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This might be true for very few very selective clubs like Berghain, certainly not true for all Berlin clubs. In the case of Berghain, it obviously doesn't suffe

• shiroiuma 3y ago
  >This might be true for very few very selective clubs like Berghain, certainly not true for all Berlin clubs. Perhaps, but it seems that those "selective" clubs have given a bad reputation to all clubs.
  • kodapoda 3y ago
    Berlin clubs are a scene, it's highly recommended to do prep work before going out. Personally, I would love for these clubs to be more accessible, but understand that Berghain has a very specific reputation that it works hard to maintain. It's an exclusive techno club considered by many to be the best in the world.
    • ungamedplayer 3y ago
      Prep work.. like the years of study practice pays off . What kind of prep is required to go out to drink and fund someone else's business? I will never be going as I am too old and too busy for the "scene" so please explain it to me in laymen terminology.
      • kodapoda 3y ago
        You need to know how to look and set the right expectations if you want to experience the most highly regarded techno club in the world. If you show up there with a group of drunk mates wearing sweatshirts or office attire - don't expect to be admitted. It's not that hard really, exclusive places have special rules.
        • pezezin 3y ago
          > If you show up there with a group of drunk mates wearing sweatshirts or office attire - don't expect to be admitted. Why not? I was at a heavy metal concert in Shibuya last May, and the place was full of 50-something guys in full office suits. It was a Monday, so I guess they just finished work and went directly to the concert. It was quite amusing to be honest...
          • shiroiuma 3y ago
            You're comparing apples and oranges. A metal concert isn't an exclusive club; anyone can buy a ticket and go. And yes, most salarymen in Tokyo wear office suits every day, so since it was on a Monday, they just didn't bother bringing a change of clothes. I see men in such suits all the time on weekdays doing whatever, because those are their work clothes. It's unfortunate that the rock and metal crowd is mostly middle-aged people these days; the young people seem to be listening to rather bland pop music, idol music, etc.
        • deleted 3y ago
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        • ungamedplayer 3y ago
          Dress code is an admirable expectation. I didn't even consider this to be prep work. Seems sensible. Thank you for taking the time to reply.
    • ahartmetz 3y ago
      > It's an exclusive techno club considered by many to be the best in the world. Being exclusive is really against the ethos of techno in Berlin. The "exclusivity" at the door is usually about achieving a fun mix of people and keeping out the ones who cannot behave. As an occasional clubber in Berlin, these "best" things are ridiculous. The "best" kebab place with the long queue is nothing special at all, and Berghain is, apart from the building and the (mostly gay) sex stuff (which don't do much for me) a club like many others. It's never been my favorite - the vibe can be surprisingly aggressive and the music is often not that good for my taste. I used to go there for specific acts or along with friends only. Haven't bothered for years now. Nowadays it's also become expensive, cashing in on its dubious status. There is a thing that the "best" kebab place and the "best" club have in common: kebab places and clubs are both very good in Berlin, so if you go to the one that the tourist guide / TikTok recommended, you're probably going to have a good time - but maybe you don't know that there are many other just as good or better places.
      • kodapoda 3y ago
        I don't mean "exclusive" as in a "VIP club" a-la some Miami venues. Exclusive meaning really hard to get into.
        • ahartmetz 3y ago
          Yeah, I understood after reading your other comments.
      • satvikpendem 3y ago
        I've noticed this too about things deemed "the best." They often are susceptible to diminishing returns. For example, I go to a lot of Michelin-starred restaurants, but many of them are really not much better than I could make at home. Sure, they may have more exclusive ingredients, but the raw flavor potential is not significantly increased in Michelin-starred restaurants versus those outside of that group.
        • shiroiuma 3y ago
    • nsbk 3y ago
      Anecdotal, but I have a 100% hit ratio at Berghain and have never done any kind of prep work. Most of the times bh was not even part of the plan and we would just show up there, sometimes still with the backpack from work, laptops and all. Maybe two or three of us, sometimes on my own. I think it sucks that so many people are rejected at the door, but the approach clearly works once you get inside and feel the vibe. I was rejected at Kater Blau once though, for who knows what reason. It's the way it works, if you get bumped you can get angry at the system or just forget your ego and go elsewhere and enjoy the night.
  • explaininjs 3y ago
    Bad to you perhaps, great for the people who take pride in being at "the most exclusive" places. Which is a not-insignificant amount of people.
    • Blahah 3y ago
      That's genuinely nothing to do with why the Berlin clubs with strict entry policies are great. The experience inside doesn't feel exclusive, it's beautiful - people being free and really immersed in the music, supporting and taking care of one another, creating myriad moments of connection and joy, and a very much lower rate of people being obnoxious or in conflict than in a regular club. It's totally unlike being in a club that doesn't have the same kind of entry standards, and each club has a unique culture that is upheld in part by their door staff.
      • kodapoda 3y ago
        Exactly, I feel like people who complain about this have never experienced anything close to what you describe. Strict door policy benefits the club goers. If you want to go pick up girls with some sweaty dudes looking for a fight - that's fine, there are many clubs like that in any European country, including Germany.
        • deleted 3y ago
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      • worklaptopacct 3y ago
        That's 100% the thing. KitKat for example has recently been taking hits to its reputation because there have been instances of groping in there and they've been ignored by the club stuff. Now that they let Till Lindemann in a few weeks ago even though there have been active accusations of sexual harassment against him, they are completely done for with anyone who cares. In contrast, places like Berghain are blind to fame - there have been stories of celebrities like Björk being turned away at the entrance.
        • 3y ago
  • uoaei 3y ago
    Sisyphos is selective in this way but also plays the most normie pop and house music you're liable to find in Berlin outside of maybe the couple Schlager clubs that manage to survive outside of Bayern.
• bin_bash 3y ago
  The article is literally about Berghain.
  • kodapoda 3y ago
    I don't fully follow the anecdata in this article. They mention that Berghain had to raise its cover charge to "deal with rising costs" (understandable, considering the inflation), not that they have fewer patrons.
    • hef19898 3y ago
      And even if, if one club closes down it hardly means the end of the club scene as a whole. I qm not familiar with Berlin that much, but back the day the club in Munich was P1. Now not anymore, doesn't mean others didn't take P1s place so.
• kristopolous 3y ago
  Right. It's a form of segregation. A place whose roots are in Bohemian, black, gay and trans clubs with specific focus on welcoming outcasts should be explicitly inclusive. Traveling to Asia, South America and Europe to meet with electronic artists I've never had any interest in attempting to go to the segregated clubs of Berlin. I find it offensive. There's plenty of ones that don't discriminate.
  • tern 3y ago
    Here just to share that I think "segregated" night clubs are essential for creating a publicly accessible and safe + positive vibe club experience. Your other options are (a) let anyone in and you get a**** and total dilution of cultural values (quick death of the institution) or (b) it's a private party and you're not invited. For accessible and good, you can stay on your toes and find new, smaller clubs and scenes that haven't had time to die yet, but that's its own exclusiveness: if you don't know, you don't know.
    • kristopolous 3y ago
      Counterpoint: Hacker News, CDMX EBM scene, goth scene, LA underground art scene, SF renegade rave scene, Latin bars, gay clubs like the EndUp, which have been open and welcoming since 1971, gay black scene, free software movement, gay Asian scene in any city, bear bars, salsa clubs, martial arts clubs, drag bars, anime scene, furry scene, hiking groups, Trekkies, adventurer clubs, punk scene, bicycle riders groups, astronomy groups, ball room dancing groups, central american danza cultural groups, alcoholics anonymous... Even prestigious universities have countless open proseminars where you can just walk in off the street to a graduate symposium. I've gone to many, you really just walk in the door. I'd argue the majority of cliques and scenes are extremely accepting and people self filter. Having a discriminating door guy is just being an asshole.
      • kodapoda 3y ago
        You can go out to hundreds of bars in Berlin without any door policy whatsoever. Legendary bars, cool bars, gay bars, etc. It's not like the whole of Berlin is segregated. But this approach just wouldn't benefit some popular dance clubs. Without a solid door policy clubs would be stuffed with people who come there for wrong reasons. To pick up girls, to get drunk, to visit an attraction for the sake of a visit (not because they enjoy techno music), to get into a fight, etc etc. Have you ever been to a poorly managed club? They don't have a community, don't focus on a holistic clubbing experience, have many people with really bad vibes. Would you want to stay there for a night and the next day (night time + day time raves)? > underground cliques Let's be honest, techno is not underground in Berlin, these clubs are a massive tourist attraction. Berghain is not a 50 person dive bar in SOMA.