- One or two eyebrows were raised when, with only a month's warning, the team behind Berlin Festival announced their annual big-name showcase at Flughafen Templehof would be moving locations, after five years of calling the beloved airfield their home. But according to organisers, this relocation to Kreuzberg's Arena Park was always part of the plan. With arenaclub (at the centre of the park) being used in years past as a satellite venue for the much larger site at Templehof, and with no official reason given for the lateness of the displacement, an assumption would be that the event was downsizing.
Comprising tourist hotspots Club der Visionaere, Arena Hall, White Trash, Ipse and Badeschiff, as well as several smaller stages and the returning Art Village, organisers perhaps felt Arena Park was ready made for their event. These pre-built stages provided by some of Berlin's most established venues, coupled with the city-centre location encompassing riverside views, beaches, a swimming pool, multiple bars, restaurants and parks, would no doubt save the festival from the logistical costs of constructing an entire site elsewhere.
Friday's main-stage programme wasted no time in getting down to business: DARKSIDE, Todd Terje, DJ Koze and Ellen Allien lined up to open Berlin Festival's new era with a bang. Unfortunately there was an annoying echo effect for many people in the 6000 m2 Arena Hall. Much of the softer components of Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington's performance were lost in the cavernous surroundings, yet it served to underline their technical abilities when Harrington's wonderful looping guitar work and Jaar's crunching electronica still climaxed together regularly, filling the space with a warmth we have come to expect from the duo.
After a quick intermission between set times (featuring an affectionate singalong to Toto's "Africa"), Todd Terje's epic piano stabs had people rushing back from bar and toilet breaks, pushing to the front of the stage to get nearer that Norwegian smile. Still, the hall never quite got going, with "Inspector Norse" and "Strandbar" failing to send everyone as wild as expected. A higher energy was pumping through the Glashaus next door, as LuckyMe's Jacques Greene slayed a more adequately sized and appreciative room, delivering acid, breaks and garage. Label affiliate Hudson Mohawke then got the younger generations attempting various twerking manoeuvres with tracks from his forthcoming Warp release Chimes and plenty of his heavy-hitting back catalogue.
A sunny Saturday afternoon at Badeschiff allowed Max Graef to coax a sparse crowd from their slumber. Graef swung enjoyably through house, jazz and engaging instrumentals, before all of a sudden people seemed to appear out of the sand for Magda's arrival in the booth. As the beach area filled up it served as an early warning sign that perhaps the space was not fit for purpose. Henrik Schwarz and Nina Kraviz played to near bursting crowds later that day, and the queues into the area would become a sore spot for many people over the weekend.
The shenanigans outside meant a low turnout at the main stage for Yello's former frontman and millionaire Swiss performer Dieter Meier, before Bombay Bicycle Club took over to perform tracks from their UK number one album Home By Now.
Despite the occasional main-stage singalong and a mild revelry outside on the beach, as we passed the festival's midway point it was still proving difficult to gauge who the majority of people had turned out to watch. Only Rustie elicited any notable intensity that night, putting aside mixed responses to his Green Language LP by slamming us back and forth in the Glashaus. Elsewhere around the site an air of idleness was developing as a disconnection between artists and audiences prevailed.
A sold out Sunday should have heightened the atmosphere, but instead it seemed to create agitation toward the festival's layout. Heavy rain had crowds rushing indoors for Warpaint and drowned out much of Andre Galluzi's time at Badeschiff, though traffic into the beach area again begun to clog as we approached Sven Väth's scheduled start. When the sunshine reappeared there wasn't a square inch of space available, and as Sven took to the decks 20 minutes late, plenty of displeased people were still queuing to get onto the beach. Back inside, Woodkid seemed (surprisingly) to have been what the main hall was waiting all weekend for, with one of the weekend's biggest receptions.
Berlin Festival seemed to have skipped any serious creativity with their venue selection, decoration or, indeed, programming. Unfortunately some of their key decisions contributed to a tepid atmosphere and some half-hearted audience responses throughout the weekend.
Photo credits: Stephan Flad (Deckchair, DARKSIDE, Sven Väth), Robert Winter (Berlin)