Not if you were the last club on Earth: Berghain - Berlin, Germany
In a city widely regarded as the world capital of techno Berlin's Berghain nightclub might be seen as the seat of parliament.
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Situated in the Friedrichshain neighbourhood of East Berlin, Berghain/Panorama bar, is seen by many as the most important venue in house and techno today. Named after the two areas keuzBERG and friedrichsHAIN, Berghain is a desendant of the legendary Ostgut club which grew out of the snax gay fetish club. As Ostgut found a regular venue in 1998 and became less exclusively a gay club, it became the focal point of the German capital’s underground techno scene. After Ostgut closed its doors in 2003 the club moved to it’s current location in a former power station behind Ostbahnhof.
On approaching Berghain one is at first struck by the sheer size of the venue, it is located in a kind of wasteland and is a massive, intimidating grey concrete structure which can accommodate 1,500 people. After queueing for what can sometimes be up to two hours (this is especially grim in Berlin wintertime) and hopefully getting passed the infamously picky doorstaff, one is at first struck by the minimalist industrial design and the foreboding sub-bass of the music from upstairs. As you mount the stairs to the main dancefloor the music gets louder and the excitement mounts. What greets you at the top of the stairs is quite unlike anything many first time berghain party goers are likely to have experienced before. The dancefloor, which lies eighteen metres below the ceiling, is a writhing mass of bodies, most of which are male, musclebound and clad in leather. This, along with the pretty full-on techno which soundtracks Berghain can be threatening to some but the atmosphere is actually very relaxed. Upstairs in Panorama bar the crowd is less gay and the music is in more of a house/minimal direction. The atmosphere here is lighthearted and when they open the shutters on a Sunday morning, the bass drops and the sun streams in after hours of dancing in the dark there are few places I would rather be.
Talent: if you happen to be a gay man into muscles, this is probably one of the easiest places to get laid in the world. With open sex on the dancefloor and darkrooms in the basement, the club has a famously uninhibited sexual atmosphere. For straight people Friday is probably a better bet with just Panorama bar being open and a much higher straight to gay ratio. Good looking fashionable girls and boys are the order of the day.
Toilets: there are many and are usually relatively clean. Queues for the cubicles can be predictably long. What is striking about the toilets is the absence of mirrors to scare people into going home on Sunday morning/afternoon.
Sounds: Berghain – predominantly straight techno from residents such as Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Len Faki, Marcel Fenglar et al. also recent irregular dubstep nights to put the mammoth funktion 1 soundsystem though its bass paces.
Panorama – a mix of techno and house from residents Cassy, Prosumer etc. regular label nights from labels such as Rekids, Perlon, Mood Music, Playhouse, Traum etc Panorama bar has possibly the best soundsystem I have ever heard. Some of my favorite sets here have been on Sunday afternoons, vocal house and spacey stuff to lighten the mood after hours of techno.
Goodies: a little bit of forward planning goes a long way.
Icebreaker: mochtest du etwas zu trinken?
Jawbreaker: is it just me or is this place is full of gays?
From Mano Le Tough
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Comments
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Tayor @ 26 Sep 2008 23:14been there a few times now - its been hit & miss truth personally . fridays can be a bit s-height music wise , certainly early in night anyways, both times i went it was abysmal . saturdays seems to be the big one, was there little under 2 years ago and q'ed for 2 f***n hours to get in ! was worth it though, Audion on that system , with that crowd....amazing. its a special space nothing else like it
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Forde @ 27 Sep 2008 2:41
saw the martini brothers there back in the summer, was a blast, not as much fun as watergate because of the size but simply f..cking brilliant...good music, nice people, dodgy fun etc. etc.reminded me of the opening of blade, was waiting for the blood to start dripping from the spriklers!!!easily and rightly in the RA top three!fabric my hole....
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tiddlerz @ 27 Sep 2008 2:49
easily best club in the world - pure madness
as tayor says its all about sat when berghain and pbar are open
friday at pbar on its own is nowhere near as good
loads of people get turned away - it is some relief to get past those bouncers!!! -
tbag @ 1 Oct 2008 21:11
Its without doubt one of the best places i was ever in, was only there once but cant wait to go back again.
Berghain and Panorama bar are both brilliant, love it when they open the blinds in Panorama bar...
Jerome Syndeham played 'dont you want me baby' in Berghain and the dancefloor filled up with blokes...was like the gay scene out of the simpsons..
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Deborah Kay @ 1 Oct 2008 21:37
i've been there a few times and thought it was amazing - there is a resident dj from areal records who plays there called jan erik kaiser and he is easily one of the best djs i have ever seen - he played for 8hrs in panorama last time i was there and it was an experience!! berghain is completely insane with a huge sound system and so many strobe lights that it's very easy to get disoriented on the dance floor and get stuck on it cos you cant see!!! Deadly! if you like your clubs down and dirty and liberal then get your ass there if you're in berlin!!
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Paddy @ 2 Oct 2008 19:12
My very kind girlfriend has bought me a trip to Berlin for my bday, going at the end of the month. I shall be running into this place, arms aloft, as If I were Lothar Matthaeus holding the world cup
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deckster @ 1 Dec 2008 16:26
I'm heading here this weekend, yippeeee
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conzo @ 1 Dec 2008 17:06
No matter what you do, don't walk up to the door in a group. Berghain door policy is pretty severe.
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allandbyallo @ 10 Mar 2009 16:18
LOVED IT!! Played Panorama last year while my buddy Brendon was playing Berghain. Really thought this was one of the coolest places I've ever been. Can't wait to go back!!!!
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Sledgehammer255 @ 11 Mar 2009 0:52
Can`t be as good as tripod..:)
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vibemaster123 (Guest User) @ 22 Dec 2009 0:02
My girlfiriend and I are both big techno fans from Ireland and we were really looking forward to visiting Club Berghain / Panorama Bar last weekend while on a trip to Berlin.
It was snowing on Saturday night and we made our way by train to Ostanbanhof station and from there we made our way by foot your club. On the way we met two Australian guys and a South African girl. They, like ourselves, were relatively sober (I had three beers taken) and we were all dressed normally - not overdressed or underdressed for a club.
When we got to Berghain where we joined the small que at the entrance. The bouncer spoke German to some people in front of us and allowed them to enter without incident.
He then stopped the Australian guys and the South African girl and asked them a question in German. They apologised and explained that they couldn't speak German. Once the bouncer heard them speak English he immediately refused them entry. The Australian guy asked the bouncer why they had been refused entry only to be told that the club "didn't want them there".
My girlfriend and I thought this was very strange but we waited patiently at the entry gate. When the bouncer had finished with the Australians he turned to my girlfriend and said "zwei?" (two?). She said "yes please". He then said "You speak English? You cannot enter either. Leave now." We left as he was very threatening. (He had short black hair and was wearing a green jacket on Saturday last.)
Unfortunately, it would seem that discrimination based on nationality is alive and well at Berghain.
I've been to many techno clubs all over Europe and I've never experienced anything like this.
(PS We took a taxi to Watergate where we were admitted immediately and had a great night!)
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Xavi @ 3 Jan 2010 10:49
Yes, a friend of mine was over in Berghain last month, apparently the story at the door is that you either have to speak German, look the part ie. be well dressed or just be plain lucky to get in the door.
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stefano1981 @ 5 Jan 2010 10:19
She should have used her brain and replied 'Ja'. Not too hard really.
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there for the first time last weekend.
it truly is a playground of debauchery - as soon as you walk up those stairs the beats pound in your ears and the stink of sex fills your nostrils (figuratively!)