Terribly delayed - Intro to the GSC

Berlin is SO cool

The people are so friendly, but what's more, SO unique.

Everyone here has such a unique fashion sense. I'd call it hipster, but there's something so authentic about it. They wear their freak flags proud, that's for sure. They don't go half way, they are all in with their fashion statements. Hair cuts included. I wish it was socially acceptable to just walk up to people and take pictures of them. It is just THAT next level.

The subway system here is daunting. The map is huge and all the station names are so intensely German. But it's got a different feel to it. An alternative, laid back, not pretentious feel. You don't even have to buy a ticket.. it's more of a suggestion. Though if they catch you without one, apparently its a problem.

One my first night, I did the awkward alone thing for a while, then started talking to a spanish guy next to me. He invited me out for a smoke, but we couldn't use the patio so we went into the "smoking room".

In there we met an irish guy, his name is Dom. Dom is the manager of an Irish street band, and my ears perked right up. I started asking: what's the band called? How many of you? Why kind of music? I told him I used to be a band Mom, and he asked me if I wanted to be his band's Mom. He didn't say it in a flirtatious way, he meant it in the sense that they are such a mess and could use the help. I told him I'd have to meet them and then I'll decide.

His 2 band mates joined us, Kai and Merle. I chatted with them, got acquainted, then 2 more people joined us. Not in the band, Mike and Mona. I know you don't really care to hear about this faceless people right now, but there's a point to it.

Mike and Mona are not in the band, but they were going clubbing and asked me to join. I hadn't really partied since Lisbon, so I figured why not. So I joined them on an adventure.

We got onto a metro, then a bus. We talked with drunk locals, drunk tourists. And just like that, we had a place to go. I can't even say I remember what it was called, but the entrance looked like a shack on the side of a back alley. We walked through a door into a courtyard of grungy sculpture art, neon lights, and stained glass chandeliers. There was a massive bonfire burning in half an oil drum, and the faint heart beat of a rave nearby.

The bartender casually delivered drinks when she felt so inclined. She swayed and smiled and chatted happily, clearly she was in no rush to get people drunk, despite the crowd huddled around the counter.

We found a spot by the fire. Sat and chatted, people watched the Berlin punks that surrounded us. I think you call them punks? What's the term for people who go to EDM clubs? Was it even EDM? Trance? Techno? I don't know, but when we eventually made it in to the dance hall, and all I know was that there were strobbing lights, gyrating bodies, and a haze of smoke machine fog. Cool.

I really enjoyed it for the first half an hour. I did. But after an hour of pretty much the same 4 count beat playing over, and over, and over again, I was ready to go back.

I can imagine it might be pretty great for someone on drugs, but with 2 beers and a bit of a joint, I wasn't quite vibing at the level of the room.

At some point a random guy all rushed us outside to witness the "pink moon". He counted down the time and everything. But as the time approached, he turned his back to the moon and started talking about who knows what. I don't know.. because I was busy looking at the moon.

Clouds rolled in pretty quick, blackening the sky and forfeiting any chance of me witnessing the moon turn pink, if it actually did.

We went back in, bobbed and swayed some more. I was exhausted. Having not slept the night before, I was running on fumes, and even those were running out.

I told them I was ready to go. They weren't, but eventually we made our way out of the thudding cave and into the night. I was so ready for bed.

We got in around 5. I got into bed, and since the sunlight was already coming through the wall of window, I strung up my blanket and towel creating a cocoon of slight darkness and warm silence. Earplugs were a key ingredient in that remedy, because I knew it was only 2 hours or 3 before people started to wake up and rustle around.

I woke up fresh faced around 11, oh, that hard life. I got into the main courtyard and ran into Merle and Kai. They were rolling out to busk for the day. But I needed breakfast, and to prepare myself to meet this band.

I ended up finding them a few hours later playing in the city by a big fountain. I sat to appreciate, and was so pleasantly unsurprised. I say unsurprised because I didn't expect them to be bad, but they were SO good.

I stayed for the set, then rolled around the city with them until they found another spot to busk, and sat down again. I should mention that the band is much more than just them. There's Merle on the fiddle, Kai on cymbals, Spud on guitar, Scally on Cajon, Johnny on the mandolin, Nahuel on sax and Pauly on guitar. Vocals is pretty much distributed throughout the band. And the band is called Galway Street Club. Solid people, you should check them out on the internets. I feel like they'd be really popular on the east coast (of Canada, possibly even the States).

I watched them play in 3 different spots that day. Every time it got better. More lively, more crowded, more entertaining.

By the last place, people were dancing with no reserve. Everyone, EVERYone was just having such a good time. The vibe was so high it was infectious. You couldn't help but smile. People danced, they whistled and hollered and tossed themselves around with no hold back.

That's when I encountered my first "freedom". A freedom, according to the band, is a person that went on a drug trip and never came back. They are potentially homeless, but mostly just unburdened by the rules of society. They are mostly often drunk, say what they want, usually in a loud, usually angry voice. They dance how they so please, usually very inappropriately. They are usually accompanied by a trolley, and a bottle of some kind of booze, which most times end up being broken somehow. In my time with the band I witnessed many. One even pissed himself while dancing to the music, then walked off to the side to lay down in the sun and let his pants dry.

I'll spare the details on the rest of the night. Mostly because I don't remember them. We hung out, got drunk, and made it home safe.

I will tell you, though, about the point in time where the group of us ran through the streets at night trying to escape a guy so wasted he couldn't speak straight, never mind stand in one place. We told him to stay at the hostel. He asked to join us but he was so obviously over-intoxicated there was no way we were taking responsibility for his case. He followed us out, Dom tried to convince him to go back, and suddenly, the group was bolting in the opposite direction of where he was.

It was almost like being chased by a zombie. The way he ran, the way we hid in the bushes, the adrenaline pumping through me as we sprinted across the darkened park. It was all very exhilarating. He caught up to one of the guys, who told him to go back, and then he said all he wanted was a lighter. So he was given a lighter, and turned around and calmly walked in the direction of the hostel. Oops.

I felt bad, honestly. But he was so far gone I did not want the responsibility of him, and neither did anyone else.

That night I was torn. I had a flight booked in 2 days time, but I wasn't ready to leave. I knew I had to be here with these people. There were things I had to experience with them, reasons I had to stay that I did not know just yet. Kai talked me through it, and by the end of the night it was decided. I'd postpone my flight, and cancel my travel plans with Sean.

As soon as I made the decision, I felt weightless. I was happy and my soul was excited. And so began the adventure of my time as band Mom to the Galway Street Club.