Critics Tried to Block Kneecap From Playing in Berlin. They Came Anyway.
In an exclusive backstage interview, the Irish band talks about the political pressure that forced them to play their first Berlin gig in secret.
Berlin has its share of underground shows, but the gig on Tuesday evening in Wedding felt more dangerous than usual — and not because of the intense heat in the old factory building.
The city has become notorious for repression against any voices in solidarity with Palestine, particularly in the cultural space. The Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap is equally notorious for uncompromising opposition to the genocide in Gaza. Which is why it felt like police might break down the door at any moment.
Kneecap had planned to tour through Germany last year, with shows announced at the Hurricane Festival in Scheeßel and at Huxley’s Neue Welt in Neukölln, among others — until both were abruptly cancelled a few days after tickets were announced. Eventim did not automatically refund people’s tickets, and some fans reported they never got anything. (Promoters for the shows didn't respond to requests for comment.) Tuesday's show at Panke Club was a secret, advertised only by word of mouth and listed online as "Irish Night" with the main act: "You know them."
“They push the idea that these gigs are dangerous,” says Kneecap's Móglaí Bap, 32, ahead of the show. The group — Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, two MCs from West Belfast and their DJ from Free Derry — landed in Berlin on Tuesday afternoon and got on a bus to Poland the same night. In the few hours in between, they performed for roughly 300 very sweaty fans. Judging by how many laughed at Irish slang or reacted when asked if any "Fenians" were present, many were Irish, but they had brought along plenty of comrades.
We haven’t done anything that warrants being banned from a country.