Spacemen M3

Last night was the Spectrum/Sonic Boom show at the small-but-rocking Bang Bang Club, found under the S-bahn at Hackesher Markt. Anyone who knows me really well knows of my love of all things Spacemen 3 which last year prompted me to book Sonic Boom (Pete Kember) for a DJ stint at Zaphod's in Ottawa. Meeting Pete, one of my musical idols, and hanging out with him at my place after the show was a really amazing experience for me. What made it even better was that Pete is also a really nice easy going guy and we spent the night, into the morning, listening to records and smoking pot. I have described this as possibly the best night of my life. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to seeing the show and saying hi to Pete again. Considering how often and how far Sonic tours I really didn't have any expectations that he would even remember me.

After the solo show, which was preceeded by the fantastic electro-acoustic shoegaze sounds of MINIT , and the DJing of legendary guitarist and Berlin citizen Tim Gane of Stereolab, I waited for Pete to finish packing up and approached him after a lull in the endless well-wishing of other fans. I went on-stage and extended my hand, introducing myself on the assumption that he had no idea who I was. Pete greeted me with a grin and even though he was pissed off that someone had swiped his irreplaceable matrix of sequencer and synth settings for his set, seemed genuinely happy to see me again. I had just told Susumu I was going up to say hi and we were going to leave right after. So I told Pete I was on my way out, that the show was great and I was glad I had the chance to see him in Berlin. Pete didn't really have time to talk on stage so asked if I wanted to go downstairs with him to the green room for a drink.

"Yeah, sure" I said, as if this wasn't some incredible realization of a fantasy I have had for the past 15 years. I went and got Susumu aka "Kuka-chan" and we followed Pete into the basement where we helped ourself to a free rockstar beer.

This was an odd situation as the 10 or so people in the basement mostly consisted of other like-minded Spacemen 3 fans wanting to hang with Sonic Boom. I had several advantages however. I had no agenda to promote my own career, I had met Pete before and we had catching up to do, I wasn't a drunk groupie, and I speak English pretty well. Pete talked politely to the room, but he talked to me like an old friend. He remembered Ottawa, that it snowed when he was there, that my roommate had an ill-behaved Husky. he even told me that his time there was also special memory for him, or as he put it in his Rugby accent "I go to a lot of places."

The room was filled with hash and pot smoke, we finished off the case of beer as we talked about his woes on the road, Bauhaus in Berlin, looked at his gear. I got to see the first copy of the yet to be released Spectrum album recorded in Memphis. Pete treated me like an old friend, and I felt like the cool kid in the room as everyone suspiciously looked at me trying to figure out if I was famous or not. I just acted nonchalantly kept talking about gigs and records with Pete and let them keep wondering.

The groupie and the young manager of the band Singapore Sling who was also hanging around, were trying to show off to each other as to who could score some cocaine. It was 3:30 am at this point and everyone was going to go to 8mm bar. I decided to call it a night as the drunk groupie was being very gauche and I didn't look forward to the others company and enduring their posturing. I, unbelievably, turned down Pete's invitation to go with them. He smiled and suggested that he wasn't looking forward to where the night was headed. I asked him if he had his lodgings sorted out, of course he did, he seems extremely well organized when on tour. He shook my hand good-bye, and then pulled me in for a hug instead. We told each other how great it was to see each other again and looked forward to the next time. On my way out I stopped by Tim Gane at the Dj booth to shake his hand and thank him for the music, which was outstanding.

I decided against the taking the bus home and walked instead. The night would last longer that way.

The following video is an excellent document of the current spectrum tour, although not in Berlin, look and sound was the same. I left my camera and bag a home as shows here tend to be very crowded and hot.