Non-Stop Bhangra

fun! fun! fun! talk about high energy and non stop killer vibes. Vicki is the best. My one and only complaint is that it needs better and or more air conditioning as it gets jam packed in there. This place is a deff. must do.

Non-​Stop Bhangra is soooo fun! The dancing early in the evening is tasteful and full of talented dancers. The DJs are all very good and exhilarating. The vibe is positive. Everyone there is just there to have a good time, and people have positive attitudes. Good music, good dancing and an all-​around good time.

Best Night Ever

(edit– after a month of having my review in the wrong place, added it here at the request of Ms. Virk. Yeah!)
(note — this is a review of the dance club NSB, not of the venue… haven’t been there often enough to review it… maybe tonight?)
«Move to the Rhythm of Your Soul, and You’ll Never Miss a Beat»
Have you ever felt like you were dropped into the middle of an acid-​dream-​sequence in a Coen Brothers’ collaboration with Mira Nair?
Hey, me neither! If you or your dreams aren’t that memorable, the next best thing is a night of Non Stop Bhangra with Dholrhythms and the radiant Vicki Virk.
Forget trying to be all hipster-​ironic-​cool and funny if you get the urge to review this place. It’s fun. Anybody remember fun? Like dancing with your newest nephew, the preemie no one expected to live, at a big family wedding. Only better. You can leave without anyone asking why you aren’t married yet.
Bhangra is often described as ‘the hip-​hop of India’. I think it’s more like the slave-​dances, like samba, or capoeira. Sometime back in the million-​year-​history of the Indian subcontinent, some Panjabi hemp –field worker decided it might be a better career move to channel his frustration into getting all macho and competitive over hypnotic, thrumming dhol beats instead of beheading his foreman with a hoe.
Bhangra dance was born.
The beat is deceptively simple. 1., You can’t make a mistake, ie, no excuses about not getting your butt onto the floor for the lesson.
The beat is deceptively simple, 2. It has orchestras in it. Histories. Love and grief and compromise and ridiculousness and war and, well, FUN.
Be ready to sweat. Put an extra dot of eyelash glue on your bindi because even standing still, you will get slimed, in a good way
here.
DJ Jimmy Love was headlining the few times I was there. «Pretty desi for a white guy» — well what more can I say. He also happens to be pretty humble for a DJ. Just sayin’.
Vicki Virk is incredibly beautiful and gracious both onstage where her troupe gave a kickass gidda performance, and in the tiny harshly-​lit bathroom where I was peeling off my top layer of clothes while she was dressing up for the bhangra lesson. «This is your dressing room??» — Me.
«This is bhangra! I love this place!» — Her.
The sofa by the door is a cozy place for that fat guy in the Ganesh shirt in your party to front like he’s the owner. He’ll be dancing by the end of the night. Just go already. You know you want to

(queue up 50 cent’s ‘CandyShop’)
I’ll take you to the Rickshaw stop.
Non-​stop bhangra is hot hot hot.
You’ll notice three hots.
The first hot is for the amazing vibe of NSB. You wouldn’t be questioned if you guessed NSB was a bunch of South Asian dudes and a few girls, but instead it is the most diverse crowd at a club I’ve ever scene. I’m talking black, white, brown, yellow, whatev floats your boat, and guess what? — everyone gets along and has an amazing time.
The second hot is for the great value. $ 11.50 (purchase online yo) for a night filled with good beats, a pretty attractive crowd, and drink tabs that won’t break the bank is a great value, especially considering how weak the dollar is. You can’t take the tube from Regents Park to Elephant & Castle for less than.
The third hot is literal. What a freaking uneven cooling system. As soon as one spot gets cool the masses migrate towards and the sweat starts pouring once again. So plan on taking a shower afterwards.
A great great time, and definitely one of the best and most unique in SFC.

Vicki Virk, Jimmy Love and the rest of the NSB crew have done a fabulous job of growing this event into what it has become over the past couple of years. It’s tempting to suggest that NSB has outgrown its current venue (The Rickshaw Stop on Fell St), and that it should be held more than just once a month, but at the same time I can understand why someone would be hesitant to tamper with the current formula and risk spoiling such a wonderful thing.
I’ve never been there early enough for Vicki’s lesson at the beginning of the night, but I have taken her bhangra classes elsewhere (her Saturday morning class at Azhkenaz in Berkeley is a great way to start the weekend). I imagine the club class is similar, and if so it would be a great introduction to bhangra for the uninitiated (and a great way to warm up for a night of non-​stop dancing).
After the class the party gets going full-​swing, and continues until 2am (it’s particularly crowded between 11:00p and 12:30a). In addition to the resident NSB DJs such as Jimmy Love, Amar, and Earflaps, there’s almost always a featured DJ visiting from out of town. For me, having this rotation of DJs throughout the night makes for welcome sonic variety in what can sometimes be a fairly monotonous form of music (that said, each individual DJ does a very good job of mixing things up a fair bit as well).
A couple of times during the night there will be a ten-​minute break for a performance by Vicki and the rest of the Dhol Rhythms dancers. To be honest, there was a time that I wasn’t too crazy about these interludes. I thought that the performances were a little sloppy, and that with the exception of Vicki and a couple of the other girls the dancers were generally weak (mind you, as a dancer myself I have critically high standards for these things). However, over the past few months this has changed considerably. The troupe has come a long way, and I now find the performances to be consistently tight, fresh, and enjoyable.
As for the general vibe of the place, I’ll describe it as unpretentious, highly energized, and sweaty (I once made the mistake of dressing up a bit for an NSB, but have since resorted to an attire of t-​shirt, jeans, and pumas). The crowd is as diverse as would be expected at such an event in such a location, with about a third of it being South Asian.
Overall, I highly recommend checking this place out if you haven’t already. It’s something different, an awful lot of fun, and if nothing else it’s a great way to burn a couple of thousand calories.
(One annoyance/​tip: the price is advertised as $ 15 at the door or $ 10 in advance online, but if you opt for the latter you’ll be hit with an additional $ 2.50 service fee and have to spending 15 minutes dealing with a very clunky and unresponsive website. I’d rather spend the $ 15).

Nonstop, booty-​shaking, hip swaying fun! Although I’m not built like Beyonce, I felt pretty bootilcious at the end of the night. My only complaint is they only hold it once monthly!

I have never, ever in my whole entire life had so much fun at a club! The beats are intoxicating! The hot guys on the drums! Oh my! And they get all sweaty for workin’ it, keeping the beat. Hot, hot, HOT.
The lesson was crucial to making it a memorable night. The moves and the explanations that go were super fun! And don’t think too much about bumping into people. It’s not that bad since you’re all moving in the same direction… Most of the time.
It does get pretty hot in there but RS provides free water! Yay!

loved the music last nite but i wasn’t feeling the oven (a.k.a. rickshaw stop) at all!

Five stars all the way. Music here is so groovy it will get you up and dancing whether or not you have a buzz. The crowd here is very diverse and everyone seems to come here for only one thing, to have a really good time. This kinda music is really popular in england and canada but its nice to see is slowly catching on the west coast too. the drinks however could be more potent, but that for sure does not take away from having a blast of a time. Dunno bout NV n e more, I think i might have found a new favorite hot spot to frequent.

I don’t think I’ve ever sweat this much dancing in a club. The lesson is really easy to follow — we had a blast and I will definitely be back next month.

Update ⁴⁄₂₃: Now it gets Japanese subway-​level crowded almost from the start at 9. I still sweat completely through my clothes. But I’m upping to 5 stars because I *know* I’m going to have a good time when I go. The only other sure happiness bet I know in the bay area is the sea otter tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and that’s too far to drive on a regular basis.
New NSB tagline: buckets of sweat, tubs of fun.
Tip: There is free self serve water near the bar to make sure you don’t dehydrate and pass out
Tip#2: Don’t stand too close to the drummer as he passes thru the crowd. He’s flailing away at groin level.
Tip#3: ear plugs if you dance near or on the stage
——
It’s the third saturday of the month at the Rickshaw. I’ve only gone twice but that is two more times than I have voluntarily gone dancing without strong belief in post-​event carnal success.
Even wallflowers like me come peeling off the sides and bouncing into the middle of the floor. Remember: bring your shoulders *down* on the beat, not up.
One star removed because it gets SO crowded at 11:30 and because I got sick once because I sweat through my shirt and had to walk 5 blocks to my car in 50 degree light rain.

The good news: LOVED the music, bhangra really has a way of making people dance… even those with two left feet. The lesson at the beginning was helpful; the performance had amazing energy and well crafted choreography. The club itself has some eclectic decorations that are worth checking out. There is also a nice loungy area upstairs for people to rest from screwing lightbulbs and turning doorknobs.
The bad news: the place is small, and becomes too hot with everyone hopping around and perspiring. A few of the drunk people were not aware of personal space, and ran smack into us without so much as an apology.

Love the friendly, high energy vibe here. Held at the Rickshaw Stop, random rickshaws are on each side of the dance floor and there’s a stage with a big projector screen showing bollywood videos. The DJ and dhol drum beats keep the contagious music going all night. Lesson starts a bit after 9 pm — but that’s ok if you miss it. Just hop around with a smile on your face and you’ll be fine. It’s just a fun, good time. The place gets kickin’ after 11, but ppl come and go throughout the night. Be prepared to sweat buckets if you go, it’s hot in there! I sooo want to be one of the bhangra girls!

Non-​Stop Bhangra is a big, hot melting pot.
Ingredients: Punjabis, Asians, Blacks, Caucasians, Latinos, Bhangra, Hip Hop, Mashups, Bollywood videos, Dhol drumming, Dance performances, Dance lesson, Saris, Jeans, Sweat, Bliss.
Directions: Add heat, mix, and enjoy.

It’s actually 4.5 stars – the infrequency of the event can be a bit frustrating, especially when you’re down to shake yer ass off to some great music. i check the website every now & then, eager to know when the next event happens, but sometimes… it just doesn’t. sigh. but i do love the overall vibe of the people on the floor sans the attitude and pretentiousness, while the mix of bhangra and a hint of hip-​hop is near hypnotic.

i loved it! though i came at the tail-​end of the lesson, i still enjoyed it. the crowd was diverse, talent, age and ethnicity-​wise, and the music was awesome (michael jackson + dhol beats = sweet!) i will definitely be back!

I had an amazing time. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed at the Rickshaw for so long before. The music rocks and absolutely everyone dances! The whole place is bangin’.
Sometimes there are some Indian bros in here that are ridiculously drunk and spill drinks frequently because of the fast paced dancing. That’s kind of annoying, but not annoying enough for me to give less stars. ^-^)b

i love non stop bhangra! check out the website for times where the instructors hold weekly dance classes! it’s at 630 at ashkenaz in oakland, and they also teach in the city and sunnyvale!