I've been a Sugababes fan since I first heard Overload way back in 2000. It was, and still is, a pop classic. Over the years, I managed to catch them live a couple of times. The first time I caught Sugababes live was way back at Creamfields 2002. Unfortunately Siobhan had left the band by then and been replaced by Heidi, so I never got to see the original lineup. Did it matter much at the time to me? No, not at all, I was just their to party! As a side note, post Sugababes, Siobhan went on to release two solo albums, Revolution in Me in 2003 and Ghosts in 2007. The next time I saw them was at Oxegen 2008, and by then Mutya had left the band and was replaced by Amelle, leaving Keisha as the only remaining original member. It was a tad strange seeing the band with only one remaining member, but again, it was a festival and all we were looking for was a good time, which we definitely got! Another side note, just like Siobhan, Mutya went on to release her own solo work, a gr
2023-11-08 Berlin or Bust
Hallo. Mein Name ist MJ. Ich bin einundzwanzig. Ich komme aus Irland. Danke schön.
And that, dear reader, is the sum total of my ability to speak German. It should be noted that I am no longer 21. I was, many years ago when I studied German in college. Anyway. it gave my Uber Driver a good laugh!
So, what am I doing in Berlin? That's a good question. I don't really have an answer. I was browsing the internet, somehow ended up on the Aer Lingus site booking a cheap flight to Berlin. I do like to fly Aer Lingus when I can. The seats are just that bit more comfortable than Ryanair, and when you have a shit spine, it makes all the difference.
Since I booked the flight, I though I better book some accommodation. When travelling on my own, I'm not fussy where I stay as long as it is clean, safe and cheap and Space Night Capsule Hostel was just that. I could try and explain what a POD / Capsule is, but just click on the link above and you'll see.
So, what did I get up to? Well, on the first day in Berlin, I did some tourist stuff. I visited Checkpoint Charlie, took a look at some remnants of the now defunct Berlin Wall and just wandered aimlessly around the area. Later that night, I headed to Lido to catch the excellent 7ebra and Arab Strap perform. Good times! Mind you, the lighting was horrific as you can see in the photos.
Checkpoint Charlie
Berlin Wall at Axel Springer
Lido Berlin
7ebra
Arab Strap
There's so much to see in Berlin, so on day two, I continued with the sight seeing. I headed to the Museum für Kommunikation Berlin where I promptly passed out in a 60s style egg seat for an hour, only to wake up to a security guard staring at me!
From there I headed to Wilde Mathilde, a fantastic Burlesque restaurant / cocktail bar, for a spot of lunch. Unfortunately, the burlesque shows are not on mid week, so if they do interest you, keep that in mind! The food was excellent though and it's a fun place to sit and watch the world go by.
From there, it was a relatively short walk to Berliner Fernsehturm to lookout over the city of Berlin from a few hundred meters up in the air. As you can imagine, the views from that height are stunning!
After that, I had planned to go to the KitKat Club (if you know, you know) for a photography exhibition, but by this stage of the day, my back had given up and I couldn't really walk.
As luck would have it, there was a huge cinema complex nearby, so I caught a late show of The Marvels. It was grand, but no KitKat Club! Oh, one word of warning, the cinema, CineStar CUBIX, only takes German debit cards, no Visa, no Mastercard. So, for the visitor, that means cash only.
Wilde Mathilde
Berliner Fernsehturm
Alexanderplatz
My last day in Berlin revolved around finding somewhere nice to eat Currywurst, head to Kleine Nachtrevue for a burlesque show and finally, late at night, heading to the Brandenburg Gate.
So, what is Currywurst, you're probably wondering. Well, it's a local Berlin delicacy, served everywhere, but to be very blunt about it, it's sausage and chips with curry sauce. Not much different from what you'd get in you local chipper to be honest. But hey, it's a delicacy!
After gorging on that, I headed off to Kleine Nachtrevue for a great night of Burlesque. Met at the door by Sylvia, the clubs owner/hostess/boss, I'm shown to my seat and given a complimentary cocktail, non alcoholic in my case, and waited patiently for the show to start. I wasn't disappointed. The show was fun, raunchy and, when needed, our hostess spoke in both German and English, just to explain things for the non natives in the audience. There's no photos from the show unfortunately, the club has a strict no camera rule. If you're in town and like burlesque, I'd recommend the show.
It was almost midnight by now and I was flying home the next morning, but I'd yet to see the Brandenburg Gate. I hopped in an Uber and got dropped off at the site. It turned out to be a great idea. It looks stunning at night, it is beautifully lit up and there are only a handful of tourists lurking about. However, it appears to be going under cleaning or refurbishment at the moment, so much of it is surrounded by scaffolding. Still though, definitely go see it and do it late at night!
Kleine Nachtrevue
Brandenburg Gate
So that was Berlin. What did I think of it? Well, it's a wonderful city with so much to see and do. It's club life is legendary, we're all well aware of its historical significance and, compared to Dublin, it's not that expensive, or at least I didn't think so. I'd recommend signing up for Uber if you haven't already, the city is flooded with drivers. And that's it, or at least all I can remember!
Originally published 10/09/2013 on Chunk.ie So, there I was, wandering around the Electric Picnic wondering who I was going to watch next. One of the lads said he had heard good things about King Kong Company and that we should check them out, so off we headed to the Body and Soul Arena to do just that. As I mentioned in my review of the Electric Picnic, the gig was epic. I figured we just had to interview them here on CHUNK.ie, and here it is! First things first, congratulations on a storming gig at the Electric Picnic. It completely blew me away. Was this your first Picnic experience? We’ve been to many Electric Picnics over the years but just as punters, and it’s always been a great festival, so it was a fantastic experience to play at its 10 year anniversary. King Kong Company is a rather interesting name for a band, where or how did you come up with it? The name is taken from the film Taxi Driver. If you look closely, Travis Bickle is wearing a badge which says King
Every now and then I have a choice of gigs to go to... This night, I could have driven into Dublin to see Meryl Streek in the Workmans Club , or I could stay local and go see Mairead Carroll in the Moat Theatre in Naas. Well, it was a no brainer. The weather was terrible and, well, I felt terrible too, so I figured I'd stay local. Mairead has played the Moat Theatre before, but always as support, never as the main attraction. Tonight, would be her debut headline performance and she didn't let anyone down! I'm not quite sure how to describe here music. It's not folk, it's not trad, it's not country or rock... It's. well, it's very light and soft and calming. Mairead is a poet who, only relatively recently, has started putting her words to music. It's a very relaxing affair! Her songs are very personal, and, at first listen, you might think them melancholy, but then you hear the joy and the love in them, and you start to see them for what they
It's The Playing Fields Festival time again! TPFF23, it's third outing, is back and it's the same, but a little different also. For the first time, it's not just an Irish affair. The legendary Basement Jaxx headlined the Sunday night. Also, for the first time, it's under canvas. Not a big circus type tent, a more low rise, stretched canvas affair, as per TribFest a few weeks back. Given the state of the Irish summer, it was a great decision. The final difference was that I was only there for Day Two as I'd already arranged to bring my niece to see The Vamps , and that clashed with Day One. So, along with Basement Jaxx , who else was playing Day Two of TPFF? Well, we had: The Flavours Altered Lines Diversion Raging Sons Spring Break Roisin O and CamrinWatsin I think we can agree, that's a pretty good mix of rock n' roll, party time and dance music! Even under canvas, the stage was pretty big and sounded good
