www.gehkacken.de

Blog

  • … næsten alene blandt rockere: Hola Ghosts tilbagevenden!

    … næsten alene blandt rockere: Hola Ghosts tilbagevenden!

    Whilst the Punk Rock Hamburg community is a mainstay, it is not the only genre with such a community. There is also King Rockers Hamburg serving that other genre that – in contrast to 1979 – at least has some overlap (and not just slaps).

    That community had it’s gathering at the Knust and as it added Hola Ghost to the rooster it was a must for me. But i was almost alone, at the end i had a count of 4 people i knew and 4 more i knew from seeing. The rest was about 150 aging rockers, as such this community shares another thing with Punk Rock Hamburg – getting older and older, with little to none young people joining ranks and being driven by the urge of live mu-sick.

    Dukes Of Tijuana kicked it off and i guess what they do is authentic Rock-a-Billy (and i have to admit that i have no clue of the cupboards in that genre). They main asset for me was definitely the Gretsch (and the guy who perfectly handled it).

    Here is a prime example:

    Rather mid tempo and a near perfect guitar play using both the low (twang!) and high (ping!) tones of the spectrum. Wild guess – he can also play a near perfect surf guitar.

    Dukes Of Tijuana (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    Paired with the upright bass, light-weight drumming and vocals supported by a wee bit of reverb it made for a pleasant though for my untrained ears a sounds to much alike listening.

    Here is an up-tempo one, a Tainted Love cover (genre typical i guess):

    They also switched instruments, a nice Johnny Cash cover with the guitar singing and the singer mastering the upright bass. They came across quite joyful, loads of smiles on stage and tried to encourage the audience. But as often, the audience was holding back, including leaving an empty space in front of the stage.

    Dukes Of Tijuana (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    Not bad these Dukes, the only reference i could find was sometimes into Tiger Army direction, but as said – this ain’t my genre and i have an even lesser clue than in my accustomed one. At least they got some friendly and supporting applause.

    For Hola Ghost it was the 2nd time in Hamburg, returning after 4 years. Last time they graced the Monkeys, this time they took residence like this (after a lengthy instrumental intro):

    Thats Chupacabra, most likely their signature song. Tempo variations, great build up of chorus and the horns from hell thrown into it in perfect support of the sound.

    It is anyway one of their biggest capabilities: They are able to create soundscapes, songs where the sound is left hanging in the air without the songs ending in nowhere land. Sure that tends to drive up song length but hey, a price worth to pay. 

    Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    If they cut short, then it is something special. Like this old Misfits stomper turned Mariachicore:

    And it still stretches out the original from 1:47 to 2:34 but has everything they are good at condensed into it. Perfect, ain’t it?

    And where Dukes Of Tijuana faced a bit of a void in front of the stage Hola Ghost had everybody in the room and all front rows nicely filled. They even got some few people dancing and some old fellas to throw their fists into the air.

    Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    They had plenty of audience interaction, though most through Peter who grew up just north of the German/Danish border and thus is bilingual. And they had fans from across Europe dropping into Hamburg – from home in Denkmark, from sunny Finland, from that island yonder that wanted to get away and from Belgium.

    I guess it was more of an inside joke that Peter commented on the absence of the Swedish contingent, though more people and a packed main hall of the Knust would have been a bonus (for the band, for the guys who set it up and for the Knust itself).

    Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    Hola Ghost got plenty of cheers, plenty of applause and delivered a little bit more than an hour of non-stop fun, non-stop Mariachicore, both in high speed and temper mode.

    And they included their nod towards Lemmy, Mariachicore in Motörhead style:

    Just perfect. On all fronts. Once they finished they made true on the promise to see people at the bar and where great folks to chat with. Both myself and me mate Frank more than once reminded them that they must come back earlier than later, we both demand that that they significantly reduce their time between gigs in Hamburg.

    And as ever when a band convinces me live i took something home, this time a new Hola Ghost shirt for the me love (who could not attend due to Covid, still raging!) and i was finally able to score the Fight (Lemmy Tribute) 7″ (for a bargin price, hüstel).

    Hola Ghost – Fight (Lemmy Tribute Version, Hola Pete Records, 2018)

    I was home late, only had a minor number of beers and happy as a fuck. Now my dream still is that Hola Ghost play a sizable audience in Hamburg and take say 400 people by storm.

    En god drøm at beholde.

  • … No New Friends? Wrong, CMI made plenty of new ones over here!

    … No New Friends? Wrong, CMI made plenty of new ones over here!

    I have to admit that i was doubtful. On more than one front actually. On the one side i got the ticket almost immediately when the show was announced, only to find that about 40odd people where even faster. Smelling like a high attendance for a band without any history other than … that other side. And that being the nagging question in the back of my head “Are they just an internet hype or good for real?`”.

    As ever the answer does require to get your ass off the ground, so back home from work and out to the Monkeys for early doors at 19:00. And an outlook of maybe or maybe not a support. As Sam explained later he got nowhere to get one booked, even up to bands rejecting to support them (most likely for rather odd reasonings, but hey – own choices).

    Arriving early i found already some mates that attended the Imploders on Tuesday too and i found them already armed with merch. And once i was inside i got to know that all 7″ where already gone. As my strict modus operandi nowadays is to buy records only when a band convinces me live i got a wee bit nervous. And once i was tipped off that LP’s where running low that plan went out of the window, i grabbed my dose of vinyl prior to the show.

    And believe me or not, i have never seen a band carrying that large amount of merch into a club and selling it like there was no future. Shirts, Vinyl … go!

    A lot to live up to now for CMI and from the buzz around me i could feel that the 200+ audience in the well filled Monkeys was as eager as much as me and me mates where.

    Came 21:00 and CMI where on stage and took on the lot. The singer was sporting a black German DFB Shirt from Adidas paired with his signature white Adidas trainers. And as surprise the 2nd guitar was manned by the Charlie of Chubby & The Gang and The Chisel fame.

    Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    The kicked in a wee bit slower than expected, i was thinking (dreaming?) of them killing it in high speed gear and facing up to a moshpit of death. Dreams actually, initially they faced a large empty in front of the stage.

    Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    It needed the singer to come down and engage with the lot and indeed the lot responded. To my surprise many where able to sing-a-long (ie. have listened to them over and over) and help with singing.

    Whilst the rest of the band was silent and more on the backdrop side the singer was outgoing, outspoken and happy to dive into the pit, full force.

    Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    More than once he praised how happy they where to find places in Europe like the Monkeys where a considerable large contingent of misfits, outcasts and non conformative would cheer them. 

    Conservative Military Image (Monkeys, Hamburg, 25.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    To my surprise there was no pit violence at all, even though some of the attendees where from out of town. Half of the audience was known regulars for this type of shows at the Monkeys and half seemed people i had not see before – i guess indeed CMI had a considerable pull or lure on people also from out of town.

    Coming back to being convinced musically i gotta admit that they not fully convinced me, but that was less the music (though i expected them a wee bit more on the H of H/C) then the presentation. They had way to many breaks between the songs, too much chatting and tuning.

    Bangers around and below the magic 02:00 mark should come in like 3-round bursts from an A-14, thereafter it is time for drinks, tuning and banter. I guess they stretched their set to about 45 minutes of playing all they had.

    But distilled down to the songs – top notch aggressive hardcore with a casual attitude. And that ain’t bad at all. In contrast! They where good. They where real.

    I was home early like Tuesday, had my dose of vinyl and was ready for a start at work on Thursday without a hangover. And thus somewhat happy!

    PS: And the name of the band`? Just a tongue-in check lift outta an Army manual… effectiveness, pride and self-discipline as a band. What did you think?

    PPS: Bonus Pint for them for making Oliver Kahn subject of a casual Adidas violence single…

  • … they must have fixed the flux capacitor in Toronto: Time travel with the Imploders!

    … they must have fixed the flux capacitor in Toronto: Time travel with the Imploders!

    This should have a Monday night thingy: One Band, low door price and followed by DJ & Table Tennis. Tour plan of the Imploders though got them into Hamburg on Tuesday, so no DJ, no Table Tennis and no Support (as no suitable support was found, a theme that would continue next day at the Monkeys).

    The Imploders are from sunny Toronto, Ontario (the largest City of Canada sporting a hot summer humid continental climate). And they did have the eyes of the nerds (ie. me and me mates), all looking forward to see if they can live up to what we heard from Bandcamp or other sources.

    19 Songs to go, so bets where out if they would come in below 30 Minutes…

    Imploders – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 24.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    Upon taking the stage their normal look and casual dress style actually gave high hopes that this was to be no fuzz, none pretentious and exiting.

    And what did we get?

    A great guitar that is sound wise almost like Frank Navetta on MGTC, a sturdy drummer with a great shirt, a fast bass with solid backup vocals and an nutty singer that goes baazzoong on stage.

    Imploders (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 24.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    And how did it sound? It indeed sounded like they secretly managed to fix what i have not been able to fix, ie. the flux capacitor. And this must be their band van:

    Imploders DeLorean DMC-12

    And with their van they must have been to Culver City, CA, to Indianapolis, IN and maybe even to Phoenix, AZ. And once back in Toronto they reset their brain, their ears and … trash out as if a time distance of 43 years is … nothing

    MRR praises their demo in the right way:

    It sounds great, beefier than your typical thin basement demo but with all the dials in the red where it counts. There’s an ’80s influence here—especially in that guitar tone blurring the line between clean and filthy, as well as the bratty, acrobatic vocals—but it all sounds like a fresh jolt of juice.

    And on stage it went like this:

    Great stuff, right up my mu-sick-al alley. And indeed delivered non pretentious and shoving it right up the audiences ears. As it should be. The singer also took time to lecture the audience (“I am your daddy”) and praised a regular (for dancing without bones).

    Imploders (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 24.10.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    I was sold, me mates where sold and they came in almost perfect with 27 Minutes for the 19 songs. And as ever if a band convinces me live i took home vinyl (and some badges) and i was not alone when it came to pilfering the merch table.

    Imploders – s/t (Static Shock Records SSR099, 2023)

    The LP is out in the US and too in the UK, here is the UK variant for you greedy #recordcollectorsarepretentiousarseholes

    Great band, great short set and a great number of mates around me that i would see again next day at Conservative Military Image at the Monkeys. The band themselves where quite surprised about reception and turnout as they did not expect the 42 attendees that took the effort to come out on a dull Tuesday evening.

    That said, i was disappointed with that magic number. They should have had more, i guess that is where the lack of a local match on support comes in. But hey-ho, for getting up to work next day this was a perfect end prior to 22:00, fitting our old punk age.