The Live Music Hall is the largest of the many alternative venues in the Ehrenfeld district, which also include the nearby Sonic Ballroom. From the outside, the ‘Live’, as is is known locally, does not look like much – just an old, angular factory hall. But that does not prevent long queues forming along Lichtstrasse during the week and on weekends – as the Live Music Hall is a well-established alternative venue known throughout Germany, and one without genre constraints. It hosts American hip hop crews, metal bands from France and Brit-pop combos from the UK. On weekends it also hosts parties ranging from German Schlager to metal and comes with its own small beer and snack garden.

What I like about the ‘Live’ is that, despite the mixed programme, everyone appreciates the old hall regardless of music preference. I’ve watched mosh pits filling the whole space between the two bars on each long side, easily 30 metres apart; and the whole space (which easily packs over a thousand people) in quiet appreciation of the singer-songwriter on stage. And never a fight.