Freiburg, situated in the Black Forest in southern Germany, has a vibrant nightlife with a wide variety of clubs, bars, cafes and a highly diverse cultural scene. To celebrate all this, in 1999, event organisers 'Endless Event', the scene magazine 'Sub Culture' and the Ganter brewery created the 'Freiburg Nightlife Awards'. The response was so favourable that they decided to present the coveted awards for a second time on 9 March, 2002.
The voting was done by SMS. People were asked to vote for a winner in 10 categories: Best Club/Disco, Best Event, Best DJ (in six categories: techno, house, hip-hop etc.), Best Cafe/Bar, and Best Shop. Over 1,500 denizens of the Freiburg scene participated in the voting. The actual event a huge party/awards ceremony held in the Ganter Brewery drew a crowd of 2,500 and the partying continued until five in the morning.
For Messetechnik Bächle and Mammagamma Licht & Ton Service, the firms jointly responsible for providing the sound reinforcement, the Nightlife Awards posed a real challenge. There were three separate dance floors and the acoustics of the venue, the storehouses where the Ganter brewery ages its lager, were problematic to say the least. Luckily the organisers had given the job to true professionals who knew what they were doing; the sound was powerful and the guests, DJs and organisers were all highly enthusiastic. The technicians were especially impressed by the Crossmax software. Andreas Bächle commented that "the effortless control of the PA system from the laptop via the RS485 port proved absolutely first rate. It made it possible for us to balance the system with several DSP244s remotely."
(Lee Baldock)
