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Category: Shows

  • Late Thursday: L.A.’s finest!

    Late Thursday: L.A.’s finest!

    Ever since Maniac impressed me big time at the Get!Lost!Fest! III i followed them closely and took and effort to get their output on vinyl. As such a date in Hamburg was a must, also for some of my fellow connoisseurs.

    Some of them even did an effort to travel to Fuzzville in Benidorm and came back with lines like “Maniac – greatest thing on stage“. Unfortunately they did not get the big stage (and turnout in Hamburg), they rather got the cozy  cellar of the Komet and thus some 50 good people. In parallel C³I did grace the Hafenbahnhof, that opportunity i needed to let go in favour of L.A.’s finest.

    Their support was from Berlin, The Roxies, and they came with super diverse stage personas: A towering slim girl on Bass, a bald guitar and a drummer straight from the 60ties. And an – by my guess – English singer that preferred to be in front of the stage and playing a dwarf.

    The Roxies (Komet, Hamburg, 28.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)

    They play upbeat garage punk with a distinct voice – not really my thingy. But absolutely listenable live (and live is how music must be experienced). I would not buy a record from them but hey make yer own judgement mate:

    Quick set and what did stay with me was the guitar – some nice and hard chords. And i think they played an unexpected extra too.

    They passed the helm to Maniac who very efficiently set themselves up, leaving the tiny stage to drums and rhythm guitar, with Zache and Justin roaming and singing in front of the stage. And it started like this:

    If there is one thing that stands out it is the near perfect mu-sick-al experience: Great sound, great gifted musicians. That paired with great sing-a-long/hum-a-long songs with hooks and breaks at the right place, twin guitar perfection and a sturdy back line. And on top pace. Decent pace. Without loosing it in speed.

    Maniac (Komet, Hamburg, 28.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)

    I was sold on them anyway but this little beauty of a set convinced me that there are one of the top 10 hidden gems out there. In my book of great music they own a chapter, also because they are super friendly, with the right humor and because they get songs done with a great deal of street credibility:

    Sing-a-long:

    I saw the white coats walking by 
penetrating empty gaze 
Midnight Kino's dirty light 
failed to complete the exchange 

What have I done 
Lost it all on the Reeperbahn 

When Van Gogh cried out for mercy 
all the people stared amazed
daughter of joy or a lady boy 
failed to complete the exchange

What have I done 
Lost it all on the Reeperbahn  

What have I done 
Lost it all on the Reeperbahn 
Pajas por el Reeperbahn
Pajas por el Reeperbahn
Pajas por el Reeperbahn
Pajas por el Reeperbahn
Pajas por el Reeperbahn
Pajas por el Reeperbahn
Pajas por el Reeperbahn

(c) 2016 Maniac

    Come on lads, that is a perfect pop song (and that great finish with the guitar mimicking the sound of a Hamburg Police car? Priceless).

    Perfect show, though late and down in that tiny cellar. Can we please give Maniac a bigger stage and 400 good people attending? And a 90 minute slot? I wasted no time to buy the 300 limited tour edition in blue vinyl (continued note to self: record collectors are pretentious arseholes) and enjoyed further stories of Zache discovering footie in L.A.

    Thanks Maniac, you made my (and some of the mates) Thursday!

    Thanks to Wild Wax Shows for making this one happen!
    Thanks to Wild Wax Shows for making this one happen!
  • Donation Monday: The surprise slot!

    Donation Monday: The surprise slot!

    I do like the option of the short stroll downhill on a lazy Monday – it prevents me to fall asleep in front of the telly and it allows me to check out bands that travel on a shoestring budget.

    Mondays at the Hafenklang are donation only shows: You pay what you like to pay or what you can afford (and what folks give varies between pennies and 20€). And it is followed by some table tennis with a punk rock DJ in the background, so good for your health too.

    First on Bundles from Boston. A three piece with a great nom de guerre: “short songs, short shorts”. And that is what the 25 odd people got. With a huge twang, above a strong rhythm there was some strong strumming of the six string and rather harsh vocals.

    Bundles (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)

    I am not sure if sound and vocals do it for me, within some songs i could make out some of the singing, within others indeed not. It was worthwhile and definitely not bad but it was one of these “i wouldn’t do the extra mile” thinks. Check it out for yerself:

    But by all means friendly people with some friendly messages. On the mu-sick-al side they try to be off the beaten track, which creates some credit: It ain’t H/C, it ain’t punk and it ain’t post-punk … or all of it. As much as i used this surprise slot go and surprise yourself.

    Quick set (matching the “short” theme) and a good share of applause.

    With a stark contrast Überyou from sunny Zürich took the stage: 5 lads, rather in black and with distinct different styles. And when they started it looked like someone ignited a firework: All of them went ballistic – those with a mic in the hand went roaming (aka the singer), and those with a neck and some strings got moving and throwing their axes around.

    Überyou (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)

    The small stage upstairs at the Hafenklang sure was way too small, also because both the bass and the lead guitar needed space to sing. And that – besides the sure uptempo speed – was their main advantage: 3 distinct different voices singing, loads of choruses and background singing. What did it look like in real? Check it out:

    I liked it. There was nothing spectacular new in what they do, stolen here, stolen there, adapted here and neatly absorbed there. It would be unjust to name something but the sheer amount of references that came to my head actually proves that they someone melted a lot to their own sound. Take a look at their output (and don’t be set off by the cover of their newest effort):

    Yet again Surprise Monday proved to be a bonus: Some beers, a wide variety of music and some chats. So much better than slowly passing away on the couch. So get yer ass off on Mondays and come down. You may be surprised for a few bucks!

  • … all the way from San Diego 1976 to Hamburg 2019 (to meet 20odd fans)

    … all the way from San Diego 1976 to Hamburg 2019 (to meet 20odd fans)

    The Zeros caught my eye early, their “Hungry/Radio Fun” 7″ on Small Wonder Records made it as early as 1980 into my collection. Only later i realized that since 1976 there was another band from sunny California respectively Chula Vista with the same name and an ever better sound.

    Since then and because their output was a mere 3 singles until 1980 i was eager to get more. It took until 1990 that Greg Sage released a compilation on Bomp! that provided the full spread of their early output.

    How cool and how ahead of times these Mexican Ramones (an early odd label tucked upon them) actually were is frame up in this 1977 TV Show – by all means they should have been as great as the Ramones!

    Fast forward to 2019 and The Zeros are back to Germany, only ever the 2nd time to Hamburg. As far as i could make out (and got rumors) their tour was plagued. Some whisper i heard referred to annoying promotion, some whispers referred to a tough geographical schedule zigzagging across northern Europe.

    When it came out that they will play Hamburg i sure got a ticket but noticing the date i feared the worst: A lonely early March, under the week on a Wednesday. Consequently they had to play the Pub Stage of the Monkeys and it ended up to be in front of 21 people.

    From the start i felt damn sorry for the guys as they shared much larger bills in the past (and did play with all my all-time favorites from LA – be it The Germs, The Weirdos and and and). But that remains the fate of touring bands when timing is just not right.

    These days The Zeros lack El Vez but still got style, presence and mu-sick-al capabilities. And professional as they are they are just not impacted by a small stage and a small turnout. And boy, that guitar is still there and still provides a driving wall of sound!

    They paired old and classic songs with some later and more 60s rock based songs and they sure did throw in some classic covers, eg. from The Stendells (who are that link back to the 60s by all means).

    The Zeros (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 06.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)

    It definitely was fun for the few in attendance and even some dancing took place. Also some chit-chat between the audience and the band so that the depressing small turnout for such a classic and funding punk band could not bring down the mood.

    And just to be sure that you get to hear that brilliant guitar just for another time – here is their classic “Don’t push me around”:

    Sing-a-long:

    Always want me to come, but I don't wanna'
Always want me to come, but I'm not gonna'
Always talk about nothin'
Me I don't wanna' do nothin'
To me I'm just nothin', anyway
Always want me to stay, but I don't wanna
You always want me to stay, well I'm not gonna'
You always talk about nothin'
Me I don't wanna' do nothin'
To me I'm just nothin', so girl
Don't you try
Don't you try
Don't you try, to push me around
Don't push me around
You always want me to stop, but I don't wanna'
You always want me to stop, well I'm not gonna'
You always talk about nothin'
Me I don't wanna' do nothin'
To me I'm just nothin', so girl
Don't you try
Don't you try
Don't you try, to push me around
Don't push me around
Girl, it makes me so bad
Girl, it makes me so bad
Don't push me around
Don't push me around
Don't push me around
Don't push me around
Don't push me around
Don't push me around

Songwriter: Javier Escovedo © Bug Music

    I was sold on The Zeros prior and this one just cemented it: Great and friendly people with a great sound and sufficiently great songs. And humble and hard working. That is more than some of the other old bands on the circuit give.

    I’d love to see them back, on a warm summer Friday in a packed club with a fitting support band. That’ll be the right way to credit one of the pioneers of West Coast Punk and in general of this funny mu-sick-al niche that i love.

    Fun fact: That the promotion was a wee bit strange also manifested itself in the fact that tickets where only available on the website of the promoter and by knowing a wee bit of Spanish. And on the evening tour tickets where sold. I guess the guy is a control freak, or?

    The Zeros - 2019 Tour Ticket
    The Zeros – 2019 Tour Ticket

    nb: At least i deduct from that ticket sold in Hamburg that the prior shows (Paris, London, Leeds, Nottingham and Brighton had on average 170+ people attending) went better. They deserve it.

    nbb: Looking at the pictures i would propose that the Monkeys invests into a backdrop for the Pub Stage – that would make bands look much better (if i may note that as a humble consumer).