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Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

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Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#161
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Its about the look in your eyes. that sounds so lame tbh. i thought most people left behind this social scarcity shit after sixth form.

Welcome to the “underground” scene, where middle school level behavior is still regarded as the height of sophistication. Almost like actual adults who still sport non-drug-addled brains should run away as quickly as possible.

It is, in a sense, the opposite end of the "autism spectrum". An innate deep understanding of social cues and general empathy.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, 3 hour lines, and then they obnoxiously don’t let you in anyway, for no obvious reason. Not shedding any tears here.

This might be true for very few very selective clubs like Berghain, certainly not true for all Berlin clubs. In the case of Berghain, it obviously doesn't suffer from losing customers—your comment confirms this point.

Right. It's a form of segregation. A place whose roots are in Bohemian, black, gay and trans clubs with specific focus on welcoming outcasts should be explicitly inclusive.

Traveling to Asia, South America and Europe to meet with electronic artists I've never had any interest in attempting to go to the segregated clubs of Berlin. I find it offensive.

There's plenty of ones that don't discriminate.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#163

A few years ago I spent a week in Berlin, intending to party after having heard its reputation. The clubs were a parade of "oh, you don't know who's DJing? Can't come in" and "you're wearing a scarf, can't come in" (it was December, so cold and presumably not peak partying season). At Berghain it was something like "sorry, private event." Fuck Berlin clubs, if they want to turn down customers trying to give them mone…

Incredibly thankful for Berlin bouncers for doing their job properly, and not letting people in who think that as long as they "give money" everything should spread open for them, and who don't even bother to know what the main theme and focus on the event (who's DJing). Exactly the kind of people I'd like to avoid when partying in a techno club.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For many older people it died in the 90s. When people stopped dancing and treated the DJ like it was a concert I felt it had changed into something else. I watch some of the old VHS I took and people are crowding the speakers and the floor is alive, while nowadays so much of what I see is people all facing a DJ lit up by a spotlight and just standing their bobbing their head.

The new generation have ruined their generation being unlike the older ones, alas!

Some things do change for the worse, others for the better. Smaller, more tight knit communities, like raves were in the 80s and early 90s were, in my mind, better than the predominately business-oriented DJ-festishization parties of today. There are good parties still going on, but it's not the primary mover of the rave scene like it once was.

Kids these days may not need those scenes as much these days, since they're more open to people who are different. Much of the early rave scene was for people that didn't fit in, for whatever reason.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For many older people it died in the 90s. When people stopped dancing and treated the DJ like it was a concert I felt it had changed into something else. I watch some of the old VHS I took and people are crowding the speakers and the floor is alive, while nowadays so much of what I see is people all facing a DJ lit up by a spotlight and just standing their bobbing their head.

"it wasn't better back then, you were just younger" - unknown internet pundit

Which is why I specified for older people who lived through the early scene. Kids today will create their own unique scenes while others will milk the nostalgia of past ones.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This rings of "get off m'lawn" vibes. As a gen Z myself, I question what's wrong with "tiktok ravers" wanting to dress up and enjoy music? The whole genre will fade away if it doesn't curate to the next generation, as the originals get too creaky to dance.

I don't care. Before, people would look out for each other and treat everyone with respect, regardless of clothing and style. Tik Tok ravers tend do to the opposite. Let people die on the fucking curb, being an asshat, just go to raves to take all drugs at once. I'm no the only one who thinks that way. This is a very big debate, especially in Germany. So what's wrong with tik tok ravers? They bring their fucking cons…

I bet an exactly similar kind of oversimplified, nitpicking rant must have been made for the punk culture of your time by your elders, and the same for them, ad infinitum.

There seems to be a psycho-social aspect to these generational agitations, whatever new thing the young ones bring will always be seen in the worst possible way by their elders in every generation.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This might be true for very few very selective clubs like Berghain, certainly not true for all Berlin clubs. Perhaps, but it seems that those "selective" clubs have given a bad reputation to all clubs.

Bad to you perhaps, great for the people who take pride in being at "the most exclusive" places. Which is a not-insignificant amount of people.

That's genuinely nothing to do with why the Berlin clubs with strict entry policies are great. The experience inside doesn't feel exclusive, it's beautiful - people being free and really immersed in the music, supporting and taking care of one another, creating myriad moments of connection and joy, and a very much lower rate of people being obnoxious or in conflict than in a regular club. It's totally unlike being in a club that doesn't have the same kind of entry standards, and each club has a unique culture that is upheld in part by their door staff.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#168
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see a lot of issues with phones as many people say, but you go to KitKat on your average night and you see plenty of people dancing.

I've never been to KitKat, though I've been past it a few times. Given the reputation, I'd be surprised if they ever allowed cameras or devices with them.

They don't allow phones past the cloakroom in Kitkat, and pretty much anyone in there will immediately challenge anyone who sneaks one past. All the other clubs tend to just have stickers over the cameras, and will still kick anyone out who's seen to be videoing or taking photos.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#169

You also have tik tok ravers. A generation which built their own culture in isolation in the pandemic now flooding the dance floors not knowing anything about techno culture. For me it's a big part of not wanting to go anywhere anymore. Before, your outfit didn't matter, phones, photos and videos were discouraged. Nowadays these kids dress to impress and point there phones everywhere. They consume the techno culture…

For many older people it died in the 90s. When people stopped dancing and treated the DJ like it was a concert I felt it had changed into something else. I watch some of the old VHS I took and people are crowding the speakers and the floor is alive, while nowadays so much of what I see is people all facing a DJ lit up by a spotlight and just standing their bobbing their head.

I was standing there bobbing my head in the 90s. It's tough being a pioneer.

Re: Berlin's famed nightclubs, losing customers, face an uncertain future

#170
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. The truth is that those clubs are more elitist than the opera house.

Not true. Only the most famous ones are that selective and the opera is still many times more expensive - plus you actually need a certain dresscode at the opera.

There is no dresscode at the opera.

Most operagoers are adults, but that's about it.

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