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by fleaaa 1959 days ago
I hate to say that the scene #2 in Berlin is completely nuked (big ones are relatively okay like the one you mentioned)but the small beloved venues are almost all gone which is bread and butter for the scene. If they aren't, don't think they'll survive till the end of 2022 it seems like, unfortunately.

There gotta be something to survive but I don't see any yet.. It'll be very interesting to see how scene changed after this era.

4 comments

Do you have a source for this? To me it always seemed the people running the best parties weren't making a lot of money anyway, just enough to rent some decrepit building and a few speakers. This gave me hope that they'd just start again, some time in the far future, when they can get a crowd in that pays the bills.

Obviously many of the more institutionalized, mid-sized venues will be heavily affected - on the other hand, there is less need for office space right now, so I don't think everything will be rented out soon.

The real estate scene in Berlin is very different now than it used to be. It was possible to rent a cheap place or just squat an unoccupied building, which is not possible anymore. Real estate prices have gone through the roof in the last 10 years.

I'm not sure how the new nightclub scene will look like, but I'm sure entry will cost money.

Capitalism is incompatible with counter culture. We need to get back to realising that if we try and work with the system it will destroy us, we have to work in the shadows, break laws, and create an underground again.
When I used to go clubbing in Munich entry was anywhere between 5€ and 20€ (with 10€ usually being the sweet spot cost-quality wise). Dress-code in most venues. This was around 2006-2008. Berlin at the time was considered cheap/left/alternative. Hamburg has always been dominated by no dress code, much fewer entry fees (with exceptions).

I wonder how Reeperbahn will do after Corona. It's already changed from mostly local private establishments to more and more corporate fuckery. If there is one thing people in St. Pauli hate it's corporate fuckery.

I'm going to miss ://about blank and the beloved queer parties there so much. I spent my 20's in these and got so many friends and partners. Great music, free people and superb location. The party never ended.

When the pandemic is over, we have Berghain left and what else?

I'm not completely sure if blank will actually close but if they do it's pretty likely they'll find another spot as Griessmuhle did.
I hope so as well. In the beginning of the pandemic I donated to GG, blank and a bunch of collectives organizing parties (like bordel des arts). But i doubt that this made a lot of difference.
They're planning to extend the A100 on top of Wilde Renate and ://about blank. Not sure if that's going to happen though...
Some will die and others will replace them, perhaps with a lull in time in between.

Unless something fundamentally changes in the way we “celebrate” culture. Which might be the case.

I think those clubs and new music genre’s are driven by youngsters. If new generations of youth don’t feel the need to get together and celebrate certain musical quirks together, then perhaps the nightclub/rave format will become a relic. Maybe they’ll find other ways to find each other (online, vr, I’m not a prophet).

I had fun organizing (deep) house parties in a European city in small venues while growing up :) We didn’t earn money, but damn it was fun!

Even with the advent of internet technology, nothing compares to the feeling of actually being at one of these parties. I suspect as soon as the laws become a bit more lax, there will be a HUGE resurgence, especially by the youth (like myself) who are sick of being stuck indoors
Funny... I don't think I've ever been to a #1 venue in Melbourne that didn't have a stage for a live performer, whereas #2 there are a few venues per block downtown. And I would say although places close down, they are usually replaced with new management and opened back up as a new club within weeks.

Melbourne club scene has pretty much been open for the past few months as well with no sign of a decline. The only difference now is that COVID inspectors with bright fluro jackets are walking around now, telling people to wear masks.