RUBA Hall If Silk City Lounge at Fifth and Spring Garden is the haute spot for Philadelphia's pop-culturally elite 20-something set, then the RUBA Hall, the building with which Silk shares a back wall, is the scene's undiscovered niche. At 414 Green St., The RUBA is not a full-time rock club. Its main function is as the meeting and social space for members of the Russian United Beneficial Association. In the interest of helping support its finances, however, the club will rent out now and again its gorgeously ornate, charmingly Old World bar and main room for rock and roll shows. Combining elements of the Eastern European locals-only beer hall and the suave sophistication of a Left Bank cafe, the room's frescoed ceiling, minimal lighting via wall candelabra, intimate seating and an atmosphere best described as smoky make a show at the RUBA a truly singular experience. The club began in 1933 as prohibition was ushered out the back door of America's political and moral consciousness. Its original purpose was to address concerns of Northern Liberties' Russian and Slavic population and to offer a spot to socialize. While the ethnography of the area has changed somewhat since then, the club's membership is still strong. Mike Shiroky, the club's president for what he estimates to be around 30 years, is himself, originally from Russia, and came to the United States in 1951 as a student "looking for better opportunity." As president, Shiroky oversees all matters club-related. "Like the president of the land... I'm responsible to see that everything operates legally and [everyone] obeys the bylaws." Membership in the club is a scant five dollars per year, and while you don't need to be of Slavic heritage, it certainly doesn't hurt. As to the hall's rep of late as one of the most intriguing spots to see live rock, Shiroky is nonplused. "To me, all the shows are the same. I guess certain people just like the room." Indeed. |