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Category: Shows

  • … 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.

  • .. . some like it hot: The Dwarves² on the M/S Hedi!

    .. . some like it hot: The Dwarves² on the M/S Hedi!

    When The Dwarves where announced with two consecutive shows for the M/S Hedi people where quite exited and rushed tickets, including plenty of people that took tickets for both shows. As such both trips where quickly sold out.

    Little did folks knew ahead of time how damn hot Hamburg would turn out that Saturday – i guess it was 39° Celsius and a bit.

    I only took tickets for the 2nd set taking sail at 17:30, so me mate Frosch (who took both sets) reports about the first set:

    Entering our beloved show boat MS Hedi at 3pm in the dazzling heat it took the mighty Dwarves a little while before entering the “stage”.

    Looking at the set list it proved what was written in the music press beforehand, same as the new album “Jenkem” the legendary band was going back to the roots and playing more of the hard and heavy songs with less of the surf and bubblegum punk ones in the mix, like in recent years.

    And Blag Dahlia, the greatest womanizer on the planet, gave it to us hot and hard, struggling just a little with the almost 40°C. Well he had just turned 60 a little over a month ago.

    And I’m really looking forward to see his alter ego Ralph Champagne play an acoustic set in 3 weeks in a similar tiny setting at Bikefellas, Punk Rock Raduno #9 in Bergamo, the best little festival in the world!

    The Dwarves – Setlist Set 1 (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 27.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    He moved to the stern of the Hedi even more often than he did during the 2nd set, reaching out to people as even more crammed outside trying to catch a breath of fresh air on this trip.

    The whole band was on fire, punk rock guitar hero Gianluca “Ginger Fanculo” Panero, who’s also playing with the Queers and Screeching Weasel (just saw him and Screeching Weasel play a fantastic show at London’s Electric Ballroom 1.5 month ago), plus Nick Oliveri of Queens Of The Stone Age fame on bass.

    Usually he’s taking over the part of Dwarves founding member HeWhoCannotBeNamed getting butt naked, but I suppose that wasn’t on due to the political correct guidelines of the M/S Hedi… a great 1st show, only the sound was going to get a little better on the 2nd set. And we where in for some set list changes as a very kind Blag the Ripper confirmed during the break between shows.

    When i arrived at the mooring it indeed was a scorching heat and those who stayed on from the first set looked somewhat already exhausted (but very happy).

    First thing on board was continuing to sip water, thankfully the good people of the M/S Hedi also allowed water to be taken on board and gave away free water bottles.

    And whilst the vessle set sail the Drummer of The Dwarves took his time to decorate his snare drum…

    The Dwarves – Snare decoration ( (c) gehkacken.de 2026)

    .. hot as in hell indeed it was!

    Once the Dwarves hit the “stage” anyway all of that heat was forgotten: Those staying over from Set 1 where on fire from the go, those who only joined for Set 2 where convinced right from the first chord.

    The Dwarves (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 27.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    To me the sound was surprisingly well, also – given rather calm waters – the band was in no need to find it’s (steady) feat. All being super professional, they got a solid fat sound out of basically the most minimum equipment.

    I thoroughly enjoyed it, be it the faster & harder ones, be it the more sing-a-long ones. It was near perfect Schweinerock, with a super fun attitude and a decent amount of umpf.

    The Dwarves (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 27.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    On top the ultimate entertainer and schmoozer: Blag Dhalia (aka Captain Blag Dahlia aka Blag Jesus aka lag Stallion aka Blag the Ripper aka Gentleman Blag aka Earl Lee Grace aka Julius SeizureK aka ip Kasper aka Junior High aka Dominator aka Astro Boy aka Ralph Champagne).

    He was telling the lot all about The Dwarves, all about their legend, all about them Dwarves inventing Punk Rock, all about being in need for merch income to stay rich, all about best looking and – without the need for disclosure – all about the primary external copulatory organs of the band.

    But he is an honest man and true to his words the setlist for Set2 was altered.

    The Dwarves – Setlist Set 2 (M/S Hedi, Hamburg, 27.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    When they finished the M/S Hedi was still some way away from the mooring, so the lot forced something extra and the request was met.

    So here is Better Be Women as the supreme final for Set 2:

    This one is well aged (26 years old now) and still is a lovely powerful pop punk song with the right amount of Dwarves twist.

    I guess it is time that i also checkout the new record, though i have to admit that i am not sure that the 12 records in my collection with get a 13th companion.

    But live The Dwarves are still perfect entertainment (and have nowadays almost regular “long” sets).

    Whilst part of the die-hards choose to spend more time in the city with a few cold beers i choose the airconditioned care of the mate who gave a ride to the show.

    PS: Big FANX to Frosch for the report of Set 1 and the the video (i was too engulfed to record one)