Tonight I went out to an “Indie Pop” show at Berlin’s Mudd Club, a tiny place with the feel of a wine cellar; it was underground, with brick columns interspersed and low, vaulted ceilings. It also featured a pitch dark corridor leading off to who-knows-where (actually, in retrospect, it probably led to the bathrooms).
UK band Amusement Parks on Fire headlined. Needless to say, the show was excellent, but since I had nobody to talk to, I took on the role of resident American ethnographer. My observations follow. It’s all quite scientific.
- Estimated total numbers of attendees: 175.
- Percentage of which female: 10.
- Percentage of which smokers: 40.
- Number of chain smokers standing right next to me: 2.
- Percentage of audience members dancing: 0.
- Percentage of audience members nodding heads: 30.
- Percentage of audience members standing stock still: 70.
- Number of times I had variations of the thought, “Hey, they’re just like us!”: 3.
- Number of couples observed making out: 4.
- Ratio of words spoken by me in German and in English: 11:0.
- Ratio of words spoken to me in German and in English: 1:7.
- Minimum number of prostitutes encountered on the 10-minute walk along Oranienburger Straße back to my room: 6.
- Number of Death Cab for Cutie songs heard during that journey: 1.
- Overall fun rating of the evening, expressed as number, with 1 representing the least amount of fun and 5 the most: 4.