Unscene Berlin

When people arrive in this town - particularly when they take one of the alternative tours  that I organise - they usually ask me where the best parties are to be found in Berlin. As anyone who's lived in Berlin a while knows, it is a hard question to answer. That's because the best nights tend to be quite nomadic, which makes them hard to pin down to any single venue. Berlin's best  club  nights tend to be more like word of mouth 'name brands' that move around from place to place, never staying in one spot for long. There's a reason why there are so many floating (as in, on a boat) parties in this city, people, and it's got more to do with ease of transport than it does with any desire to be seen "yacht clubbing it"! Tal der Verwirrung is an excellent example of this: a trippy, downtempo party that plays slow, disco house and trance, it has moved around to at least three venues in the past five years, and probably more that I'm unawa...

Last weekend, I was working on the Mein Floor bar when a tall guy leaned over the counter and waved at me. I asked him to wait his turn because I was busy serving a few other customers but he kept waving. I tried to ignore him so I could concentrate on those other guests, until my colleague tapped me on the shoulder: "That guy wants to speak with you." I turned and saw the tall guy was still there, waving. "What's up?" I asked. "I'm sorry if I'm making stress… I'm just kind of high and I wanted to say something." "And that is...?" I asked, as patiently as I could. "What happened to MY Meier?" he cried. "I want MY Meier back. You know what I mean?" Yes... kind of.  There are as many Mensch Meiers as there are people that come to this club - that's what sets the place apart. The door crew doesn't expect everyone to dress in black or suspend all of their personal quirks to wait mutely ...