… a variant of the headline could have been DIY galore: Both bands are DIY, Sound Of Subterrania is DIY and the whole setup this evening was DIY (with Gregor from Sound Of Subterrania doing tour, doors, merch and sound).
Smokin’ Taters from sunny Kassel kicked off, a duo with just Vocals, Guitar and Drums. For my ears very American trash beat garage with a strong (and dominant) Guitar.
Smokin’ Taters (Komet, Hamburg, 22.08.2026)
(c) gehkacken.de 2026
I liked them most when the guitar went a bit free wheeling and loose, paired with the vocals wandering about (again in a very American bluesy way as far as my mu-sick-al receptors work).
Go and check them out for yourself:
In a nutshell though the guitar sounded too much the same (a problem that slightly less dominant was true for Smallspeaker later too) and that somewhat made it a wee bit less enjoyable. They also had one instrumental and there the guitar excelled and carried the sound, so maybe it was just me again.
Smallspeaker, all the way from Tokyo, needed a bit of encouragement by Gregor to get going (and onto the stage) and made an almost shy impression. But boy, once the Guitar started blaring and Bass & Drums provided the push, it turned much more offensive.
Smallspeaker actually tie back to the Registrators, a Japanese band that i actually have 4 records of in my collection (and that is the highest scoring count from that country).
I never did dig into 日本 deep but know from friends, who even traveled there, that it is home to a small and active scene, with clubs & shows being even more “small” then the cellar of the Komet.
Smallspeaker (Komet, Hamburg, 22.08.2026)
(c) gehkacken.de 2026
Smallspeaker had definitely more umpf than Smokin’ Taters, sure largely by the addition of the Bass. But also sound wise they ventured much wider – slower stuff, fast banger and even pure raw Punk songs.
They played the setlist and then where forced to play 3 to 4 more songs, with a reluctant smile they actually gave in on that urge from the rather small crowd.
I liked it, a great raw set. But did i like it enough to score the LP? I got to admit … not yet. I will give it a bit of time and listening online to make that call.
If you want to score it, hop over to our trusted local dealer Sounds Of Subterrania:
(Sounds Of Subterrania SOS 258, 2026)
On the bonus side the words put against that record are just to the point:
Punk isn’t seen as a mere extension of rock or a supposedly political playground for more or less well-intentioned ideologies, but rather as a nihilistic social corrective. This approach catapults Smallspeaker to the forefathers and thus the beginnings of every relevant youth culture that rebelled and questioned the system in its entirety.
And that’s exactly how their music sounds. Raw, snotty, pissed off, it creaks and groans, practically screaming at you: Fuck off if you can’t handle this!
Smallspeaker are to today’s punk what the Monks were to the beat of the 60s. They are both a disruptive force and a catalyst. Their temple is the garage, which they immediately demolish again in the spirit of the old “Killed by Death” tradition.
If someone were to ask me what’s left of 50 years of punk, I would answer: Smallspeaker, the rest is a museum.
On that account i agree, Smallspeaker live was just not museum. It was very real. And would have warranted a bigger turnout!
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