At the Helicopter we always keep building, expanding and expanding and now it’s the turn of our cafe, where we built a small pallet stage this summer. We’ve breathed new life into this space to add to the party vibes at the Heli. After upgrading the stage in Studio 1 last season with the addition of new woofers and flying speakers, it was now time to expand our party capabilities even further with “The Cafetarium,” a place where we can host all sorts of smaller acts while keeping the bar within easy reach.
What did it take? The biggest obstacle was our sexy panther-print pool table weighing around 600 kilos. For that we have now arranged ingenious wheels that we can put underneath, provided Bernard is available to lift the table. This creates a space that we can either fill with chairs for a living room concert, or turn into a dance floor for the more energetic acts. With the addition of beautiful spotlights, the atmosphere level of the café rose above 9000, more than 5000 more than the officially allowed number.
You’ve witnessed this if you were present at the Cafetarium’s baptism of fire, with performances by Parker Fans, Keenan Mundane and Beachtenis on Aug. 11, where things really went wild. Two weeks later we had another wonderful first; the open mic with the amazing vocal coach Kim Sita and her students, when we listened with bated breath to varied singing talent from students as well as some Rotorrockers from the Heli. It was a relaxed, fun and moving evening. And wholesome AF.
The possibilities are plentiful. We will soon be expanding the audio here as well, and we want to organize as many cool events as possible that require a little less than a full lineup and backline for three bands, as we continue to do regularly with Launchpad. That means open mics, acoustic sets, DJ sets and jam sessions. Keep an eye on our socials and website for more events and come check out the Cafetarium. And if you have your own idea for a rap-battle, DJ set, stand-up night, mime-show, slam-poetry night, movie-screening, quiz-night, games-night, finger painting contest, or concert, let us know!