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29 December: The world premiere screening of Live at the Astoria DVD at the Arsenal. It's a very windy and very snowy evening, so Usakousa have put their winter clothes on. Herbert is also wearing a thick red jacket, with a TG badge on it :-) |
Panel discussion after the screening: Chris, Sleazy, Cosey, Genesis, Cerith, Christoph Gurk (Volksbühne/organiser of the whole series). |
UsaKousa come home with Gen's lipstick all over their face. And God, they're getting filthy! |
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30 December: Akiko is too tired to attend the exhibition opening at Kunstwerke, so we stay home and rest instead. We're not
getting any younger... :-((( 31 December: Feeling refreshed after the long sleep-in, we arrive at the Volksbühne for the New Year's Eve concert, looking forward to some action. | |
| Susan Stenger's 5-bass band Big Bottom are on first. (You probably know her from the Band of Susans? She's missing in this photo - sorry!) They are LOUD, and UsaKousa love them! |
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Angela Bulloch with Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten). |
Alex with Cerith Wyn Evans. |
TG's stage is full of video camera operators documenting not only the band but more of the
audience reaction, as well as a few photographers, and some "official" video cameras moving around among the crowd, not to mention fans with
their digital cameras all around the stage. Some complain about having their views blocked by these people, but I find the format quite
amusing and interesting. Despite several problems with the PA - at one point the show has to be interrupted - the music is great (and LOUD, of course ;-), everyone has a smashing time. |
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Oh, and there's even a 16mm camera documenting the event! |
And everyone in the group - except Gen - uses a G4 Powerbook onstage ;-) |
| During the concert I see a girl wearing a nice dress, with a fake mohican hood, and have to take a photo. After the show, I see her again in the bar area and realise that the spikes illuminate under black light! | |
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| 1 January: In 2005 Freunde der deutschen Kinematik have restored and made a new print of Derek Jarman's In the Shadow of the Sun (to which TG recorded a soundtrack in 1980). Tonight it's being shown on a big screen at the Volksbühne, with the band playing live. I've sneaked a couple of shots during the soundcheck. | |
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And now we head for the venue's staff cantine for a "meet & greet" with 40-odd fans who have bought the Ubertickets for the series. (Eva, Rolli and Akiko turn out to be the only "Germans", everyone else is from England, Scotland, the rest of Europe and the USA!) (PS. OK, I have lied, but not intentionally!!! Now we have an official "meet & greet" photo, aka. "the bad wedding photo", I see there are only 12 fans - plus the band, 2 bunnies & 1 bear - on it. Which means not everyone was there. I still believe 40-odd people bought Ubertickets though. Oh, and we're called the "Ubers" :-))) | |
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As Cosey's sitting at our table, her dinner arrives: boiled potatoes with spinach sauce. Chris (behind
her, right) has ordered the same thing with pasta instead of potatoes. Neither variation looks very appetising, to put it politely - or "how I've
always imagined East German food to be like" according to Chris ;-) |
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| We decide to go out in search of some decent food before the show. Many places are closed, but we settle down at Schwarzenraben. | |
Eva and Rolli go for this pasta dish with beef and thin strips of beetroots on top. |
My baby calamari in garlic & chilli sauce. Very spicy and tender. |
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Herbert is still too star-struck after being fondled by Cosey, to feel like eating ;-))) And the bunnies - they really do need a shampoo!! |
| So that's how we spent the end of 2005 & the beginning of 2006, with lots of loud and good music, friends and fun. (And afterwards we've slept 15 hours solid and not woken up until 6pm on 2 January!!) | |