Thursday Holds Its Own in Friedrichshain

Thursday has always been Berlin’s most ambitious evening of the week, and this one made a reasonable case for why. Wenke and I went to Friedrichshain to catch We Have Band and Yuksek play the circuit—free drinks in the deal, which is not a neutral factor in how one evaluates a night.

We Have Band came on and did the thing they do well: tight, angular indie-dance with enough momentum to keep the floor from standing completely still. The London trio had been building something interesting since their debut WHB, mixing synth textures with a propulsive rhythm section that gave you just enough to hold onto. Yuksek followed with the French disco-edit approach he handles so naturally—reaching into the vault and pulling out something that feels both archival and completely present. The room responded accordingly.

Wenke had a camera. I apparently said things into it. Neither of us is under any obligation to remember exactly what.