Sad, horny and bold as fuck: Paula visits “90er Live”

“Do you still have a tattoo necklace?” When you get a message like this from your girlfriend, you know you’re on your way to the 90’S LIVE PARTY SUPER SHOW. An event that is actually just called “90s Live”, has been taking place here and there for years and puts all 90s retro enthusiasts back on the stage with their old guys. Of course, I happened to have another tattoo chain on my arm, so the project could go ahead. Off to the Hoppegarten racetrack on the outskirts of Berlin.

The inventory of the party series includes 2 Unlimited, Ace of Base, Alex Christensen, Aqua, ATC, Blümchen, C+C, Captain Hollywood Project, Caught in the Act, Culture Beat, DJ Sash!, Double You, Dr. Alban, East 17, Eiffel 65, Haddaway, Londonbeat, Lutricia McNeal, Masterboy, Mr. President, No Mercy, Oli.P, Rednex, Reel 2 Real, Snap!, Turbo B., Vengaboys and Whigfield. A few of them announced for Berlin, including the Vengaboys and Oli P., were reasons enough for us to ride in there. But a few weeks earlier, it was already becoming apparent on social media that things would probably turn out differently.

Almost only the event taking place on the same day in Oberhausen was advertised on the “90s Live” channels. Meanwhile, we Berlin-goers were thirsting for a timetable that was finally published three days before the party, causing so-called disillusionment. No Vengaboys, no Oli P., instead Caught in the Act and Blümchen, little in between. Hey, how is that supposed to fill seven hours?

Meanwhile should almost EVERYONE perform in Oberhausen? Is that fair? Music is what I’m living for, sure, but not for so little!!!

The tragedy in comparison (both (!) first pictures show the fun in Oberhausen, the third picture is about Berlin) … That’s sheer mockery!

We affected were sure: they messed something up. Was the event in Berlin postponed too often (it was, after all), so that it was overlooked that there was a double booking with Oberhausen? Would it be the purest scam? The German Fyre Festival? Can we get our money back? Would there still be a few or ten surprises?

Yes, some even had VIP tickets… This is what it looked like:

But why am I even going to this? I remember well, in the noughties you could have chased me with something like that, in the 10s even completely off the continent. After the turn of the millennium, 90s acts were constantly performing somewhere for free and it was totally cringe, including how our older siblings and their friends behaved. Is it now childhood that wants to be glorified? Is or was it Corona? The retro madness towards all decades? Is it the supposed light-heartedness of this time that emphasizes non-political? Or is it just the pure fun of party balla balla and alarma booze in the mouth? Yes.

So we were there. And first of all it was nice how airy the Hoppegarten area seemed. Many probably didn’t come, and it wasn’t easily sold out. You traipsed through a few stands – doner kebab, bratwurst, beer, cocktails, ice cream with vodka. Everything was even more expensive, although it is currently already expensive like a dog. Then the stage appeared where Caught in the Act were singing and dancing. That afternoon they played their own hits and those of their colleagues, such as the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC or the Spice Girls – all very successful people, so not in the repertoire of the 90s live shows.

We looked around: normal people everywhere, normal figures, normal clothes, normal faces. Just like back then, really authentic. Hip Berlin stayed away almost entirely. Funny sayings T-shirts and enigmatic tattoos dominated. Very enigmatic at times… Sometimes they wish they could have been more enigmatic. We looked all the time to see if there was a Nazi standing next to us, but mostly we could answer that with “Phew, no, but not”, at least as far as the appearance was concerned. There were definitely some there, so it was really like my childhood. Above all, it wasn’t as queer as the 90s are often glorified today. Kissing same-sex couples with neon-colored gauntlet hands were only seen very occasionally, almost always accompanied by looks. A few students were there ironically, but they weren’t offered too much.

Basically, after Caught in the Act, one highlight didn’t necessarily follow the next. It never got that sweet. Snap! was very awkward – an old guy plus sexed woman with no name who had to lipsync. But La Bouche were nice and had fun, the singer Sophie Cairo performed really well, they paid homage to the member Melanie Thornton, who died in 2001. During Reel 2 Reel we were at the Rewe. You had to lie your way out of the site a bit to be granted re-entry. One woman said she was histamine intolerant and there was no food for her on site. The security put his face in his hands and then let them go. Here the generations really came together. When we got back, “I Like to Move It Move It!” was played three more times by the same Reel 2 Reel, then we had to wait for Blümchen, who still had to drive or fly over from Oberhausen.

Between all the few performances there were constant DJ interludes from men, tried and tested at fairs or beer kings, I assume. They chatted a lot in between, ended abruptly, at one point someone really yelled “Abfahrt!!!” It’s no different with Lars Eidinger. As in the 90s, the focus this Saturday was on the medium of radio. There were radio competitions and radio requests and radio presenters who thought they were superstars. Hach … Another advertising partner was Little Feigling, which is why you waded through thousands of little bottles after at least two hours. I wish I was there again…
But then, at last, Blümchen appears! Everyone freaked out, one on my right even yelled “You horny cunt!” At least everyone looked angry and he seemed ashamed… Well. Blümchen made her cute in her mid-40s, crunched her voice, talked about love and the moon and stars and feelings and we all found it completely normal. It would have been a great show if it hadn’t been so short, but who knows, maybe it had to go straight to, who knows… Gelsenkirchen, Zwickau, Ulm or something.

In the end it felt as if you had paid to visit a city festival. But maybe the individual event was the problem, we’re thinking of Oberhausen… Maybe that wasn’t the REAL 90s live experience at all? During my research, I found that there are several live 90s shows, under different names, in different guises. “90s Live”, “90s Show”, “90s Olympus” and so on and immediately. So now I’m looking forward to “SUNSHINE LIVE DIE 90ER LIVE ON STAGE” in November in … oh god, in Mannheim. DEPARTURE.

What happened until now? Here is an overview of all pop column texts.