At 11 p.m. sharp, he’ll turn up the regulator and let the full one hundred decibels back into the room. Jo Kraus, DJ in the Milchbar, will stand behind his desk, the guests inside and outside at the entrance, the bartenders at their seats, and everyone will then wait a few seconds for the moment they last experienced a year and a half ago: Basses that make trousers tremble, beats that leave no one standing still, guests who huddle together, plus drinks, looks, sweat and fun. Kraus has carefully considered which song to play first: “Back in Black” by AC / DC. “We’re back, we’re still alive, that’s the song for that,” he says. They’re still alive, they’ll open up tomorrow, and what kind of party evening will it be in Munich?
On Thursday lunchtime, the message came from the Bavarian cabinet that clubs were allowed to reopen. That was expected, but it now means full stress for the operators.
Dierk Beyer, who runs two large clubs with the new room, which can accommodate 2,500 guests, and the night gallery with 1,500 guests, says: “We have discussed and rehearsed everything, in the new room alone 15 employees will be responsible for admittance.” Because that is where it will be decided whether the start succeeds. Among other things, when the guests don’t have to wait forever. The rules are clear: you have to be vaccinated, have recovered, or have a negative PCR test with you to be admitted. The operators expect that very few guests will come with a test, too complex, too expensive. “The most important thing will be that we get the controls right,” says Beyer. Politicians should see that the industry is working well.
The industry is now used to short-term changes
“Back to live” is the motto in the new room on Friday, club sound, hip hop, melodic and modern can be heard in the various areas. Beyer wants to create the best possible conditions for a club evening for his guests. “And that is only possible if people trust that they are safe and in good hands with us.” But since clubs have always carried out identity checks – so far for proof of age – Beyer is confident. There is no other way for my colleague, Jakobaltenbacher from the Milchbar.
Initially, the operators assumed that the store would open on October 2nd, which in practice would only have meant that on Friday evening the store should not have opened until midnight and not a few hours earlier. But people in the industry are already used to short-term changes. “We are prepared, we had all the bartenders on short-time work and now we have them back, too,” saysaltenbacher.
The theory is simple: strict rules outside, party inside like in the old days. Stand in line with mask and distance, show vaccination certificate, ID card and tracking option, go in, listen to loud music and enjoy the first expensive club drink in a year and a half. Of course, like all of his colleagues ,altenbacher complains about personnel problems, “but recently some people have contacted us again”. The problem won’t be the first weekend, “but then we’ll just be open again six days a week.” He assumes that the bartenders will go home on Saturday morning with a lot of sore muscles in their arms. Altenbacher complains about the circumstances, but he also laughs and jokes a lot. The drinks are cold, the shop is ready. “Hopefully we can still do it!”
The relief outweighs the Munich operators. And they are also confident about the vaccination process. “I think that this will trigger another small vaccination boom, many young people are simply bogged down on the subject and will do it now,” saysaltenbacher.
Mathias Scheffel, who is involved in Pacha, Sweet and Filmcasino, is also looking forward to the start. Hopefully the clubs would then be able to operate economically under the conditions, he says. And Jürgen Mair from the Paradiso Tanzbar says on the phone while giving instructions for the hectic final preparations: “We have everything there, we are ready, but what a cinnabar.” One is already completely reserved because many have booked on suspicion. So the tables will be full. And since there is usually a queue in Paradiso anyway, this is not new either, two more employees will work on Friday. A total of 24 colleagues will supervise the first dance evening. He’s a little afraid, though. “I’m sure that it won’t be one to one like it was before Corona. Many people still panic about being in a full club. But despite everything: I’m really happy.”
After such a long time, some can finally go back to their job, others can finally celebrate properly again. For example to the pounding groove of “Back in Black”. Some Friday nights, not only in the milk bar, will scream the chorus full of relief: “Yes I’m Back!”