Taking Back The Night

When we think of Madness in Khar’s Ramee Guestline Hotel, we think of the only place you could go to if you went to college in the Western suburbs in the 1990s and wanted to party—in the afternoon (either after or during lectures). For much of the last decade however, Madness became just a cheaper alternative to the likes of Hawaiian Shack and Boat Club, a pub which had a vibe that was, for want of a better phrase, best described by that favourite Mumbai phrase: “a bit shady” . Tonight, Madness will get the makeover that the folks at the Ramee Guestline have been hoping for. The club will host ‘Grime Riot Disco’, the first of a series of parties conceptualised and organised by Monica Dogra of Shaa’ir + Func, and Anamika Singh of Flirteve, a New-York based event management company that now has an outpost in Mumbai.

On the bill are DJ sets by Shaa’ir + Func and Alkaloihd, a hip hop, dub step and electro DJ who Dogra said “mixes like no one I’ve heard”. Dogra told us that Singh and she came up with the idea of hosting ‘Grime Riot Disco’, which will also feature visuals by filmmaker Shivraj Shantakumar and promotional artwork by Wetheppl, when they were chatting about the declining quality of nightlife in Mumbai. “Your options are going to a fancy club and spending lots of money or going for a rock show,” Dogra said. “But if you just want to party, there aren’t too many spots, especially for girls. A lot of the more affordable places attract the kind of crowd women wouldn’t be comfortable with. So we thought, ‘Hey, we should throw a party’.”

While Madness might strike you as just the kind of place most women you know would avoid, Dogra said it was chosen because it met all their criteria: “big sound, an accessible (moderately priced) bar, [and space to put up] a decent light show”. Besides, only those carrying Weetheppl’s eye-catching flyers that Dogra and her friends have been handing out at recent events (like Sridhar/Thayil’s gig at Blue Frog and the Stupid Ditties album launch at Bonobo), or those who RSVP for the event via Facebook can enter. In keeping with the idea of creating an affordable night out, the cover charge is just Rs200.

We’ve heard the gig being mentioned so many times over the last week, that ‘Grime Riot Disco’ is almost guaranteed to be a resounding success. Dogra said that thanks to “Mumbai’s close-knit [indie] music community”, they’re expecting a packed house. “It’s a community effort,” she said explaining that ‘Grime Riot Disco’ are possibly “the greatest three words” to describe Mumbai. “It’s the dirtiest and most beautiful city [at the same time].”

LocationClub Madness
Ramee Guestline Hotel
S. V. Road
Khar (West)

Relevant DatesThursday, November 11

Hours9pm

Ticketing & Price InfoRs200 (cover charge)

Websitewww.flirteve.com