April 2010

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19th-25th April – What’s On This Week

20. April 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch, Goldman's Bar, Music by Paul | 1 comment

Marta collicaFirst of all, we hope all you travellers out there are getting to your destination, whether it is making your way home or otherwise. Those of you who have made to Berlin, have a number of great things to look forward to this week, both at The Circus and elsewhere in the city. As usual, our Director of Entertaining the People, Andrew Rowley, has put together a great programme of events here at The Circus, as well as his recommendations for the week in the city…

@ The Circus

Tuesday – Goldman’s Bar plays host to Champions League football (Inter vs Barcelona) and then a DJ set from ED2000 (Electro Groves)

Wednesday – Lady Gaby’s Underground Arts Tour, to Kruezberg, Neukoln and Wedding, leaving at 2pm from The Circus Hostel. In the evening Goldman’s Bar is showing the Champions League semi final between Bayern Munich and Lyon. Over at Fabisch at The Circus Hotel it is Aperitif, with finger foods, fine drinks, and tunes from DJ Frau Brex

Thursday – Live Music at Goldman’s Bar from Sarsaparilla (Sci-Fi Folk).

Friday - Live Music at Fabisch from Marta Collica (alternative ballads – SEE PHOTO).

Saturday – Preston’s Berlin On High tour, showcasing some of Berlin’s most memorable views, leaving at 2pm from The Circus Hostel. In the evening at Goldman’s Bar is the one and only, legendary, infamous Circus Karaoke Klub.

Sunday – Live Music at Fabisch from Gosia Winter (gypsy folk)

In Berlin

20/04- Huxley’s Neuewelt (21:00) : John Butler Trio (Folk/Roots/Blues) – These guys are fairly popular in Australia and after playing the festival circuit for many many years are now enjoying some mainstreem susscess ( in an indie kinda way) – Imagine this to be particularly interesting for any Australian backpackers in town.

21/04- Schokoladen (21:00):  Bernhard Eder & Band ( Indie, Acoustic) – This guy performed at Fabisch last week and he was great. Highly recommend seeing him. 

24/04- Babylon:Mitte (20:00):  ” The death of Bunny Munro” - Musician and former longtime guitarist of The Bad Seeds Blixa Bargeld  takes on the challenge of delivering excerpts from Nick Cave’s melancholic new book.

The Circus Library @ Fabisch

19. April 2010 in Berlin, Books, Circus Hotel, Fabisch by Paul

fabischLibrary2Over the last couple of weeks we have made a new addition to Fabisch…The Circus Library. The idea was to provide a space for relaxing, reading and listening, and as such we have put together a selection of books, magazines and an audio library that we hope people will find interesting.

There is a selection of materials on Berlin…from history to fiction and culture, including novels by Isherwood, Döblin and Kästner. The second section of the library is what we describe as “Inspirations”, which means travel writing, philosophy, politics, history, novels and poetry, that may or may not have a connection to Berlin and Germany, but that have inspired us in some way.

FabischLibrary3

Also in the library are two iPods, which we have loaded with playlists created by members of the Circus team. Some of the selections are musical, such as Andreas Digel’s top albums of the past decade, or tunes which provided the soundtrack to Jim’s childhood in sunny, soulful Stockport. Other playlists include poetry, comedy, documentaries and other aural treats…in the library there is a small booklet that explains who picked what for their playlists, and why.

FabischLibrary1At present the majority of resources in the library are in English and German, with a small section of books in Spanish and French, but we hope that over time the library will develop, as we add suggestions from staff and guests. So if you are in the mood for a quiet afternoon with a good book, a provocative magazine, or the sound of Andreas Becker reading the poems of Mascha Kaleko, then Fabisch is the place to be.

The Beier Collection – A Photographic Diary

16. April 2010 in Art, Circus News, Photography, Stuff We Like by Digel | 1 comment

beierA nice picture, and a nice story. Manfred Beier was a teacher and a photographer, who took tens of thousands of photographs during his life of both the two Germanys that emerged following the second world war. When he died in 2002 he left his collection of over 60,000 negatives and slides to his family, who worked with the National Archives in Germany to make this wonderful record of everyday life in the two Germanys available to the general public.

On the website you can see more of the images, including photographs and 8mm films…well worth checking out for a glimpse of a Germany that no longer exists.

Jared at the Sage Bar School

15. April 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Fabisch by Jared | Comments closed

barschuleberlin_header(Last year our bar manager Jared took a course at the Sage Bar School in Berlin, which was five intense days of bartender training, the results of which you can taste in Fabisch every time you order a drink. Here is his report of what he learned…)

The first thing I learned during the five days at the Sage Bar school is what Berlin is like if you wake up at eight in the morning. After years of working bars at The Circus, it was a revelation to discover that in the daytime the trams are full, and that people in Berlin actually go to work for a living. In between these revelations I also learned plenty about bar history, the different types of alcohol, speed mixing and cocktail building.

The course was led by David Wiedemann, an extremely knowledgable and good teacher, who was a fountain of information about all aspects of working the bar. During the week we learned about cocktails and drinks from the beginning on, including the history of cocktails – and the unique role played by prohibition in its development – the fermentation and distillation process, how different types of bars require different approaches, and then of course the drinks themselves.

The attention to detail was truly impressive, from the discussions about all types of equipment to what kind of ice shovel to use, to the detailed courses on different types of alcohol, including vodka, cachaca, tequila, gin, cognac, brandy, whisky and whiskey, as well as likore, bitters, amaro and champagne. Phew! By the end of the week we were tested on what we had learned, both written and practical, including a speed pouring test and well as cocktail building.

All in all it was a fantastic learning experience, and give me much to think about when it came to our drinks offer at Fabisch. For those who can read German, you can find out more about the Sage Bar School and their courses, from one-day workshops to six-month programmes, on their website.

New at Goldman’s Bar: Word Express

14. April 2010 in Circus Hostel, Events, Goldman's Bar by Paul | 1 comment

Flyer for Word Express, april 2010Coming to Goldman’s Bar this Friday is Lady Gaby, who is presenting her new night of spoken word and poetry performances, WORD EXPRESS.

FRIDAY NIGHT, 16th April at 10pm
@Goldmans Bar, Circus Hostel,
Berlin Mitte
free entry

opening night Special guests: My English Class

be prepared to be spanked over the ears with Berlin’s English Class wit, poetry, sarcasm and stand up comedy!

James Harris, Niti Dhingra and Jacinta Nandi are three members of English-language Berlin-based comedy superstar troupe “My English Class.” Filthy, entertaining, challenging, satirical and witty. They do knob jokes, too.

‘So Bring your notebooks along and in between songs and performances, take some notes!’

Activities for an April Week in Berlin

13. April 2010 in Bars, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Events, Fabisch, Goldman's Bar, Music by Paul | 2 comments

misskenichiGreetings blog fans! It is a sunny day in Berlin, the first blossom is appearing on Weinbergsweg and slowly but surely the Berliners are thawing out and remembering what it is like to have a good mood. Sitting at tables outside cafes the sun hits those facial muscles and ever so slowly the first smiles of 2010 begin to form.

But we are always in a good mood, whatever the weather (ha!) and as ever we have a load of things going on at the Circus this week. If you scroll down, you can also see Andrew’s selection of tips for stuff happening elsewhere in the city.

@ The Circus

All kinds of things from tours to spoken word events and live music – including Miss Kenichi (see photo). Here’s the lowdown. For those who aren’t sure what is where, you will find Goldman’s Bar at The Circus HOSTEL, and Fabisch at The Circus HOTEL:

Tuesday (MUSIC) – Club Night with DJ Patrice @ Goldman’s Bar
Wednesday (TOUR) – Lady Gaby’s Underground Arts Tour, 2pm @ The Hostel
Wednesday (DRINKS & SOUNDS) – “Aperitif” – Drinks, Fingerfood and Music, 7pm, @ Fabisch
Thursday (PERFORMANCE) – Juggling Performance and class for anyone who wants to try, 10am @ The Hostel
Thursday (CULTURE) – “Das Kulti” language school presents a cultural exchange, theme: Palestinian Food and Music @ Goldman’s Bar
Friday (SPOKEN WORD) – “Word Express”, spoken word and performances, hosted by Lady Gaby @ Goldman’s Bar
Friday (MUSIC) – Live Music with Miss Kenichi (Lofi Indie Pop), 10pm @ Fabisch
Saturday (TOUR) – Berlin on High – Memorable views of the city with Preston, 2pm @ The Hostel
Saturday (EAR DAMAGE) – The infamous, legendary, sparkly and downright euphoric “Karaoke Klub” @ Goldman’s Bar
Sunday (MUSIC) – Live Music with Rebecca Olmsted (Acoustic singer-songwriter), 9pm @ Fabisch

In Berlin

Anyone remember the children’s television show “Why Don’t You?”? Half-term would not have been the same without it. Anyway, here’s what is going on this week in Berlin:

Tuesday – Clarchens Ballhous (22:00)  Tango Party
Wednesday – Tresor Bonito House Club (24:00) (Half price entry for circus Guests, see Goldmans bar staff for details) and/or Soupanova (20:00) Sarsaparilla ( Sci-Fi-Folk)
Thursday – Konrad Tonz (21:00) Australian Music – Jimmy Trash
Friday – Ruder Club – (Electro/Techno party – Free entry for Circus Guests – see our bar staff for details)
Saturday – Berghain (24:00) – Klubnacht ( Marcel Fengler, Norman Nodge) and/or  SO36 (20:00) – Sepultura  (live)
Sunday -  Kaffee Burger (21:00)  Golden souls Disco ( Soul, Funk)

That’s your lot…now why don’t you turn off that computer, and go and do something less boring instead?

The Newest Member of the Circus Family

12. April 2010 in Circus News, Stuff We Like by Paul | 1 comment

Thomas JamesAnd here he is…unlike his big sister, Thomas James was impatient to join the world, and did so on the 10th April. Mama Willemien is a little bit tired, Papa Jim (who is one of the owners of the Circus as well being king of the podcasts and the crazy tours) is so excited he forgot about the Bayern match already, and Josefine is looking forward to having a little brother to play with.

All of us want to wish congratulations and say a big well-done to Mama and Papa, and of course a hearty welcome/willkommen/welkom to the newest member of the Van Dreven-Hadfield clan.

Mr Goldman and his Bar

9. April 2010 in Bars, Circus Hostel, Design, Goldman's Bar by Jared | 1 comment

[17]-GOLDMANS-CMYK-web-300dpiIt all started about 8 months ago when we heard that we had the chance to renovate the hostel. The owners asked the bar to brainstorm and that no idea was out of the question. The bar team had a few meetings and over a few drinks an idea formed.

For many months it was all in our head but it one time the owners asked for a more concrete idea of what we wanted. So back to a few more drinks we put all of our ideas on paper and got prices for everything we wanted.

Our budget was cut a bit around the edges but we were happy with what we got and when the hostel closed the bar team consisting of Bazzy our in house artist, Ben our assistant manager, Flo our sound enigineer and of course myself jumped into action.

We ripped the place apart threw everything away that we had never touched, and packed everything that we held dear to us in boxes.

Bazzy was our team leader and was the one that called the shots and told everyone what time we had to show up for work. ( I think he learned a few things from his dad). Ben was always there with a couple of cans of red bull so he could paint up a storm. (Ben surprises us with all kind of talent all the time) Andy was in charge of ordering bread boxes and a lighting rack that was only 2 meters to long. Flo was cutting speaker cable that nobody had an idea to where it went. Me well I just mostly surpervised and came in at the end of the day to have a beer in an empty bar.

We worked long hard days and Bazzy worked long nights cutting stensils and doing strange things that he can only get away with at night. It went slowly but at one time the crunch came along and we really had to spring into action. We got everything done we needed a week before opening and had time to enjoy our work and put the final polish on all the ideas that are now reality.

It was a bumpy ride with differences of opion and you know what its like to deal with aritists but in the end we all came through with an end product that we can be proud of.

I would just like to thank the owners for their financial support and there just do it attitude, Bazzy for pulling through another rennvoation and taking on at times more than he was expected or asked to do, Ben for jumping in and doing what ever but always there and willing to work, Flo for being Flo and getting those cables done without messing them up in the time he said he would, Andy for our new bread box and getting the lighting rack cut down and the support of the hosuy team for putting up with our crazyness.

Thank you to all the above people. I learned a lot during this renovation that is priceless and we are off to a good start. We hope that the guests coming to our bar enjoy it because we did it for you.

Mr. G

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