Both of these clubs we tried to get into, but failed. Reason? "Too many boys." This was even the reason when we went to Watergate 30 mins before it opened, were the first 20 people in line, and had met 5 girls to go in with us.
The Highroller
TRESOR
After being quite enraged that we didn't get into either Watergate or Weekend, we decided to check out Tresor. We were walking down the street it was supposed to be on with our eyes peeled (since Berlin venue can be extremely hard to find due to being unmarked), when we ran into a HUGE building with nothing but the Tresor logo being shined on the the front of the building with a light.
We walked in and saw what looked like the stairwell of a parking lot in an extremly sketchy apartment building. There were multiple passage ways and doors with no indication as to where the dancefloors were. We therefore waited until someone else came in, and then followed them hoping that they would lead us to the dancefloor instead of somewhere else where we werent supposed to be/didn't want to be.
As a little piece of background information, the new Tresor is in a renovated powerplant. Don't let the word "renovated" fool you though, as really the only renovations they seemed to have done is put a bar, and a DJ booth in. Therefore, walking into just the bathroom and coatcheck area of Tresor, I was met with a sense of excitement, awe, and even a mild bit of intimidation. It was a massive concrete hallway, with huge concrete columns, and very high ceilings. Many of the markings from when the powerplant was still there were still on the wall.
Here's an example of one of the smaller hallways:
Since the main room wasn't open yet, we went up to Room 2. The DJ was playing a really good tech house set, but the place was kind of empty. I remarked to myself that I was now starting to take these kinds of sets for granted, as if I had heard a set like this in Toronto, I would be going crazy (anti-flame disclaimer: this has to do with the fact that the music I heard in Germany is more aligned with my preferences, not because the DJs in Germany are any better than those in Toronto). There wasn't anything too special about the upstairs room except for the music, so we decided to check out Room 1.
When we finally found the entrance into Room 1, we opened the door to see a pitch black hallway, with very dim orange lights lining the wall (which in my opinion were only to make the hallway eerier looking; not to provide any light). Now, just to put this in perspective, imagine being in a foreign country, in an abandoned power plant, you open the door to the main room, and all you see is a pitch black hallway, and all you hear is serious techno banging at the other end. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. We started walking down the hall cautiously, when a German girl noticed us and said, "Don't let it scare you! Keep going!", to which I jokingly replied, "You already have". We reached the end of the tunnel, where there was a bit of red lighting (kind of reminded me a bit of Aria), turned around, and saw the main floor.
In it's own way, the Tresor main floor is one of the most intense dancefloors I've ever been on in my life. Think Comfort Zone (ie low ceilings, around the surface area), with lower lighiting, banging techno, better and louder sound, concrete columns, and a DJ booth that looks like this:
Being on the dancefloor literally felt like you were in a giant's shoebox and that he was shaking it around. There weren't that many people in the club (ie not much vibe), so it was a bit hard staying on the main dancefloor for more than 30 minutes without being too overwhelmed.
The sidies of the dance floor had "seating areas" which were just basically rows of concrete slabs that looked like autopsy tables.
No real review on the music because I didn't really pay too much attention, and we weren't there for that long. All I can say is that the upstairs was really banging but good tech house, and downstairs was techno, that got a bit too fast and banging for us by the end given that there weren't that many people downstairs.
I would love to return to Tresor one day for a big party. I can only imagine what it would be like. For an serious business, underground type party, I can't think of many (if any) venues that would be better than this.
The Highroller
BERGHAIN and PANORAMA BAR
(Panorama Bar is on the top floor of that rather intimidating looking building)
For those that don't know about this venue, it is the #1 club in the world according to some dance music publications who cater to the more underground type of clubber. Also, it is worth reading this description before you read my review to understand what we were expecting:
quote:
Berghain has a strong reputation for decadence and hedonism; a New Zealand Herald article describes "people openly indulging in sexual acts" inside the club, and the basement contains a dark room specifically set aside for that purpose
Before getting to this venue, we had read multiple reviews of people being denied at the door. Why? No reason ever given, (except for, as one reviewer said he was told, "Because it is so."). There was much speculation on these websites as to what the reasons were, but it seemed that there really were no specific things that you should avoid while standing in line, except for making noise, looking ed up, or talking at all.
Naturally, since we had been denied at 2 other clubs that week, we were quite nervous about getting in. However, being a gay-friendly club, we knew that we weren't going to get denied entry for not having girls with us (which was the reason we got denied to the other two clubs). However, once we got to the door, we were denied entry. Absolutely stunned, the guy I was with pulled some Jedi mind-tricks with the doorman and talked us in (no bribing was involved). Just FYI, we went VERY early (2am, but the club doesn't really start getting busy until 4am, and the party doesn't really get started until 6am), didn't talk in line, and didn't go out anywhere before (in fact, we had just woken up). Moral of the story: you can probably be denied entry to this club for no reason at all.
When we got in, we felt like the luckiest people on earth, so we were overly respectful and polite to all the staff members we encountered, even though it wasn't exactly reciprocated. I was made to feel that it was I who had the privilege to be in there, and not them who had the privilege of me being in there spending my money.
We walked into main floor which was quite large, and saw many couches, nooks, crannies, and even a room that was pitch black off into the distance (more on that later). The building is extremely large, with 3 levels, and very high ceilings. This club is in an abandoned power plant that has been barely renovated, so you can again imagine what it's like.
We walked onto the main dance floor, which can hold around 1500 people, and has 18 meter ceilings. It's a very basic/minimally designed, large room, with the DJ booth in the front at ground level. Not much to say about the room itself here.
We went up to Panorama Bar pretty quickly since nothing much was happening downstairs. Panorama Bar was the room with all the hype, so I was a little disappointed when I walked upstairs around 3am and saw what I saw. It was just a run down looking bar with crappy lighting and pretty good sound. There was however a really cool painting going along the back wall, and a large 1.5mx2.5m picture of a vagina on the wall. Interesting... Also, there was a small hallway on one side of the place with what can only be described as human sized cubby holes and compartments (more on that later).
The DJ wasn't doing much for me, and it seemed like nothing more than social hour. Everyone was just standing around and drinking, and not many people were talking.
After about an hour and a half upstairs, I decided to go back to Berghain. Given that it was now 3:30am, I was starting to get a little bit disappointed by what I was seeing. Although there was a decent party going on downstairs, it had nowhere near lived up to the hype, and wasn't really worth the aggravation we went through to get in.
I went back upstairs at 4am to see Jesse Rose who was one of the headliners. (Random moment: on the way upstairs, some guy just came up to Jay and I, walking the other way on the stairs, gave us a huge smile, hugged us both quickly, and then ran away. He didn't stop or say anything, he just looked like he was having a great time and wanted to thank us. Normally this would be a bit off-putting, but was actually quite funny.) I had never seen Jesse before, but was quite impressed. He played a combination of Luciano's style of hard, but sexy tech house, with a sprinkling of deep house to keep the crowd smiling. There were many instances where instrumental samples were layered on top of the mechanical tech-house tracks, which lightened the mood. He also played a lot of proper, jacking house a la Mark Farina. It worked surprisingly well, and I would definitely see this guy again.
Although the set was good, we didn't really come to this place to see him, and the vibe was still not living up to the hype. The crowd was still surprisingly tame (think Footwork at 11pm, but instead it was 6am).
We then went downstairs to check out Renato Cohen, who also really impressed me. Renato was banging out the techno, and he was right into it. I only knew his name from a couple of productions I liked years ago, but had no idea he was a such a good DJ. Someone PLEASE bring this guy to Toronto. I think the Toronto crowd would love him.
A bit before the sun started to rise, I went back up to Panorama Bar. The place was starting to move, but I was getting nervous that the shutters on the windows would stay open in the day light and that everyone would leave. However, when the sun reached a certain point, the shutters went down and closed, with a responding cheer from the crowd. I stayed up there until about 7, went back downstairs for 30 minutes, came back upstairs, and my jaw dropped. I don't know what happened in that 30 minutes, but it went from a pretty average party, to absolute pandemonium, with people jumping up and down, arms around each other, screaming along to the lyrics of the 90s house anthems that were being played. I was like a deer in the headlights. About 2 minutes after I was up there, when the beat finally dropped during "It's Too Late", the shutters opened for a few seconds, filling the room with the first bit of sun Berlin had seen all week, and the crowd absolutely lost it. Everyone just turned around to their neighbor, grabbed them by the arms, hugged them or kissed them, jumped up and down, and screamed. I will never forget this moment for my entire life. I have goosebumps right now thinking of it. During DJ Pierre's set, there were many moments where time stood still, and nothing else mattered but the then-and-now.
This lighting technique is the most simplest, but probably one of the most effective that I have ever seen. This cheesier house set was exactly what the crowd needed to get it going.
It was at this moment when I realized why Panorama Bar is talked about with an almost religious reverence.
After DJ Pierre closed out his set, Style of Eye went on and played a bumping tech-house set that was very well done. Hearing Lucio Aquilina - Magic M at 10am with the light shining in through the shutters with that open/closing technique was another moment that I will not forget anytime soon. Another really crazy moment is when the DJ played that lullaby sounding track that sounds like someone is playing a triangle during the breakdown (must find out the name of this track - I've heard it being played quite frequently recently) at around 11am. He kept looping that specific part over and over again. It was very, very eerie, and people were just looking around out each other nervously, not knowing what to do. Amazing.
At around 10am is when started to hit the fan with the crowd. Although they were almost too tame a little earlier, they were far from it now.
As the sun came up and the 6am crowd came in, we started to notice quite a few characters and antics going on in the crowd. Needless to say, this was definitely the most eclectic crowd I have ever seen. Some of these characters/antics included:
- Highest ratio of men with mustaches:men without mustaches that I have ever seen anywhere, including one guy with an impeccably trimmed porn 'stache, complete with porn-star, low v-neck shirt (exposing chest hair)
- A guy with hot pink slim jeans, black leather high top boots with many buckles, a checkered belt and a shirt that said "SUPER CUTE" (although my friend said he was anything but). This guy and his buddies had about a 45 minute session on the back couch at around 9am, trying each others shoes and socks on (ie wearing a huge stilletto on one foot, and a Converse shoe on the other and trying to walk around). They would also touch unsuspecting passer-bys with their bare feet. If the victims got closer to investigate, they would continue their bare-footed assault.
- A girl that was dressed in a badminton player's outfit
- A girl that was wearing a flight attendant's outfit (she really looked like she had just got off a flight. I would have inquired, but her level of intoxication made me guess that she wasn't in a position to explain)
- Flight attendant girl, and about 4 others in her group, all wearing strange clothing or props, all equally as intoxicated, dancing completely off beat (interpretive dancing?)
- Some guy sleeping in a cubby hole (who was still sleeping there 6 hours later)
- People getting blowjobs and having full on sex in the cubby holes and other random corners
- 2 girls making out for literally 40 minutes straight, with heavy petting (making out with heavy petting was increasing as the morning went on, even though Panorama Bar is not really that dark at all, putting you in full view of everyone else)
- Some guy "dancing" beside us who had his eyes closed for around 30-40 minutes straight.
- Seeing Jesse Rose hanging out and partying until 2pm.
- People sitting on the bar stools and having drinks at all times of the night and morning
- Never seeing less than 2 people coming out of bathroom stalls
- A full cappuccino/espresso machine that people actually used to have cappuccinos at 2pm.
- A random girl offering me a "shower" with her bottle of water, and then 50EUR to "guard her boot while she went to go get drinks" (she actually had her boot off and her 50EUR in her hand)
...that's about all I can remember.
At around noon, the Panorama Bar resident Nick Höppner came on. WOW. From the cheesy house in the morning, up until this point, the music went from light and fun, and got progressively more serious. Nick Höppner continued on with this trend, and banged out a driving tech house/techno set without a single vocal. As the music got darker, so did the room as the position of the sun changed. At the same time, the vibe was also darkening so.
Around this point I was getting extremely tired and was having a hard time dealing with the sketchy crowd (due more to my tiredness than the crowd being pushy/bothersome), but I just couldn't bring myself to leave. There were so many times where I went to go sit down during one of the few more relaxed songs in his set, but literally got up the next track later with a jump, as my back and leg muscles yelped in pain. Nick Höppner played one of the best sets I heard all year. I'd really love to hear more from him.
Some more random thoughts:
- Horrible dancers in this club. As the night went on, they were only reacting to the rare climax, but the vibe was still insane and everyone was having a great time
- Main floor (with the exception of the dark room) was actually a lot more tame than we expected it to be.
- Panorama Bar was a lot more in your face than Berghain, even though it was supposed to be the other way around.
- Panorama Bar is an all-day affair (it's open for 24-36 hours at a time) in the sense that people come at all hours of the day, many looking like they had just got up. The place was about 75 percent full until we left sometime in the afternoon, and it didn't look like it was letting up anytime soon.
When leaving the place, I realized why they have such a tight door policy. With a very loose policy as to what you can and cannot do inside, there must be some sort of control at the door. And boy, was there ever controls at the door. People were still getting turned away in droves at all hours of the night/morning. The club could have had 3x the amount of people in it, but they were still turning people away. There were more than enough people turned away to pack the place. Another theory my friend had was that because there is such a tight control at the door, you feel that you are privileged to get in, and respect that privilege by not causing trouble. Although people were openly taking part in one of the highest levels of hedonism that I've ever seen, no one was really bothering anyone else.
This club is not for the faint of heart past 8am. That said, it only really become special after 6am. This was a place where I literally felt I could do whatever I wanted. Although I'm sure they were plain clothed and lurking somewhere, I didn't see one single visible security guard except for at the door the entire time I was there. This, coupled with the fact that more than half the club is not a dance floor area means there is a lot of are many nooks, crannies, and small empty rooms to do whatever your heart desires. It is also worth mentioning that although this is supposed to be a gay club, there are still a lot of very attractive girls, who clearly have their heads up and are looking around the room. It can make things a lot more interesting.
Around the time we were leaving, we were told that there are illegal squatter after parties that go on every week, in different locations, when Panorama Bar closes that go on until Monday afternoon. This is in the absence of Bar25, which is the outdoor venue in the summer that is literally open the entire weekend from Thursday - Tuesday in the summer. Doesn't anyone in this city work?!
In short, if you can handle it, and if you can get in, this place is an experience like no other.
This was a regular Saturday at Berghain/Panorama Bar. I wonder what it would be like on a bigger night...
rabbitjoker
This foto alone is interesting enough. The review that follows just makes it all the much better.
rabbitjoker
I'm not sure about the whole turning people away thing...
zokissima
I've heard quite a few interesting stories about this place from some friends in Germany :p
I can't wait to get the opportunity to check it out next summer.
Orko
I hate to sound simplistic, but...
What an awesome review. You really have a way of creating a story and journey to follow, I was hoping it kept going, just so I would have more to read.
From what you described, it seems like a experiences I've always wanted. Real hedonism with electronic music. In my mind, that has always been the draw, and destination for EDM. Go listen to music, do what ever the you want, just don't hurt anybody else. I've seen some 'antics' here in Toronto, but nothing like you describe.
to those people just not giving a .
Engine9
i love the scene in Berlin
its the most unique, underground and cool scene i ever had a chance to experience
I was there last summer and best party was this rave under a bridge (the one near watergate). 300+ people all raving to the sounds coming out of a truck with speakers on it. good times cant wait to go back to Berlin
1dawoman
quote:
Originally posted by The Highroller
A guy with hot pink slim jeans, black leather high top boots with many buckles, a checkered belt and a shirt that said "SUPER CUTE" (although Jay says he was anything but). This guy and his buddies had about a 45 minute session on the back couch at around 9am, trying each others shoes and socks on (ie wearing a huge stilletto on one foot, and a Converse shoe on the other and trying to walk around). They would also touch unsuspecting passer-bys with their bare feet. If the victims got closer to invesigate, they would continue their bare-footed assault.
lol...sounds like my kind of party...:nervous:
glad you guys managed to talk your way into this place...loved the detail in the review...makes me wanna check it out for myself...although i'd probably rethink going alone after reading all this...
Skipper
Yay, I was waiting for a full review of the sketch.
Mark got lost downstairs in the orgy room on his way to the bathroom - runs back, eyes wide, "OMG I JUST SAW A DUDE FINGER ANOTHER DUDE'S ASS!!!"
And I definitely remember the nooks and crannies of panorama. I'd love to go back, as I didn't stay late enough to really witness everything you described.
rabbitjoker
quote:
Originally posted by Skipper
I didn't stay late enough to really witness everything you described.
Apparently the late-afternoon/evening shift is -really- interesting.
Orko
quote:
Originally posted by Skipper
Yay, I was waiting for a full review of the sketch.
Mark got lost downstairs in the orgy room on his way to the bathroom - runs back, eyes wide, "OMG I JUST SAW A DUDE FINGER ANOTHER DUDE'S ASS!!!"
And I definitely remember the nooks and crannies of panorama. I'd love to go back, as I didn't stay late enough to really witness everything you described.
to those people just not giving a .