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Category: Shows

  • … just another (electronic) Rock’n’Roll Freitag!

    … just another (electronic) Rock’n’Roll Freitag!

    My workweek was a tad bit annoying, loads of little items to take care of and plenty of derailing of my own priorities by others, leading to a Friday where i felt like it wasn’t fun. As such i took the next best thingy to get my head clear and that would be getting blasted by mu-sick.

    Luckily my favorite haunt down at the harbor was having just another Rock’n’Roll Friday full of bands & mu-sick off the beaten track and unknown to me. But the outlook of Synth Punk, Nintendo Core and Nature Hardcore was just too tempting to resist!

    On the subway down to the City i was thinking “who the heck would go and see these bands” and thought of a small turnout. Boy, i was wrong. From my normal circuit there was only Thomas (but he is anyway having a season ticket like myself) and rest was young folks, most of them with eager dancing feet.

    Katzenschlacht from sunny Münster (location of the Anabaptist rebellion, self-proclaimed bicycle capital and supposedly a Großstadt) kicked off, a guy and a girl behind plenty of synth equipment.

    Plus holding on to Guitar and Bass.

    Katzenschlacht (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 14.08.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    Their sound triggered early 80s memories and ventured between kids harmonies, yelled vocals and quite interesting soundscapes. And the songs itself where brief.

    In short they offered a refreshing take on something i had not heard ever since visiting some of the ZickZack evenings at the Markthalle in early 80s. Think Geniale Dilletanten.

    I suggest you check them out for yourself, they had the front row already dancing and got plenty of applause for their completely honest and innocent set. Quite a surprise for the start.

    Next Kostenfalle from Hamburg, another Duo. Two guys, Bass and Synthie, Sequencer and other electronics, albeit not that much as with Katzenschlacht.

    Kostenfalle (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 14.08.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    Their sound turned out as extremely danceable with the Bass providing a low fuzz drive and then plenty of electronic beats. Again it took me back to the early 80s and the Markthalle – if there would have been drums involved it could have been 03.06.1981.

    They had more than the front row frantically dancing and got most likely the biggest share of applause. Also for me they worked well, both in terms of drive and using the electronics to create soundscapes.

    I’d recommend you check them out, their live performance though to me feels way better than the recorded & released output (no clue why, maybe again my stupid mu-sick-all receptors in me brain).

    Where both Katzenschlacht and Kostenfalle rooted in electronic music, Raubwürger (Great Grey Shrike) took it into Hardcore (sans Bass).

    And a simple theme: Nature. And their mantra is simple:

    Three eccentric characters from Scharhörn are championing nature with brutal environmental hardcore. Ornithology is not a hobby (but a mindset!), a way of breathing, living, fighting. For nature, for freedom, for truth, and for birds!

    Raubwürger (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 14.08.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    They unfortunately had to face a slightly more empty upstairs at the Hafenklang, i guess that was because their sound somewhat did not fit the other two bands exactly.

    For me it all made sense, up to and including taking binoculars along when having a walk in nature (too see all the birds close up and in their beauty).

    Bang! Heavy stuff and sure thing, due to the virtue of a hard hitting drummer, fast forward. They are more than worth checking out, go and see them!

    The cover for their download only LP is just class and worth a showcase:

    And remember, the great grey shrike is a large and predatory songbird!

    I achieved what i wanted: Got out, got my ears blasted with something new and had fun all along the way. And got to learn where all the young folks hide and that their approach to Punk, Hardcore and alike seems much more open & wide than the oldpunk circuit.

    But, as my favorite booker ensured me, we old farts generate much more bar turnover.

    Prost!

  • … when Mondays become fun days: Spucke and Public House on the M/S Hedi!

    … when Mondays become fun days: Spucke and Public House on the M/S Hedi!

    Three weeks ago it was scorching heat in Hamburg and the boat trip with The Dwarves was a heavy sweat exercise. Now it was much more pleasant and the outlook of a little journey on the mighty river Elbe paired with some blasting mu-sick was … just perfect!

    The only problem: I did not score a ticket in time! And sure it was sold out. But thanks to Anja, who sits next to me at the Millerntor, i was equipped in record time. Much appreciated!

    And whilst other parts of Northern Germany got hit heavy by a hail storm the center of Hamburg was all fine (and the air nicely cooled down).

    Support was Spucke, local heroes, and with them it was a first for me. 2 Guitars, a cool looking Bass and Drums. And a huge asset that only ever became clear once they hit gas.

    Spucke (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 13.07.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    All of them sing, both main and chorus, and that part they do very very well. Rarely i have seen a band in this little genre where trading the vocals worked so well and the different pitches fitted the songs so well.

    By and large i would call it hardcore, though they where able to go beyond, up to and including creating soundscapes that lasted (ie. giving the song more time and structure.

    Spucke (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 13.07.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    They announced their first LP, they hope to sell it when they play the “30 Years Hafenklang” Weekend end of July. I will definitely grab it, by the looks they have been able to capture they live sound well.

    On sale they had the tape version, me lacking a tape deck nowadays had to let go that one. Great band, great songs and all-around perfect presentation – i think i have a new secret favorite!

    Public House was going to be a save bet, though i did not bother to check any output of them ahead of the show. But i knew that Wolfgang Buckley of Stiff Richards fame is singing there, so it was indeed safe.

    Even if it would be only half as good as this it would be already great:

    As always i wanted to follow the set to ensure i got an all-over assessment done to decide if i would score a record. So here is what the lot from Melbourne was aiming to give the by now already exited audience:

    Public House – Setlist (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 13.07.2026 (c) gehkacken.de 2026)

    Once they had themselves set up they tested the sound, looked at each others, shrugged their shoulders and went into it, head first.

    Drums, Bass, Guitar and Vocals. The most simple setup. And boy, they made the most out of it. The sound was actually driven by the Bass, pretty loud and dominant where i stood, and that worked quite well.

    Public House (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 13.07.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    From the go they had the audience, despite Wolfgang turning up with an almost lost voice (they seem to have partied too hard they day before when they played the SJOCK FEST).

    They mu-sick-al reach is very wide: short & fast banger, more mellow aggressive songs, heavy hitting stuff – they do not limit themselves at all. To that extend they are somewhat stereotypical Australian: Driving rhythm, garage appeal and a scent of Pub Rock (that AC/DC later took heavy).

    Public House (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 13.07.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    They even got the lot into heavy dancing, not so easy when the dance floor is constantly moving and only ever leaves so little space as on the M/S Hedi. Wild and Perfect!

    At the end it was easy, they convinced me to the max so i had to score their first LP (more or less just out over here):

    And for an absent friend (who yet again missed a banger) we even got a beautiful limited colored version. Thats what you get when you pester me and a mate in parallel with text messages, we should have been buying two for him – or?

    If you want to score for yourself, hop over to our trusted local dealer Sounds Of Subterrania, for only 21€ the black version is yours!

    Perfect Monday evening show, perfect conditions and perfect expert audience around me. And i guess it is simple: “Wild Wax Shows” and “Australian Band” go hand-in-glove and are an almost 100% assurance for a great show.

    More of this, please!

  • … DIY for the youth & the elderly: fröshead with Frox On The Run!

    … DIY for the youth & the elderly: fröshead with Frox On The Run!

    Hamburg seem to have gone from heat wave to rain season, this weekend those who went to see Madness open air got nicely soaked, i was lucky that i choose this small DIY show out by the Airport, it started when the rain almost was gone.

    The setting i ran into was utmost strange: Out in Groß-Borstel (always good for a Sham joke aka “Borstel Breakout”) is this very traditional pub (founded at the location 1905) and the owners every once in a while offer their 2nd room for live music.

    Frox On The Run seem to play there annually and – given life long connection of individuals – invite friends from Berlin to support. This occasion as such was not the first one, but the first i could attend.

    fröshead (an incarnation of what was Third Uncle) from Berlin funnily sport 2 ex-Hamburgers and are all people i know.

    Hardy (Guitar) was busy with HH-Milch and Säurekeller before he went to bigger musical ventures and Berlin, Archie (Drums) is also ex-Hamburg and we share friends and Knut (Bass, played in The Marplots in the early 80s) is someone i knew from back of the mid-80s when i did spend regular times with people from and in Berlin.

    As Third Uncle Hardy & Knut (plus a different drummer) had a great power pop single in 2016 with an A-Side that to me is definite little master piece (produced by Christian Meves).

    Third Uncle – 7″ (Phonector, 2016)

    When i arrived somewhat late they already had taken the small stage area and kicked it off with Brickfield Nights. And followed suit with the Third Uncle hit single:

    To me still a great tune, though i could sense that it wasn’t all hand-in-glove and super rehearsed, it was purely for fun and to emit fun to the audience.

    fröshead (Drei Eichen, Hamburg, 04.07.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    The audience was definitively something different, either very young (i guess 12-17) or very old (end of the 50s and above). I was surprised how much the young ones seemed to take a liking in amplified guitar music (in my ignorant head they all only speed skip through electronic music on eg. Spotify on their mobile).

    As such i concentrated more on the effect of the covers and what would get the young ones most in motion. Surprisingly that was Teenage Kicks, though that redemption had a slight slaughtering touch to it. But it proved that great songs work across generations.

    fröshead (Drei Eichen, Hamburg, 04.07.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    Towards the end they where better together, sounded slicker and generally had more fun themselves. Nice start and nice to see Hardy on stage again after all these years. And to bump into Knut again (after even more years).

    Next the headliner: Frox On The Run (formerly also known in a different incarnation as Frogger). They not only had the house packed (i make a wild guess: Friends & Family) but also had, given their much more Brit Pop & Kids Fun sound, the lot even more going.

    Frox On The Run (Drei Eichen, Hamburg, 04.07.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    I have to be frank: I did not watch all their set but rather had a long chat (and some beers) with Knut, talking about music, travelling for music and “back then“.

    Nonetheless i could hear the music from the other room and it sound actually well, including expert choice of covers like Know Your Product (Saints). And on some Fehlfarben covers they even got support from Thomas Schwebel on stage.

    As a grand finale and way beyond allowed time they got 2/3 of Third Uncle back on stage and gave a joint cover that as well could anyway have been the signature song of the evening:

    Harmony in my head (Buzzcocks):

    Yet again, great tunes work across generations and the rather youthful crowd went bananas. Really.

    Fun evening way off the beaten track and with an extra fun option to bump into old friends. And indeed thanks to Nico for setting it up and preaching my reasoning:

    Whatever your are as a band, however good you are as a musician – together on stage you must end a song jointly and on a single chord or beat.

    Period.

    And if you can, you sure dress for the occasion.