ST. PETERSBURG — A music club in a former 19th-century warehouse is part of a new, vibrant area in central St. Petersburg.
The club Dusche, which is owned by members of the group Leningrad, is located in an industrial courtyard off Ligovsky Prospekt in a warehouse formerly used by Moskovsky Station that was previously off limits to the general public.
“I came here and was very surprised to find such a place,” said co-owner Andrei Kurayev, who plays bass in Leningrad. “It turned out that there is a whole new world, teeming with life, inside these courtyards.”
Now opened for commercial use, the courtyard is home to a number of stores, repair shops, bars, rehearsal rooms and a dance studio. V-Club, the city’s only vegan club, operates in the same area, hosting punk concerts and other events, as well as Dunes, a summer bar that resembles a stretch of beach.
The name of the club stems from the Russian word “dush,” or shower.
“The idea was that we wanted to rejuvenate the current club and bar scene, which had gotten a little stale. We wanted to do something new.”
But when the club opened with a gig by Leningrad last December, few came — out of disbelief, Kurayev said.
Leningrad fans seemingly thought there must be a catch and did not come, Kurayev said.
Dusche is a rare, medium-sized venue on the St. Petersburg scene that can hold up to 300 people at a popular gig and is one of few local clubs that are actually owned by musicians, helping it better understand the needs of both the bands and the public, Kurayev said.
The club’s other co-owners are Leningrad frontman Sergei Shnurov and saxophone player Grigory Zontov, who — like Kurayev — plays with both Leningrad and another local group called Spitfire.
Known as Ded (Grandpa) on the local music scene, Kurayev, 38, has been the bassist with Spitfire since 1996 and also with Leningrad since 2001.
The club’s interiors have been largely defined by the 19th-century building’s original look: sturdy wooden ceiling beams and red brick walls, which have been washed down.
“There were only four walls in the beginning, the rest has all been done by us,” Kurayev said.
Dusche is located at 50 Ligovsky Prospekt, Bldg. 6. Metro Ligovsky Prospekt. St. Petersburg. Enter the arch, take the first left turn, then turn left again and look for the sign on the left side. Tel. +7 (960) 246-4550, .
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