I am going to try and write this more like notes about a story that could be written.

⚀ On 4/8 I found my way to my first punk gig in Berlin, it was off of  Kotbusser Station though that much could be assumed I think. 

♙With the help from my only contact for the show who met me on the street, I was lead through the opening terminal of a car garage, then to the left through a metal gate and up a set of outside stairs, and then through a door and up some more stairs into long, dirty white-tiled room. 

♝The bartenders were three guys crammed in this little hand-made bar/giant cupboard. They all were stern, slack-shouldered and funny but only in a way where they would never smile. I saw them drop and smash three bottles on the floor while trying to hand them to people and every time they just shrugged their shoulders, faces mute with neither dismay or enthusiasm.

❀Stiff and sober with no friends to weave into and around myself I paced slowly through the venue having friendly but brief conversations until I really hit it off with a German girl named Janina. More about her later.

☻I only saw the last two bands play which were Good Throb from UK and Nadie from Spain. I don’t know why but I feel so uncomfortable writing about their sounds, maybe its because I have cringed so much when reading how people have described the musical acts I’ve played in. I don’t want to inflict that one anyone else

☠I think I got a rosey-tinted first impression of the Berlin punk scene because those two bands that played were made mostly all women and that always brings out a lot of women/queer people to the show. I have heard since then that it is considered by some cool guys in the scene that to bring up gender inequality in the scene is reactionary and down right uncool! (booo)

⚰Regardless I ended up having a really good time. Music began playing after the bands stop which is a pretty normal thing for someone to plug in an ipod and amateur dj for their friends after the show but it was the special German edition and I ended up being totally compelled to dance until they through everyone out at 2:30am which I think for Berlin standards is pretty early in the night.

☛ ☜