In Berlin, “Music Week” almost seems more like a redundant phrase than anything super out of the ordinary: yet another excuse to push our shiny status as an “artists’ hub” on the outside world. But, what the hell, most of us are here for music anyway, so why not indulge in a bit of prefab celebration? There are tons of events to get your rocks off to. So let’s have at ‘em.
We might as well start with the Berlin Festival (Fri, Sept 10 & 11 @ Tempelhof), the city’s eponymously named pop/indie/techno extravaganza. And why not? EXB will be there with a very special ping-pong (or “table tennis” in European) booth for you to kick it at when the sweat of the crowds gets to be too much. Come down and meet the peeps behind the very website you’re gazing at! Otherwise, LCD Soundsystem, Peaches, Boys Noize, Atari Teenage Riot, Hot Chip and, my personal favorite, Gang of Four will be among the dozens of acts present. If the €42.90 per day entry charge is (understandably) too steep for you, or you need a break from all that music, jump on your first chance to see what Yoko Ono has poisoned us with in her “present” to Germany, Das Gift (Fri, Sep 10 @ Haunch of Venison). Otherwise, check out the screening of Enter the Void (Fri, Sept 10 @ Moviemento; watch the trailer here) with animator Thorston Fleisch, who worked on the film. I may have only gave it two hearts in in the July-August issue of the mag, but it’s still a thoroughly and visually engaging slice of cinema.
While the Berlin Festival beats on. making all the necessary decisions for its patrons, Berlin Clubnacht (Sat, Sept 11 @ Lido) leaves the decision-making up to participants. How democratic! Only €12 to access to 44 nightclubs! Sample it all and easily, too, with a shuttle bus to take you from hot spot to hotter spot. Or, if you’re more multikulti-inclined, sexy music goes hand in hand with disorienting décor for Ducktails (Sat, Sept 11 @ Madame Claude). The music will shake you up so much, it won’t matter which way is up afterwards. For a good laugh, we don’t have to look much further than our stage editor Summer Banks, and on Saturday, neither will you, as she sets them rolling in the aisles at ComedySportz Extreme (Sat, Sept 11 @ Kookaburra Comedy Club), a sort of American (or at least English) Gladiators of comedy. Knock ’em dead, Summer!
On Sunday, Music Week keeps a-goin’ (it runs from Sept 6-12), so don’t forget to participate in your own meaningful way at Bark! (Sun, Sept 12 @ Monster Ronson’s). Your very own version of “You Outta Know” or something equally terrible should wind this weekend of musical mega-giants down nicely.
