10 September - Let's make some memories people

Everybody knows the power that music has to return us to a certain time and place from our past, but also how it helps shape our current memories. For me, The Strokes 'Is this it?' album takes me to the early 2000s when the Rob Roy was still the Rob Roy and my biggest concern was affording my $420 a month rent in my first Melbourne share house. The Hoodoo Gurus remind me of the Tote jukebox and cigarettes* in the front bar and badly played games of pool. Midlake, Fleet Foxes and Neko Case will always be linked with Rae street dinner parties where K and I are inevitably drunker than our guests.

So, it was with mixed feelings that I attended the Berlin Festival, featuring none other than Primal Scream (doing the entire Screamadelica album), and Suede. Nostalgia is a beautiful thing, but, at what age does it hinder your ability to make new memories? 

Before boarding the nostalgia train however, I thought I'd remain in 2011 by having a listen to CSS. Lovefoxxx, on lead vocals, was so full of energy and enthusiasm, it didn't really matter that the music wasn't that great. She stalked the stage, crowd surfed and high kicked her way through a set that left me smiling and wondering how on earth I'd ended up in Berlin, cheering the antics of a tiny Brazilian girl in short shorts and batman mask.

There was a short wait before I needed to be at the main stage for Primal Scream. So, off I went for a beer. 'Ein Bier bitte' - at which point I was handed a pot of beer, and small green token. 'Was ist das?' The bar girl, obviously so impressed with my German, answered (in the Queen's English), ''if you bring the token back with your empty cup, you get one euro back'. Of course the Germans were the ones to come up with this ingenious and highly organised plan. Result; no litter on the ground and therefore no need to fight for floor space when listening to a band.

So, off I went to the main stage to join Bobby Gillespie and gang on our joyful journey to the 1990s. I know there are very strong opinions on the concept of the 'revival' gig. I must admit, while I find the concept slightly embarrassing for the performer, the aforementioned nostalgia element wins me over in the end. I was also curious to see if Bobby might choose Berlin as the best place to bore us all with his politics (he's pro-Palestinian and has been accused of being an anti-Semite). Thankfully though, nobody mentioned the war. Bobby just got up there and did his thing. And he did it adequately. Understandably he did seem a little bored at times - and it would be an amazing human who wouldn't get bored playing songs that are 20 years old. But really, by the time 'Come Together' was played, I didn't care how bored Bobby was. The most important thing was, I was having a great time. 

I was four beers in by the time Suede came on. Before discussing the music, I must say, considering Brett Anderson's drug history, at 43 years old, he looks phenomenal. Less feminine than in his youth, but still incredibly lithe and attractive. Thankfully his voice is also still in great shape. 'Crack in the union jack' was surprisingly powerful. 'We are the pigs' was energetic and entertaining. 'Animal nitrate' however gave me mixed feelings. I simply love that song and it holds a special place in my musical memory bank. Despite it being performed faithfully and with sincerity, hearing it over 15 years after its release just made me feel sad, and old. I was also possibly drunk. 

On my way home, listening on my headphones, my phone shuffled onto 'Prenzlauerberg' by Beirut. I'd like to think that this, along with many more new tunes, will formulate my memories of my time in Berlin - not Primal Scream and Suede. Those bands have their place in my past, and 2011 is already running out of room. 


*I wasn't the one smoking the cigarettes, naturally.