Club Moscow: Every Wednesday @ Boardners, 1652 N. Cherokee Ave., Hollywood

By Maria Holland

"The best dictators appear as soldiers," explains Keith Wilson, 26-year-old host of Club Moscow, a weekly party that takes place at Boardners in Hollywood. Created as a unique event which would incorporate both a live performance and a dance floor element, some 650 perfectly coiffed and immaculately outfitted indie-kids fill the venue on Wednesdays.

This, however, is not the same "see and be scene" night you might have experienced elsewhere on the east side. Moscow unfolds at the center of a two-story venue where a garden patio, complete with fountain at the center, has hosted performances by bigger names like Idlewild and Cut Copy.

Raised in clubs all over the city, Wilson found himself a photographer at club Beat It, but soon grew bored with a scene that catered mostly to 80’s culture. Hence the soldier-to-dictator credo, "I wanted to create a club where I wanted to go. I wanted to hear not only something I love, but hear something new that I can love in the future and someplace that I can have fun at."

Club 82, the first such event, had the familiar musical elements of its predecessors, but slowly began to cater to a wider palette, as one of the first of it’s kind to demand that you dance to post-punk and newer electronic sounds. As four successful years of 82 drew to a close, Wilson began to nurture his visions of a bigger venue, live performances, and giant club-like feel.

Musically, Moscow picks up where 82 left off. DJ’s Raulie and Paul pay attention to technique and proper mixing and make sure not to scrimp on songs that people love to hear, while incorporating in their great personal tastes. Everything from the nostalgic, Madchester sounds of the Smiths to the edgy dance-punk of Who Made Who boom through the main room’s speakers.

With live acts who can be as diverse as Orange County post-hardcore outfits and glammy Electro fiends the sentiment of wanting to cater to a less mainstream, but still very valid audience is evident. Additionally, the club is responsible for helping build careers of locals like Under the Influence of Giants, Shiny Toy Guns, and Run Run Run – all of whom have found their way to major labels since completing month-long residencies and other shows at Moscow.

Replete with mirror ball, strobe lights, and dancing-podiums Moscow has taken on a life of its own. The crowd consists mostly of devotees who could not go a week without and often follow the night’s offshoots at Star Shoes and Club Stockholm.

"It’s something people need", Wilson insists. "Moscow is simply a creative reaction to what I was thirsty for and I needed and apparently I’m not alone".

For more information visit www.ledisko82.com.

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