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  • … in a different scenery: Fucking Angry record release show!

    … in a different scenery: Fucking Angry record release show!

    What a contrast to my normal circuit! Friends telling me that the headliner currently is hottest shit and talk of the day (but i have no clue where). And a sold out show, that somewhat turned out like being in a different city (as i knew only very few faces).

    So, as ever interested into something new, i strolled down to the Hafenklang and took that slightly different scene in.

    Kick off was on time at 21:00 with Schaeden from Berlin, They had the unfortunate duty to warm up the room, whilst plenty of people still were outside taking the warm Hamburg evening in. 

    Schaeden (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    They where not Deutsch Punk (a mu-sick-al cupboard that has not really a home with me) but somewhat … i guess Hardcore Deutsch Punk. They did not really work for me, in a nutshell there was only one song, sung by the bass, that had me really listening.

    Go and check them out for yourself, the recorded output over at Bandcamp does sound a wee but more interesting actually.

    N.T.Ä. from down southwest (aka the Saarland) claimed the stage next and whilst the guitar was ready in one minute, the bass in 2 minutes it took the drummer quite some time to be ready – it created in the now almost full room at least for me some annoyance.

    Once they kicked off it turned different: Seasoned musicians with well rehearsed songs. And quite some melodic drive and loads of chorus. Main vocals by the girl on bass, backup vocals and chorus by the drummer. And songs much longer.

    N.T.Ä. (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Whilst the two took the main light, the main asset was the guitar. And the absolute great sound he got without any effects connected (no signs of massive effect boards on the floor). Stunning, really stunning.

    Much more organized than Schaeden, much more grown up though borrowing a lot from largely bands from over the Atlantic. That said, also not really my thingy, as i somewhat could not really dig the way the main vocals where delivered.

    But they had the room, by now full, in a good grip and the first folks moving. I can see how they work, besides the guitar they simply did not work for me.

    Fucking Angry took the stage at 23:00 and crowded it with their 5-piece setup. Room was tight on stage as much as in front of the stage. And from the first chord it was clear that they played a willing, friendly and 100% fan lot. Sing-a-long on every song and plenty of dancing.

    Fucking Angry (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    I am not sure why i always missed them when they played Hamburg prior, maybe wrong time or wrong place. But they definitely have something: Great engagement with the audience, songs raging from H/C (and matching vocals by the Girl singing) to songs with much more melody and complexity (and again matching vocals by all of them).

    The lot did not care, the sweaty room was full of movement and smiling faces. The only time where the room lost some energy was when the band together with their label staff engaged in a kind of drinking game on stage … that took too long and it contained no message whatsoever.

    Fucking Angry (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Also Fucking Angry are not up my musical alley but i can see them taking their sound and their ability to command an audience much larger. Most likely it was the last time they played the Hafenklang (where a sold out show is about 250 people), they are able to and i guess will play places holding 400-800 or even more.

    Their record, which was the theme of this release show, though is 100% true to their roots in Hardcore and Punk and on a small Punk label. So nothing wrong with them or this evening, it was just another night of #thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusic.

    I stayed longer at the Hafenklang, taking in the wind down of the show whilst enjoying a cold drink.

    … stroll uphill and home with a floodlight moon, class. Just class!

    And then the floodlight moon guided me way home, somewhat happy to have been in a sweaty room full of live music that was not totally shite. Not at all. And, even more of value, a sold out show with associated drinks turnover for the Hafenklang.

  • … of atoms², growls, pricing and surprises!

    … of atoms², growls, pricing and surprises!

    Despite the weather all week being sunny here, rainy there, i felt energized for this Thursday evening. This was also because of a particular successful day at work, so i was all in for a barrage of strings and some growling.

    Arriving early into an almost empty upstairs at the Hafenklang, the only other attendee was a mate. It did not turn really better, at the end only ever about 30 good people took the opportunity for a good mu-sick-al beating at an utmost fair (and flexible) price.

    Atom Atom from Hamburg kicked off and turned out as a big surprise. I have not seen them before but came across their recorded output on Bandcamp, liked them and included them them into my December 2022 playlist.

    Atom Atom (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    What did i get? Besides the sub-optimal (and unfortunately broken) lights i got a hard banging drummer, a gifted guitar hero that both can do shredding plus fast finger play and a girl on bass that has a vocal spectrum from … say Opera to Growling. A real wow factor.

    And how did it sound? It sounded like this:

    That’s Zurück Zum Schmutz vom the 2019 Tape. The lyrics actually drive a wee bit a smile, as i just can not relate to it (other than the last sentence).

    Ist komisch, riecht komisch, sieht räudig aus
Prunkvoll zerfallen, mit Liebe verstaubt
Torkelnde Wesen vergnügen sich davor
Baraken der Hoffnung steigen empor

Zurück zum Schmutz - zurück zum Schmutz
Selbstverwaltung, Feuertonne
Zurück zum Schmutz - zurück zum Schmutz
Schmuddelkinder, wenig Sonne

Gegenkonzept zu Ordnung und Fleiß
Verpiss dich mit Scheiße und Engstirnigkeit
Räume befreien, im Plenum kurz fassen
Strukturen bewahren und verwahrlosen lassen

    It's weird, smells weird, looks mangy
Magnificently disintegrated, covered in dust with love
Staggering creatures have fun in front of it
Barracks of hope rise

Back to the dirt - back to the dirt
Self-government, fire barrel
Back to the dirt - back to the dirt
Dirty kids, little sun

Counter concept to order and hard work
Fuck off with bullshit and bigotry
Free up rooms, keep it brief in the plenary session
Preserve structures and let them fall into disrepair

    They got something, indeed. Their main asset to me is the brutal onslaught at times (driven by the guitar) and the male/female ping-pong on vocals paired with the two voices being distinct different (growl on the guitar side, the much wider spectrum on the bass side).

    Atom Atom (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    And, whilst they seem deeply rooted in the mu-sick-al cupboard labeled D-Beat, they actually spread much wider and thus make the songs less uniform. Here is the one i liked most live, it pushed downward from stage with even more umph:

    Great set, cheers and applause from the small audience and definitley a band that i will aim to see again. Check them out, it is a good bet for a good surprise.

    Nightfeeder, who were glued to Atom Atom during their set, next and they started with something that is just perfect showman ship: Intro music (dark, horror movie like) and the band on stage raising the bottle for a band-internal cheers.

    And then crossing over the intro music with an instrumental that drives forward harder and harder, accumulating into a short fast banger. Wild guess, it was this beauty (that also has a beautiful name):

    Where Atom Atom gave the audience variation, Nightfeeder focused. But not like the tip of a needle, no, far from. They focused on pushing a wall of sound to the audience, heavy, and with a growling voice.

    Only one song stood out and was different, I’m A Letdown sung by the bass player.

    As items out of the Crust and/or D-Beat cupboard are normally not my thingy i am not an expert but mates in the know told me that Nightfeeder (hailing from Seattle in the US of A) are somewhat a supergroup. They are made up by members from legendary bands such as Consume, Deathraid, and Disrupt – all bands i have never heard.

    But whatever that history, what counts is what is being pushed down from the stage. And that wall of sound, in best moments a powerful dark soundscape, felt near perfect as a live experience.

    Nightfeeder (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    As fast as they played, as fast it was over. The small expert audience responded with plenty of cheers even asking for even more, but Nightfeeder had fed what they wanted to feed.

    As ever if a band convinces me live i got to score vinyl, this time round for me the clear winner and more interesting catch was Atom Atom, so i scored their LP.

    Atom Atom – Licht Aus (Bomb-All Records, 2022 – click to score!)

    A mate got both the Nightfeeder LP and the Atom Atom Tape and surprised the hell out of me with the cool plastic bag he carried for getting the score safely home.

    A somewhat very fitting, dark humor type of bag. Cudos my friend, cudos!

    Great evening and a pity that the turnout was so small. Both bands should have faced at least a full upstairs – it was a more than fair price. A couple of days earlier two young hardcore bands sold out downstairs, at double the price.

    And i have been told it was not even half that good.

  • … weggeblazen door aanstekelijke punk rock uit Amsterdamned: The Covids!

    … weggeblazen door aanstekelijke punk rock uit Amsterdamned: The Covids!

    Football Euro Championship opening game with Germany, 50.000 on the Heiligengeistfeld plus many in pubs all across the Reeperbahn – all of no interest for the few that made their way to the Komet. Still, the almost empty streets gave the stroll over to the Komet an unreal feeling for a Friday evening.

    I was keen to enter the cellar (that i more dislike for shows than like) not only because my last Spitfire Stevens show was a long time ago but even more because the hottest shit from Dutchistan was to grace Hamburg.

    These two created enough pull for me, pity though that the turnout was far from packed, specifically the energetic show of The Covids should have had a packed house (or rightaway a packed bigger house and stage).

    A somewhat negative surprise awaited us, at least that was the initial feel, in the simple message that a US 3-piece had bragged it’s way onto the stage as support for the support. And no, it wasn’t Green Day.

    When we finally got down from the bar into the cellar that unspecified band had already started, 2 guys on strings, a girl on drums. And loaded with negative energy it sounded initially like an open rehearsal. Though quickly i had the feeling that my brain was about to betray me.

    Nauseaters (Komet, Hamburg, 14.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    After the set, lasting about 30 minutes, the negative feeling though had turned. Because they had a cool (and tricky) name as in Nauseaters and they had a wee bit a Power Pop undercurrent of the better side.

    Undercurrent as much as the guitar tended towards the heavier side (Flying V model, most likely can not be played non-heavy) but still you could make out the sugar coating somewhat.

    After their set we got to understand what got them onto the stage – they had a free slot within a a DIY trip across central Europe and had taken residence in Hamburg.

    It was not fully up my alley but it had enough pop nuggets scattered across to keep me entertained. If you come across them – go and check them out.

    Next Hamburgs own and only Spitpunk band and Spitfire Stevens set out to give the lot (including family and friends) the following classics and newbies:

    Spitfire Stevens – Setlist (Komet, Hamburg, 14.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de)

    As ever the band was well dressed, uniformly (always a bonus), and well behaved. But from the start there were sound problems, Luke was barley audible. And frank, the guitars were way too loud, giving even some of the more mellow songs a very rough edge.

    Spitfire Stevens (Komet, Hamburg, 14.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Yannick, of Haermorrhoids fame, who does sound at the Komet tried to persuade both guitars to reduce volume but somewhat that felt between the cracks or on already deaf ears – it only ever improved slightly.

    Luckily a large portion of the audience knew the songs and thus was able to lip-snyc with Luke, who neither could hear himself nor see the audience (as he was standing exactly where an LED sport was soaking colorful light onto the stage).

    Spitfire Stevens (Komet, Hamburg, 14.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Strange set somewhat, it was far from the balanced sound they normally are able to get across. A mate noted that it felt to him like a totally roughed up set and thus a unique positive experience. I definitely missed the softer, more mellow sound structures and i was not alone with the feel that it was not their most stellar delivery.

    That said, i bet you they come back from this unharmed and their next show … will be their best. Have faith, fans!

    The Covids next and this is how they took residence on the tiny stage of the Komet:

    Bang! And proof that the sound can be good, if everything is set in concert.

    What do we get here? A hard hitting girl on drums that holds them together and adds vocals, a sturdy bass that secretly sings along to every song, a guitar that finds the right balance between too hard and too soft plus a singer that roams the audience and is a real front man.

    Cudos, Covids – you got a very fitting and very modern mixture here!

    The Covids (Komet, Hamburg, 14.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    What surprised my even more was that the three in the back managed to keep their position on the tiny stage and specifically them strings not falling into the trap of moving (and either falling off and/or hitting their head).

    The Covids (Komet, Hamburg, 14.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    The music they play is full of drive, energetic and borrows a lot: Their self proclaimed references include ’77 punk, punk, garage punk, glam, proto-punk, punk rock and rhythm & blues and that is not far off from reality.

    The tiny stage though felt like an artificial limitation, they should be allowed to roam around, thus i hope their next visit to Hamburg gives them a larger audience and a bigger stage.

    When it came to encore, i was lucky, as they started with my loveliest Covids song: Light A Match (Farmboy) from their really cool LP. Go and check it out loud:

    That is indeed a real cool banger that has it all, near to perfection. Whouah!

    Luckily for the lot they did not stop there and added a couple of more songs, almost enthusiastically received and people danced along with the singer.

    The Covids (Komet, Hamburg, 14.06.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    Perfect show by The Covids and i guess indeed they are currently the hottest shit from Dutchistan. Can i have a whish? Make it like Nauseaters, brag you way into a support the support slot at the Knust on 26.07.2024, supporting The Briefs and The Spits.

    Alsjeblieft! Bedankt!

    As ever when a band convinces me live i score vinyl, here we go with the LP and the “Banned from the USA” single. Go and click on the pic, it gets you to Wap Shoo Wap Records were you can order it rightaway!

    The Covids on Wap Shoo Wap Records (from Amsterdamned)

    Because of the 3 bands the evening turned out longer than expected but surrounded by like minded connoisseurs i could finish it off with a cold beer.

    Nice one.