Never known for doing things by half, we decided to go all out and combine two festivals in one trip.

First stop…

BERLIN FESTIVAL 

Arena Berlin  (5^th-7^th September, 2014)

Day 1: 5th September

Featured: Austra, Todd Terje

Having been to Berlin last year, we were excited to see what this year had in store for us.  Previously held at the old Templehof airport, the festival offers a laid back, friendly vibe, full of opportunity to discover both new music and enjoy artists you already know in a different setting.  We were disappointed to find out (a mere month before!) that the festival had moved to be held solely at Arena Berlin (only the evening event was hosted at this venue in 2013).  However, the Berlin spirit lived on and the new setting was mostly a success, if a little hot when stuck indoors during the lovely weather.

Another change to the previous set up was a shift to the schedule so that the main day events were held on the Saturday and Sunday – not ideal when you have banked on them being on the Friday and Saturday and have therefore booked an early flight to Croatia on the Sunday!!

Anyway, moving on…

We pottered over to get our wristbands on the first day and spent the afternoon sampling the delights of the local hangouts including Freischwimmer  and Club Der Visionaere  – both perfect spots on the river – before meandering down Schlesische Straße.

Having lost all sense of time, we suddenly realised it might be a good idea to swing by the festival to check out the Friday night talent.  We arrived to see Austra, a Toronto-based electronic group (who incidentally looked nothing like any of their online images). With vocals sounding something of a mix between the haunting tones of London Grammar and striking voice of Florence Welch, it was a good introduction to this year’s music. Perhaps their most stand-out track was Lose It  and lead singer Katie Stelmanis oooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ohh-ooh-ohh-ooh-ooohed her way through the track seamlessly.

 

With Austra’s cooing finished we had a little wait before the mighty Todd Terje  so we made our way out to the mini beach outside (Arena Badeschiff) – an outdoor swimming area open to the public during the day.  Apparently in the winter this area offers two Finnish saunas and a covered pool!  Back onto Terje though – anyone that has listened to his debut album, It’s Album Time, will know that it’s pretty much impossible to listen to this man play without breaking into a few moves – this set was no different.  In an extremely low-key entrance, Terje strolled onto the stage with his keyboard and got straight down to business.  An all time favourite has to be Svensk Sås  – try to keep still listening to that! – and watching him play this was almost like watching a teenage boy in his bedroom discovering music for the first time. Awesome.  As if that weren’t enough, he then decided to whip out a bit of Whitney towards the end of his set, getting everyone wanting to dance with somebody! Conclusion?  Terje is a must if you ever get the opportunity to see him live!

As we headed home, the bars and restaurants lining  Schlesische Straße were buzzing, with people spilling into the streets and outdoor seating rammed.  This is one area that DEFINITELY comes alive at night.

Stay tuned for our write-up of Day 2….

Visit our Flickr page to see photo highlights from the festival and our YouTube channel where you can watch video extracts.
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You can also check out our Past Events page to see our music archives.

 

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