Heineken Green Room: Not so igNITE-ing after all

Heineken Green Room: Not so igNITE-ing after all

This year's Heineken Green Room started with bubbles of excitement for us but, unfortunately, burst when we were on our way to the usual obscure location that Green Room prides itself on for being unique.

Kudos to the idea for picking Mediapolis@One-North as the far-out location but it was hard to find as there was no signage nor a map for us to show our taxi drivers who patiently went round and round Fusionpolis while the meter ticked upwards in price.

Since the event's theme was a futuristic one, 'The Transporter', we would have preferred if we were conveniently transported there. Maybe provide a futuristic map next time?

Even when finally approaching the correct building, the famous green light beams that welcome you while you breathe a sigh of relief were nowhere to be found. We only spotted them when we walked down the staircase by the side of the building into the walkway that lead to the party. Most of the breathing by this time was to curb the frustration of getting there.

We did, however, receive a warm welcome then headed straight to the bar within the premises. Held on Oct 17 with an invite-only crowd of 1,500 music lovers, the room within was a tad bit disappointing. Previous Green Rooms we attended were in large venues such as a warehouse in Tanjong Distripark and a defunct school hall. This seemed to be a small square room with not much space to move in. Perhaps the venue seemed great in theory or maybe this is the future of clubbing that we aren't used to?

We moved to the outside area for conversation as the electronic dance music (EDM) inside didn't keep us within the four walls for too long either.

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One highlight of the event that we were looking forward to was the debut of the Heineken igNITE bottles - they light up in sync with the music and movement. First showcased as a prototype at Milan Design Week 2013, Heineken describes their award-winning igNITE as its first interactive bottle that uses micro sensors to enhance the party experience.

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We were expecting an intelligent bottle and not an attachment to the bottom of the bottle. While it did deliver in detecting various motion types and lit up and faded away when idle, the attachment could come loose and temporarily blinded you directly in the eye with green light whenever you tipped back the bottle.

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In our books, this year's Heineken Green Room did not deliver in expectations but it was a real good effort. We loved the musical invites we received and it was fun to see cast members all dressed up as intergalactic characters. Hopefully for next year's Green Room event, we would be pleased with something more than just their invites.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg

spanaech@sph.com.sg

 

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