Heather Berriman aka Bird verpisst sich aus einem Meeting Raum, läßt ihren Chef und Kollegen zurück und …
… lässt ihr ganzes Leben zurück.
Und das ganze bekommt einen Doppel-Twist dadurch das sie bei einem der geheimen Geheimdienste im United Kingdom arbeitet. Nach einer Karriere (naja, endete mit Rausschmiss als sie einen Offizier umhaute) beim Militär wurde sie Spionin.
Wie ihr Vater. Und hat sich immer auf diesen Moment vorbereitet. Wenn irgendwas schief geht … dann nix wie weg.
Das Ganze könnte auch eine Reality-TV Serie sein: Menschen müssen an furchterregenden Orten wie „dem Norden“, „auf dem Land“ oder “auf der Insel” überleben.
Es zeigt den Schrecken, verfolgt zu werden, greift aber die große Fantasie auf: Wie es wäre, alles stehen und liegen zu lassen und zu fliehen, verschiedene Rollen anzunehmen und sich auf Überlebensfähigkeiten zu verlassen, die man aus Pfadfinderhandbüchern (und in der Ausbildung beim Geheimdienst) gelernt hat.
Auch wenn Birds Hauptgefühl vielleicht Angst ist, ist die Geschichte für den Leser einfach großer Spaß, mit ganz viel dunklem englischen Humor (und einigen Leichen).
Eine fast schon leichte, smarte und irgendwie coole Geschichte von eine starken Frau, against all ods. Die aber genau weiß was sie will und wie sie es vom Geheimdienst bekommt.
Da bin ich auf die Verfilmung gespannt, die Autorin hat bereits sehr erfolgreiche TV Serien geschrieben.
The fine folks that run the Limited Edition just don’t stop, two editions in September are a surprise (though two weeks ago technically it was out of town bands only). And the much bigger surprise was that the hosts would greet guests and bands with … a song.
That is cool as fuck i’d say. Here you go:
Thats Koma Kombo on Drums (Eugen), Buttocks on Guitar (Mike), Kaltfront on Bass (Jörg) and Nancy on Vocals. Ever since i have been seeing Punk Shows (1979 ’till today) i did not spend a second on thinking such thing could happen.
Well done and if three chords are indeed enough you are now a band!
Fat Flag kicked it off and kept it equally brief for the start:
And that’s also how they continued, upbeat, fast, plenty of breaks and multi vocal singing. A very modern, very American approach to Punk Rock.
They also had a rather juvenile fan base in attendance that pretty much enjoyed itself and could sing-a-long (much more then us old farts).
Fat Flag (Pretty Vacant HQ, Hamburg, 26.09.2025) (c) gehkacken.de 2025
The only downside on their set was the the vocals where not fully understandable (too silent i guess) and that the heat emitters called stage lights burned both the band and the neck of the audience. If only the crew could pilfer some less heat emitting LED lights…
Besides that an energetic set, well received by the audience (and enthusiastically supported by the fan base).
Youth Of Altona next and they are not just a band covering songs from the Wipers, they are a band that play the Wipers. Both on stage and off stage i’d say:
…Youth Of Altona 2025 and Wipers 1979: No difference at all!
On stage they started, as ever, with Return Of The Rats:
From the start it was simply this feeling of joy of playing that came down from the stage, in full speed and taking no prisoners.
But playing the Wipers is not all they do, trust me. They also preserve the simple fact that – give or take – the first three Wipers records (spanning from 1980 to 1983) are simply flawless beauties with songs that stand the test of time. And much more than other bands most of the songs are A1 material, there is almost no weak spot.
And for those who are connoisseurs they also have hidden some Easter Eggs, like the Karl Alvarez intro to Same Old Thing (that has an Karl style bassline for a start, dating back to 1979).
Killing a nod to two loveliest bands in one stone throw – near perfect!
Whilst Youth Of Altona lacked the juvenile fan base of Fat Flag they still had the audience on it’s toes and moving. And those who did not move at minimum had a huge smile on their face and simply did enjoy.
Youth Of Altona are also a peoples band, hence they invited half of Demolition Girls to sing D7 with them to make up for earlier show planed but not happening.
It is a wee bit a complicated and lengthy song and many people name it their least liked song on Is This Real?. I guess largely for 01:30 slow burning intro … but then the firework starts!
Sing-a-long:
Straight as an arrow Defect, defect Not straight, not so straight Reject, reject Towards antisocial Dull, dull, so dull
Standing on the stairs Cold, cold morning Ghostly image of fear Mayday, mayday Gonna leave this region They'll take me with them
Dimension Seven Dimension Seven
Straight as an arrow Defect, defect Not straight, not straight Reject, reject Towards antisocial Dull, dull, so dull
Past astral borders Zeno lies waiting Past gaseous remains Intrigue, such intrigue Gonna leave this region They're taking me with them
Straight as an arrow Defect, defect Not straight, not so straight Reject, reject Towards antisocial Dull, dull, so dull
Perfect adaption with two voices, also presented in a class way. The icing on that cake would follow suit as the setlist indicated: The “encore” would entail the all time favorite Over The Edge plus Youth Of America and finally Nothing to prove (also a lesser known song but dating back to 1986 and Sub Pop 100.
Youth Of Altona – Setlist (Pretty Vacant HQ, Hamburg, 26.09.2025)
Have i seen a tighter set by Youth Of Altona prior? I don’t think so – they grabbed the opportunity to excel in the small and private setting, amongst friends. Are they a cover band? Never. They play Wipers!
Boy, what a great evening. Surrounded by largely friends, from diverse background and enjoying two crisp sets by local bands. In a full DIY setting, up to and including another great physical DIY ticket:
… perfect DIY ticket!
With a broad smile (and a wee bit of less pain on me foot) i took the subway ride home, humming a Wipers tune and looking forward for another Limited Edition. The mark is getting higher, i wonder how the good people making this happen will top it.
And guess what: I know they will.
… the canceled show that Demolition Girls had to pull out on
Hard Skin have been regular visitors to Hamburg over the last say 40 years, have made endless close friends over here and as such their Final Hamburg Show was sold out in record time, with demands for more tickets pestering the Hafenklang.
When i arrived my first feel was not only “wow, that’ll be packed” but also i realized that some of the 80’s Network Of Friends where in attendance with plenty of people coming from far (i saw faces from Munich, from Berlin and god knows where else).
Support was from Hamburgs own Jesus Skins, a band that i never got and who also on this slot still did not get me.
Jesus Skins (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.09.2025) (c) gehkacken.de 2025
They sported a good guitar on my side of the stage and the dual vocals had something to it. But the very German (albeit not Rumpel-Oi!) approach to Oi! is just not my cup of tea.
And, on top, the light was shite (not their fault i guess).
Luckily Hard Skin took the stage quickly and here is how they kicked off in typical Hard Skin style (telling the audience how much they love ’em) with Law and Order:
It sounded a wee bit wobbly but nevermind, it was the kick-off to a set with only bangers, a set with almost exclusively sing-a-longs.
And the packed house did. Sing-a-long. And danced like there is no tomorrow.
And, in between, Sean gave the lot some rest and demonstrated how easy story telling is: From him being important via German footie and Cock Sparrer being shite to small cocks in less than 1:40.
Also an achievement and definitely greatly missed in future:
And remember, having a laugh and having a say goes hand-in-glove.
The almost rushed through their set, unfortunately it was not a 2 hour set but only ever roughly one footie half with a bit of extra time.
Hard Skin (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.09.2025) (c) gehkacken.de 2025
But from the start to the end it was pure fun, sing-a-long and in the end of the day brilliantly played and with a surprising good sound.
In the rooster also short & fast bangers like Who’s that Boy? had their place with the lot filling in on the chorus:
Just puurrrfect!
Much too fast it was over, much too fast i had to catch my ride home and give my still hurting foot a rest. Indeed the humor of a Hard Skin show is the one thing i will greatly miss, but only 2nd to the utmost great people in the band themselves.
Next to me also my favorite booker was happy, he had the best working day in quite a while and a sold out house.
And if those that have to work to make me consumer happy are also happy – than it was absolutely a very special show. A perfect farewell for a band with a long lasting love for & by Hamburg.
