Midweek at an all too rare punk show, I was reminded strongly why I love Berlin crowds. Back in the New World where I emigrated from (specifically San Francisco) nobody fucking dances. At all. They all know the perfectly hip and important bands to go see and then they arrive, cross their arms, and barely tap their feet. And encores? Forget it. They can only be bothered to give more than a golf clap. Sorry San Francisco – in this way you suck!
But Berlin crowds give their all – even if they look ridiculous doing it. They dance and scream and get excited and make you feel like this shit should matter. That music is something that affects people. And I’m not talking about just punk shows, but any other show for that matter, and clubs and discos, and nightlife, and anything where there’s a give-and-take of energy. And since sometimes it feels that the Germans are getting picked on a bit, I’ll credit them for bringing a “Vee geev it ahr Alles!” attitude. Anyways, if this were a Thanksgiving blog, I’d have to give thanks for not giving up so quickly and not giving a shit about what others think of you – too much.
So here’s the brief run down. First up? A first. The First NSK Citizens’ Congress Public Seminar (Fri, Oct 22 @ Haus der Kulturen der Welt) is celebrating the virtual NSK nation without borders or soil. Tired of this and every other country? Here’s your answer. While a seminar might not sound that exciting, Neue Slowenische Kunst is the Slovenian collective that gave birth to the only way to listen to Queen – through the snarled growls of faux-fascist band Laibach.
There’s another community to celebrate the weekend – Haus Schwarzenberg. DJ Odd will join Haus DJ Hito in the continuing celebration of Haus Schwarzenberg’s 15 years of existence (Fri, Oct 22 @ Eschschloraque). Whether or not this place has lost all of its touch or not isn’t really the question. The real question is what would Mitte look like without it?
On Saturday, Berlin industrial legends Einstürzende Neubauten (Sat, Oct 23 @ C-Halle) might just be the way for you to learn German through osmosis if you wanted to equate speaking German with high school wood shop. It’s sort of worked for me. I at least know how to say “Futter mein Ego” while using a power drill.
Otherwise, the First NSK Citizens’ Congress Closing Party (Sat, Oct 23 @ Haus der Kulturen der Welt) will certainly have some of the vintage Berlin 1980s avant-touch that somehow feels a bit lost at times. They chuck out the seminars in favor of a slew of performance artists and DJs.
Whatever you do, I’m saluting you all this week for getting one thing right in this country – energy.
