It was almost to cold to go out last night. With temperatures well below – 20C (the forcast promised – 26C) and a nosefreezing arctic North wind it took some will to leave the warmth of the house and go to a club opening. RAI is a new star among the elitny clubs of Moscow and after approximately 3 openings since December they have got it right this time. When we arrived, there was a long cue waiting to get in (and that with -20 C), but we had our ways to pass face control in a heartbeat and get in the warmth quickly. Donalds first words were: Oh man, I think we are badly underdressed! And he was probably right. There we were, 3 Westerners with Berlin style club wear against a huge club full of young and mostly beautiful rich Russians with any designerwear you could think off. Donald immediately identified a new trend, which probably swapped over from England. Many of the men were wearing ascots. Some others had fine silk ties under cashmere sweaters. Most of the crowd was very young. I saw a few guys sitting on a table with a bottle of Vodka and Champagne, which were probably below 18. I’d say most of the crowd was 20-25, rich and fashionable, but not the cool, you’d find in a place like Gazgolder, but more the wanna be elegant type.

RAI has 3 rooms and is really huge. 2 were opened on last night’s phoenix party and the larger one was packed to the limit. There are enough toilets (unisex) not to let you wait when the vodka red bulls want their way out again. The club is clean and the staff extraordinary friendly. 500 Rubles for a Vodka Red Bull is pretty pricey, but probably normal for a club that plays in the league of Opera, Dagilev and Cabaret. Its probably best compared to Opera, but the style is not as nice as Operas. The crowd is pretty similar as well, but much younger. Both clubs remind me a lot about Leto, which was closed, is it 2 years (already) ago? Operas Music is much better, though. RAI was playing the usual commercial house mixed with Russian Pop, which made the crowd yell and go crazy (so much about the elegant English types), but is purely painful for us Westerners. We had a good night after all, probably because of all the Vodka Red Bulls we had. I almost died on my way back home (because of the cold, not too much alcohol). The club entrance is closed for cars and you have to walk about 200m to the main road, which is not a good thing to do, after a sweaty dancing club night, even if you are equipped with The North Face gear.

The club is a joint project of the club promoter Andreas (First, Penthouse, Jet Set, Shambala) and Maxim Goretsky (Myata, Look In Cafe). Its located in the old chocolate factory Krasny Oktyabr, actually just on the other side of the club Fabrique. Well, I guess it was one of my last visits in RAI, I am not a big fan of these types of clubs and I prefer smaller and more creative venues. Nevertheless its an excellent club (missing some style in terms of the interior), a good alternative to Opera and Dagilev, and worth a visit. I am sure some of you will like it and they will make it their new home and favorite place in Moscow. But be quick to check it, rumor in the scene is, that RAI will close soon again, because its just to big and burning too much cash, with not enough visitors. Well, I haven’t seen that last night. The place was packed and by the potent types with lots of cash in their pockets. Nevertheless the real estate prices in that area are sky rocketing and a place klike this is quickly turned into some office space or some large lofts. Enjoy RAI, before its gone like a supernova.

Address:
RAI (Paradise)
Bolotnaya Naberejnaya 9
VIP Reservations: Call Andreas at (496) 767 1474

I just found this on the AntiAdvertisingAgency website and I think its a pretty cool way of protesting against too much advertising. Could work in Moscow as well :-) Are you not inspired, yet?

Between October 2006 and December 2006, the City of New York has removed or obscured 59 illegal banners on sidewalk sheds. In that same period, Citibank Chase was forced to remove all illegal sidewalk projections at branches around Manhattan. And now, years into NYC’s crackdown on graffiti writers and protesters, after we’ve watched our friends be detained, arrested, beat, fined, tried, and given real jail sentences, not a single corporate toy from any ad firm has had to do any time.

This could mean only one thing. They’ve called off the law. Open City. Let’s all get to work.

This is the first collaboration between the Anti-Advertising Agency and Graffiti Research Lab. Modified from Ji Lee’s Abstractor TV. We used black foam core ($10/sheet) cut with a laser cutter - however, this project can be done with an x-acto blade, black construction paper, and duct tape for next to nothing. It can be repeated using any backlit display - bus shelters, display ads, television store windows… dream big, act now. more…

Found at http://antiadvertisingagency.com