Unscene Berlin

So: you're new in Berlin, or just visiting for New Year's Eve?  Welcome... and good luck! Foto by: fuckyeahanarchopunk.tumblr.com New Year's Eve in Berlin can be an overrated and overpriced experience, but only if you read too much into it. As in most cities, there are lesser-known parties which turn out to be amazing while many of the massively overhyped parties fall short of the value suggested by their price tag.  In this post, I aim to help you decide which is which. But, before I get around to talking about the actual parties, here are a few general tips on doing New Year's Eve in Berlin.   Don't Get Bombed In this city, the end of the year party always goes off with a bang... just maybe not in the way you were hoping for.  If having fireworks aimed at your face by a laughing Chav who's swinging a bottle of peppermint schnapps in his free hand sounds like fun, you'll venture out into the streets between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. on December...

There are two reasons why I haven't been blogging regularly about Berlin's party scene lately: one good, one bad.  The good reason is that I've been extremely busy plugging away at a book about the rise and fall (and rise again) of London's underground party scene.  I will be publishing that novel in E-book format this spring, with free excerpts and a special price for all Unscene Berlin readers.  Stay posted for updates! The 'bad' reason is that, to be honest, nothing much has changed in Berlin's party scene in a-g-e-s.  There are still tons of parties in Berlin every weekend, and they are still as cheap and liberal as ever, but the sound hasn't changed.  The DJ's haven't changed.  The venues and party names haven't really changed very much either.  Thrill-seeking novelty-junkies like myself are hard-pressed to find a fix in this town, these days.   I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a bit of consistency, but wh...

Right: Dancers' feet at open air party in Berlin, June 2010 I had an interesting question the other day from a group of English tourists. They asked me where they could go to find an illegal warehouse party in Berlin. The group's spokesperson clarified: "We sometimes go to these parties in Brighton . They aren't advertised and they're usually pretty filthy but the music is way better than it is in a club." He was talking about free parties , (or squat parties, as they are also known). After thinking about it for a few minutes I realized something: there aren't that many free parties in Berlin. There isn't much of an illegal party scene here at all - not in the winter, at any rate.

At this time of year, when the solar cycle gets to its darkest point, I empathize deeply with the angst that our ancient ancestors felt about the winter solstice. They saw midwinter as a time when the sun almost died. As darkness edged up on both sides of the day, they thought the light might disappear for good and frantically paid homage to their goddesses and gods in the hopes of bringing it back. When the days finally stopped getting shorter, a frenzy of celebration ensued - hence the traditions of Silvester, New Year, Hogmanay, et al. Logically, I may understand that the 'death of the sun' is caused by the Earth tilting on its axis; I may also understand that the solar system is still functioning and the summer will return, but I still feel my ancestors' creeping dread as the days get shorter. Clearly there is some deeper, primal consciousness inside me that can't be reasoned with. This embedded instinct only seems to recognize the fact that the light is missing...