Two long-lived Tallinn parties keep the crowds coming back

  • 2008-09-10
  • By Jana Beluguna

PADAR PLACE: Pop Stars like Tanel Padar are known to frequent Tallinn's trendier clubs.

TALLINN - Tallinn is famous for its busy nightlife, and every weekend new parties are born and die. But this fall, two of the most successful monthly parties are celebrating their second anniversaries.
The club X.O.'s members' party is probably the most talked-about gathering of the city's creme de la creme. This is considered the most glamorous happening of each month and a "must-visit" for the majority of the Estonian capital's party people, but invitations are limited and tickets are expensive.

Each time, the party takes place in a different location; it has been hosted in the city's best nightclubs and bars, making it a kind of travelling VIP nightclub. Outside are expensive cars, red carpet, and very strict face control and dress code enforcement. Inside are evening dresses and the latest fashion trends, famous DJs from Moscow and St. Petersburg, rivers of champagne and futuristic shows.
A bit younger but nevertheless popular is the monthly Orange Bent Lee, happening at the Seduction Discotheque (formerly Riff), where the party was actually born and baptized. As opposed to X.O., an atmosphere of total anti-glamour is promoted here, which by no means makes it any less popular among the party trendsetters.

There is never any official advertising beforehand, only word of mouth or a small announcement on the club's homepage a few days prior. But the place is always packed, because great guest DJs and local stars of the dance charts guarantee outstanding music on the two floors, while inflammatory go-go dancers and bartenders probably mixing the best cocktails in town do the rest. Orange Bent Lee is always quality time, but with a touch of something new and unexpected, something experimental, be it a new beat, light or sound.
Each Orange Bent Lee party is thematic, but there is always the same dress code: a good mood and no other restrictions. This is probably the most-awaited party for the month, where the party gurus can simply relax and enjoy without needing to prove anything.

Most of the nightlife celebrities can be spotted visiting both parties, but one said: "I go to X.O. because I have to, but to the Orange Bent Lee because I want to. But it does not mean that one is better than another 's they are different and there is no chance I'll miss any of them."