The Defects from sunny Belfast are in my record collection (with their first 7″ from 1981) and i never considered them favourites – though some of me mates swear they can pull a great show. That swearing (and the fact they where paired with Sheep on A Tree) got me down to the Hafenklang on a warm weekday, thanks to moving house that location is now only a short stroll downhill from me home.
From the start it was not to be a full house but more a meeting of the old friends and Blackpool pilgrims – a mere 50 people made it and thus the large room downstairs felt a wee bit empty.
Kick off early with Sheep on A Tree and this time round they where not that together – some hickups and some speed issues (drums = full speed, guitar/bass – normal speed) and Hake on vocals more mumbling than shouting.
Sheep on A Tree (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 07.09.2016) (c) gehkacken.de)
Best moment indeed was when they played the Intro as the 5th song and showed how brilliant their guitar work at high speed can be. As i do love them anyway i did not complain though they did not get the same energy across as on previous shows.
And depending on where you sit a fun/no fun moment with Pohl, who correctly argued on “sharing economy” with someone in the audience only to pester that guy later to get him a Whiskey from the bar. And guess what? He got his drink, served to the stage. Stunning!
With little changeover The Defects took the stage and as with many of the bands from their time and their location they are now unpretentious old lads – and with these looks they stormed into a class set!
“Traffic Island Castaway” apparently was for Malcolm Owen of Ruts fame and indeed i could make out some nice references. I think compared to what i had in my head (and from that only 7″ in my collection) they had nicely speeded up things and they also had perfect the guitar play.
The Defects (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 07.09.2016) (c) gehkacken.de)
And short and speedy they did, here comes “Defective Breakdown” from their 1983 LP:
The more they played, the better they got and growing appreciation from the small crowd came in return. They also liked the rather large amount of “The Outcasts” T-Shirts worn by at least 5 people in the crowd, i think this is in the good old tradition of punks from Hamburg loving and adoring punk music from the fellow harbour town of Belfast.
And whilst they played a short and crisp set they also found time for another encore and another nod off to The Ruts – here is “In A Rut” for you:
And with that they sure thing had won over the audience! As ever there is nothing better than to check out bands live – surprises are out there, still.
All in all a perfect weekday entertainment and with a Defects T-Shirt for me love in my hands i made the 2 minute stroll uphill to our new home. Priceless!
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