There are many things i dig but there is a much bigger amount of things i don’t dig. In this little niche i savor i tend to listen to recorded and live mu-sick to, the amount of likes tends to be bigger but there also sore thorns i just can’t fathom.
As one of me mates put it: “There ain’t nuthin stupider in the H/C genre than the invention of beatdown dancing“. And he is quite right. But often the brutal and brisk onslaught onto me ears in the same sub-genre is actually pleasant.
That was the conflict for this show and the urge to get a good blast because of an annoying work week so far was bigger than the pain of … ah, toss it.
Kick off was from Norway, Oh See Demons hail from rainy Bergen and must have felt home in the Hamburg weather.
They sure where the outlier, as their very American, very modern approach to H/C did not necessarily match the sound of the other two bands.
Oh See Demons (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
(c) gehkacken.de 2025
At good time i sensed a scent of Prophagandhi, at bad times it had a metalic undercurrent. Main asset was the near-perfect multi-vocal harmonies when singing, all in a much higher than grunt pitch.
(c) gehkacken.de
I guess they were largely wasted on the audience, i found them entertaining though only little audience interaction.
Would i buy a record? I guess not but the one or the other song are actually more than OK. As always, check them out for yourself.
Next Ingrown, hailing from la rivière boisée (aka Boise, Idaho). Famous for the Basque Block. And surprisingly with a long mu-sick-al history. And Ingrown, hailed as a band that is a lightspeed tour through crushing power violence, towering riffs, and titanic breakdowns (to quote the internet. Damn internet, never forgets).
Ingrown (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
(c) gehkacken.de 2025
And exactly that is what the lot got in i guess a set of max of 20 minutes. And it got those beatdown dancers beating down. They are an onslaugt indeed and it was great to feel their pressure in my stomach.
Just the grunts that serve as vocals don’t make my day.
Check them out, i am a wee bit inclined to maybe score the Idaho LP at one point in time.
Next GAG and all turned hunkydory: Everything i may have missed with Ingrown came across here. First and foremost a roaming singer with dual guitars giving both a wider sound and something eyecatching.
GAG (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
(c) gehkacken.de 2025
Their songs are equally short but somewhat less simple, less hard without missing the aggressive touch needed. They hail from Olympia, Washington, incubator for sub-genres like Riot Girrrl and Grunge.
Within that context it is worth to note that GAG are not just a replay on say 80s US H/C but have something fresh going.
It felt like this:
Fast, hard and short. And within, strange enough, i had references kicking out of the blue into my head that i did not expect: No Trend. Or No Means No. Though these where only ever like a blink, not constant.
GAG (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 20.11.2025)
(c) gehkacken.de 2025
They kept their set also short (albeit longer than Ingrown) and they had a wee bit of consumer interaction. And that was to extend of “come closer or fuck right off” and “if you ask for an encore i’m gonna kick you”. I guess you get the fun.
On record they sound … i take you have checked it out above. I will give it some listen online and then decide later if i am gonna buy one. But live, they are a convincing band.
And did the dance style annoy? It did, but hey-ho it ain’t for old fart to wage a war on this. Everybody to do what she likes unless it harms others.
Neat evening, quick sets, able to make a mate happy by paying for his entry and early finish, so not too late out home in the green of the woods.
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