Preview: the week ahead (29th Jul - 4th Aug)

Berlin is weird sometimes. Last week was concert-wise not totally exciting, but probably that was for the best since it was way too hot to be stuffed in a dark and sweaty room anyway. This week however brings us so many good shows that it will be difficult to decide where to go. But that's the way we like it.

Wednesday
The Soft Moon + Merchandise + Diät at Lido: Now taking place at Lido instead of Festsaal Kreuzberg, this line-up is still totally exciting. The Soft Moon already played Berlin several times and you also should be familiar with Diät by now. Both play 80s cold wave influenced music, sometimes a bit more post punk related, sometimes a bit more raw. Merchandise are also highly 80s influenced and complete the line up pretty well. This will definitely be fun!

Thursday
Moon Duo + Suuns + Generationals at Lido: Puschenfest day one and what a nice mix. Also moved to the slightly larger Lido, this is a less packed line-up than some of the earlier Puschenfests but that doesn't mean that it's less interesting. Moon Duo play psychedelic Krautrock influenced and danceable music. Suuns, who already played at the 2011 Puschenfest do something not totally different but sound a bit more garage influenced. and Generationals play fluffy and melodic guitar indie pop.

Woods + Emperor X at Berghain Kantine: I can’t help it but Woods always manage to make small come backs for me. Having loved their first two records, there have been phases in their band history where I didn’t care too much about them but every time they manage to sneak back into my playlists and I find myself at the record store, buying their newest record... Emperor X play experimental and interesting music, that's not easy to describe. It's poppy but at the same time noisy, sometimes it's beat driven and sometimes it's the opposite. Really nice package and definitely a must see!

Friday
Bohren & der Club of Gore and Julia Holter at Heimathafen: Puschenfest day two and finally, I get to see Bohren again! I'm sure you're all familiar with the music they play, it's slow (if that word is even adequate for how slow they are) and doomy jazz music. Their music is dense and dismal and the atmosphere they create during their live sets is always somewhere between depressingly dark and hilarious and funny. They're one of the most humorous bands I've ever seen and this contrast of playing serious music but not taking themselves too seriously made both Bohren shows that I saw in the past great experiences. I'm so looking forward to this - gig of the week for me! Support will be the late announced Julia Holter, she played some well attended shows during her last Berlin visit and I'm sure many people were excited when they heard the news!

Saturday
Autre Ne Veut at Escobar Sun Deck (Badeschiff): Autre Ne Veut plays an interesting version of electro pop music. Think of it as a mixture between the Knife and M83, interesting beats and high pitched vocals with weird song structures. Also very interesting location, the Escobar Sun Deck is a rather small open air location near the Badeschiff, so a nice view and fresh air are guaranteed.

Sunday
Drum Night with Greg Fox and others at bei Ruth: This sounds good although there aren't that many information out yet. Greg Fox, the drummer for Guardian Alien who used to play in Liturgy will play a solo drum show at bei Ruth this Sunday. Some more Berlin based drum artists will be joining the line-up and will be announced soon. Expect an experimental drum-based evening between "meditation explosion style"and free jazz, or probably something completely different...

Lee Fields & The Expressions at Lido: Although we normally don't feature music like this very often, Lee Fields is worth mentioning. He is a soul and R'n'B artist who's been around making music since the late 60's, he still plays groovy and catchy music that manages to not sound cheesy.