Germany – Halftime Report

My Parents’ Backyard On Thursday

While Scott is in New York drumming up new business for our online video endeavors, I’ve been in Northern Germany on a short vacation visiting friends and family for a few days.

It’s quite a bit warmer than New York – and there’s quite a bit more snow.

Of course, highlights have been spending time with my family at home talking, soaking in some nature, getting all computers in the house up to par, going out to dinner and generally having all kinds of homey food; and hanging out with my friends at Kirsten’s wineshop and in the cozy yet pretty smokey Hamburg bar Insbeth (seriously, you so easily forget when living in a city where smoking is forbidden in bars how thick it actually gets), then other friends’ birthday party (Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Inga und Jessica!) and last but not least: Revolver Club at Molotow – a great British music inspired dance night at a club that used to be THE punk rock dance club and a regular hangout of mine way back when. I wish we had a club night like that in NY and I think it’s certainly worth checking out if you’re ever in Hamburg’s redlight district and like dancing to “the finest floorfiller of underground pop ever!” (make sure you say hi to my best friend Erik who usually works the door).

Tomorrow it’s off to Berlin for a day (I will totally ignore the film festival Berlinale – this is my vacation!) to see my brother Asterix (who offers legal representation for bands, including the very up and coming German band Radiopilot) and his family and more friends: Soma clothing store owner Elke, singer Thimo and Marc.

And Tuesday the crowning show of The Decemberists at Knust. Can’t wait.

Wednesday it’s back to New York… if the announced snowstorms allow landing…

Oh, right. And then I talked to a guy who sometimes works security for a German band called Tokio Hotel. Apparently they’re about to record an album in English and tour the US in the very near future. All I have to say is that just like with that Hasselhoff guy: just because something sells in Germany does not mean that all Germans are crazy about it… so PLEASE be kind!