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Category: Shows

… perfect Monday, sold out: Saufknast, Chain Whip, Ping Pong!
Monday upstairs at the Hafenklang is most of the time a fun experience: Either something completely unknown, with donation at the entry, followed by Table Tennis and DJ or something special, following the same logic. This Monday it was the latter, Chain Whip from Vancouver, BC, came through town and where supposed to top their energetic performance at last years Get Lost Fest.

Support was by Saufknast, a fresh band from Hamburg/Kiel, sporting a great name (it is a play on words best translated to Drinking Prision) and a graphically not so great logo. When i arrived at the Hafenklang it was already well filled and Saufknast kicked off way ahead of 21:00, making some miss their set.
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Saufknast (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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What did i get? Strings paired with hair. A drummer sporting a Grauzone shirt (and playing way off that reference). And a female singer with a high pitched voice with too much reverb on it – from start to finish i was not even able to make out in which language she was singing.

How did it sound? It did not sound perfect but specifically the hairy strings where able to give it quite some umpf, drive and force.

Checking out their Œuvre (available on Tape from Flennen too) i have to admit that they actually have something. And on top the lyrics, in German (surprise), are actually very clever and surprisingly well done (and sorta out of genre).

Check it out for yourself, it is worth it:
<a href="https://saufknast.bandcamp.com/album/ep-i">EP I by SAUFKNAST</a>
I’d love to see them again, with a slightly better sound, and i yes i’d buy that EP on Vinyl – after some contemplation i found them so much better than most of me mates around me (who more or less shrugged them off immediately). They also got a fair share of applause for their short & crisp set, including from Chain Whip band members.

Next Chain Whip and the upstairs at the Hafenklang was by now well filled though with 130 folks technically not sold out. A stark contrast to some Monday entertainment with say less than 10 people attending. I could sense quite some eagerness with people, a largely rather young audience. Already sensing ahead of the show that Chain Whip currently are hot shit i was eager myself to check if they are able to live up to that.

Here is how they kicked off:

Bang! 5 seconds of build up and then off we go – the perfect recipe of 80s West Coast Hardcore. Singer Josh Nickel used to play in The Jolts (a Vancouver band i would have loved to see over here) but is now set for something else:
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Whether that's good or bad, I like violence. If I don't get that from the audience of my own free will, I just have to create it within myself. I'm not out to hurt people. That's for assholes. 

But when I see a killer punk band or stand on stage myself, I want to smell sweat and see blood. I want to feel like it means something to the band to be there. Hardcore is raw energy. I want it to wrap around me when I'm at a show. 

I'm also painfully aware that I'm a 35-year-old playing music that was invented and perfected by 17-year-olds. Sometimes you have to face this fact.
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Whoahey – right on all counts (though for me and me mates age is more times two)! As one of me mates always states: “It is time to bring danger back into hardcore“. Indeed such a setting get’s the better out of a show.
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Chain Whip (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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They are around now for about six years and got plenty of output – all into the very same direction of short, crisp and aggressive blasts in the best vein of said West Coast Hardcore as in the early 80s.

But they can also temper themselves and stretch it out longer. And still, it is great. Listen up youth:

They got plenty of cheers, little dancing and loads of folks pilfering the merch table. Towards the end of the set they where plagued with technical problems, the bass amp had some issues (gone from overheating?) interrupting the flow of the songs.

For me – besides the sound not being as perfect as i would love to have it – a great set, not wasting too much time between songs and letting go a lot of energy into the direction of the audience.

Near perfect drumming, sturdy bass and forceful guitar shredding paired with a lunatic on vocals – ain’t that the best lure and the best delivery option?
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Chain Whip (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Perfect if you ask me. And as i am old and still get up to work the early end of the show around 22:00 was great too, some chatting, some merch and then off & uphill into me bed, full of energy.

This time round i even got vinyl twice, an absent mate asked for “everything on vinyl” to be purchased but i spared him “everything” and just took home the latest LP.

Chain Whip – Call Of The Knife (Drunken Sailor Records, 2023)

Indeed that record is a worthy blast, check it our yerself:
<a href="https://chainwhip.bandcamp.com/album/call-of-the-knife">Call of the Knife by Chain Whip</a>
Another worthy Monday, crisp in mu-sick-al delivery and followed by the lot with table tennis (the band was barely off stage), for myself not. I am old, i went to bed.

Smiling.
2023/11/08
… næsten alene blandt rockere: Hola Ghosts tilbagevenden!
Whilst the Punk Rock Hamburg community is a mainstay, it is not the only genre with such a community. There is also King Rockers Hamburg serving that other genre that – in contrast to 1979 – at least has some overlap (and not just slaps).

That community had it’s gathering at the Knust and as it added Hola Ghost to the rooster it was a must for me. But i was almost alone, at the end i had a count of 4 people i knew and 4 more i knew from seeing. The rest was about 150 aging rockers, as such this community shares another thing with Punk Rock Hamburg – getting older and older, with little to none young people joining ranks and being driven by the urge of live mu-sick.

Dukes Of Tijuana kicked it off and i guess what they do is authentic Rock-a-Billy (and i have to admit that i have no clue of the cupboards in that genre). They main asset for me was definitely the Gretsch (and the guy who perfectly handled it).

Here is a prime example:

Rather mid tempo and a near perfect guitar play using both the low (twang!) and high (ping!) tones of the spectrum. Wild guess – he can also play a near perfect surf guitar.
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Dukes Of Tijuana (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Paired with the upright bass, light-weight drumming and vocals supported by a wee bit of reverb it made for a pleasant though for my untrained ears a sounds to much alike listening.

Here is an up-tempo one, a Tainted Love cover (genre typical i guess):

They also switched instruments, a nice Johnny Cash cover with the guitar singing and the singer mastering the upright bass. They came across quite joyful, loads of smiles on stage and tried to encourage the audience. But as often, the audience was holding back, including leaving an empty space in front of the stage.
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Dukes Of Tijuana (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Not bad these Dukes, the only reference i could find was sometimes into Tiger Army direction, but as said – this ain’t my genre and i have an even lesser clue than in my accustomed one. At least they got some friendly and supporting applause.

For Hola Ghost it was the 2nd time in Hamburg, returning after 4 years. Last time they graced the Monkeys, this time they took residence like this (after a lengthy instrumental intro):

Thats Chupacabra, most likely their signature song. Tempo variations, great build up of chorus and the horns from hell thrown into it in perfect support of the sound.

It is anyway one of their biggest capabilities: They are able to create soundscapes, songs where the sound is left hanging in the air without the songs ending in nowhere land. Sure that tends to drive up song length but hey, a price worth to pay.
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Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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If they cut short, then it is something special. Like this old Misfits stomper turned Mariachicore:

And it still stretches out the original from 1:47 to 2:34 but has everything they are good at condensed into it. Perfect, ain’t it?

And where Dukes Of Tijuana faced a bit of a void in front of the stage Hola Ghost had everybody in the room and all front rows nicely filled. They even got some few people dancing and some old fellas to throw their fists into the air.
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Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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They had plenty of audience interaction, though most through Peter who grew up just north of the German/Danish border and thus is bilingual. And they had fans from across Europe dropping into Hamburg – from home in Denkmark, from sunny Finland, from that island yonder that wanted to get away and from Belgium.

I guess it was more of an inside joke that Peter commented on the absence of the Swedish contingent, though more people and a packed main hall of the Knust would have been a bonus (for the band, for the guys who set it up and for the Knust itself).
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Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Hola Ghost got plenty of cheers, plenty of applause and delivered a little bit more than an hour of non-stop fun, non-stop Mariachicore, both in high speed and temper mode.

And they included their nod towards Lemmy, Mariachicore in Motörhead style:

Just perfect. On all fronts. Once they finished they made true on the promise to see people at the bar and where great folks to chat with. Both myself and me mate Frank more than once reminded them that they must come back earlier than later, we both demand that that they significantly reduce their time between gigs in Hamburg.

And as ever when a band convinces me live i took something home, this time a new Hola Ghost shirt for the me love (who could not attend due to Covid, still raging!) and i was finally able to score the Fight (Lemmy Tribute) 7″ (for a bargin price, hüstel).

Hola Ghost – Fight (Lemmy Tribute Version, Hola Pete Records, 2018)

I was home late, only had a minor number of beers and happy as a fuck. Now my dream still is that Hola Ghost play a sizable audience in Hamburg and take say 400 people by storm.

En god drøm at beholde.
2023/11/06
… No New Friends? Wrong, CMI made plenty of new ones over here!
I have to admit that i was doubtful. On more than one front actually. On the one side i got the ticket almost immediately when the show was announced, only to find that about 40odd people where even faster. Smelling like a high attendance for a band without any history other than … that other side. And that being the nagging question in the back of my head “Are they just an internet hype or good for real?`”.

As ever the answer does require to get your ass off the ground, so back home from work and out to the Monkeys for early doors at 19:00. And an outlook of maybe or maybe not a support. As Sam explained later he got nowhere to get one booked, even up to bands rejecting to support them (most likely for rather odd reasonings, but hey – own choices).

Arriving early i found already some mates that attended the Imploders on Tuesday too and i found them already armed with merch. And once i was inside i got to know that all 7″ where already gone. As my strict modus operandi nowadays is to buy records only when a band convinces me live i got a wee bit nervous. And once i was tipped off that LP’s where running low that plan went out of the window, i grabbed my dose of vinyl prior to the show.

And believe me or not, i have never seen a band carrying that large amount of merch into a club and selling it like there was no future. Shirts, Vinyl … go!

A lot to live up to now for CMI and from the buzz around me i could feel that the 200+ audience in the well filled Monkeys was as eager as much as me and me mates where.

Came 21:00 and CMI where on stage and took on the lot. The singer was sporting a black German DFB Shirt from Adidas paired with his signature white Adidas trainers. And as surprise the 2nd guitar was manned by the Charlie of Chubby & The Gang and The Chisel fame.
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Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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The kicked in a wee bit slower than expected, i was thinking (dreaming?) of them killing it in high speed gear and facing up to a moshpit of death. Dreams actually, initially they faced a large empty in front of the stage.
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Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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It needed the singer to come down and engage with the lot and indeed the lot responded. To my surprise many where able to sing-a-long (ie. have listened to them over and over) and help with singing.

Whilst the rest of the band was silent and more on the backdrop side the singer was outgoing, outspoken and happy to dive into the pit, full force.
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Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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More than once he praised how happy they where to find places in Europe like the Monkeys where a considerable large contingent of misfits, outcasts and non conformative would cheer them.
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Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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To my surprise there was no pit violence at all, even though some of the attendees where from out of town. Half of the audience was known regulars for this type of shows at the Monkeys and half seemed people i had not see before – i guess indeed CMI had a considerable pull or lure on people also from out of town.

Coming back to being convinced musically i gotta admit that they not fully convinced me, but that was less the music (though i expected them a wee bit more on the H of H/C) then the presentation. They had way to many breaks between the songs, too much chatting and tuning.

Bangers around and below the magic 02:00 mark should come in like 3-round bursts from an A-14, thereafter it is time for drinks, tuning and banter. I guess they stretched their set to about 45 minutes of playing all they had.

But distilled down to the songs – top notch aggressive hardcore with a casual attitude. And that ain’t bad at all. In contrast! They where good. They where real.

I was home early like Tuesday, had my dose of vinyl and was ready for a start at work on Thursday without a hangover. And thus somewhat happy!

PS: And the name of the band`? Just a tongue-in check lift outta an Army manual… effectiveness, pride and self-discipline as a band. What did you think?

PPS: Bonus Pint for them for making Oliver Kahn subject of a casual Adidas violence single…
2023/10/27