We are two French guys who have been…
We are two French guys who have been part of the techno scene for about fifteen years, both legal and underground, mostly between Paris and London, where I have been living for the past decade. We have visited many clubs across Europe without any problems. This was our first time in Berlin, and we wanted to experience what all the hype was about regarding its clubs and their so-called inclusivity.
We arrived at Berghain around midnight. The queue was said to be more than three hours long, so we decided not to take our chances. Watching from the gates, the bouncers barely said a word. They simply gave people a quick look and made a hand gesture, either toward the exit or the entrance. A lot of people were turned away. It seemed like a fifty-fifty chance at best. Waiting three hours only to be rejected would have ruined the night, so we moved on, thinking it was probably better to come either very early or very late.
Next, we tried Suicide Circus (Lockschuppen). There was no queue at all, so we thought this would be it. The bouncer asked if we spoke German, and I politely said no, only French or English. He then responded rather rudely in German, which we could not understand but clearly got the message. I repeated that we did not speak German, and he finally switched to English to tell us we were not welcome.
We decided to give it another go and headed to Tresor. The queue there was also quite short, so we tried our luck again. Unfortunately, it was the same story. The questions were not about our vibe or energy, only about where we were from and whether we spoke German. Once again, we were turned away.
Our last stop was Kater Blau. The queue was small, so we thought we would give it one final try. The atmosphere there was completely different. The bouncers were smiling, the energy felt welcoming, and they asked the right kind of questions. They did not care where we came from or what language we spoke. The music was slower than we expected, but the venue was great, with three different rooms and friendly people inside. We had a lovely time there.
I have always known techno to be about inclusivity and freedom, without barriers, just music. But in Berlin, it seems the scene is more about exclusivity. I will not be coming back here to dance, that is for sure.








