Berlin August 2009

and below you will find pictures from the second part of my trip to Northern Europe. The Baltic was fantastic, and after moving around for a while I was ready to spend 10 days in this city, and with a small detour to Potsdam (considered by some as being part of Berlin) and Dresden. If you want to see what happened when East and West Germany got reunified, then Berlin should be part of your itinerary.

I'm guessing the older generation still thinks of Germany as the East and West, because you still can hear people talking about "how East Germans do things" or "how West Germany had to ...", but with the new generation slowly those divisions are disappearing. If the East used to be gray and depressing - as I was told - then today East Berlin is colourful and vibrant.

I must admit it is interesting, coming from Canada, to see everyone carrying and drinking their beers in the metro, streets and anywhere they feel like it. Berlin does have a type of bohemian feeling, mixed with the punctuality, organization and perfection so known of the Germans.

Loved the fact almost every single area of the city has a cycling paths, and we are talking nice paths, and I must say one of the best ways to see the city is by bicycle - rent one if you go and if it is Summer of course.

Finally, the surprising thing for me was the fact the city is not as expensive as I thought is going to be, which was a bonus, and probably that is why I needed to go in rehab when I returned to Montreal due to the quantity of beer consumed during those 10 days.

Read Review of Berghain Panorama

The Nature of Things?

Stereo - Reopening - Labour Long Weekend

I remember the last time Stereo got raided by the Montreal police, David Morales was spinning and they kick everyone out of the building - I remember feeling depressed because I didn't know what was going to happen to my beloved second home.

Then I remember when I was told Stereo was in flames, couldn't believe this was happening - how could someone do this to the place I love? Ana Paula was supposed to play at Stereo for her first time at Pride, scheduled almost a month after this incident, I still had hopes the place was going to be up and running by then.

Everyone knows what happened afterwards, rumours after rumours of what was happening, when it was reopening, and that perhaps we would never see the giant disco ball again.

On September 3, Stereo will reopen its doors, and everyone probably is thinking "will it be the same as it was before?". The chances are Stereo won't be the same thing, and it can't be because that would mean that everything stays the same. We change, places change and the clientele will most likely change.

For the longest time most of Stereoheads waited patiently for news about their second home, and we never got them, and when we finally heard about it, it was a vague memo, and as I wrote before, probably too little too late.

I love Stereo, and many of my most incredible evenings of dancing have occurred at the Temple of House Music. I have travelled to many places, and I still haven't found a place where I feel as I used to fell after walking those magic staircases, that took me under the giant disco ball.

After waiting for so long, Stereo will finally reopen, and I'm happy about it, because if the new Stereo is able to make people feel like I did in the past, then they are going to have such a great time, and the word will continue to spread around the world, people will continue to talk about this club in Montreal that make people feel like no other place can.

You will for sure read reviews about my evenings of dancing at the Temple of House Music, and I promise I will try not to compare the new Stereo with the old one, but please forgive me if I do. Not sure about their new Saturday concept of not advertising who the headliner of the night will be - rumours have already began: "David Morales?" - "No, he is in Ibiza" "what about Chus & Ceballos?" You get the point, now it will be guessing after guessing, and only time will tell us if this new formula will work for the new Stereo.

The question now is, are you going to the new Stereo in its reopening weekend? or are you going to wait until the new Stereoheads take possession of the place?

The Baltic Sea - July 2009

As most of you know, in July I did an Atlantis cruise in the Baltic sea, and I did promise some pictures. Visited cities such as Copenhagen, Warnemunde, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm.

The best of all was not the amazing cities that I visit, or the incredible history I was able to absorb, but the people I met during those fantastic days. Never again I will see the Baltic sea as I used to, for now and ever it will always be special to me.



In a few words, I was impressed by the genetic architecture of Copenhagen, by the medieval feeling of Tallinn, by the punctuality of the German trains, the potential of St. Petersburg, the organization of Helsinki, and the beauty of Stockholm.

Soon I will post the pictures from Berlin, Potsdam and Dresden.

Kat Coric 40th Birthday @ Parking

Patrick Guay and Stéfane Lippé will be in charge of the music to help to celebrate Kat's birthday this coming Saturday. No guess list, no purses, dress code WOOF.

More info:

The campaign and party are billed as an inclusive community manifestation and Montrealers are invited to participate and vote for the HIV charity that they feel needs the most financial assistance. "..Parking Nightclub is pleased to host Kat Coric's birthday party and to encourage community activism by donating proceeds of the event to a needy HIV charitable organization.." stated club owner Greg Thibault. Proceeds from the birthday party as well as 100% of the donations received will benefit the charity that receives the most votes. Eligible organizations must be registered Quebec HIV charities.

“…Having lost friends to HIV, I have naturally adopted the cause as my own. That is why I am appealing to everyone to open his or her hearts and be generous and more importantly sensitive to the plight of those affected by this disease. Get involved; vote, and donate what you can. Come out and party with us at Parking on August 22 because it will be a night to remember…”stated Coric.
Vote now: kat.coric@gmail.com

Berghain & Panorama Bar - Berlin - August 8, 2009

Some people told me to get there early, and I thought early was midnight, never thinking they were referring to 11:00pm or so - by 12:30am I arrived and couldn’t believe what I saw, the line up was more or less 1.0km long, if not more. It took me 1h30 to get in, and not because I waited in line, I did for a while, but when in Rome do like the Romans do, and I saw many people just walking up to the front, so did I, and what a mess that is .. Until you get closer to the entrance, when a metal fence (now I know how the cows feel) forces you into the main door in an organized fashion.

Then you have to confront the bouncers, which with a gesture can let you in, or just move you to the side and tell you to wait, or just to go away. Don’t even try to talk back because then you are more likely to be banned for the night. Didn’t have any trouble in getting in, and once I paid the cover (€ 14.00) walked into what looks like an abandoned industrial building, full of lights and amazing music playing upstairs. The place is gigantic, and concrete is the main décor - big blocks of concrete have been split in two, added some cushions and voila, you have a nice sofa to rest your body. There is a large bar in the ground floor, and behind it there is dark room (most of the bars I visited in Berlin had a dark room), and if you are not into what happens inside, don’t even go there.

Walk yourself thru the big metal staircase that takes you to Berghain and this is when the craziness starts. Don’t even ask me how many people were there, and the human heat just hit you on the face. You look at your left and there is one room, you look to the right and there are more rooms, you look everywhere and always it seems there is a hidden corner. If you see a staircase just take it because you want to know what is going on up there.

There was this big room beside the main dance floor, with a blueish ceiling (simulating as if it had a skylight), and once I got in, I noticed 2 big swing sets, one of them the normal bench style swing, and the second one a big square that could hold 8 people or more. People were just there, swinging back and forth, either resting or having a nice conversation. I couldn’t help and had to join the fun - it was really kind of cool and funky at the same time.

The main floor dance floor (Berghain) is the gay one, but I would say 40% was gay and 60% straight. There are 2 main decks, one embedded in a room, and the second one I think is built as needed. Anyway, both were being used the night I was there, one DJ would finish his/her set and the other would began right away in the second deck. The light man is placed strategically in another platform at the end of the staircases that leads you to the Panorama Bar (the straight one). Didn’t spend too much time at Panorama, but basically is the same concept, and this one also has some hidden rooms attached to it.



What about the music? Divine, it was techno in all its incarnations, and the beats would go for the hard industrial techno to the soft minimal tech that I love so much, and everything in between. It was hard to keep still either because the music, or because you wanted to check out what was going on in the other areas.

DJ schedule for Berghain: Paul Kalkbrenner, AGF + Delay, Thomas Muller, Ellen Allien, Feadz 2000 and One + Shinedoe. Unfortunately I’m unable to tell you who was who, but what I can tell you is that I liked the music - I was ready for some techno and that is what I got.

It was probably around 6:00am, I was downstairs talking to this girl from Berlin about the Stereo club in Montreal (both clubs have in common that no cameras are allowed in), when I heard a melody that I recognized from Brazil, I excused myself and told her I had to go upstairs, and as soon as I got up, the voice of Simone singing came out rocking from those giants speakers:

“…Caminhando e cantando

E seguindo a canção

Somos todos iguais

Braços dados ou não

Nas escolas, nas ruas

Campos, construçoes

Caminhando e cantando

E seguindo a canção

Pelos campos há fome

Em grandes plantações

Pelas ruas marchando

Indecisos cordões

Ainda fazem da flor

Seu mais forte refrão

E acreditam nas flores

Vencendo o canhão...

Vem, vamos embora

Que esperar não é saber

Quem sabe faz a hora

Não espera acontecer…”

If you listen to this song in a non club environment, it might not do too much to you, but when you are in a party, at 6:00am and vibe is just getting out of control, there is no way you can not feel this song.

Really cool crowd, a mix of everything and anything, lots of locals and lots of tourists, but everyone conforming to the vibe of the place, which basically was you do whatever you want to do, and that was to dance. Did not notice too many f*cked up people, mostly were drinking beer (no last call).

Got the chance to meet some locals, friendly bunch, at least at this place, and I really enjoyed my evening. Stayed until 9:30am and left because my legs were just killing me. Even when I was leaving the place, there were still people coming in (no more line up), and I really thought about returning in the afternoon, but decided to go to a museum instead.

If you go to Berlin, and you like Techno, do yourself a favour and get your ass to Berghain & Panorama bar, get there early in order to avoid the huge line up, but even if you have to wait, it will be worth it - conveniently located close to the train station. Montreal might have the Temple of House music, but Berlin has the Techno one. Turn your dreams into reality in one night of good dancing, and don't forget to go home.






and here are some videos from my trip to Berlin

Happy Pride Montreal

I'm still trying to find myself, but here are some of the parties for tonight. On top of that, there are many things happening in the Village (more info @ http://fiertemontrealpride.com/home.htm)

(((Stereo))) 104

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, August 15, 2009

One of the world’s legendary clubland hotspots, Montreal’s STEREO, will re-open its doors once again this Labor Day Weekend, from Thursday September 3rd to Monday September 7th, announcing an extravaganza of festivities over a five day affair. Grammy Award winners Sharam from Deep Dish, and Roger Sanchez will join the star studded line-up along with Angel Moraes amongst others.

The Stereo team has worked diligently around the clock for the past eight months, on the new face of Stereo, after a fire in July 2008. Keeping true to the essence of “a club for the people” and maintaining its original history and architectural shape, as well as upgrading and adding finesse to its sound-system and interior decor. Upgrades include a new live staged format for live bands of all genres with seating, creating a modern yet intimate feel. Stereo will also be eco-friendly by being a “full green club” using re-purified water and recycling methods; where party people can make their mark on the dancefloor, not on the environment.

With this in mind, you can expect to see a revitalized nightlife for Montreal, kick starting this Labor Day weekend with the re-birth of Stereo; where once again DJ royalty may play to a crowd with no boundaries; regardless of color, age, or sexuality – it’s the ultimate DJ’s playground. Looking back on the history of Stereo, international DJ and Grammy Award Winner, David Morales who previously owned Stereo for six years, was renowned for his 16 hour sets at Stereo “La Vie en Stereo”.

On Thursday September 3rd, one of the original pioneers of Stereo, Angel Moraes will grace the decks for the opening night, to pay tribute to the legendary nightclub that he built 11 years ago. Moraes plans to play a ‘Stereo anthology’ showcasing all the musical highlights from those memorable Stereo nights, as well as some new gems! There will only be 800 exclusive invites issued for this night so you have been warned!

Friday’s event will be an array of midget cowboys, and ‘get wild dancers’ as part of the exclusive Sharam (Deep Dish) Get wild Live show, featuring renowned singer Anousheh Khalili; with additional support from rising superstars, Sultan and Ned Shepard, showcasing its live staged venue, with special layout and audio set up which configure by a flick of a switch!

Introducing Stereo’s new Saturday concept, Saturdays at Stereo, we will see its traditional ‘staple’ nights return, all with a mysterious edginess every Saturday of the month! Expect no advertising about this night’s lineup - just come for the classic quality music played by a surprise hi-profile guest Artist. All will be revealed on Stereo’s dance floor….

Heavyweight DJ/ Producer Roger Sanchez will play a marathon set on Sunday September 6th, marking his long awaited return to Stereo, and of course not letting us down, but spilling over into the following day, with the final event on the waterfront of Montreal’s old port in association with Neon. Artists include Tiga, Adam Beyer, Clive Henry (Peace Division), Audiofly, Martin Buttrich Live, Jordan Dare to name just a few for this outdoor event.

Once again the sound system that became famous the world over will shake the walls at 858 St Catherine St. With a combination of a sleek new design and the best of the original concepts, Stereo promises to deliver what its best hailed for; creating yet another chapter in dance music history!

For more information on Stereo Nightclub please visit:
www.stereonightclub.net

Pra não dizer que não falei das flores

"Pra não dizer que não falei das flores" (original name) is the song I'm in love with right now. First time I've heard it was at Berghain & Panorama Bar in Berlin a couple of days ago. I was downstairs talking to someone when I heard the melody, I recognized the song and dashed to the second floor, got there and this is when the tunes just splashed all over the floor. I get goose bumps just thinking about it, and let me tell you I was in heaven - haven't been able to find the actual remix I've heard, but this one comes close enough - DJs in Montreal, take note because you should be playing this song right now.



not enough? There are a couple of versions floating around, and here is one of them


Reboot - Caminando

Christian Malloni - Aqua ardiente

I'm still jet lagged, and have only slept 4 hours in the last 48 hours, so until them, listen to this tune.


Christian Malloni-Aqua ardiente

Patius is still in Berlin

My apologies guys, but I've been enjoying my vacation too much. Too many things have happened and I wish I could write about everything, and maybe I will, but only when I return to Montreal. I wish I could upload some of the many pictures I have taken so far, but all the internet cafes around the city do no allow any kind of upload. Don't worry, i will post everything when I return.

Patius on his way to Berlin

Once I get to Berlin I will upload some pics from my Baltic trip - what can I say, it has been just incredible so far.