Thanks good it is Easter break! My next break away from work is only end of May, so the 4 days off feel like short holiday. As such the Monkeys was the perfect place for sliding into these days with a great package of bands.
First on the Arch Rivals from sunny Plymouth (that one on the south coast of that island that soon seems to drift off that continent of ours) and they took me by surprise. Not so much from a musical perspective, as they are a package with an “to be expected” sound.
Arch Rivals (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg) (c) gehkacken.de)
What took me almost left field was their shouter, boy what a great shouter (despite having worn out his vocal cords during the week already) – he was not only providing some choice words between songs (that actually had a meaning) but also their songs where with great lyrics. I’d say great band and i am looking forward to see them again – i am now on me toes for it!
Next Legion 76 from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in the US of A. Their name sure is a nod to the Philly history and the fact that in 1776 the declaration of independence for the US of A splitting away from that island now drifting away from … never mind – they come from a town actually smaller than Hamburg (ok, about the size off by inhabitants) and also neat on the banks of a river (Delware River instead of River Elbe) and they look like this…
Legion 76 (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg) (c) gehkacken.de)
Where Arch Rivals had the word, Legion 76 had the (wall of sound) music. They caught my eye with their 2014 demo (later released as an EP) but have improved their sound considerably. Less guitar leads but really driving wall of sound, pushing the songs forward and paired with raw vocals (and harmonic background vocals). See yerself with “Into Darkness”:
And the word to it go like this:
It’s all across the their minds, you know they’ve seen it on TV Blinds pulled across their eyes, they can’t decipher what they see Sense made from laying down with thoughts they can’t dispel Bought into hate again, I can’t believe the shit they sell Sold out, cashed in, chalk it up to apathy Time to find a higher ground, a place for you and me Into darkness we fall, watch the world go up in flames Into darkness we live, we can’t see the light of day Into darkness we watch cultures fall in despair Into darkness we breathe, waiting for a cleaner air It’s got the best of them, diseased views are all I see Suffering from helplessness and a mind that can’t be free What stops the rest of us from being one drop in the well Shadows reveal themselves, we know time will always tell Stand up, strike down anything that you can see Drive the demons out, cast them to obscurity
That is actually pretty good stuff and i did like them live as much as i savoured their records. On the fun side (greedy me) they where all also sizeable and that felt so american somehow (foregive me lads). Great band, great music.
And that gave way for Booze & Glory from London, who sure where the reason why the Monkeys put up a “SOLD OUT” sign weeks ahead of the show. They are reasonable big nowadays and have played everywhere in the world with great success.
It took them some time to set up and get the music man to tune the monitors to their liking, sometimes their requests to change the vocals or the volume in the monitors felt like a running gag, at least off stage (maybe it was quite odd on stage).
Booze & Glory (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg) (c) gehkacken.de)
Their sound is polished by now and they have developed since their early days in 2009 into loads of melody and technical capabilities paired with great sing-a-long stuff. But within that, they also have almost mellow gems like “Simple” from their newest record:
Great stuff. What i did like too was the Hardcore Help T-Shirt their singer did wear, as this is also a charity i support on a regular basis with some of me dough. And they made their stance clear, even for the dumbest: “Booze & Glory was, is and always will be an Anti-Fascist band”. Well said lads, well said. In the wake of that only few noticed that a member of the audience was evicted from the premises as he sported a shirt from a more than dubious band.
And that got us to the end, more sing-a-long hits and an encore to the encore, thanking Arch Rivals, Legion 76, Sam and … FCSP. Cheap trick to lure the already completely enthusiastic audience into more sing-a-long:
Where the Arch Rivals had the words, Legion 76 had the music it was sure Booze & Glory who had the audience – singing, dancing and packing the space in front of the stage. That was just sheer good fun in a great club (and loads of booze, ok, i give you that).
And what did it proof? It did proof that music is to be listened too – both on record but also you need to ensure that you verify that the band actually works on a stage too – all three of them too, specifically in a great club like the Monkeys.
And the best? No alarm clock on Friday! Happy Easter bunnies!
