hip - yet often missing the mark- it's Home that actually hits it on the head precisely because it doesn't try. And that attitude works perfectly in its down-toearth, stripped-down venue.

Others like Home include Bali Lane's Blu Jaz Cafe and Night&Day in Selegie Road - both venues in unexpected locations that host rocking evenings.

Blu Jaz, for example, has everything from reggae to dub and down-tempo nights by homegrown DJs.

Admittedly, the music at these venues isn't to everyone's taste, and they cannot lay claim to being full every weekend. But if you ask me, I'm glad they're around.

Come now, I'm not complaining about more upscale, well-known clubs. I love the varioushipster-oriented places like House, Zouk and White Rabbit.

But I'm more ecstatic that below- the-radar venues like Home continue to thrive, and that underground parties like Green Room exist.

After all, there's nothing like stumbling into some venue or party that has a Vibe. Entering such a place feels like Alice In Wonderland's rabbit hole has opened up, sending you down a spiral of debauchery before spitting you out in the wee hours.

Really, it makes going out that much more worthwhile.

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