Berlin Club Guide: part 2

Continued from Part 1. My attempt at illuminating Berlin nightlife a little- through my own lens of bias & preferences.

Tresor

The club with the biggest brand name in Berlin, Tresor is definitely worth a visit. They have a long-running record label and mix CD series which draws a lot of attention to the club, but the place itself doesn’t need any help. It’s housed in an enormous, partially functioning power plant in the east part of the city. The tunnel (pictured above) connects the main underground dance floor to the upstairs levels. This is actually the second installment of Tresor Berlin- the old club used to incorporate an actual bank vault (”tresor” means vault in German).

Music is almost always hard and electronic. The main room sound system and light show seems designed to drive you insane- in a good way of course. Dave Clarke was a perfect act to see here, but the enormous size of the club means that lesser-known acts can sometimes fail to pack the floor.

Expect: the Tresor logo everywhere, crunchy techno, getting lost. Grade: B-

Watergate

One of the most popular clubs in the city, Watergate is a get-there-early-or-stand-in-line destination on weekends. Normally the musical lineups are worth it alone (M.A.N.D.Y. and A Guy Called Gerald both played last week), but the location and lighting are also draws. For one thing, the club sits directly on the river, with floor-to-ceiling windows on both floors, providing gorgeous views of the water and the illuminated Oberbaumbruecke bridge.

The ceiling of the top floor has hundreds and hundreds of tiny LED lights installed behind a translucent material, sending cascading light and patterns from behind the DJ, above the floor, and back behind the bar. Hard to explain- check the panoramic view on the club’s website.

Expect:  time spent staring at the eye candy, lineups, forward-thinking music. Grade: A

Golden Gate

Golden Gate is really a different creature altogether. It’s a well-known to locals as a weekend afterhours spot, and I’m not sure the place closes at any point between Friday and Monday. The interior (and the hilarious website) are unapologetically DIY and funky. The club is not big- capacity of a few hundred- but the clientele makes up for it with sheer personality. As my good friend Matt put it, “It’s a place for freaks.”

Despite the small size and weirdo aesthetic, they do manage to bring in some good music- I’m headed there tomorrow night to see Radio Slave and Jesse Rose, among others.

Expect: intoxication, conversation, experimentation. Grade: B+

Icon

Housed underground in an ex-brewery, Icon is a long-running part of Berlin’s club scene. I love how the place looks inside- small seperated rooms, exposed brick, candles, and visual projections everywhere. However, just because it’s vibey doesn’t mean it’s for lounging. Icon hosts monthly nights from dance music labels Ninja Tune and Ed Banger, as well as having huge drum n bass guests drop by on a regular basis. The sound system fills out the space nicely, and the music from guests and residents is usually top-notch.

Expect: funk! (a rarity in Berlin), meeting new people at the bar, big name DJs in a small venue. Grade: A

More to come…I just need to get out more often!

This entry was posted on 10. March 2008 at 19:38 and is filed under Berlin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.