07 KVIFF: The Becher's Bar Elite

On Sunday night, my third evening here, I ended up being escorted down to the Becher's Bar in the basement of the Grandhotel Pupp by a fest VIP and I must admit, the place is not hype. I had a great time and some of the best conversations I've had at the fest before or since. While the booze isn't free, there's a food spread that definitely hits the spot once 2 or 3 am rolls around and a dance floor that had the likes of Baltasar Kormákur shaking his tail feathers until the wee hours. The DJ, however, was hit or miss. For every retro-pop one hit wonder like Talk Talk's "Such a Shame" or Dexy's "Come on Eileen," there was a "Tarzan Boy" from Baltimora.

Wanna drink?

That said, the night was a whole hell of a lot of fun, with cigars, Becherovka and lotsa singing and dancing. I managed to pull myself from the place at about 5:30...just as they turned on the lites and said, politely, get out.