Unscene Berlin

R.I.P. Revaler Strasse 99. I visited Revaler Strasse 99 last week and found that it has now become home to a jaw-droppingly tacky chain of openair fast food joints. For those of you who have not been there before, Revaler Strasse 99 is a slice of old school Friedrichshain counterculture; a street that is home to musicians studios, art projects, underground clubs, at least one theatre and more graffiti than you can shake a stick at. Like Tacheles , many of the Revaler Strasse projects are (or used to be) independently run on a non-profit basis. Recent years have seen the introduction of increasingly featureless and profit-oriented ventures in the street, such as the Revalution Bar and Astra Kulturhaus . And it seems that the agenda to turn Revaler Strasse into the next Simon Dach has taken several strides forward in the past few weeks. Over-lit new doner joints drew an over-dressed, over-intoxicated crowd to its once-blissful dark last Saturday night, when I visited the area. Mean...

The RAW cafe is somewhere I only go when I'm in a special mood. It's an echoey space where every conversation that you start somehow ends up involving every person in the room. Despite its size, the RAW feels intimate because it is home to a tight-knit group of global individuals: musicians, artists and street life. You should only visit it if you're willing to go with the flow because the crowd will expect you to be a bit DIY, spontaneous and to open up. But hey, isn't that the reason why you go out in the first place? The space in Revaler Strasse (adjacent to RAW Tempel club) is utilitarian and minimal in the real sense of the word - not as a fashion statement.  So if you just want to people-watch or are looking for a specific style, you should to opt for one of the hundred or so million other nightspots in the area. There is a great open mic night on Thursdays though; the performances are so tight that it's more like watching a series of short gigs. ...