Iconic rocker spots in St. Petersburg
Seven main places in the history of St. Petersburg rock - from Saigon to Griboedov, from Tsoi to Fedorov, from Rubinstein to Pushkinskaya:
Leningrad Rock Club
Initially, this was the first legal platform for Soviet rock musicians.
It was here that the rapid rise of the careers of Tsoi, Bashlachev and Grebenshchikov began. Shevchuk came here in search of fame. Despite the poor technical equipment and not the best acoustics, the hall was always packed to capacity and shook the walls with cries of delight. Festivals held at the club provoked the emergence of a new wave of Russian-speaking musicians, whose work still determines the situation both on radio and on the Internet. The building on Rubinshtein Street was located a stone's throw from another iconic rock place, Saigon. The club is currently closed, and the Zazerkalye Theater has appeared in its place.
The theater management even dealt with graffiti in memory of Tsoi on the walls. This happened because after the collapse of the USSR, the rock club turned out to be an unnecessary element of a bygone era. The object of the protest, the Soviet regime, went into oblivion, and the heroes of the rock club went to the stadiums. — Rubinstein Street, 13
Saigon Saigon
became a gathering place for the creative intelligentsia back in the 1960s and 1970s.
The informal name was also used by Brodsky and Dovlatov. The latter was a regular visitor to the establishment, but never mentioned him in his numerous novels and stories. In the eighties, rock musicians began to visit Saigon.
They were going to sit here before the concerts and noisily celebrate their end. Tsoi, Bashlachev, and Grebenshchikov were here. After gatherings in Saigon, they went to a rock club, which was located very close to the cafe. Nowadays, the diner is also closed.
Now the luxury Radisson hotel is located on the site of the iconic cafe. — Nevsky Prospekt, 49
“Kamchatka”
Tsoi throwing coals into the fire and talking about freedom at the beginning of the film “Rock” by Alexei Uchitel is from “Kamchatka”.
This was the name of the boiler room on Blokhin Street, where a good half of the Leningrad rockers who wanted to avoid punishment under the article “parasitism” managed to work. Tsoi’s song with the line “This is the sweet word Kamchatka,” by the way, appeared before his employment in this boiler room. Over time, most of the rockers became stadium stars, they no longer needed pseudo-employment and the boiler room was empty.
In the 2000s, a memorial plaque appeared here in memory of Tsoi, and on the site of the boiler room, the Kamchatka club was opened, owned by Tsoi’s former colleague Sergei Firsov. Now cover bands of the group “Kino” perform here, and personal belongings of the group’s founder are also stored here - for example, his first 12-string guitar. — Blokhina Street, 15
“Pushkinskaya, 10” and Fish Fabrique
Initially not even a music venue, but one of the main places of the Leningrad underground.
Artists began to move into the half-abandoned building between Pushkinskaya and Ligovsky from the late eighties. It was here, in the courtyards on Pushkinskaya, that Oleg Kulik staged his crazy performances, which can now be seen at the Pompidou Center in Paris - behind a screen so that children do not see. Mitka also staged their exhibitions here. — Pushkinskaya Street, 10
“John Lennon Street”
The legendary “John Lennon Street” is also located here.
It was created by the main Beatlemaniac of Russia, Nikolai Vasin. The Fish Fabrique club appeared in front of it in 1994. It is still one of the best clubs in St. Petersburg, where participants of the terrible festival “Ionosphere” perform, as well as local and foreign stars of various sizes. Like many iconic places, FF began with a concert by the group Tequilajazzz - who later mentioned the club in their song “Nalivaya”, dedicated to the nightlife of St. Petersburg in the late nineties. The decorations for the club were done by “Rechniki” and “AKHE” - St. Petersburg artists who were already becoming famous at that time. — Pushkinskaya street, 10
“Tamtam”
Originally: a club on Maly Prospekt, where alternative musicians of the city performed.
It was here that the most crazy concerts of the cult group “Chimera” took place and where Mikhail Gorshenev (The King and the Jester) and Ilya Chert, Alexey Nikonov and Evgeny Fedorov began their creative careers. Among the smoky walls, deafening sound and crime-prone neighborhoods, the city's most interesting and original scene has emerged. The artists lived and created right on the site.
They weren’t paid any money for their performances back then, but they were given a whole box of beer. The club owner’s ability to be friends with everyone immediately brought both Russian and foreign underground rockers to Tamtam. In 1996, due to numerous fights and other criminal incidents, the club closed.
— Maly Prospekt Vasilievsky Island, 49
“Griboedov”
One of the first clubs to introduce strict face control, over the course of several years it won almost all possible awards, for example, “Best Club in the City.”
The place managed to survive all possible crises and still exists.
Now Griboedov has two sites. The main one is in the basement (concerts), the second is on the hill (Griboedov Hill): there are poetry readings and meetings of journalists. Many St. Petersburg residents take city guests to this club. — Voronezhskaya street, 2A
Initially, this was the first legal platform for Soviet rock musicians.
It was here that the rapid rise of the careers of Tsoi, Bashlachev and Grebenshchikov began. Shevchuk came here in search of fame. Despite the poor technical equipment and not the best acoustics, the hall was always packed to capacity and shook the walls with cries of delight. Festivals held at the club provoked the emergence of a new wave of Russian-speaking musicians, whose work still determines the situation both on radio and on the Internet. The building on Rubinshtein Street was located a stone's throw from another iconic rock place, Saigon. The club is currently closed, and the Zazerkalye Theater has appeared in its place.
The theater management even dealt with graffiti in memory of Tsoi on the walls. This happened because after the collapse of the USSR, the rock club turned out to be an unnecessary element of a bygone era. The object of the protest, the Soviet regime, went into oblivion, and the heroes of the rock club went to the stadiums. — Rubinstein Street, 13
Saigon Saigon
became a gathering place for the creative intelligentsia back in the 1960s and 1970s.
The informal name was also used by Brodsky and Dovlatov. The latter was a regular visitor to the establishment, but never mentioned him in his numerous novels and stories. In the eighties, rock musicians began to visit Saigon.
They were going to sit here before the concerts and noisily celebrate their end. Tsoi, Bashlachev, and Grebenshchikov were here. After gatherings in Saigon, they went to a rock club, which was located very close to the cafe. Nowadays, the diner is also closed.
Now the luxury Radisson hotel is located on the site of the iconic cafe. — Nevsky Prospekt, 49
“Kamchatka”
Tsoi throwing coals into the fire and talking about freedom at the beginning of the film “Rock” by Alexei Uchitel is from “Kamchatka”.
This was the name of the boiler room on Blokhin Street, where a good half of the Leningrad rockers who wanted to avoid punishment under the article “parasitism” managed to work. Tsoi’s song with the line “This is the sweet word Kamchatka,” by the way, appeared before his employment in this boiler room. Over time, most of the rockers became stadium stars, they no longer needed pseudo-employment and the boiler room was empty.
In the 2000s, a memorial plaque appeared here in memory of Tsoi, and on the site of the boiler room, the Kamchatka club was opened, owned by Tsoi’s former colleague Sergei Firsov. Now cover bands of the group “Kino” perform here, and personal belongings of the group’s founder are also stored here - for example, his first 12-string guitar. — Blokhina Street, 15
“Pushkinskaya, 10” and Fish Fabrique
Initially not even a music venue, but one of the main places of the Leningrad underground.
Artists began to move into the half-abandoned building between Pushkinskaya and Ligovsky from the late eighties. It was here, in the courtyards on Pushkinskaya, that Oleg Kulik staged his crazy performances, which can now be seen at the Pompidou Center in Paris - behind a screen so that children do not see. Mitka also staged their exhibitions here. — Pushkinskaya Street, 10
“John Lennon Street”
The legendary “John Lennon Street” is also located here.
It was created by the main Beatlemaniac of Russia, Nikolai Vasin. The Fish Fabrique club appeared in front of it in 1994. It is still one of the best clubs in St. Petersburg, where participants of the terrible festival “Ionosphere” perform, as well as local and foreign stars of various sizes. Like many iconic places, FF began with a concert by the group Tequilajazzz - who later mentioned the club in their song “Nalivaya”, dedicated to the nightlife of St. Petersburg in the late nineties. The decorations for the club were done by “Rechniki” and “AKHE” - St. Petersburg artists who were already becoming famous at that time. — Pushkinskaya street, 10
“Tamtam”
Originally: a club on Maly Prospekt, where alternative musicians of the city performed.
It was here that the most crazy concerts of the cult group “Chimera” took place and where Mikhail Gorshenev (The King and the Jester) and Ilya Chert, Alexey Nikonov and Evgeny Fedorov began their creative careers. Among the smoky walls, deafening sound and crime-prone neighborhoods, the city's most interesting and original scene has emerged. The artists lived and created right on the site.
They weren’t paid any money for their performances back then, but they were given a whole box of beer. The club owner’s ability to be friends with everyone immediately brought both Russian and foreign underground rockers to Tamtam. In 1996, due to numerous fights and other criminal incidents, the club closed.
— Maly Prospekt Vasilievsky Island, 49
“Griboedov”
One of the first clubs to introduce strict face control, over the course of several years it won almost all possible awards, for example, “Best Club in the City.”
The place managed to survive all possible crises and still exists.
Now Griboedov has two sites. The main one is in the basement (concerts), the second is on the hill (Griboedov Hill): there are poetry readings and meetings of journalists. Many St. Petersburg residents take city guests to this club. — Voronezhskaya street, 2A