Sometimes you got give in. Give in to the urge to jog down memory lane. Being able to see Bärchen und Die Milchbubies at the Hafenklang was such an occasion, as they had been a known name from Hannover in the early 80s. But i never got to see them as far as i can remember.
Lulu und Die Einhornfarm was the support, though it is their recent record that gave the tour the apt name: “Alles Klärchen Bärchen” – i guess they were the real headliner. I knew that it is a side project of one of the Crackhuren lot but that Band is way off my mu-sick-al territory, so i did not know what to expect.
Lulu und Die Einhornfarm (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 04.06.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
What i got was a very modern interpretation of 80s Deutschpunk, thankfully delivered with drive and in short & fast doses (my guess would be all songs clocked in around the 01:30 mark). They had plenty of fans dancing and singing so i guess they qualify for being popular (as in Pop).
It wasn’t my thingy but i can see why it touches mainly younger folks (with a less narrow minded mu-sick-al upbringing than myself). Check them out for yourself, who am i to judge?
Next on the revived Bärchen, shrunk to a 3 piece with original members Annette singing and strumming the Guitar, Kai on Bass and singing too plus Markus (Hamburg Ramönes, ex-Rotzkotz) on drums.
Little fun fact: Whilst originally part of the No Fun family of Hannover fame all of the current members reside in … sunny Hamburg. The lure of the big city?
I guess since their retrospective collection came out on Tapete Records they have found larger interest beyond record collector scum hunting for their 1980 single with the all time novelty hit “Jung Kaputt Spart Altersheime“.
Where Lulu & Co where fast, wild and i guess obnoxious (and lured the younger contingent), Annette & Co where slow, behaved and … shy (and lured the older contingent).
Like offensive little sister vs. behaved older sister – the loudmouth on the outside whilst the shy older sister has more inside depth. But in the end both are the same blood – personal stories from a female perspective.
Bärchen und Die Milchbubis (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 04.06.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
There was distinctive less action on stage and off stage, i also sensed less people in the room. Knowing some of their old stuff i guess i knew what to expect and partly i got that. What did strike me though was that the few songs announced as new by and large worked much better for me, specifically when the Bass was playing chords to carry the vocals. They got friendly applause and on some of their old & known stuff even some sing-a-long.
Would i see both again? I guess not, unless eg. Bärchen would appear as a package at the Hafenklang. Was it worth it beyond discussions on Senseo-Pads, Incontinence and Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz with fellow Oldpunks? I guess yes, because the memory lane only ever is good if you ground yourself into realities of today.
NB: Memory lane also came up with this pic that i always found utmost funny back then – additional fun nugget is that the Skin with the black eyes now is a renowned Professor for Experimental and Quantum Physics. Beat that freedom of mind!