Party Like a Russian: Bar Soirees, Morning Get-Together and a Classical concert
Russian capital will still be sleeping off its massive New Year hangover. Proof? No Thursday parties, at all. But as Russians start another round of festivities known as the Old New Year (no time to explain, have to celebrate) on early Friday night it is a good idea to find oneself at our friendly neighbourhood Noor Bar. There Dj Sasha Tumbler will present another issue of his ever improving live programme featuring Pavel Kuzovkov on piano. And while you’re at it don’t forget to get an early sample of Noor’s brand new wine card that is available from Friday on. After the early live you can either stay on or take a short walk to Mondrian Bar.
On ordinary Friday teeny-weeny Mondrian tends to be flooded with drinkers, especially with Dj Smaq taking care of the music. But mid-January is a rare occasion to check out his set without having to wait ours for a drink at bar. If you’re one of those afterparty folk, Squat 3/4 has a party in store for you featuring artists from two of the city’s brightest up-and-coming labels: Leveldva and Nopassport. The place is essentially a former banya (bath-house) that includes a massive chamber built exclusively for Joseph Stalin’s son Vassily, with an airplane inlay on one of the walls (in-between his baths Stalin-jr. was a pilot). So apart from ground-shattering afterhours techno, there is some touristic value in it. Prepare some €8 for entrance fee though.
Contrary to the popular belief enjoying techno does not necessarily imply not sleeping for days. The Sunday day parties are slowly gaining momentum in Moscow. Makes all the more sense in winter, since with the lack of sun-hours one struggles to tell the difference between day and night. Dissident is place of yet an unproven reputation, but with some recognisable names in the line-up and meagre €8 for admittance the event is worth a shot. And if for some reason it doesn’t work for you, around 7 PM there is a chance to switch to classical music at the closing concert of this year’s Homecoming festival. A dozen of top-notch performers will play Stravinsky, Ravel, three XX century composers and Wagner’s ‘Siegfried Idyll’ on top of it. At the moment it appears ‘Sold Out’, but half an hour before the concert tickets tend to magically appear near the Moscow Conservatory entrance. Somehow they always do.
