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Category: Shows

  • … a real dream date: Brewery, Punk Rock, Surf and Summer!

    … a real dream date: Brewery, Punk Rock, Surf and Summer!

    It was Knock-Off who themed “Football Beer and Punk Rock” and in the same fashion the good folks keeping the Punkrock Hamburg community afloat dubbed their 2024 Summer event: Sommermärchen 2024 has a nod to footie but capitalized on location, on content and on delivery.

    Location was the Landgang Brewery in Altona, content was 3 Bands from Hamburg and one from sunny Münster. And delivery was by all, up to and including the 216 folks attending on a lovely mild summer evening.

    As kick-off as early as 18:00 came a huge surprise – by name and sound they fitted the summer vibes oh so much:

    That is Poolhead.

    The song is “Shake’n’Spill” and by the time they played that one i was already a converted fan. Next to Punk and H/C i crave also Surf, the single band with the most vinyl in my 5000+ collection is actually not the Descendents, not the Ramones (and sure not U.K. Subs) but … Man or Astro-man? (a whooping 38 out of their total 72 releases according to Discogs).

    I had no clue that Poolhead even existed and where that song was full-on laid back beach vibes they had others that had twang, drive and umpf. Proof that Surf is a perfect match-up with eg. H/C.

    Poolhead (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    And for a Surf band their pedal boards looked surprisingly tiny as in efficient, still their setup of twin guitars and drums gave a wide sound variety thanks to their expert handling of the reverbs, springs and what-have-you.

    Here is another beauty, themed after the stereotypical Italian live guard:

    “Il Bagnino”, only ever a true hero with the whistle around his neck!

    To that extend the above Italian poster for that Elvis Presley movie has an odd failure in not adding that whistle. Bad attention to detail.

    The more they played, the more they got into it and got positive feedback from the lot, that most likely was not expecting these sound and was not really into Surf in the first place.

    The band started to smile, started to move and somewhat got driven away. Within that, they came across humble and almost shy, taking in the appreciation with broad smiles.

    Poolhead (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    How can it be summed up? In 3:11 and with a big nod to Raymond John Pepperell:

    That was purrrfect!

    I will now for sure sign up to their fan club and i will make an effort to see them again. They simply jump into a niche that had not been filled since … let’s say The Incredible Sinalco Bums (and that was their 10″ in 1996).

    Here is their set list, now forever in my memories…

    Poolhead – Setlist (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    As ever if a band convinces me live i got to score vinyl, so off i went after their sole vinyl output, which luckily they still had some (despite having pressed only 100 of these beauties).

    It came with a nice Il Bagnino themed tote bag and a double cool Poolhead Sea Horse badge themed after what in Germany is the badge for young kids mastering the first level of swimming. Seepferdchen Abzeichen that is!

    Head over to Bandcamp to score their stuff:

    And yes, at some times their soundscapes touched sky aka the Olymp where Man or-Astro-man? sit. I am now eager to see how far Poolhead can evolve, how high they can get!

    Jan, Arne and Kai had the difficult task to follow up to that surprise and ground the people again. Given that in contrast to Poolhead they sing (and have great lyrics on top) the ears of the audience got something different for a start.

    Nasser Hund (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    They played by and large their standard set, included one or the other new additions and within that kept my loveliest song in the rooster.

    Here is “Sie Lächeln Nur Auf Fotos“:

    Specifically Jan seemed to enjoy a couple of different twangs on this one, in German it is called “Spielfreude” and maybe best expressed simply as joy of play. And boy, that came through in their set big time and was echoed by the audience.

    Nasser Hund (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Given that this was outside, on the backyard in front of the brewery in a largely industrial quarter of Altona this song sure was a must – here is “Draussen Sein“:

    Upbeat, inspiring and the unique vocals of Arne – best in class if you ask me! A pity that they do not play that often and a double pity that there still is no further vinyl to eg. put their monster hit “Anomalie” to the test of time.

    They got the the lot fully into the groove and handed the baton to Youth Of Altona, who set out to deliver the best of The Wipers as follows…

    Youth Of Altona – Setlist (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024)

    I did not pay full attention to the set list ahead of their set, if i would have … i would have recorded another song on video indeed. But little did i know of the 2nd big surprise of the day (that was still to come).

    Thanks to the superb lead in by Poolhead and Nasser Hund and i guess thanks also to the bottomless pit of beer available on location Youth Of Altona did hit a sweet spot: Time was perfect, readiness by the audience was full and booze had not yet taken over but was at that sweet spot of happiness.

    Youth Of Altona (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    In sum it meant that they instigated a nice dancing party in front of the stage and got a lot of people moving and singing along. But also crisp and more complicated songs like “Telepathic” got the lot cheering:

    My surprise moment came with #9, for the first time ever a band met a silly request by myself. Taking the effort to rehearse a song and then play it.

    Youth Of Altona, a true peoples band, took note of my 2023 statistics and the fact that i had them down for participating in what i felt was Show Of The Year 2023…

    … and offered a return. And took the offer serious. And delivered 31 weeks later.

    Wow – thanks so much and indeed that song with an almost Karlish bass went down well with me. Very well (hugs & kisses you lot!).

    Youth Of Altona (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Perfect set and confirming that a cover concept works if the band truly has their heart in it. And Youth Of Altona have their heart in it big time, the amount of cheers they got was overwhelming. Well done, well done!

    The headlining slot was for the guests from far, friends of Hamburgs finest The Haermorrhoids and well known to the Punk Rock Raduno pilgrims. Neon Bone hail from Münster, the cultural center of the Westphalia and home of the late Moondog.

    And home of the Puke Fest, the number one Pop Punk festival in Germany.

    So, no surprises when it came to adding a wee bit of candy, bubblegum and love to the proceedings – because that is what Neon Bone are best at. In short and crisp doses.

    Neon Bone (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Their stage setup was somewhat also nice, the only guy not having singing or chorus duties was stage center and roaming around.

    The Internet (damn Internet, never forgets) places them well:

    Neon Bone continue to represent everything I love about pop-punk. Their records are full of simple three-chord songs influenced by classic pop and rock 'n' roll and delivered with a satisfying punk rock punch. This is a band that understands the timelessness of both melody and love songs, and there has never been much of a need to radically change its approach to music.

More so now than ever, you can really hear the band embracing pop-punk's roots in doo wop, early rock 'n' roll, and '60s bubblegum.

(paraphrased from Lord Rutledge over at the Faster and Louder Blog)

Here is the exhibit to prove it, it has all these ingredients.
    And if you swallow your pride
We can do just fine
And if we can join our forces
Only one more time
If we act like nothing
Ever fell apart

Forget about our broken heart
And rearrange right from the start

Here is "Paint It White":

    It is from their 2024 effort on Monster Zero Records, scoot there for the vinyl or grab it via here:

    They played on and on and finished off in the dark. Funniest moment came for the final encore that was sung by the guitar not having a mike in front of him. He had to multi-task as he not only had to play and sing but also to explain the chords on the fly to the other guitar (that was sporting the cool Avem shirt).

    Neon Bone (Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, 17.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Great finish of a lovely mu-sick-al evening, loads of cheers but no further encore – there was a risk of neighbor complaints and police intervention.

    Without further ado the lot took it into the brewery and towards the turntables, fueled by Arne & Dirk acting as the DJ’s. And what was dancing with the bands turned into dancing to some choice classics, getting more of that beer and chatting with people from near and far.

    The Party ( (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    The location as such is super cool, a bar, enough space to sit, enough space to dance and overall a great scenery next to the big tanks giving birth to that beer.

    The Beer ( (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Not sure what the Landgang Brewery expected but i heard rumors that they sold above 1.000 glasses of beer – i guess on average about 5 beers per person. Invite the Punkrock Hamburg lot and you get noise, no stress and maximum turnover!

    I had tried their beer before, liked it though it is not a standard one in the household. Here is a little snippet about them:

    I took home around midnight, jumping onto the bus for a door-to-door delivery down to Altona-Altstadt, had a final one for the road with the love of my life and went to bed with a cozy and happy feeling – thanks to the Punkrock Hamburg crew and the lot.

    Can we do this again? Please?

    PS: In case you want more on the brewery, hop to their homepage…

  • BROKE BUT DOPE – SAVE THE HAFENKLANG

    BROKE BUT DOPE – SAVE THE HAFENKLANG

    My loveliest club struggles big time – please support the Hafenklang unconditionally.

    https://www.startnext.com/broke-but-dope-save-hafenklang

    Why?

    Because it is not only home to splendid people but also hosts splendid shows attended by fellow splendid folks.

    Now open your purse. I will.

    Thanks

    Update 27.08.:

  • … of birds, rats and scooters: Too punk for the pop punk tribe?

    … of birds, rats and scooters: Too punk for the pop punk tribe?

    Whilst this show was on the other side of Rebellion (and plenty of regulars would have just come back from their Blackpool pilgrimage) i was pretty sure it would be a packed show. If eg. the Booze Cruise Festival could pack the Hafenklang for a weekend, then a show by The Queers should easily do it for the same crowd.

    So much for my ability to predict. The Hafenklang, downstairs, was empty as a fuck when i arrived early and it never really filled up. Wild guess – at the max 50 folks attended. Pity, real pity.

    Late addition to the show was Avem from There’s No Place Like This aka Ontario, Canaduh. They kicked off as early as 20:30 to i’d say a maximum of 10 people. Watching them at first i was thinking oh my and had too lightweight in my mind.

    But the more they played, they somewhat crept into my mu-sick-al receptors and into my mind.

    First, as they added the sound of birds singing via the PA to their set (and that was a very very clever backdrop sound throughout their set) and 2nd because they turned out to have a huge capability when it comes to melody and multi-vocal harmonies.

    Avem (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    And were other bands from their genre concentrate on love, beach, sun & girls they simply focus all their effort on … birds. Beautiful birds. With beautiful songs (them birds, sure thing).

    Here is “Let’s Go Watching” and sure that is bird watching, you dimwit!

    The drummer sported a cool matching shirt (Fuck Off – I Am Bird Watching) so that all of their effort was hand-in-glove. Sing-a-long to this beauty:

    Not much I’d rather do
Spend days watching with you
Our shit’s all in it’s place
Let’s find nature’s embrace

Let’s go watching
Let’s go watching

Not much I’d rather do
Spend days watching with you
Our shit’s all in it’s place
Let’s find nature’s embrace

Let’s go watching
Let’s go watching

Until we leave our heads
Until we wind up dead, let’s go watching

Not much I’d rather do
Spend days watching with you
Our shit’s all in it’s place
Let’s find nature’s embrace

Let’s go watching
Let’s go watching
Let’s go watching
Let’s go watching

Until we leave our heads
Until we wind up dead, lets go watching

    And here is the Bingo card to go with it:

    And despite them making a continued point about the next couple of songs surprisingly being about birds it never got boring, in contrast it provided plenty of fun!

    Avem – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de)

    I never came across them earlier and i have to admit they got something. Apparently they did not have vinyl with them, so i need to resort to checking out their latest on Bandcamp. And, surprise, it is about … birds.

    Tits and Cocks anyone?

    But what is wrong with names like these
Say Hooters, Tits, and Boobies
Or even Peckers, Cocks, and Shags
These names seem gross to newbies

Some folks are shocked with what I say
When I talk of my bird friend
They think I’m just an old pervert
My topic is to offend

    Great stuff and super friendly people. They would have deserved a packed upstairs and maybe they should have been paired with local heroes (and Avem devotees) The Haermorrhoids. Still, the few already there cheered them a lot!

    In hindsight i was really happy to see them and to discover a new sub-sub genre: Ontarian Ornithology Pop Punk aka OOPP!

    From birds to one of the fiercest foes of them birds … omniverous scavengers. Rats.

    Ups, time for The Favorats. Actually they are favorites with Kevin Apers ever since The Apers played their first ever German show in April of 1999 with them. And as early as 2000 they had an EP on Stardumb Records (that is SDR.4 for all #recordcollectorsarepretentiousarseholes).

    The Favorats are from the sunny (and empty) Emsland, bordering Dutchistan, and that stretch of land is famous for peat bogs, big ships and magentic elevated trains (RIP). And where Avem were lightweight like a small singing bird they come across hard, fast and heavy like a noisy muscle car.

    Here is what it sounded like (and it wasn’t the best of sounds, actually):

    Still, they tick the same boxes: (Heavier) melodies, multi-vocal singing and songs about … girls, beach, sun and surf.

    They existed early on from 1996 to 2003 and then called it a day. But in 2018 they got together again and seem now to be at it again, including – as someone noted to me – a great re-union show at a Puke Fest in Münster.

    The Favorats (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    I guess that is exactly were you can place them, 100% old school pop punk deeply rooted in Ramonescore. From were i sit not all of their songs are unique, not all of their songs have their very own feel around it but live, hard and fast it is a worthy set to listen to.

    Here is how they sound recorded:

    What i did like was that they had variations in speed and umpf, i though missed variation in the delivery aka they where too much glued to one setting (and enjoyed an awful lighting).

    On the bonus side the also covered an Apers song, though i still believe The Battledykes version of that song is by far the best Apers cover ever!

    But whatever concerns, i’d be happy to see them again on a bill!

    I’ve been a member of this club, for way too many years
    All we really do is sit and drink and listen to …

    .. The Queers!

    Avem played quite long for an opening band, The Favorats also had a decent long setlist and then it took The Queers even longer to get ready on stage (and they still had to do some sorta sound check on the spot).

    We happily stayed outside as we observed Joe Queer discovering the electric scooters in Hamburg that you can rent on the fly with your mobile. And whooosh he went AWOL on one. Seeing him scooting away from the Hafenklang we somewhat knew that we had a wee bit more time for chatting outside on this warm summer night in Hamburg.

    Eventually everything was ready but it had pushed time towards late (compared against many other shows these days with doors at 1900 and start at 2000).

    The Queers always have been a mixed bag but on the positive side: Deeply rooted in Punk rather than embracing only ever the Pop and Bubblegum side of mu-sick.

    Here is Debra Jean, a sing-a-long from the Bubblegum side of things:

    The Queers in it’s current formation are together quite a while, though Joe recruited a new tour bass player out of Italy (at least that is my wild guess). They came across well rehearsed, them strings being expert musicians and the drummer being a constant joy (and making faces). Bonus: He broke two bass drum pedals!

    The Queers (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Most fun moment was when Joe was changing the guitar amp settings whilst he gave the middle of the stage and the limelight to the guitar. The first two changes went unnoticed to the guitar, on the 3rd change he somewhat recognized that something had changed. But he did not dare to change it back. Joe is the boss i guess.

    They delivered song after song, little to no breaks and no setlist – all was ready to go. Within that Joe also selected songs not from the short burst rooster but from over the 02:00 mark.

    According to those in the know they never played Definitely whilst on tour in Germany (and for the first time they where over in like 1996 if i am not mistaken). So sing-a-long to the verse:

    Definitely all right
Definitely outta sight
Definitely so cool you're my girl
Definitely all right
Definitely outta sight
Definitely so cool you're my girl

    And whilst they soldiered on and had a small and devoted fan base dancing in front of the stage the rest of the room unfortunately somewhat emptied. It did feel somewhat odd, as The Queers actually delivered a tight and forceful set that should have set the room boiling.

    If only it would have been filled in the first place.

    The Queers (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    I can only make some guesses why: First off, some only came back from Blackpool on that day (exhausted and some even sans luggage). And then there is summer school holidays in Hamburg. And finally Joe Queer seems too punk for todays Pop Punk generation. Or?

    For the final they got Avem back on stage and they Kicked Out the Webelos with them Canadians:

    Great show, one of me mates claimed it as “Show of the Year” but i guess that was a premature ejaculation. For me it was surprisingly good with Avem as a real WOW! moment and as a new discovery.

    The Queers where done at i guess 23:30 and it was still nice enough to stay outside, have a beer (my first, for others the final one) and a chat – best way to wind down a mu-sick-al night on the harbor front.

    … despite empty & lateness – happiness! ( (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Once the beer was gone, me mates safely on the way to the last subway or in a taxi home i strolled the few hundred meters uphill towards home, but not without turning around and taking the views of the harbor (and QEII) in.

    QEII (Hamburg, 07.08.2024 (c) gehkacken.de)

    If only some of the folks on the QEII would have been ferried over to bolster the attendance, if only!