Club A
It is probably one of the best known clubs in Bucharest and one of the oldes ones: 36 years of music, festivals and cutural events.Started in 1969 by the one who is now the rector of the "Ion Mincu" Architecture and Urbanism University, Emil Barbu Popescu, the famous club was put together in the basement of a house on street Blanari, with the money (35 000 lei) raised from everyone in the Architecture school. With furniture made at the barrels factory and accessories donated by students, the club started its existence like a "private club, against all doctrines of the times".
During the communist years it was an island of normality, where la creme of cultural life used to meet, where young actors, writers or musicians had their debuts. The activity was quite dissident: films and literature forbidden by the regime, political debates and revolutionary lyrics. On the stage of Club A a great part of Romanian rock music was written: Phoenix, Mondial, Rosu si Negru, SemnalM and all the bands on vinyl discs which still exist in our parents' home.
Mondial - foto from here
The golden age of the club, regretted and remebered by many today, represented a period when the club was a refuge of those who were thinking different and who bonded because of that. It is the regret that many cultural values which grew in the spirit of "Club A generation" have been lost nowadays.
Although dissidence is not what binds together people there, the club still has the same interest to promote and support culture.
All the events organized in Club A - music festivals, poetry reading, conferences, rock forums - gather together young people with a taste for good music and socializing, important names of cultural life and even great bands that had their debuts on that stage.
Proud of its history, the club shows it off in the dozens photos on the walls.
"Club A is not what it used to be" we hear so very often. In the beginning the access was restricted to architecture students (with cards and passes) and it was quite hard to get in if you were an outsider.
Today it's free entry for everyone but the wild party atmosphere and very low beer prices attract also people who are not quite nice to party with. The DJs have changed too, for disco nights they bring standard music and the place cand become extremely crowded.
On the other hand, unplugged concerts, theme parties and theater plays are really cool.
In sumertime the club begins the holiday and goes to the seaside and reopens in Bucharest in september with a theme party.
Sursa info
