Berlin Festival 2010 was so nearly the live event of the year. Part of the city’s Music Week, its line-up featured the cream of the international music crop – LCD Soundsystem, Tricky, Peaches, Fever Ray, 2manydjs and Fatboy Slim to name but a few, as well as some homegrown talent in the form of Belfast’s finest, Yes Cadets, electro/synth act Dark Room Notes and bright young things The Cast Of Cheers.

And it all started so tantalisingly well, with excitement running high in the Irish camp. Alan Haslam, lead singer with Yes Cadets pondered; “I really don’t know what to expect. There’s a fantastic scene in Berlin though – they’re really open to new stuff, it’s exciting.” In the run up to the festival, a Popkomm showcase saw both the Cadets and Dark Room Notes (fallen comrades And So I Watch You From Afar sadly had to sit this one out, due to a very painful sounding injury sustained by bassist Johnny Adger) perform in a selection of wonderfully grimy venues around the city (remember people, in Berlin: grime ist gut!). Yes Cadets belted out hits in the basement of a pizzeria, while Dark Room Notes did their thing in the oh-so-cool White Trash venue, which serves as club, restaurant and er, tattoo parlour. Oh Berlin, don’t ever change...
And in fact, the weekend went off hitch-free for the Notes, who also played Schwuz Club and Madame Claude’s in Berlin as part of this showcase. Not their first Popkomm, might I add. The trio performed in the same showcase two years ago. Did they feel a big responsibility to fly that Irish flag a second time round? Yes indeedy, says guitarist Ruairi Ferrie – “Especially since we’ve been there before, we feel a lot of trust has been put in us to come back again. It’s a big opportunity.” And the Dark ones didn’t disappoint, performing tracks from their Choice Music Prize nominated debut We Love You Dark Matter, as well as a host of new material they’ve been busily working on in the last few months.
Day One (Friday) of the actual festival began on a high. Dubliners Cast Of Cheers opened the Main Stage with a cracking set – demonstrating why debut Chariots has been causing such a stir since it was first made available online back in February.
And as the day progressed and the sun set on this amazing venue (Tempelhof Airport was part of Hitler’s ‘Germania’ vision during the second World War, and – evil Nazi regime aside – you can’t deny the guy had an eye for architecture) the potential of this festival became clear. LCD Soundsystem, fresh from an electrifying set at Electric Picnic, whipped the crowd into a frenzy on the Main Stage, while Swedish pixie Robyn performed to a jam-packed Hangar 4, followed by the ever enigmatic Fever Ray.
Alas, the volume of the crowds caused panic among the powers-that-be, and with the Love Parade tragedy no doubt fresh in German memory, the night was cut short. Saturday’s line-up was then condensed to allow the festival to wrap up at 11pm. Though Soulwax, Boys Noize, Tricky and Peaches (who performed a stunning laser show) among others played, the changes meant other acts wouldn’t get the chance. Unfortunately, Yes Cadets were one of the unlucky ones, with their Main Stage set sadly being cancelled. Keys man Jason Hawthorne looks on the bright side: “Popkomm was a great experience with lovely people – the response we received was fantastic. As for the Berlin Festival, we were so excited about playing it, but unfortunately we were one of the many bands who were cancelled.”
A pity indeed, though with upcoming gigs at the Hard Working Class Heroes showcase and a Stiff Kitten appearance on October 16, the foursome certainly won’t be left twiddling their thumbs. As for the festival, here’s hoping 2011 goes off more smoothly, because with proper crowd management, this event would be up there with this year’s festival greats