Another year has passed and the fine people that fuel the Punk Rock Hamburg community invited to another showcase of what Hamburg has to offer under the banner of Punk Rock – a superb and wide variation of styles.
Location would again be the Stellwerk in Harburg, down south over the might river Elbe (and factually just a short train ride from the heart of the most beautiful City of Hamburg).
It was an early start already short after 1910, i bet you this was to not have too many people fall out drunk after the mighty home win of the FCSP on the afternoon.
The hardship of the first slot fell to Violent Instinct, the Stellwerk by this time was not yet full. Aga used the free space in front of the stage to roam during the first song, then she managed to lure more people forward.
Violent Instinct (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 03.02.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024
Their mid-tempo style of street punk did work well for me, specifically as it is being carried by Aga’s vocal abilities. If there was one item that did nag me it was a wee bit a lack of speed variation, but hey, that is complaining on a high. Within their rooster they have hits like People With No Problems (mind other peoples business), a great sing-a-long build on the strength of Aga’s voice.
They lured folks to the stage and finished towards an by then much better filled Stellwerk.
From that Street Punk niche the baton was handed almost years back to a niche that may be called Proto Punk or maybe Glam Punk. Stuff for older folks that like their Saints, their Dictators or their Hellacopters.
And to a singer that has even more umpf on her voice – say Hi to Hamburgs own Demolition Girls.
Demolition Girls (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 03.02.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024
They sure started of with the song that gave their name (and comes all the way from Down Under) and from there blasted through history.
Plunder here, steal there and actually not giving a shit on that it must be from the 70s – here is Sweden, 2016:
Wow, Barbro’s voice indeed fills the room and sends shivers down the spine.
The other top-notch asset is the guitar, super-duper bad ass sound delivered in perfection. And all that, paired with the rock solid rhythm section (sporting a Demolition Bass), forced the lot to dance along, almost like no tomorrow.
And youth and age united in front of the stage. Cool.
Demolition Girls (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 03.02.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024
It definitely felt like all of the energy coming down from the stage was sucked up by the audience and reflected back in dancing, sing-a-long and cheers. I can assure you that at the end of their crisp set a wave of enthusiasm went through the room.
How to move on from that high?
Simple. Thrown in Küken and get the most unpretentious blast ever. Blasting the lot ten levels higher.
They took only a couple of minutes to set themselves up, played 30 seconds to assure overall sound and then …
… you get a perfect “RnR Band” (from Küken II). And that set the pace for their set.
No frills. No fills. No cheap borrowed time. Nothing wasted on addressing the audience (though i heard a simple thank you along the way) – it was a sheer blast of energy that made everyone dance (at least in front of the stage).
Küken (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 03.02.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024
With Küken i though i always knew what i was getting but here and tonight they took it to the next level. I already came to the show with the idea to buy their new record released in late December but that idea turned into determination: I must score their 3rd LP, no matter what.
And as always when a band convinces we me live i sure scored their new long player after the show and in contrast to some reviews that where traded on anti-social media it is a total worthy effort. You get Küken, 100% real and authentic.
As ever their set was crisp to the max, speedy to the max and short (as their songs). And as ever it left me yearning for more.
Slanders where supposed to start next but it took them ages to set up and be ready. Whilst waiting for their drummer (who went AWOL without completing setup) Greg looked almost helpless, shrugged his shoulders and asked the audience “My gosh, what was that blast by Küken“. He, as a fellow musician, seemed as much taken by surprise as the audience was.
Once Slanders where ready they kicked into gear like this:
Say Hi to yet another niche, the ever friendly, ever speedy Pop Punk with a Ramonescore undercurrent. 4th band, 4th different genre. Still, they got the lot dancing and sing-ing-along again.
It was also cool to see Gregs bandmates from his other band in the audience, all smiling and humming away to the Slanders. And it was utmost cool to see the audience sending them hearts (…melting away).
Slanders (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 03.02.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024
They got plenty of cheers and the longer they played the better they got into it.
High speed stuff at par with their American contemporaries and i would bet ready for a Punk Rock Raduno stint. At least one PRR Hoodie was present in the audience, setting the right scenery.
Once Slanders finished, i sensed a bit of exhaustion in the audience. 4 bands in almost quick succession – for some it seemed too much (and specifically for those on booze).
I also sensed the same exhaustion with me mates who support the other team in Hamburg, their late (and delayed) away game was underway with varying results over the 2nd half, sending them into despair and joy (at the end).
The last slot was for Arrested Denial, who just supported Buster Shuffle at the Knust in a return from a longer hiatus. For me they are bit of a mixed bag, i would not go as far as a friend did (“My gosh, they are Deutsch Punk – i am outta here“) but their style of Street Punk with some Ska and Trumpet thrown in just does not klick as much as others do for me.
Arrested Denial (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 03.02.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024
They had their fans present, they also had sing-a-long in front of the stage but it did feel a bit more empty than with the other bands that night. It may not have worked for me, it should not discourage you to check them out for yerself.
Overall a great – if not the best – Punk Rock Hamburg Festival. The only downside was that throughout all set the lights where … shite. Actually less than shite. I guess there was not a single second where the stage got proper light to have the band visible.
But besides the light (that was shite, ctd) it was a real cool showcase of local Punk Rock Hamburg capabilities, on and off stage. And that paired with both Hamburg teams winning their footie games … made many many people really happy.
My happiness was with Demolition Girls, Küken and Slanders and the relentless dancing in front of the stage. Just puurrrfect and with loads of applause from the audience. My happiness was also with the simple fact that it was sold out, a definitive prove of the power of the community.
As such do remember that the applause went too to those fine people who orchestrate the Punk Rock Hamburg community and the folks of the Stellwerk: Without them … we would be not be having it! And we had it, big time!
NB: Extra cudos to the young punk up front for dancing and smiling throughout all the night – stick into it my friend, stick into it!
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