My Berlin adventure... by Alix
7th May 2007
I flew into Berlin from Bristol in the evening. After a pretty shaky landing (due to high winds) I stepped off the plane into a dark German evening complete with torrential rain (unfortunately this set a trend which continued until the day I left). Everyone else had flown in earlier in the day, so I was on my own…this was the bit I was most worried about. I had to find my way to the area where we were staying, on public transport, in a foreign country….at night. My German is pretty limited but I had done my homework, so I was prepared. I managed to buy a ticket and eventually found the right platform. I made it to Ostbahnhof without any hassle and felt quite a sense of achievement.
It was still pouring with rain as I walked down a seemingly deserted street, wondering if I was going in the right direction, in search of my fellow Ash fans. Then from out of the shadows Bryony appeared and led me to the bar where they were already enjoying a few pints of Berliner Pils. I breathed a sigh of relief and ordered a much needed pint! Several beers later I finally checked into my hostel at about 1am (after a quick detour to the nearby 24 hour McDonalds) and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
8th May 2007
Gig day! J
We all met up in the morning and set off on foot for some sight-seeing. The day was spent dodging showers and checking out the local landmarks. We had a very pleasant lunch in a great Irish bar in the centre of Berlin. After the trek back to the hostel I had a little lie down before heading back to our Berlin local for pre-gig drinks and some food. While we were there the heavens opened again. We waited for it to let up a bit, but it never did so we just had to make a run for it! (luckily most of us had been sensible enough to take a jacket ;)
The gig venue was part of a massive complex that looked like a prison from the outside. All the tour-buses etc were parked behind a big fence and closed gates. Inside the venue was actually pretty nice…three inter-connecting rooms, with a decent sized bar. I stuck to Berliner Pils or "vodka mit coca cola" since they were the easiest things to ask for. The only real language problem related to their incomprehensible token system, which I never really got to grips with. You got given tokens at the bar when you bought your drinks - you were meant to take the tokens along with the cups back at the end of the night and get a Euro back for each token. Of course during the mayhem of the gig I lost my cups and just ended up with loads of worthless tokens. Fair play to those Germans though…they are keen on their recycling and really put us to shame.
Good Shoes were the first band on. I must confess to not really taking much notice of their set. Muff Potter were…er…German! But not bad actually. However I'm sure at one stage their lead singer was taking the piss out of all us Brits in German, but we were far too drunk and having too much fun to care.
The venue was busy but not rammed, which was good for me as I was right at the front. There was no barrier so, the band were within touching distance (don't worry…I didn't…)! The German crowd was pretty reserved but we did our best to make up for it. It's just a shame that the guy who was shouting "SHINING LIGHT!" constantly didn't shut the hell up.
The set-list was:
BBB
Orpheus
YCHIA
Goldfinger
Ritual
Walking Barefoot
Polaris
ALLO
Oh Yeah
Girl From Mars
TOTI
--------------------
I Started A Fire
Kung Fu
We were also treated to a few oldies that weren't on the set-list. Angel Interceptor was dedicated to "all the people who have travelled to see us" and there was another welcome surprise in the way of Uncle Pat.
After the gig we were eventually shoved out into the dark, wet Berlin night by the scary German security. We finally managed to break into the fenced compound where the tour buses were parked by…er…..opening the un-locked gate. This was after a certain someone had tried to shimmy underneath the fence! While some of us stood around outside chatting to random members of Good Shoes a raid was made on the Ash dressing room and a load of bottles of beer were…er…liberated. Mark and Rick had a couple of beers with us but unfortunately they had to head off as they had an early flight to catch the next morning.
Good Shoes had invited us along to the bar they were heading to, so after a quick trip to the cashpoint we grabbed a couple of taxis and with the help of our new German friend managed to locate White Trash. We all had a good night and hob-nobbed with various muso types...including Gaz and Danny from Supergrass (who were in town recording). The rest of the night disappeared into a drunken haze...
Berlin is great (despite the shite weather)...if you haven't already been...GO!!! And if you do go, here are some handy hints....
Where to stay/eat/drink?
We stayed in two hostels a few streets apart in eastern Berlin - which are easily accessible from Berlin Schonefield airport.(Pegasus and Odyssee) I had a twin room to myself in Odyssee. The hostel was conveniently located within walking distance of Ostbahnhof (although not a short walk!) and a 24hr McDonalds (yes, I know they're evil but it's handy to be able to get fries and milkshakes anytime of the day or night). Pegasus was particularly handy for the gig venue being on the very same street.
We had lunch in the Irish pub called The Kilkenny and dinner in the bar attached to Pegasus. Late night drinking was done in White Trash, where there was also live music. How can you fail to love a place that has 'Fuck you fries' on the menu?!