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Category: Shows

  • … harmony intro to a beatdown!

    … harmony intro to a beatdown!

    There are many things i dig but there is a much bigger amount of things i don’t dig. In this little niche i savor i tend to listen to recorded and live mu-sick to, the amount of likes tends to be bigger but there also sore thorns i just can’t fathom.

    As one of me mates put it: “There ain’t nuthin stupider in the H/C genre than the invention of beatdown dancing“. And he is quite right. But often the brutal and brisk onslaught onto me ears in the same sub-genre is actually pleasant.

    That was the conflict for this show and the urge to get a good blast because of an annoying work week so far was bigger than the pain of … ah, toss it.

    Kick off was from Norway, Oh See Demons hail from rainy Bergen and must have felt home in the Hamburg weather.

    They sure where the outlier, as their very American, very modern approach to H/C did not necessarily match the sound of the other two bands.

    Oh See Demons (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    At good time i sensed a scent of Prophagandhi, at bad times it had a metalic undercurrent. Main asset was the near-perfect multi-vocal harmonies when singing, all in a much higher than grunt pitch.

    Oh See Demons – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de

    I guess they were largely wasted on the audience, i found them entertaining though only little audience interaction.

    Would i buy a record? I guess not but the one or the other song are actually more than OK. As always, check them out for yourself.

    Next Ingrown, hailing from la rivière boisée (aka Boise, Idaho). Famous for the Basque Block. And surprisingly with a long mu-sick-al history. And Ingrown, hailed as a band that is a lightspeed tour through crushing power violence, towering riffs, and titanic breakdowns (to quote the internet. Damn internet, never forgets).

    Ingrown (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    And exactly that is what the lot got in i guess a set of max of 20 minutes. And it got those beatdown dancers beating down. They are an onslaugt indeed and it was great to feel their pressure in my stomach.

    Just the grunts that serve as vocals don’t make my day.

    Check them out, i am a wee bit inclined to maybe score the Idaho LP at one point in time.

    Next GAG and all turned hunkydory: Everything i may have missed with Ingrown came across here. First and foremost a roaming singer with dual guitars giving both a wider sound and something eyecatching.

    GAG (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Their songs are equally short but somewhat less simple, less hard without missing the aggressive touch needed. They hail from Olympia, Washington, incubator for sub-genres like Riot Girrrl and Grunge.

    Within that context it is worth to note that GAG are not just a replay on say 80s US H/C but have something fresh going.

    It felt like this:

    Fast, hard and short. And within, strange enough, i had references kicking out of the blue into my head that i did not expect: No Trend. Or No Means No. Though these where only ever like a blink, not constant.

    GAG (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    They kept their set also short (albeit longer than Ingrown) and they had a wee bit of consumer interaction. And that was to extend of “come closer or fuck right off” and “if you ask for an encore i’m gonna kick you”. I guess you get the fun.

    On record they sound … i take you have checked it out above. I will give it some listen online and then decide later if i am gonna buy one. But live, they are a convincing band.

    And did the dance style annoy? It did, but hey-ho it ain’t for old fart to wage a war on this. Everybody to do what she likes unless it harms others.

    Neat evening, quick sets, able to make a mate happy by paying for his entry and early finish, so not too late out home in the green of the woods.

  • … a blistering shop performance, a bouncy start and a raunchy finish: 35 years of Gerd!

    … a blistering shop performance, a bouncy start and a raunchy finish: 35 years of Gerd!

    It has been a while. Not so much seeing Gerd (that has been last year) but seeing two shows on the same evening. I have friends who do place hoping as an urge (to see everything) but that ain’t my thingy. But this Saturday a perfect opportunity arose and i had to take it.

    En route to the Knust i could catch an early performance by Poolhead at the FC St. Pauli Fanshop on the Reeperbahn and from there it would be a short hop to the Knust (where proceedings would start around 20:00).

    Poolhead played as part of the Fanshop Kultur series (already going for 10+ years, Gerd graced the cobble stones in 2015) and as part of the 100th occasion.

    Poolhead (FSK100, Hamburg, 15.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    I fell for Poolhead when they played the Punk Rock Hamburg Summer Fest in 2024 and ever since was eager to see them. Unfortunately previous dates where they played home shores did not match my schedule, hence it took more than a year.

    They played with least setup time and managed to sound quite well from the go.

    The beauty of the setup in the shop, on the Reeperbahn, is that the audience is a fun mix of fans & friends, store customers and walkers by (who hear the sound and enter the store). By the looks for some live music as such was a big surprise, including some small kids who most likely had not seen anything like that prior.

    Poolhead (FSK100, Hamburg, 15.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    I am still sold on them and in absence of Man or Astro-man? they are the best to see live from that little genre largely sans vocals and full of analog spring reverb.

    They finished off with what is their self-proclaimed signature song… here we go with Il Bagnino:

    Blistering! Perfect! They even got forced to encore after this and gave Miserlou (their only cover) to the enchanted audience.

    As they where running late i scooted off across the Heiligengeistfeld to the Knust as i wanted to catch the support there too.

    On the way to the Knust i noted that a UK Cover Band wanted to steal the audience away from Gerd, luring people into the Congress Center. Damned you are Suzy, rather you should have come to worship the origins of Glam!

    Over at the Knust it somewhat felt like Suzy had been successful, or it was the early start of “Doors 1900” that still is alien to the elderly (though perfect for an early nap).

    As support Gerd had enlisted The Changingmen. I had not seen them before but knew they had a support slot for The Undertones recently. Plus the faces felt familiar, 3/4th of them played with Helge (still missing him) in Sixteen Again.

    The Changingmen (Knust, Hamburg, 15.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Their sound ventures on the Rock side, in good moments it is very UK Power Pop. Not particularly my world but all of them are good musicians so it did not sound odd or off.

    It sounded like this:

    Sound wise they definitely fitted the support slot for Gerd but net only half of the audience made an effort to see them.

    … but they only ever lured half of the audience from the bar

    Kudos to the Bad Job Boys, they appeared in full force! Still, as said, a valid warm-up for Gerd.

    The Changingmen – Setlist (Knust, Hamburg, 15.11.2025 (c) gehkacken.de)

    And they had all originals, just like Gerd.

    Next and with all the grandeur of accumulated hundreds of years of stage experience Gerd took ownership of the Knust:

    Action! Top 15 in July 1975 in the UK. And bittersweet revenge on the mu-sick-industry (and thus 100% in Gerd territory).

    It sounded rough (if not bumpy) and as a listener i had the feel that Gerd needed a couple of songs to be fully glued together.

    The Changingmen (Knust, Hamburg, 15.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    But once the train started rolling more and more it worked hand-in-glove and to the excitement of the audience (though, as said, the Knust felt a wee bit empty).

    By the time they arrived at the end of the setlist they had it all: Energy, wit, togetherness, humor and the audience.

    Thus it was time for one of their signature songs:

    More than one person after the show noted that Nessi should be lending his great voice more professionaly to a band – it is one of these voices that can glue a listener, just like here. Una bella compangnia!

    The Changingmen (Knust, Hamburg, 15.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    And in extra time aka encore they topped it all and had the lot singing and dancing as there would not be any stoppage, up to and including firing on all cylinders for Billstedt (Twilight Zone):

    Little fun fact: That is 1:17 of pure beauty and when Lemmy and Da Bruders covered this on 06.08.1996 at The Palace in Los Angeles it clocked in at … exactly 1:17.

    Gerd, the unstoppable machine that other bands cover 1:1.

    The Changingmen (Knust, Hamburg, 15.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Once the encore was done Gerd retreated but the lot did not have enough. It wanted more. It demanded more. And Thodde, Gerds drummer, wanted to give more and lured the rest back on stage.

    Not rehearsed in 30 years but hey-ho, once we get over the first bump it’ll work, eh? And boy, it did!

    Gerd – Setlist (Knust, Hamburg, 15.11.2025 (c) gehkacken.de)

    30 odd songs, crème de la crème of Gerds oeuvre.

    Once they finally had left the stage Hollyholetsgo and Nickelodeon lured the lot onto the dancefloor at the bar. Their expert sing-a-long and dance-a-long DJ selections kept the fun & energy high, fueling the lust for liquid replenishment.

    2 locations, 3 bands and surrounded by largely friends. And enjoying the music. To that extent a huge thanks to Gerd for enabling it and already thanks in advance for the upcomming 40 year party at the Elbphilharmonie.

    And (blush) for seeing my Gerd pic from the 2024 show blown up in front of the Knust and on their monthly flyer.

  • … more genuine than novelty act: 슬랜트, all the way from  대한민국!

    … more genuine than novelty act: 슬랜트, all the way from  대한민국!

    Sure we all know stuff from Asia, specifically Punk and utmost brutal H/C from Japan. But Korea, that still divided peninsula, ain’t ever came across my mu-sick-al geography.

    Slant (Korean: 슬랜트) are from Seoul and came across my screen in 2021 when Iron Lung released their first LP, aptly called Album 1. Hard, fast and plenty of screams by that tiny girl on vocals.

    And on top this video snippet sure added visuals to it:

    Yep, that sounds and looks interesting. And that was not only for me, also for many others. To no surprise their boat trip show on the tiny MS Hedi was sold out upfront and to an even bigger surprise everybody showed up.

    As such the MS Hedi was packed. Once it set sail into the surprisingly mild evening and calm river the lot packed the space around the setup … and no band to see.

    It took a while until Slant manned the rigs and performed their first set. And i would guess within 12 minutes that was over. From where i stood the sound was sub-optimal and for me it came across as very basic H/C.

    Slant (MS Hedi, Hamburg, 05.11.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    The MS Hedi did not more between sets, simply kept sailing and DJ music floating for the lot. After, let’s guess 30 minutes, Slant took the helm for a 2nd set and that one made much more click with me (maybe because i relocated): Drive, umpf and less basic hardcore but a very modern sound (though they performed only as a 4 piece with one guitar).

    It sounded very much like on their recent demo (for the 2023 Japan tour):

    But also the 2nd set was over just within minutes (let’s say 11), though to much cheer from the audience.

    I had a bit a fear that people would only ever dig them because of the novelty status (a band from Korea over at these shores) but in hindsight i take it that was wrong. Slant proved a genuine and well oiled band.

    Where they really suited for the MS Hedi? My take would be – nope. I would rather want to see them upstairs at the Hafenklang with a 25 minute set.

    It was entertaining but way to … crisp. As in short.

    But luckily i had friends around me, so we could chat at length about age, sicknesses and retirement.