Modern youth, armed with YouTube, are unlikely to understand what an “apartment building” is. Whereas to the ear of a person who saw the Soviet Union, this word means a lot. This is not just a house concert. After all, only at the apartment building you could hear and, most importantly, see your favorite band. Due to the lack of permission to perform concerts, many musicians did not even dream of performing in front of the general public. So at the apartment buildings, where only their own people gathered in great secrecy, a special atmosphere reigned, a spirit of comfort and unity, seasoned with port wine. Dedicated to the children of the 70s and 80s. Let's remember how it was.
Apartment building on "Grazhdanka" in St. Petersburg, 1991.
Apartment concert, Moscow, 1988.
Tsoi at the apartment building.
Kvartirnik is the same concert, only it was held in an ordinary residential apartment. Such a performance usually involved a small number of performers who played acoustic instruments. The musicians performed both their own songs and works of other authors, and also organized “jams”, improvising on a specific musical theme.
Sergey Borisov. Apartment building. 1985
Apartment building, Moscow, 1985.
Tsoi at the apartment building.
Max Leon, Marina Vladi and Vladimir Vysotsky. 1969
Peter Mamonov. Moscow, 1985.
In addition to musical ones, poetry parties were often held, where the authors recited poems from classics and their own creations. After which they froze enthusiastically, waiting for approval or criticism, although often there was both, there was always a lively discussion.
Aquarium.
Mike and Kinchev.
“Sounds of Mu”, Alexander Lipnitsky, Alexey Bortnichuk, Pavel Khotin, Alexey Pavlov, Pyotr Mamonov, 1988.
Mike and Kinchev.
Armen Grigoryan and the Crematorium group.
We usually learned about the fact that an apartment building would be held through word of mouth. Often concerts took place in the house of one of the band members. The concert venue could serve as a kitchen, bedroom, or hall, depending on the number of invited spectators. Sometimes there were so many people willing that they had to crowd in the corridor and on the balcony. The main drink at such events, of course, was port - a symbol of Soviet rock.
Mike Naumenko, Vsevolod Gakkel, Boris Grebenshchikov.
Mike Naumenko at the apartment building, January 12, 1986.
Alexander Mitta and Yuri Vizbor.
Egor Letov.
Apartment dwellers had one big drawback - neighbors who did not like such noisy events, which sometimes dragged on until the morning. As a result, there were doorbells, knocks on walls and radiators, and, worst of all, a call to a local police officer or police squad, who unceremoniously ended the gatherings. Therefore, apartment owners preferred to organize holidays, when they treated the noise behind the wall more calmly, at least because everyone was making noise.
Egor Letov and Yanka.
Ryzhenko, Tsoi, Fish, Mike.
Group Zero. 1987
