El Teatro Kapital

Perhaps those of you who know some Spanish are thinking, based on the title of this post, that I attended some sophisticated theatrical production in Madrid; and perhaps, if your opinion of yours truly is high, you might suppose that I've emerged with some sort of cultural epiphanies and/or artistic insight.

Well . . .

Kapital, as it's simply referred to, is a seven floor nightclub in the neighborhood of Madrid's famous Parque del Retiro. First word that comes to mind when attempting to describe it? Superfluous. But in a good way.

Due to being members of ESN, my university's international student organization, my friends and I were able to get in for free. We decided not to opt for the 2 drinks for 12 euro deal (yes, "deal"--without each drink was 12 euro) because for 6 euro I can buy about 3 bottles of wine at any grocery store, or 2 bottles of mediocre hard liquor. Although that's not really my scene.

Anyhow, the main floor plays house/techno music and was by far the coolest floor. Other levels boasted lounges, discrete "conversational" areas, private booths and balconies, chandeliers in some, and different types of music on various levels ranging from Hip Hop/RB to Latin to who knows what the designated smoking floor was playing. We visited each, although the last of these for only a few minutes, just to say we'd been to each floor.

Although I danced the salsa with my friend Andres, and a strange mixture of grinding/Latin something with an Italian guy for a few minutes, most of the night bore witness to the girls and I (plus Tom) simply dancing, laughing, and sweating profusely in the several hundred strong mosh pit on the main floor. I got so thirsty by about 3am (we got to the club by midnight, in by about 12:30am) that I had to step away for a minute with Melanie to go to the ladies room and stick my head under the faucet to get a drink. FYI, you can drink the tap water in Madrid so that was fine; plus, I'm a very frugal person and didn't much like the idea of spending 5 euro for a bottle of water.

But sinks are generally not very satisfying in terms of quenching thirst. Take it from Lady Frugality; I've tried a lot of sinks. So I broke down, bought an ice cold delicious water which I didn't regret at all as soon as I began chugging it, and we headed back out to the dance floor until about 5am.

That's right. 5 hours of straight clubbing. Not to mention the 2 hours of travel + pre-gaming that we'd done before arriving at Kapital.

Kapital is insane though in the amount of excess in all things. Again, in a good way though. The menu boasted a 1200 euro bottle of Grey Goose, erotically dressed women dancers performed alongside the DJ's for certain songs (that was a bonus for the men who nearly fell silent when the ladies first came on the stage), a very attractive, muscular male acrobat who did a number with those scarves they hang from the ceiling and flip from plus a very impressive routine with a metal hoop, both about 30 feet above the dance floor.

At one point hundreds of glow sticks were throw into the audience. Screens behind the DJ's showed bits of music videos, the huge metal light structure some fifty feet above our heads flashed crazy patterns and random words (like "grill" . . . I have no idea why). Every twenty minutes or so, smoke would shoot out of the ceiling, gushing along with a blast of cold air that felt like a miracle in that 100 degree mass of people.

It was absolutely insane and absolutely fantastic.

Especially if you consider that I was, in essence, paid to go to the club. Explanation? I paid 3.50 euro for my train ticket, 1.60 for my one glass of "pre-gaming" wine, and 5 euro for my water, 2 euro for my coat check fee--a rough total of 12 euro.

While waiting in line for the coat check, I found a 20 euro bill on the ground. I picked it up and started looking around for anyone who looked upset or was patting their pockets or something. I even waved it in the air and yelled after a cluster of retreating girls who I thought may have dropped it. But no one claimed it. So I made 8 euro going to a club for the night. Score!

When we finally got back to the residence hall at 6am, I collapsed into bed, prepared to only get about 2 and half hours of sleep before getting up for my Friday class.

It was completely worth it.