LUEBECK, Germany (dpa) – It’s Friday night at Abaco discotheque in Luebeck, northern Germany. But not just any Friday night.
Tonight is Men’s Night, only women pay to get in, men go free. As well as the usual summer decorations and colourful cocktails, the beer is free. And as if that was not enough, the club is also hosting a DJ competition.“You can’t just open up and play music. That would be sure to flop,” said Ute Daniel, the Abaco’s owner.There are an estimated 3 million enthusiastic party-goers in Germany, but with 3,500 discos, competition is fierce. The clubs are constantly vying for customers with wild and wonderful theme nights.In the summer months they heat up the northern European temperatures with Caribbean Nights, Majorca Parties or Brazil Fever. Another favourite are Bubble Parties, where fun-lovers have the chance to get closer to the opposite sex by wallowing with them in mountains of bathing foam.Unlike fashionable night-clubs in big cities, where people come to see and be seen, the emphasis at these discos with their huge dance floors is on fun, sex and holiday atmosphere.“Eroticism is an important theme,” said Henning Franz, president of the German Association of German Discotheques, and owner of the large “K7” disco in the northern German holiday resort of Eckernfoerde.Franz, aged 56, is considered the father of disco parties and scored his early successes with Miss Wet T-Shirt competitions in the 1970s.“That is what first made Rimini the disco centre of Italy,” said Franz, who gets his inspiration from tours of southern European cities.Uli Weber, who runs the “PM”, a venue covering 5,000 square metres, in Moers, in the Ruhr region of western Germany, last year received the disco Oscar for his theme parties. Some of his ideas have caused controversy in the past.“The absolute cracker was the divorce party, a parody of the countless singles parties run by our competition,” said Weber.The evening included games for people wanting to separate, presented by Verona Feldbusch, a glamorous German TV personality known for her sexy looks and alleged witlessness as well as her high- profile separation from German pop star Dieter Bohlen.Weber says the latest hit in disco themes are “Gourmet Parties”. Rather like DJs at a turntable, chefs prepare various delicacies on the dance floor.Bernd Grizmacher, owner of two large discotheques in Trier and Kaiserslautern, believes discos can set trends, not just follow them, especially in terms of music.But not all the ideas take off. Men’s Night at the Abaco, a role reversal parody of the typical disco Lady’s Night, resulted in a partygoer mix of 80 per cent men and just 20 per cent women – not the best way to meet girls.At some point in the evening three guests, Philippe, Marco and Thomas, dance their way awkwardly towards the exit. They have not found their dream partners so they decide to retire to the beer tent round the corner. It happens to be still quite warm outside.
