- Moscow's Vanilla Ninja club recently chose the Berlin-based duo Tale Of Us to spin on the night of Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day, a national holiday taking place annually on February 23rd. Vanilla Ninja is, to some extent a unique club, because it manages to combine the infamous Moscow glamour with an underground spirit. Its music policy offers far more than one could expect from club with no sign at the entrance and with a gathering of posh cars and a queue of beautiful blondes on high heels whimpering "We're on the list! Why don't you let us in?" on the door step. As soon as you enter, though, you find yourself in a small room with ominous red light and amazing sound.
The warm-up by the young DJ Eliza Vinokurova was nice, but probably too cautious. By the time Tale Of Us appeared behind the decks, people were really hungry for a dance. The duo initially began by showcasing the more laidback side of their taste. At a certain moment, though, the set made a leap from smiley and cozy to brawny and vigorous, hinting that Tale Of Us can indeed deliver a story with turns of plot and changes of mood, particularly by using their own productions ("Disco Gnome," "Morgana" and "Sense") to set a tone.
The second part of their set brought spacious and bold sound into a small room, as if they were pushing its walls out to the size of a hangar-like venue. Looking at the people, it was hard to define a common mood. Naked models walking on the balcony without underwear stayed indifferent and cold as ice. A girl in a punk outfit was twisting and jumping on the bar like a geyser of tech house emotions. Closer to the breaking of dawn, DJs Mus and Spektor joined forces and followed the moody direction given by Tale Of Us to its logical end.