Beach House im Berlin

Last Thursday C had plans to watch the season finale of Germany's next top model and I decided I would do something...fun...instead and let her have girls night out. So I paged through Zitty (Berlin's awesome biweekly cityguide) and randomly there in the corner was a photo advertising a Fleet Foxes/Beach House show at Cafe Zapata.

I first heard of Beach House in March when I was randomly paging through another magazine...I forget the name...that H had brought along for our trip to Honduras. As I read the review I recognized the name Alex Scally and by the time we'd returned from the sun, seas and ruins of Honduras I was excited to hear them. J picked us up from the airport and had some of their songs on a mix and even at first listen I was really impressed. Alex and I went to college together not too many years ago and I was curious to hear what about their sound made the band popular at this moment.

Since April when I first heard Devotion their new album, I've been listening to it on almost constant rotation, especially on long rainy nights in Portland.

So C disappeared for Heidi Klum land and I rode the U-bahn to Oranienburger Tor in the heart of the Red Light district. 15 Euros is a lot of dollars, but I was willing to pay and grabbed a Becks from the bar before walking to within 3 feet of the stage. Soon Beach House was on and it was stunningly beautiful. They held the crowds attention with voice guitar and beat. I took a few photos along with the rest of the fashionable crowd and wondered if I'd get a chance to talk to Alex.

As the Fleet Foxes set (the headliners...also really good from 5 feet away) came to a close I started walking out and randomly bumped into Alex.

"Hey, we went to school together, you went to Oberlin right?"
"yeah, I remember a lot of faces from Oberlin."
"I guess you didn't go to the reunion..."
"no...on tour...but wow, its been four years."
"still see many people from school?"
"no, not many, I moved to Baltimore and most others moved to NY or SF"
"Yeah...same here, I'm in Portland and no one went there...but I see Toby in Seattle sometimes."
"Yeah, me too whenever I go there."
"And Tom?"
"And Tom."
Awkwardly we watched the final bits of Fleet Foxes' encore and I asked how long he was in Berlin.
"Just tonight, then Utrecht tomorrow."
"Well, alright, have fun. You guys were amazing. Good to see you."

And I stumbled out of the Cafe slowly strolling to Oranienburger Tor. I tried to reconstruct the conversation and realized that I in fact had not said "you guys were amazing." I'm not sure if I even complimented him, but I guess he knew, I was at the show...Trying to reconstruct the conversation is hard...the pauses and blaring acoustic guitar and fire breathing dragon hanging over the bar made for a glitchy conversation. Four years ago we walked across the same stage in Philipps Gymnasium in rural Ohio and here we were stumbling through conversation in a bombed out art-house in central Berlin.

Beach House opened for Cat Power in London a few nights later.

Back in the GDR

From Back In Berlin

I'm back. I left here on September 10th 2007 and now on May 30th 2008 I'm finally back. I settled right back in to Portland this fall and spring and got everything into order. But it's weird: after all that time, it somehow feels like I never left. The warm weather and sun I encountered after getting through the very relaxed customs at the airport felt just the same as it had last year when I left. Its as though I wintered in Portland's rainforest and blacktop only to return to the arid sun and cobblestones of Berlin.

It feels dreamy. I remember my way around these familiar streets pretty well, the canal looks the same with swans floating by and people and bikes whirling past. There's still good ice cream and buskers here and there plying their trade near Admiralsbruecke. The parks are so vast that you forget you're in the city and naps come easily. C's apartment is still a mix of white walls and tan wood. Invariably I always think we're at the apartment door, but no...just one more flight to go.
Of course I've brought Portland along with me this time. I've got my same old phone (which I unlocked and switched out sim cards with my old crappy Berlin phone). And work is here as well. Now that the internet's up and running its time to download more footage of high schoolers running and throwing things. And I wonder what these sunny days will bring in Portland. I'm sure fires in H's yard, croquet, horse and lava monster in that small park that no one ever seems to name (Dawson) and midnight rides from bar to bar to party. But for now its time to kick back in Kreuzberg, enjoy parks, falafel, pizza, beer and slow walks on quietly bustling streets.
The European Cup starts on Saturday and I plan on watching as many games as possible. The Germans seem to be down on this year's team, but it will be fun to watch World Cup caliber football with lots of avid fans.
I've put some of the first photos up on Picasa if you'd like to take a look. And I promise to post regularly on the blog.