The Post

A slice of Berlin comes to city with FREAKS

- Sam Tattersfie­ld ELEANOR WENMAN

Part-party, part-art exhibition, a ‘‘special little slice of Berlin’’ has come to Wellington with a new style of rave.

Spread over three stages in a rented warehouse on Vivian St, FREAKS 001 brought a break from Wellington’s normal nightlife.

Organiser M said, as a queer, femme-presenting person, the most important thing about FREAKS was that it provided a safer place to party.

M said the event was inspired by several European nightclubs, ‘‘as that’s where many of the artists involved draw a lot of the material from’’.

Drugs and alcohol were banned from the event.

About 500 people attended the rave, held earlier in October, and organiser Joshua B said the mood was good – even noise control officers called out to the event had partygoers cheering.

B, as a ‘‘straight, white dude’’, said it was very easy to go to an event like this, feel safe, and have fun. FREAKS was organised to protect less-catered-for groups from ‘‘creeps’’, which allowed people to feel comfortabl­e expressing themselves.

The emphasis was on safe raving, in an artistic environmen­t, with a team of sober safety volunteers, and an organiser’s phone number on a wall.

Musician Skud Gambosi, half of X/VAYZ, the only ‘‘band’’ to play at FREAKS, said the event was buzzing. X/VAYZ took their guitars onto the upstairs C-stage – a ‘‘metrewide, wooden, dilapidate­d stairwell for an out-of-use fire exit, in the corner of an abandoned locker room’’.

The DIY event reflected a dissatisfa­ction with the bars and house parties, he said.

‘‘Once we were locked in the space, despite how out of place we were, the ‘freaks’ welcomed us,’’ Gambosi said. ‘‘The ground shook under our dancing crowd and the walls started sweating.’’

DJs and musicians were accompanie­d by art, with works displayed on the warehouse walls.

Exhibiting artist Mils Hendricks said he loved the music and liked to have a boogie. He said organiser M had texted him on the day and asked if he wanted to show some art.

 ??  ?? Artwork on display at the FREAKS 001 rave by artist Mils Hendricks. Left: Skud Gambosi, half of band X/VAYZ, played at the rave with the night’s only set with ‘‘real instrument­s’’.
Artwork on display at the FREAKS 001 rave by artist Mils Hendricks. Left: Skud Gambosi, half of band X/VAYZ, played at the rave with the night’s only set with ‘‘real instrument­s’’.
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