Watch 20 Minutes Of Phase Fatale's Set At The Rave In Tbilisi Protesting Club Closures

The Georgian club community threw a massive rave on the steps of the country’s parliament building in Tbilisi to protest police raids at Bassiani and Café Gallery. 

As we reported, popular Georgian techno club Bassiani was raided and forced closed by the police over the weekend during an operation that also targeted Café Gallery. The official stated reason was due to drug deaths and trafficking, but as was recently reported by Resident Advisor, the raids occurred hours after the police had taken their intended targets into custody. Other popular clubs in the city such as Khidi and Mtkvarze were forced to close the following day for searches.

The action was widely condemned by the local and international community as heavy handed and excessive (A sentiment that’s echoed in our feature about Michail Todua, a Georgian techno producer serving an eight-year jail sentence). And, in fact, the Georgian Minister Of Internal Affairs has now actually come out and apologized for the police raids.

The response to the raids came quickly in the form of a protest rave thrown at the Georgian Parliament building by members of the White Noise activist group. Many DJs scheduled to play in Tbilisi clubs over the weekend ended up on the bill. Phase Fatale was scheduled to play at the EBM-leaning Khidi club, which was temporarily shuttered over the weekend.

You can get a feeling for the intensity of the rave by checking out the video of his set at the epic public protest below.

https://www.facebook.com/tamuna.Axander/videos/10210942720112496/

Read more: Check out our photo guide to Tbilisi’s thriving nightlife culture