Thanks to Frosch for reporting, i was absent on family care duties!
Got our tickets for this show at Hamburg’s long running Fabrik not because of Headliner The Chats, who I never rated that high, but for the support act, fellow Australians and beloved The Prize from Melbourne, probably the best Power Pop band going right now.
Very nice surprise came a couple of weeks ago when a 2nd support act, local heroes The Haermorrhoids, was confirmed.
Made the investment of roundabout € 40,- a little more reasonable I guess…
This is how we were greeted at the Fabrik on a cold and rainy November night, just what the world needs right now. Some backbone in a world gone mad, right at the edge of fascism and nuclear war…
We arrived at the Fabrik really early as The Haermorrhoids were going to kick the evening off at 8pm already. Meeting the guys just before the gig they told us that they were only given 10 minutes to sound check, so they were pretty unsure how it would sound on stage.
By far their biggest gig yet as the Fabrik holds 1.200 people and they had sold 900 tickets in advance.
This is how The Haermorrhoids kicked off:
Talking later they said that they didn’t warm up at all, but you surely couldn’t feel that. Kicking into full gear and full of confidence with the title track of their latest album “At The Earth Core” they took the Fabrik by storm and got the crowd moving right away.
No break, just like their heroes Ramones, Queers, Screeching Weasel, you name them all, Alleister Crowley next. And Sk8. Old favourites.
I decided early on to record the whole show for them.
Not being a musician – they are very picky when it comes to all these technical details… – I thought the sound was really good, guess it proofs if you watch the clips.
And it was going to be a very short set, I counted 22.5 minutes.
What I really like was the mix of old and new hits, just before the clip above we got the old crowd please “Overdose” and my personal favourite just recently, “Degenerator”, is kicking off these 2 songs.
Just watch the young crowd getting into the band, pogoing along.
For the last 2 songs we got the title track of great album No.1, “Apparatus Of The Ultimate Power”. I rate this one just as high as the best Teenage Bottlerocket album.
Finally another Punk band from Hamburg with international class, and I guess we can all agree on that 😉. “Lost In Space” concluding this set, another example of the perfect dual vocals from Greg and Yannick.
That’s what’s keeping this band really interesting, Lennart and Martin doing a great job on the strings too. Let’s all hope that they get what they deserve and make it really big in this fucked up world!
After a short break The Prize took the stage. Love this band and their perfect blend of Power Pop. Honestly think nobody does it better than them at this moment.
And they wear their influences on their sleeves, one of the 3 (!) guitarists sporting a Joe Walsh shirt. Very old school indeed, including drummer Nadine Muller, daughter of Cosmic Psychos drummer Dean Muller, wearing the matching 70’s stage outfit.
And it’s her voice and great drumming that really drives this band, best heard on the instant classic “Wrong Side Of Town”, see the clip for it below:
Shame that Nadine was set up right in the back, a hidden gem. That’s drummers usual fate after all, but when we did see The Prize before her drum set was placed right in the middle between the 4 boys in the band.
Generally the gig felt a bit more lackluster than before, so we’re looking forward to the release of their 1st album hopefully spring next year and another tour to follow later in 2025, as male lead vocalist and guitar player Carey Paterson confirmed later.
This is him performing the 1st song released off the new record, “Had It Made”, at the end of their set.
Last but not least The Chats.
Thanks to them The Haermorrhoids got their support slot for tonight, as they were supporting The Unknowns at the Komet a month before.
Not completely sure about the drummer but I suppose The Chats are totally identical to The Unknowns, who in the end also play Garage Punk, just like The Chats, but with more emphasis on the end 70’s punk side.
I immediately ordered their record and liked their gig in the small Komet basement, which attracted quite a few Chats fans, but never really got into the Chats recorded output.
It’s still great that they attract a really young crowd, which feels much more vital than our usual old school punk sets, with a 60+ crowd.
And they proved to be a really good live act, which is what’s causing all the fuzz about them I suppose. Being Australian and snotty helps as well. Up to 25 Mio. YouTube clicks, just crazy!
I’ll never get one of their records I suppose, to me they just sound like any other garage punk band that can play the Get Lost Fest or Komet Club, not bad at all, but nothing special either.
That being said, their song “6L GTR” is REALLY GOOD!
And this is how it went off live, only the last 40 seconds, sorry, missed the best crowd support part, but just to give a little impression.
After about half of their set I went from the front to the back of the room, as the songs all sounded a bit samey.
But hey, a good live gig nevertheless and a fun evening with 2 great support acts!
(Report, Pics and Videos by Frosch – hence color and not B/W. Fanx!)
