Never forget your hanky

A 2008 goodbye dance....

Chilean Hero of the Week

Although Santiago de Chile isn't known for its South American steaming and sexy energy, some of them (this will be the 1st and last case of stereotyping) definitely have the vibe going. This small boy, carrying the blue and red drum, can be spot and heard (loud & clear) in Barrio Bellas Artes and Bellavista almost everynight.
Seeing him makes you realize how fragile some living circumstances are in the capital. He's just one of the many preteens wandering the streets at night trying to make some money. At the same time, however, his positive and outgoing character tells you he's making the best of it. Bringing a friend or his brother along, he easily entertains his audience. After his mini-show, he'll tell you about the tactics, his drum and this specific performance, as long as you listen ... Too bad, some people don't understand Chilean, but that would never stop him.....


For some extra headspinning tricks, watch the following clip:

The Go Team!

It's just...

Good
Clean
Fun!
(it even reminded me of them)






http://www.myspace.com/thegoteam
http://www.myspace.com/goodcleanfun

A Twisted Sound.

I never discuss albums without having a matching concert. This time, however, a show led to a bunch of (weirdly) related reviews.

After having experienced a powerful performance by Danko Jones in the newly opened LIVE AT DOT- club, I realized that I often hold on to a bands' earlier work. In the majority of the cases, the firsts are simply their best albums (the same thing often goes for books & films). Dan Cornelius and JC gave a great show, because they're good at it. And Danko himself is a Crème de la Crème performer within the rock scene. This is not about gigs though. It's about a shift in sound. As I focused on the songs, my mind kept longing for the old tunes.

In the hallway, afterwards, I heard someone talk about The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Their new album, The Cross of my Calling, came out last month and after being left impressed by A New Morning, Changing Weather (I'm lazy, I got distracted after 2001 and never listened to their other stuff), I was eager to be pleased with some new songs.
So next day, I sat down with a cup of tea (you might say that this is not the right attitude) and turned the volume up. I am a sentimentalist and can listen to (favorite) albums for ever, but that normally encourages me to discriminate new tracks positively. But this was just Boredom of Safety. The atmosphere was way too happy. Trust me, I like sun, romance and icecream, I even like to whistle Young Folks, but here I missed the raw garage sound, and when did they ever stop making rock 'n roll? Of course, TINS has a completely different sound than Refused, the former band of lead singer Dennis Lyxzen, did. On the first albums (two albums were released before my favorite) their roots and political involvement could literally be heard. Now, even his voice seems to have lost its original roughness. Just change Noise into Love and you'll have your average emo-band.

I am aware that I seem one of those people nagging about their better musical past. "Everything used to be better!". But that's not what I'm saying. It just seems that there's a turning point for many good bands where many become Judah. And if they decide to long for a broader recognition, they often let go of their original, unique sound. That's a shame, because it makes them loose their true fans.
Not all bands choose this path. A good example of a group that gained popularity through their continuity is The Mars Volta. They don't try to exceed the underground scene, but just win every single soul that is within their reach and move the ceiling up, little by little. Although even they gave it a shot with Francis The Mute (my inner Mari is doesn't like me saying this), even this album stayed far away from mainstream. It was a different, more accessible genre that opened the doors to a new audience. But with releasing The Bedlam in Goliath they returned new and improved.
Ok, ok. I know what you're thinking. Fine, I'll give TINS the benefit of the doubt. De gustibus non est disputandum. But I'm a skeptic and this is my subjective weblog. So bla bla, it's just another hidden tribute to guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

Speaking about Joneses,
could someone besides TMV please keep up with the Graces?
This 60-year old diva has recently released her tenth album, Hurricane, after almost 20 years. Throughout time she adapted to modern technology, trends and , but Grace Jones has never lost her own sound and identity. She's a genuine star remaining true to herself. No Madonna. Nobody remains young forever. We wouldn't want that. Getting older has so many advantages, of which Jones is not afraid to show us. A perfect combination of up-tempo beats combined with dramatic and intimate sound, without loosing sight of her reggae background due to some Sly and Robbie-dub. With only nine tracks concluded with a dark suspension, I have been left ... craving for more...



www.thebedlam.net
www.dankojones.com
www.internationalnoise.com
www.theworldofgracejones.com

Why...

... would someone write the amount of calories of HALF a pizza on the box?

Word up for technical development!

I just discovered an amazing feature of Websters Dictionary,
something all of you will know for sure already.

Every time you search for an definition of a word, a moving explanation in Sign Language appears on the bottom of the page.

Wow.

http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/

It's Beartime!

As we hit Berghain/Panoramabar to party, we need to decide a) if we're willing to stand in line for hours and b) if after those hours we can deal with a refusal. Luckily enough, we arrive in time and ride the line-ride with comfort & joy. After about 20 minutes and the sight of at least 40 people being refused, we enter the door, doing a quick finger victorydance. The happiness might sound a bit exaggerated knowing that we have never been refused before, but the changing doormen and their moods seem to be a insecure factor to a lot of people. Now you wonder why I would like to get in a club with such a ridiculous (is it really?) doorpolicy. Because it's not just a Berlin club, it's thé Berlin club. Of course, there's a wide range of alternatives, but they completely vanish at comparison.
Every weekend, the 18 meter high dancefloor of this former power plant is packed with about 1500 enthusiastic people trembling of pleasure while listening to the best minimal and techno tracks. But it's not only the music that makes the reincarnation of the former Ostgut-club a desirable venue, the entire ambience is developed to play and have fun. Swings, small make-out corners, diffent dancefloors, a coffee-/icecreambar, a garden and an unvisited darkroom. You name it, Berghain's got it. Therefore everyone is still anxious to get in the club, officially labelled as 'Bear'-place (one of the reason why chickclicks are always sent away).
You just want to be there. Have fun until the sun has come up and gone down again. No matter what.



http://www.berghain.de/


NOTE December 2th 2008

After several questions, I just want to clarify a few things I wrote.

Definition of Bear according to mr. Wiki:
Bears (family Ursidae) are mammals in the order Carnivora.

Definition of Bear (gay slang) according to mr. Wiki:
Bear is LGBT slang* for those in the bear communities, a subculture in the gay/bisexual male communities and an emerging subset of LGBT communities with events, codes and culture-specific identity. It also describes a physical type.
The bear concept can function as an identity, an affiliation, and an ideal to live up to, and there is ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a bear.

A big group of Bears tend to be very hairy. Although this is not the case in Berghain, it's their hyper-masculine attitude that could classify them as Bears.

Definition of Bear according to me :
Camp Fairyland.



*Definition of LGBT slang according to mr. Wiki:
LGBT slang or gay slang in linguistics refers to a form of English slang used predominantly among LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people.

Definition of Chickclick according to me:
A certain amount of girlie-girls behaving like chicks.

Of my chest.

I normally refuse to write a negative review (as I stated in a Writers Note), because it feels like a waste of time. For both me and you. This time on the other hand my mental peace won't be reached until I get this of my chest. So writing about it, is the better solution.

After having seen several announcements on websites and in magazines, having read so many interviews, with the artist, being triggered by his artpieces and being mentally raped by the huge amount of advertisement on Kult des Künstlers, it felt like I couldn't miss the Jeff Koons exhibition in the Neue National Gallerie in Berlin.

While I was standing on the doorstep of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's impressive design, I could see Koons' first object: Balloon Dog. This huge porcelain Dog always makes me smile, so I entered the museum in a good mood. I bought a ticket and observed the 10 objects I could see, while standing in line. (I ám capable of enjoying a line-ride, for further reference see It's Bergtime.) However, I entered the space and realized a remarkable thing: that was it. No, I'm lying, there were 11 (!) objects to be admired. So I asked one of the 11 museumguards, where the other pieces were. 'Das ist alles, Fraulein', he replied. What?!?! So I paid 8 euro to see an exhibition that I could see for free from the outside. There were even two possibilities: a) from behind the thin rope line and b) through the windows on the 1st floor that serve as walls. Please forgive my language, but I felt screwed. I could spend even more time in the museumshop. While I was being pissed off, after I found out that I couldn't even touch ("Das ist Kunst, waren Sie noch nie in einem Museum?") or photograph the gigantic Celebration, I saw a man carefully capture the pieces from the outside on tape as well as with his gigantic, professional tele-lens ... for free. And now I must say that I truly hope this man was Koons himself working on his new project (aka "Watching the Suckers"), otherwise the entire event feels like a bigger waste of time.

The thing that really made my night was the toilet smelling like peachcandy.


http://www.smb.museum/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=de&objID=20&n=1&r=19
http://www.jeffkoons.com/

Holy Hercules!

That's all I can say after a night of Electronic Beats in the Postbahnhof. Boys screaming like girls and girls wanting to be boys for a night. Fashionable dress-up parties mingled with the audio nerds. Stamping feet (high heels or not), clapping hands, good old moshpits, non-stop dancing and even some stage-diving from the Electroclash queen herself. For me, an unseen event in Berlin until now.

Santogold, the well-known upcoming star, mesmerized every single person in the venue. With two golden elastic-girls breakdancing on her side (WOW!), the NY singer made the night really start. Munk, the Munich band, had already performed and even though the four bandmembers had done their act, they were completely blown away by the following act. Santogold was hot. Her songs definitely reminded me of M.I.A. (with whom she toured) and her style clearly shows her punk background of Stiffed, but Santi White (her real name) has created her own original sound by producing with the Strokes, Lilly Allen, N.E.R.D. and many others. One should definitely keep an eye on her, as she is more than an equal opponent of the contemporary diva's.

After a short pause to regain our breaths, the next act was introduced by a girl with a blue face in a cute/ridiculous dress wearing a red teddybear head-hat. Jumping on stage like a ten year old, she was exactly what the crowd needed. More, more, more. After being pumped by a sing-a-long party song, we finally exclaimed the words.
We want Peaches. We want Peaches. We want Peaches.

And then it started. The band, disguised in Lucha Libre masks, made its entrance. Running around as winners, they prepared the stage for their herm mom. But her readiness to perform surprised us all. She didn't need any warming-up. She was ready! Kicking off with the hiphopish part of her repetoire, she was still wearing her strawberry outfit. Breakdancing with her legs wide. But the longer she played, the more of her outfit seemed to vanish. And once she removed her wrestling mask, the true identity of the former elementary school teacher was revealed. The rockstar appeared with a Venecian golden face with matching Blockhead. Naughty looks combined with dirty lyrics, a powerful appearance and sexy outfits. That's all we wanted.
But we received more. We got some balls. Or more explicit, one lit ball or clitoris, it depends on what your preference is. A light on her crotch, worn over her skincoloured catsuit .... And as she started to Fuck the Pain Away the crowd finally came.

Along with some trembling movements, the audience was trying to regain its German reserved dignity. But it was 1.30 am and it was too late. Hercules and the Love Affair were ready for some booty shakin'. Some mixed funk and techno tunes were introduced only to be taken over by 2008 disco. The band of eight projected so much fun that we couldn't hide our Saturday Night Fever movements. And transgenderism continued. Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls. But let's not forget the brass section, which blew us all away. Voices and instruments mingled until nothing could be recognized as an original sound. It was one long funky set, without a pause. And the Dutchie went wild: heavy breathing, WiLd dancing, coughing. I definitely heard a Whoohooo, but it was too late to run for cover, fatherfucker!

"And here he is ... Mister ... Eli ... Paperboy ... Reed!"

The program said 9 pm, but as we enter the Roter Salon at 9.45 pm, the venue is almost empty. The former jazzclub, normally packed from front to back, contains no more than ten enthusiastic fans and a bunch of german lost souls. Or at least, that's what they seemed to be until they prooved the complete opposite only 10 minutes later. My mom, sisters and boyfriend find a nice spot to sit and while they're sipping their drinks, I humm them some Reeds songs. Unexpectedly my sister joins in. "It's no coincidence I'm here....".


As The True Loves start playing, one of the trumpet players walks up front. He grabs the mic and shouts: "For you tonight will be playing Eli... Paperboy... Reed!"
There goes the young man, who's been standing next to me in the crowd for a few minutes, he jumps on stage, while shaking his legs as if snakes are crowling up. No time to loose, the first song has already started. This enthusiastic puppy (in the industry) has the voice of a seventies retired soulsinger performing a rockmusical.

Even though he doens't seem to get the audience excited straight away, the initial stiffness melts as ice as soon as the band decides to entertain themselves. They're having fun (although, in my humble opinion, Mr Reed over-exaggerates in trying to hide his insecurities by making fun of the other bandmembers). But it works. The people get greedy as they want experience the same gusto, and there they go: the first petticoats are up a bit higher than necessary. Feet start shuffling, fingers are tapping, some even whistle along. It is definitely not my way of partying (I miss naughty looks being exchanged), but the Germans are having a great time!
The music was great: the band swinging and Eli's voice refreshing as well as reminiscent. Normally I'm quite easy going. As soon as I see my family swing along, I'm sold. But this time the mellow atmosphere didn't really do it for me.
That doesn't mean we didn't have a lot of fun. But we had to heat the venue ourselves. No more tapping, this asked for real charleston legs. As The Satisfier kicked off, I was more than content. We did it.....




NOTE

This is not the first time I've experienced a lower level of enthusiasm at a concert in Berlin and it shouldn't influence me, but I do notice that the reaction of the crowd has a great impact on my experience of a show. Their stiff attitude (and I don't judge stiffness) almost seem to lower the venue's temperature.

WRITERS NOTE

Just for the record:
I'm not mesmerized by every band I see.
I just believe in the positive approach of life.

Plus, I don't waste my time nor yours on discussing every single shitty thing I get to experience.

Elbow

Widely respected by bands like Radiohead, Blur, Snow Patrol, U2 and many others, I couldn't believe that I had never (ssshht) listened to this band. It was one of these typical musical examples of living under a rock for years. Fortunately, I was persuaded to go and see Elbow yesterday.

We entered the impressive building of the Columbiaclub during the first song and I can't remember the last time I turned into a soft egg that quickly. Maybe twenty notes had come out of Guy Garvey's magical throat, but that was all I needed. The only thing I clearly remember from this concert is the floating feeling I experienced for more than an hour.

The members of this Mercury-prize winning Mancester rock band have been playing together for more than 18 years, which can heard directly if you listen to them. The sound they produce is a creation of their obvious synergy. I still couldn't understand how I had managed to not know their music, but then slowly, some vague recognition appeared. I started remembering things I didn't know I knew. First melodies, than lyrics, I knew this band. I tried to let it rest, but as soon as I got back home, I googled their entire existence.
And there they were, back in my mind: Elbow.

The singles 'Any day now', 'Asleep in the back' and 'Newborn'.
The accoustic kittens version of 'Independent Woman'.
Their 'Fallen Angel' in Michael Winterbottoms 9 Songs.
The trailersong of the new Coen Brothers' Burn after Reading.

The more I read about them, the more signals started travelling my brain and the more I started appreciating the concert in retrospect. The way they played, their 'old-fashion'-style fans (they were definitly more devoted back in the old days), the warm atmosphere (even though it was literally bloody hot as well), the amount of fun they seemed to have on stage. It was one of those concerts that remind you of your first concert. Mine was Pink Floyd and although the two had almost nothing in common, for a moment I felt as if I was eleven years old again.
It was one of those classic examples of you had me at "Hello!".


Must-see/hear:
www.elbow.co.uk

www.myspace.com/elbowmusic
Elbow's cover of "Independent Woman" (Destiny's Child)
http://www.rathergood.com/independent_woman/

Gay Marriage ... Man?

Not only the United States are celebrating the promise of a new era: as far as my language skills reach ( a coverage of almost all of Western Europe), I read about Obama, being thé mainsubject in all newspapers. While this victory took place, a major loss remained fairly unnoticed at the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. While the majority overhere celebrates, a minority and their like-minded fellow Americans are caught in mixed emotions.

The approval of Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriages, will change the California Constitution in a such fundamental way - restricting the right of equality - that it will amount to a constitutional revision. This happened only six months after California's high court judged that same-sex marriages were supposed to be legalized in California. Straight after that decision pro's and contra's started the most expensive social issue campaign the USA have ever seen.

And now the Pro's of the ban, who received full support from the State Utah, got what the wanted. They restricted the rights of their fellow Americans and are proud of it.

This huge step back in the realization of equality, however, will not be accepted. Ever since the defeat on tuesday, people throughout the State have been marching the streets with signs of disagreement. And they will show that all of Obama's people will indeed 'can!'.

For extra info, please read:
http://www.noonprop8.com/


photo by Rick Loomes

What about Hong Kong?

You wonder why I'm writing about Hong Kong? Because I care. Why? Because I lived there, but more important, something extremely damaging to Hong Kong's autonomy and culture could happen soon and while the 'West' is focusing on Beijing, no one seems to realize what's happening behind the Southern curtains.

Eleven years ago Hong Kong was handed over to the Chinese, after 165 years of British colonisation. Both parties (Hong Kong itself had fairly nothing to say) agreed that a judicial system similar to the existing would rule the Special Administrative Region (SAR) and that the interests of Hong Kong itself had to be maintained.

The Basic Law (a local mini-constitution), an independent judiciary and a Hong Kong government were meant to be a safeguard. Interventions by the National People’s Congress could take place, but these situations were restricted. Therefore, when the Proposal with regard to Article 23 of the Basic Law was presented, it was received with suspicion. The provision as formulated emphasized the autonomy of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by stating that Hong Kong ‘shall enact laws on its own’. The content, however, seemed to deal with definitions that were no longer appropriate, only served the national Chinese interest and could be in contradiction with the guaranteed fundamental rights. Research started within the region as well as internationally and after heated debates and one of the biggest Hong Kong demonstration ever, the HKSAR government decided to postpone the implementation.
Article 23, however, which penalizes sedition, treason, subversion, secession and theft of state secrets, still needs to be implemented. No one knows exactly when, but everyone knows that the Basic Law can only be officially valid when Article 23 is fully implemented.

And now, all of a sudden, that day seems to have gotten closer. Last week Macau, the other southern SAR, made a crucial decision: the former portuguese colony has decided to enact the security bill. Compared to the HKSAR, Macau has always dealt with more stringent criminal laws. Therefore their intentions to implement caused less consternation on Asian Las Vegas than it did five years ago on Hong Kong. Even though the SARs differ as day and night, the decision made by Macau Chief Executive will put pressure on Chief Executive Donald Tsang. The regional leader has a constitutional duty to legislate the controversial law before the end of his term in 2012.

So now were reminded once again, what Hong Kongs position is within the People's Republic of China. We, back in the West, had almost forgotten that this hypermodern and prosperous city in the middle of Asia is still being watched by the Biggest Brother in the World. And now that the Door to Restriction is opening again, I truly hope to see the same strong Hong Kong as in 2003 unite and stand up for its fundamental freedoms. Will the city manage to maintain its unique position or will it be swallowed by its ? I believe it's worth to keep an eye on....

Unexpected Bongos

Walking around in the Berliner Zoo can give you simple pleasures without much effort. This time is was J who received a non-expected grin for hours.

While I was looking at the even-toed (sometimes you wonder why you always remember certain useless facts instead of a name f.i.) giraffes, Jamie was interested in some other species. Intrigued by its foreigness and surprising appearance, my boy was doing his best not to stare. Even though this creature had obviously been taken out of its natural habitat, it seemed to have adapted extremely well to the new conditions. Its movements were slow, but calm. Not at all behaving in the way we were used to see it interact in its original enviroment. It was playful, but decisive.

Appearantly this wellknown dj found a way to live his new life as a father. A baby had replaced his turntables at this afterhour time. A weird sight, but he looked content.... and so did J!

So if you're ever in Berlin, even if you don't like caged animals, give the Zoo a visit.
might be there and seemed ..

In charge in Berlin

Day Two. 7.30 pm. Hungry. Need to pee. A little sleepy. New. Done. Still need to pee. Which other excuses can I come up with?
Ok, I didn't do it the German way. Got a bit overconfident. I don't blame myself. Will they?

Yesterday I started working at vbs.tv, the video/internetversion of Vice Magazine. After my big decision that I hadn't come to Berlin to work in an Italian restaurant, it felt as if luck was on my side. I sent out three coverletters and had four (I didn't get it as well) different jobinterviews within 3 days. Against all expectations (a person can get a bit insecure here in Berlin), I not only received compliments in abundance, they told me I could start straight away and regulate my own scedule. It really felt as if I was in charge.


But 'in charge' might not be the proper definition, as I have found out now. In the future, I should at least specify until where my powerzone reaches. This remains the most difficult level of the tricky integrating game I'm playing here Germany. So when my upper/upper/upper GERMAN boss (who had only met me an hour before) told me 'NO, I'm on the phone', I maybe shouldn't have said 'Well, this is for you, so I will talk to you'!

I wanted to add 'briefly', it was all for a good cause (his, believe me) and all the facts written above were happening. But the look in his and in my GERMAN colleagues' eyes said enough.
I'll need to bring extra cookies & Schnaps tomorrow or I'll have to pretend I'm someone else ... the rest of my career.
link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnaps

The Tales of a Devilish Mountain

Although the artificial hill got its name from a lake nearby, its past is rather ambiguous and almost too coincidental. Not only is the Teufelsberg created out of World War Two rubble collected by the Allies. The trash was dumped on that specific location, because the former Nazi military-technical college (designed by Albert Speer) that occupied the space turned out to be impossible to destruct. The only solution, therefore, was covering it with bricks and other waste remaining from the war.



Devil's Mountain was given a recreational destination, but as soon as the Cold War started the American National Security Agency turned it into one of the world biggest spy stations. For more than 30 years it was used by several US and UK intelligence- and security-agencies.
Right after the German unification was proclaimed the prominent electronic masterpiece lost all its former importance and remained empty until an Berlin investor realized its potential. A try-out penthouse was created and plans for future use of the almost 10 acres of land were made. However, a law of building prohibitance was enforced and every renovation was to be ended.

Of course this incredible space didn't remain unnoticed to the rest of the world and the construction laws in bankrupt Berlin kept changing. So it found an interesting new investor: the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace. Their ultimate goal to teach the philosophy of transcendental meditation, however, lost all its credibility during the presentation of the project last year. The filmmaker's partner Raja Emmanuel, who's a Maharishi guru, constantly used the words 'unbesiegbares Deutschland' to explain his view of a new generation students. While this German 'invincibility' caused great consternation under the audience due to their reference to the country's past, Herr Lynch had no idea what was going. A translator was procured after a while , but I believe it was only after the meeting that Lynch realized the consequence of his friends words: no building on the Teufelsberg (stated by the Local Mayor Monika Thiemen)! Which means that the possibilities to reach a higher state of consciousness due to invincibility on the Teufelsberg have luckily been postponed.

This might give the director some time to get enlightened about a more useful cause for one of the few remaining Berlin treasures or at least to find a wiser partner. In the meantime it offers us, adventurers, some extra time to play hide and seek and fantasize about Lynchian times...

LINK Guru's Speech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k357ErdUQyk

"Hug the person on your left"

Last thursday started out as just a regular thursday. No, I'm lying: I must admit I was kind of annoyed and hungry that I didn't have any yoghurt nor raisins when I got up. But those are just minor details. My major frustration was the fact that I had failed in getting tickets to see Sia that night.

For those of you, who don't know Sia: just stop reading. Go and feel ashamed! It's that simple.

While I was trying to accept this disappointing character feature of myself, I made plans for the night. Live on, forgive and eventually forget. My options were simple: I was going to see the performance by my friend Brina, that we had been working on for a few weeks. I would like to emphasize that I wouldn't have never missed this. I would just consider Sia as a really, really, super big + to my night afterwards. But as I said, forget and ... "sorry, what?!? Thijs, could you repeat that? Extra tickets for who?". It seemed like the cognitive modules in my brain had suddenly lost every notion of their original purpose.

skip
..>!><><
distortion
<>!<#>^
skip

....and there I was. Floathing on cloudes. Smiling from big ear to big ear. Serenades of love in my head sung by nightingales and butterflies. Almost as light as a feather. I know you think I'm exaggerating. Maybe part of me believes you're right. This part, however, is of minor importance. After having waited for more than I felt was good for me, she finally got on stage and flabbergasted all the others who now were forced to join me in this feeling of euphoria. Just by singing 'hi'. After that this girl, at the top of her emotions, reached cords that made the small hairs on our skin shiver. Giving us refreshing tones to hop on and tunes that could even make the most damaged person feel in love for a second. The combination of whispering words and raw exhales made the symphonies sounds more authentic than ever. C'est sa ton qui fait la musique.
As if this wasn't enough she friendly asked the audience to hug. 'Please hug the person on your left' she said, while she was rubbing her own back. For a moment I could see the young Sia pretending to make out in her teenage bedroom. Her cuteness even disarmed Thijs, although he referred to it as 'niet goed in d'r hoofd', which literally means 'out of her mind'. But I won't be picky about words.

But I guess it was the sign language she used to express the meaning of "Soon We'll Be Found" that captured the last infadels.
link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcyQcNlGEVE
I am still not overstating, but I did forget to mention an important factor: her band. These musicians, every single one of them, are magicians, capable of making you feel ... happy. That was the word I have been looking for. They just gave us plain happiness.

So this has all turned out to be a tribute to Thijs. Without him I would have been having amazing fun somewhere else in Berlin without realizing what I had missed. However, he took me to the concert and i'm glad he made realize what I didn't miss.

Thanks.

My daily foreignfun..

"One Milchkaffee, bitte!"

"Gross oder small?"

The small joys of Berlin life

Small foldable bikes with small axis that force you to slow down.

A piece of DDR balcony falling on your head.

Being winked at by the last sunbeam of the day in a simpson scooters side mirror.

Noticing a fellow sidewalker in a hurry noticing you, synchronising both your paces and can't help it but smiling because of the unnecessary rush.

Dark cloudes and sheeps feet.

Discovering a traffic light that has been turned into a red heart, an orange star and a green teardrop.

Boogieing on a wednesday night.

When fall is at its peak, slide through the fallen leaves and pretend they're all roseleaves spread out for you by someone who loves you.

Passing with red lights.

Getting up early and enjoying the last shiverings of anothers night out.

Funny-looking, happy people.

Davis' Kind of Blue out of your neighbours window on a sunday morning.

Complaining about other music.

A falafelpita with extra hummus after a long night out...

.....


....


you in the weekend


..

Berlin Bulb

Just a week after this year had begun, almost all happiness of the Christmas and NewYears atmosphere seemed to have disappeared. Berlin turned to be as dark as I feared she could be. I had just moved to Germany's Capital and had heard a lot about it. Loneliness sprinkled throughout the city. Unappealing abandoned contructionsites. Grey skies filled with crying clouds above me and their tears on the streets beneath. I felt weird and maybe a bit betrayed. I had left Hong 'canto-pop' Kong in order to be somewhere surrounded by alikes. People that couldn't get enough of the soundtrack of life. But was this really the city of endless tunes? A place where no-one ever stopped? The still running afterparties of Sylvester didn't appeal to my taste at that point. Was't the musical creativity suppose to keep this place pumping as blood through veins? If that was so, why couldn't I find it?

But then a small hint. Just two simply formulated sentences on the net: ‘Die Tanzguerilla trifft sich, um im Kaufhaus tanzen zu gehen. Bringt Walkman und MP3-Player mit’. Danceguerilla? The idea of dancing in a shoppingmall made my heart do a Charleston through my chest.

A silent disco amongst hundreds of necessary shoppers, turning a smile on most of their faces. Bodymovement. Excitement. Flirting. For some it's not just plain entertainment, it's a protest. Against capitalism. Against globalisation. Against boredom. Against dark days.

Berlin, known for its rebellion, has always encouraged this way of expression after the fall of the Wall. With dialy demonstrations, these meetings, however, seems to focus on the funfactor. No rules. Just dancing on spots where you always wanted to dance. Supermarkets, subway stations, cashmachinespaces, conferencenters, even the Reichstag received a welldeserved visit.

And then I found out that this was just the innocent beginning. What followed was the introduced to the world of Rave. Through friends, acquaintances and people I didn't know at all, I got informed about the most amazing gatherings. Old factories, parks and forests, bunkers, rooftops. Morning, night, midday. Dressed-up, naked, come as you like. Friday, Sunday, Tuesday. No boundaries. No end. Just dance until the police comes.... and even that is no guarantee.

I knew Berlin had it. Something growing under the ground, waiting to be revealed. But actually discovering and experiencing all these amazing features felt like a bonus, a durable lightbulb for the dark winterdays. So this time, with winter starting, I'm ready and anxious to see what Berlin is preparing to keep us warm.