BarCo Club / Live Music Venue

Malasaña / Chueca, Madrid –

Converted from an abandoned cabaret, BarCo is a popular late-night spot that embraces its heritage with walls adorned with posters of the scantily clad dancers and singers that once graced the stage.

That stage is still in use, but these days it features a variety of live concerts and performances that range from big band to improvised acid jazz to guest DJs before the place shifts into club mode in the wee hours of the morning.

The dark and expansive main room provides a lot of space for dancing as DJs unleash urban and hip-hop beats backed up by a superb sound system and excellent acoustics that keep the throngs of partygoers dancing until they drop.

The venue attracts just about everyone, from groups of local coworkers still dressed in office attire to mixed gaggles of chatty European expats who are never quite sure which language to speak.

Downstairs and well-insulated from the pulsating main floor is the cueva (cave), a long, narrow stone dungeon filled with the sounds of 80s pop, disco, vintage hip-hop, and Motown for which patrons dig up their old dance moves and show off their best John Travolta imitations.

When most of the other Malasaña bars shut down at 3am, patrons can count on the lively BarCo to keep going strong all night long.