April 1, 2009

David Arnold

Once upon a time two rock ‘n’ roll loving misfits gave birth to a nasty little party that soon became a Barcelona legend. The story began five years ago with Maximo Ochoa and Sören Manzoni, the fathers and DJs of Nasty Mondays. Maximo and Sören dreamt of bringing back the music of their youth – authentic stuff – made with real instruments and a sound so pure that the crowd would go wild. Their wish was granted.

The baby was born in Fonfon, a tiny underground club that sadly no longer exists. As the space for 150 people became increasingly sweaty each Monday they needed a larger venue for their rock baby to grow. They chose Sidecar, but changed again four months later. Soon to be an adolescent, Nasty Mondays needed a bigger playground to rock in. Although it was a challenge – offering a space for more than 1,000 people – Club Fellini wanted to help raise the hell child in Barcelona. The crowds of 1,600 people chanting, “I love rock and roll” in Fellini over a long, hot summer was a sign that Nasty Mondays was growing into legend status.

Now living a full-fledged life in the grand rooms of Apolo, the frisky five-year-old is the only place one can find beautiful blondes and badass bikers united, all in the name of rock ‘n’ roll. The enormous crowd is a mixture of Catalans, Swedes, Americans, Brits and just about any other culture one can think of. The occasional rock star is sprinkled among the masses, with Franz Ferdinand and Simple Plan spottings among others.

It’s not just the music that keeps the party alive, but the show put on by its daddies. Maximo and Sören have that special something that can get anyone off their barstool and into the crowd to head bang. Covered with tattoos and usually shirt-less and drunk the devious DJs use plenty of props. Plastic telephones and buxom blondes dancing on stage make the whole room go crazy. The show also changes themes each week from rockabilly to surf, 80s to glam, and everything in between.

It’s a party for all types to come together, enjoy some good old rock ‘n’ roll and start the week off with a bang. A true legend, Nasty Mondays is all about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.