One of Copenhagen’s best live venues, Loppen, is situated in Christiania.

Even though it a relatively small venue with a capacity of only 400, bands like Animal Collective, Smashing Pumpkins, The National and many others have played here, along with a long list of more or less unknown bands from all over Europe, UK and USA.

Loppen doesn’t have a narrow music profile, they throw concerts with everything:  surf, neo folk, death metal, punk, hip hop, dubstep, the list goes on. The atmosphere is intimate and relaxed, and you get really close to the music, very literally, because the stage is not much more than 25 centimetres above floor level.

Loppen’s motto is “Going out of business since 1973”, and interior-wise I don’t think much has changed since. Except for lights on stage and in the bar, the rest of the venue is lit by candles in empty vodka and beer bottles on little round wooden tables.

The name, Loppen, actually means flea. I don’t know why it’s called that.