Two of the Thousand: Rockin' 1000 Berlin 2024
November 9th. 8pm. Somewhere behind the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.
Somewhere in the 15 or so metres between the imposing backdrop of Brandenburg Gate and the stairs that would deliver us onto stage left, the adrenaline hit me. Hard. In one moment, the combination of a freezing Berlin evening and the usual nerves associated with live performance were gone, replaced instead by pure, unadulterated excitement. The crowd was enormous, and the hundreds of other musicians that surrounded us who were about to do the same thing were evidently all feeling it too. People were jumping up and down, smiling, punching the air, cursing in various languages, high fiving each other, and hugs were flying with gleeful abandon.
As we crested the steps up to the stage and the cheer went up from the crowd, every hair, every pore, every cell that assembles this too-close-to-40 body was charged with the energy of that moment. I remember having a very specific thought at the moment my left foot hit the stage, but for the life of me, I have no clue precisely what it was. So, let's go with a combination of "Oh s***", and "Let's DO this"...
But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. Context is, of course, everything, so let me provide you with some. Rockin 1000 started with a simple dream; to get one of the worlds biggest bands to Cesena, a small town in Northern Italy. Namely, the Foo Fighters.
With Fabio Zaffagnini at the helm, 1000 local musicians recorded them playing the band's track 'Learn To Fly'. I still remember seeing that video for the first time; seeing and hearing a thousand musicians playing together. It was simply spellbinding. It's still on YouTube, if you want to check it out.
Of course, the internet did its thing, and the video reached the attention of Foos frontman Dave Grohl. Fabio and the town of Cesena got their wish; the band came to play a show.
Since then, Rockin' 1000 events have popped up all over the globe, including shows in - just off the top of my head - Brazil, Portugal, Italy, France and of course Germany.
November 7th. 5pm. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof.
I'm standing with Serena, my bands bass player and one of my closest friends at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), about to get a train to Berlin to take part in - somehow - the second one of these I've done (the first being in Frankfurt in 2019). I must be mad.
We were, to be honest, somewhat under prepared - having both barely touched the material - but I wasn't too worried. Two full days of rehearsals lay before us, and when Serena and I put our heads together, thanks to the musical witchcraft that seems to exist between us when we work together, the job gets done.
Our subtly coloured Flixtrain rolled into the platform (picture included to illustrate both how luridly coloured these things are and the lengths I will go to in order to shoehorn a lukewarm joke in wherever possible), and once an eternity had passed - and we had undergone the customary free for all in order to locate our carriage - we boarded, full of excitement for what was to come.
Opinion
November 8th. 10am. Uber Arena Berlin.
After the successful location and consumption of my first coffee of the day - passionate, and in no way dependent on, consumer of caffeine that I am - we collected our borrowed amps for the weekend (thanks again Tom, if you're reading this!). It was time to head for the musicians check in.
As an aside for my fellow guitar players / gear nerds, I was trying - for the first time - the iconic Vox AC30, which I was excited about. And my god, what a place to try one for the first time.
Check in sort of completed - we hadn't yet been assigned to one of the five stages that were dotted along the route of the former Berlin wall - we waited to be let into the arena to start rehearsals. And we waited some more. And just a little more. Alright, a lot more.
That was when we took matters into our own hands and decided to find a corner of the arena foyer and surrounded by bags, amplifiers and instrument cases, we started to rehearse by ourselves. Turns out, it was a damn good job we did - nearly four hours later, we were admitted to the arena.
Now, we are both used to our normal rehearsal space, that holds the four members of our band, and that’s it – the Uber Arena is a little bit bigger. It comfortably held all 700 of us, and let me tell you – nothing quite prepares you for the sheer sonic velocity of that many people playing together. You might also be wondering – how on earth do you keep 700 musicians in time? Well, we were given headphones – the type you might wear for a silent disco – which meant we were all locked into a click track.
It had been a very, very long day by the time we left the arena. We had been there for around 12 hours, and it was time to get to our hotel. After a quick glass of wine at a nearby bar, it was bedtime.
November 9th. Around 9am. Somewhere behind the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.
No rest for the wicked, as they say. Our alarms forced us from slumber a little too early for our shattered selves the next morning, but we'd signed up for it, so off we went into early morning Berlin. Heading towards our venue for the day; an enormous stage set before the towering pillars of the Brandenburg Gate.
First order of the day was to be ushered into our backstage area, the rather opulent basement of the Commerzbank, just nearby. Mercifully, hot drinks were available - all day. As well as full catering. We both looked at each other with amazement; a far cry from some of the facilities at some of Hamburg's less palatial venues. Yeah, we could get used to this.
Next up was a haphazardly delivered safety briefing - in German. Now my German is rudimentary at best - shameful, given that I've lived in the country for over six years - and Serena doesn't speak it at all. Panic not, however, we could 'ask team members' if we needed it in English. We didn't, and we survived to tell the tale.
After that, time to set up our equipment on stage. This is when we got the first glimpse of it. Let me tell you, the photos don't do the sheer size of it justice. Video screens, a mammoth lighting rig and platforms several meters in the air adorned the perimeter. Once we had setup and my poor guitar was left to freeze until that afternoon's rehearsal, if was time to retreat to the warmth of the backstage area for breakfast and coffee.
November 9th. Around 2pm. Somewhere behind the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.
Rehearsal time. We headed for the stage, both clad in more layers of fabric than the Bayeux Tapestry. It was cold now, what the hell was it going to be like come showtime? All the more incredible though was that a small crowd had already gathered. Whilst we waited to start, I discovered that if Serena ever decides to change career, she would make a damn good papparazi. Naturally, I returned the favour.
Rehearsal was smooth, save for the odd technical error with the video and audio feeds between the stages. Something that's quite amazing about playing music live is once you start, you're completely in the zone. You're locked into the song, and absolutely nothing else matters in the world except being in that moment, then and there. It's a strange, almost Zen like experience. What I mean is, by the time we finished, we had completely forgotten about how cold we were.
November 9th. Around 4:30pm. Basement of Commerzbank. Berlin.
The next few hours before the show can only be described as feeling like we were waiting for a flight, only minus the security checks, duty free and all the associated flotsam and jetsam that accompanies flying anywhere. There was an energy in the air. All of us were feeling it. Between lunch and dinner, people were sleeping, some were reading, chatting to one another, taking photos, or practicing the songs.
Us? Well, we were chatting, eating, charging our phones, eating, checking in with families and loved ones, eating and signing books people were bringing round. And I think we had some food as well.
And in Serena's case, curling up in a very feline like manner and sleeping. Oh, and - when she gets bored, she likes to braid my hair. If you scroll through our bands Instagram, you'll see what I mean. So, as is customary, I was provided once again with two very neat braids either side of my face.
Around an hour before the show, there was a palpable shift in the air in the room. Nerves met with excitement, shot through with a real sense of cameraderie. And then, it was time to go.
November 9th. Just after 8pm. Onstage. Brandenburg Gate. Berlin.
Picking up my frozen Telecaster and trying not to panic about it staying in tune, I couldn't resist the urge to wave and smile at a few people at the front of audience. A lot waved back, smiling too and taking photos. It was clear the mood was celebratory, borderline euphoric.
From my stage position, in the first row of players on the elevated section of the stage, I could see the crowd clearly. It stretched into the horizon. Christ, that's a lot of people.
We all spent the next 15 minutes watching a short film that was being shown on the stages screens, as well as part of the TV broadcast, and trying to keep our instruments in tune and our hands - and selves - warm.
It was finally time to start, with a short but dramatic intro that ran straight into Patti Smith's 'People Have The Power'. Whilst I could only hear the click, I could literally feel the drums - as well as the people around me who were jumping up and down.
By the time we hit Neil Young's 'Rockin' in the Free World' that euphoria I mentioned had hit musicians and audience alike. That iconic chorus grabbed everyone and lifted us all up into the stratosphere, and I found myself singing along and jumping around as I was playing. It's moments like this that are what make music so special for me, that transcendence of language, of age, of cultural background and anything else, into a shared experience that's just so life affirming and special.
And, despite them telling us there would be fireworks during the last song, I still jumped out of my skin when the first ones went up. That moment is one of countless memories from that weekend that I will never, ever forget. Looking around me and witnessing the audience, the stage and everyone else on it, and the top of Brandenburg Gate being lit up in spectacular style, all whilst knowing I was sharing this with one of my closest friends (who was behind me somewhere), shoved a gargantuan grin on my face and created an alarming case of the warm and fuzzies, both of which reappear every time I think about it.
If you would like to watch the show, you can! It's available on YouTube here. There's also the official unofficial after movie (I promise you I got that title right!) which you can catch here. Bonus points if you can spot Serena or myself in there - we appear more than once. Happy searching!
Written by Chris Hughes