Monday evenings in Hamburg can be wet and sometimes they can be double wet: The high tide comes higher and floods the area around the Hafenklang. Luckily this Monday it was rainy and stormy only and without the need to close the flood proof doors of the Hafenklang.
As such i could stroll downhill to see loeschen from Zurich on the regular “Monday donation only” bill and only getting wet on me head.
loeschen caught my ear via the modern means of internet promotion and Bandcamp – i liked what i heard and so i did have to check them out. With me about 30 good folks wanted to check them out too.
They had just another and different stage setup: Two guitars left and right, bass middle, drums to the back and a free roaming singer. And how did they come across? See yerself:
At times and when the two guitar produced some nice whirling overcast i liked them, on other songs it just did not work out for my ears. But they pair a decent sound with some aggressive schwiizerdütsch vocals.
Once done i decided to not buy the record, as their set did not fully convince me. But that is life and by all means check them out for yourself. I will give them another chance and then may call upon the record.
And with a quick set it was done and the weekly punk rock ping-pong party went off, i passed it by and gently strolled back up home.
Did i note that i love living a short stroll away from a great club and that it is just great to quickly check out a band?
Only 4 years? For many the Monkeys is like a 2nd home and for many it feels like the club has been around “forever”. True is that it opened doors in February 2015 (with an “inoffical” show and a fun wrong print on the hardticket) and thus indeed it was time for the 4th birthday.
So congrats Sam & Ralf!
The rooster was diverse (and unpretentious) as the club itself. Kick off was with some bubblegum ramonescore from Westerkappeln (a town with indeed a funny name). Three guys, three Hawaii shirts and three sunglasses – and off it took.
The Hawaiians (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 02.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
What is surprising is that the drummer plays standing but in the back. It looks different and i have to admit that this was a bit the tricky part: If you play drums standing and provide key vocals then you got to be on the spot, in time and in sync. Unfortunately sometimes it did not feel that way but listen for yerself:
That said i did like their bubblegum sound, their stage attire (always important to me) and their short set. At the height of that they actually managed to get some Travoltas-like multi voice choruses going, something that i damn like!
And with a swift makeover of the stage it was time for a world premiere: For quite some time some of the Hamburg lot come together in the Monkeys to sing together. What at first was dubbed as Monkeys Choir now is called Hamburg City Punkrock Singers and is a 20+ folks venture.
Hamburg City Punkrock Singers (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 02.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
At first it felt funny, as in front of the stage it was a wee bit empty and that feeling was odd: Those normally standing next to me to see bands all stood up there on stage! Next to vocals they also had Hauke on a guitar to provide a bit of rhythm and by that means hold the voices together (though sometimes being too loud and too off).
Did it work? I have to admit that it worked only partially but as they are into it very fresh there is ample time and space for improvement. On some songs it went remarkably well, specifically when the song did lend itself to vocalization (and some challenge response singing was added).
On other damn simply the full frontal singing may work eg. in a football stadium but it ain’t in the choir setting on stage. But full credit for their effort and indeed i look forward how that venture evolves as the idea is a great idea!
Next chance to see them is open air on the Jolly Roger stage of the Hafengeburtstag – don’t miss it!
And once the choir had finished it was time for some surprise for Sam and Ralf: Instigated by Arne some of the regulars did collect some funds for the club to allow them to address needs outside the regular investment schedule. With some loud cheers they where handed over (only to be proposed by Ralf to be spend on a pub crawl with all the bar, stage and sound hands of the Monkeys).
A gift from the lot (thanks to Arne) ((c) gehkacken.de 2019)
Next on the eagerly awaited lottery – the big prize of a Golden Ticket (with 365 days of free entry to shows) was to be drawn (and the lottery tickets sold provided 525€ for a local charity. After some fun about the minor wins the Golden Ticket found home with a regular – well done!
A Golden Ticket for a lucky regular ( (c) gehkacken.de 2019)
In the aftermath of that lottery Sam announced 15 minutes of free beer for everyone and thus lured all of the audience to the bar and into the pub. And whilst everybody rushed to drink Faz Waltz took the stage and started to play – obviously nobody told them to hold back a wee bit until everybody was satisfied with beer.
Faz Waltz (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 02.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
But luckily their stone cold glam rock finally did lure people back to the stage and into dancing. Where Guida top their glam rock with some sugar it is Faz Waltz who deconstruct it more to the bare rocking bone and take it down the harder route.
It is retro for sure but it is delivered very very well. And it does not matter if you are into old punk or into Oi! – they carry all of these roots with them and give it back to you.
Faz Waltz (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 02.03.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
In the end a lot of dancing came about and a lot of smiling faces enjoyed Faz Waltz. It was not sold out but the Monkeys was well filled (and those filling it took good use of the liquid supplies).
Thanks Monkeys and thanks to all who make the Monkeys happen – may you stay afloat for many many years to come. A great rooster of shows is about to happen for 2019, i’ll sure be there.
Punkrock Hamburg has been a theme for many years for the Blackpool-Pilgrims to show off force and localism at Rebellion. In the last years it also has turned into a little FB community that allows people to share, participate and promote.
And in January 2019 it has also turned into a venture that hosts a first – the first ever Punkrock Hamburg Festival (aptly named “1st Punkrock Hamburg Festival in the world” in a bit of a loudmouth attitude (that actually pissed off some who saw the Adverts in 1978 and where present at the first Punk shows in Hamburg)).
First ever Punk Rock Hamburg Festival – A sold out not a sell out!
And ahead of time it was actually sold out, though if you followed it on FB you could make out the gamble many venues and promoters are facing today:
The risks of trusting the internet generation!
At the ease of a finger move people are interested but in reality only few make an effort to get a ticket. Here it worked, also because it was a special location: The Stellwerk in the Harburg train station, south of the river Elbe – a rather grand room in the old station building.
Kick off was early and with Youth Of Altona and they do something special: They play only ever the Wipers songs they like, not the ones the audience would like to hear. From where i stand that is a very valid setting and if that is paired with mu-sick-al capability and some form of charm than it is valuable addition to entertainment.
Youth Of Altona (Stellwerk, Harburg, 09.02.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
The most daring thing though was the guitar player, who played with some form of exoskeleton as he had a broken elbow. And that on the arm that moves the fingers up and down the length of the neck. Stunning that he was able to produce a clean guitar sound (as clean as it’s shiny acrylic glass body).
Great stuff but little movement on the rather small stage. But they got it right and they got the key item right: Wipers where not about speed and thus for some they played slow. I’ll say they played right.
Next local heroes Blanker Hohn. An outfit i believe i have seen only ever once in the early 80s, together with the then still small Toten Hosen at the FZ Nöldekestraße. I never tracked them, so missed their disbanding, re-union etc – but it seems they want to play again. How do they sound today? Check it out:
By and large they are to my ears rather painful and that is mainly because my ears never got to adjust themselves to what people refer to as Deutschpunk, specifically the class of 1984.
It just does not speak to me. What i did like though was the guitar, the guy could shred out some good chords. Still, local heroes with some songs on local themes though the words today just don’t work anymore (as all of them seem grown up men, fathers and lovers). I think they would benefit from creating something new. But who am i, their marketing director? Nope, just a listener!
The contrast to the next band on stage could not be bigger: Projekt Kotelett amassed 2 guitars, 2 singers, one bass and one drummer on the now really crammed stage. And they had one item that i always dig: They dressed for the occasion.
Projekt Kotelett (Stellwerk, Harburg, 09.02.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
All clad in some form of Deutsch and seeming to represent the unnamed Wutbürger. And with them came action, fun and loads of beer. On the musical side they blend in everything but ground themselves in fast rock (with scents of Glam, Punk and whatever).
Their advantage sure is the solid back line and the two singers, who allow for some versatile back-and-forth within a song and for at least some form of aggression. And putting the danger back into Punk it at least something many (including my humble self) appreciate.
They got applause and they got some dancing. And they drowned some beer. And more. An even more.
And that gave way to another stark contrast – where Projekt Kotelett where like Cabaret it was now for Nasser Hund to take the matters much more serious. As i missed their previous shows i was really keen to finally get to see – so i took at good look at the details to come.
And did they meet my rather high expectation? Oh yes, they did. No frills, no fills and no nonsense down to the bone music and great, heartwarming and to-the-point German lyrics. To find a comparison is actually tricky and any comparison would actually fall back onto those who are on stage and their history in so many bands.
That’s Kai on drums, Arne on bass and Jan on guitar. Whist i could brag about in how many different settings i saw them individually i have to admit that in this setting it works stunningly great. And it also works that they let speak the music and the words rather then meeting my other fetish – stage uniforms.
I loved them, many of the attendees loved them and they got a good level of appreciation (and even some drunken nutty dancing). If you ask me they are a force to come and you should definitely check them out. They even did throw in an encore – so listen up youth:
With that i am now super eager to get the news that they finally found someone who releases their fully recorded record on vinyl. It would be a pity if that takes the fate of the yet to be released Platzangst record (which turns into a myth every year it stays unreleased).
What beauties you can expect? For example this hard knocking A1 material:
“Sie haben ihren Eltern niemals verziehen, sie lächeln nur auf Fotographien” – absolute great line and rhyme. If they go for crowdfunding i am in. Worth the effort!
Speaking of effort: Just check out the great backdrop the friendly people running this show created. It was actually funded by you and me (when buying Hamburg Punk Rock City T-Shirts from them) and we gotta be thankful to them!
Coolest community backdrop ever!
If you need such a shirt then seek them out on FB!
And after a long evening, plenty of beer and plenty of chats with friends it was time for the mighty Razors. And they kicked off like this:
There is not a lot to add to that: They pretty much enjoyed the evening (and the other bands) and they where eager to close out the evening with the same level of joy.
They almost rushed through their set, had everybody smiling and dancing and delivered the solid performance you would expect. And that, after all these years, as one of us in front of the stage.
Those who read here on a permanent basis most likely know that i am somewhat biased with them, still they simply deliver towards that agenda that get’s me out to shows and see bands live. And for that i love them.
Kick off at 19:30, final whistle after midnight, home in bed with a nice hangover and the best was to get the poor away game of FCSP on Friday out of me head. Mission accomplished.
Mission also accomplished for the good people that put this up: Sold out, all bands got their share and nobody was hurt and nothing was destroyed. I am not sure if they are in for a replay but i will sure lobby for it. Just the name for that little festival will need to be a bit less loudmouth.
