Rarely i had a band hitting Hamburg whilst touring with that amount of positive feedback coming north from others who had seen them before south of the mighty river Elbe.
Dead Bob, the solo venture gone band from John Wright (of No Means No and Hanson Brothers fame), did fly into Hamburg on such positive vibes … that also i was more than eager to get to see them.
For Dead Bob it would be the end of a 5 week tour across central Europe, so i had high hopes that they would finish this obvious triumphant run on the highest possible high.
The evening though started with lowest possible low, as the mighty FCSP choose this sunny Sunday to put a piss poor home game on display. The final whistle still echoed around the Millerntor when i left me mates and took the stroll down to the Hafenklang, using the walk to refocus on #thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusic rather than footie.
Dead Bob had enlisted Terra Flop (out of Bremen) for the final dates, a setting that turned out for me as more than fitting.
They are a non-nonsense 3-piece with quite a clever sound: On top of a rock solid backline of drum & bass the guitar does very simple chords (though with clever little variations throwing in what sound to me like “misses”) and vocals that sound nölig (a german word that translates somewhat to whining but more like grumpy whining).
Terra Flop (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 19.10.2025)
(c) gehkacken.de 2025
All together it worked very well for me, they themselves attach punk no wave noise noise rock as tags to their sound. And indeed they mix all of above well, here is a prime example:
As much as i can make out a one chord wonder in the most bare, most simplistic way. I liked them, though not something that i would take home for listening. But live, this evening, it was a perfect uplift following the footie disaster.
Go and check them out for yourself:
They are self-sustained, their recent record ain’t with any distribution but only available at shows or via their Bandcamp page.
The changeover to Deab Bob on stage was fun to watch, as their stuff was already there albeit in a different layout. John resided with his drums 90° angled to the audience on the right side, the rest of the band fronting the stage.
The setlist did not ring any bell with me, on purpose i had not checked out anything from them prior to the show.
From taking the stage throughout the set i was having a little itch in the back of me head that i was looking at a theatrical drama and would listening to an orchestra.
Just like in this snippet:
To an extent it was the unusual setup on stage, more so it was the sheer volume, presence and variety of the band that did drive it. And yes, they where fucking loud!
Dead Bob (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 19.10.2025)
(c) gehkacken.de 2025
John has assembled a class troupe to stage his songs live, all fellow Canadians. A hard strumming bass. A small but growling out loud guitar. A smiling frontman with a strong guitar. And his son on keyboard, horn and vocals.
And whilst they where indeed fucking loud (and that worked very well) they also had somber moments of remembering loved ones: This SNFU cover went out to Ken “Mr. Chi Pig” Chinn, this day would have been his 63rd birthday.
Me and some mates around me had almost tears in our eyes. A very fitting memory, people may disappear but they don’t get lost if we remember them and say their name!
Dead Bob (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 19.10.2025)
(c) gehkacken.de 2025
At this point the proceedings where already in extra time, more than once they came back and took another go.
They finished off with the closing song from the album, an almost power pop like song – here is Make Believe World:
Sing-a-long:
Your living in a make believe world.
Don’t you know, you gotta believe me.
You’re living in a make believe world.
Can’t you see. You gotta believe me.
Your living in a make believe world.
Gonna make, make you believe me.
You’re living in a make believe world.
Don’t you know?
You gotta believe
And go check it out in the recorded version too:
The not completely sold out Hafenklang by now was a dancing, smiling and cheering beauty full of appreciation. And once it was over i heard from more than one (including people who saw them earlier on the tour) that this felt like a “Show of the Year” thingy.
I for sure have this one on my shortlist, it was on all fronts near perfect.
As ever i lured for vinyl, only the 7″ was left:
(Alternative Tentacles Virus 538-7 / Wrong Records, 2025)
I picked two, as a mate could not make it due to some nasty medical emergency that ain’t over yet. The gift hopefully will cheer him up, he needs it!
Great show and testament to the simple fact that Oh Canaduh! hosts so many talented musicians, so many great bands.
I took the long ride home happy as a fuck and dropped to bed late, with no memory to footie: Live music cheered me up!
PS: And yet again i was lucky to capture the essence of the show in a single picture. Click for downloading the high-res version!
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