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  • 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!

  • Bücher, schnell gelesen: Teil 1.378

    Bücher, schnell gelesen: Teil 1.378

    Wallace Stroby - Der Teufel will mehr (Pendragon Verlag, 2019)
    Wallace Stroby – Der Teufel will mehr (Pendragon Verlag, 2019)

    Gelesen: 22. – 23.03.2019, netto 307 Seiten

    Nachdem ich den dritten Teil gelesen hatte fragte ich mich “bekommt Wallace die Kurve?“… und ja, er bekommt sie. Leider nicht auf Elmore Leonhard Niveau aber mit einer knochentrockenen Gangster vs. Gangster Story – etwas was ja sozusagen Crissa Stones Spezialität ist.

    Nach dem letzten Desaster hatte Crissa lange Pause mit den lukrativen Überfällen gemacht, 

    jetzt aber braucht sie wieder Geld. Dieses lockt mit dem Raub von Irakischer Raubkunst, der heutige Besitzer will oder vielmehr muss sie zurückgeben und würde sie gerne klauen lassen. Er hat nämlich einen anderen Abnehmer im Sinn als den Irakischen Staat – der zahlt nämlich besser.

    Crissa ist diesmal der Auftragnehmer und auf ihr lastet die Verantwortung für die ganze Crew. Am Ende ist nicht nur ihre Crew tot sondern auch ein paar unbeteiligte. Und da wird das Buch so richtig gut – Crissa ist und bleibt eine Verbrecherin, keine Heldin. Wallace Stroby begleitet sie mit einem neutralen Blick aber das ändert die Tatsachen nicht.

    Gut zu lesen, spannend und eben wegen der “Sichtachse” aus dem Krimi Alltag herausstehend. Dazu detailreich, wo notwendig und trocken, wo angebracht. Ich mag das. Schade das dieses der letzte Band der Reihe ist, deswegen schickt Wallace Crissa am Ende auch in den Sonnenaufgang. Oder kommt da mehr?

    Soundtrack dazu: J Church – Turn to stone, was sonst?