It was July 2019 when D.I. made a triumphant return to Hamburg, thanks to Covid it took them another 4 years to be back. The Hamburg lot was eager to see them, even folks who where in London on Saturday to see Generation Sex came down to the Hafenklang to see D.I..
Whilst i had high hopes for another sold out show the post-Covid reality is still that a percentage of guests seems lost, on this lovely Sunday evening it was “only” about 170 good people at the Hafenklang.
Support was for Youth Of Altona with the first show in the new reformed outfit, playing favorite Wipers songs … these actually.
Youth Of Altona – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de)
They lured most people in front of the stage but actually repelled some. I can only guess that was either for generic dislike of the cover band concept per se (which i could buy) or because of the nervousness hick-ups in the first couple of songs.
Here is “Let’s go”:
I still like their concept and i do like that they allow me to listen to some neat Wipers songs, all done in a complete unpretentious fashion. As Greg Sage won’t be on tour soon, where else would you get the chance?
And the more they got into it, the less hick-ups where around. And smiles appeared on stage and with those in front of the stage – as it should be.
Youth Of Altona (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
I also took note of the D.I. folks coming out from backstage and having a decent look into Youth Of Altona, up to nodding along to the sound. And given that they kept the set crisp and avoided length it was a fitting lead-in into the evening.
Here is “Return Of The Rat”, their closing song:
I continue to give them credit for what they do and i am damn sure they will also develop a little more groove along the set, the more they play together. It is one of the better cover ideas and executions, trust me (if you dare).
D.I. sure would speed up things and would give us more of of a Southern O.C. sound than the northern sound from PDX. And this was what they set out to deliver:
And lets be frank, a band that kick into “Johnny’s Got A Problem”, “Imminent War” and “Hang Ten In East Berlin” after an instrumental intro … wins over the audience at anytime, anywhere. Really fast.
Here is “Johnny’s Got A Problem”:
Bang! This time round they came with two guitars and that added to an overall near perfect sound. And boy, they where fucking tight from the first chord. And sure thing the audience went sing-a-long from the first chorus onward.
It was less crowded compared to last time, the average age in the audience was significantly higher … but D.I. made all up for it by leaning in even stronger.
The only item of moaning was that it was over so much quicker, 19 songs clocked in within 50 minutes (my wild guess), here are the finishing chords:
The one item that stood out for me was that they delivered simply a near perfect show, with near perfect sound. And even the sometimes very visible staged chats, banters and acts came all naturally and added to the show.
With this setup (top twin Guitars and them Tatar brothers on Drums (providing more grins, more tricks) and Bass (with even more singing, more fun making of Casey)) D.I. is a mighty force that is able to take over any place, anytime. And provide more than a decent punk fucking rock experience.
Thanks largely to D.I. there was an upbeat feeling after the show, plenty of talking, bantering (up to and including a proposal to burn down me mate Lukes car) and drinks. I ended up with two mates still chatting when the Hafenklang switched on the lights for final clean out. The good feeling of
#thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusicamongfriends
Isn’t that what it is all about, despite an alarm bell on Monday reminding you of the treadmill?
PS: The video sound ain’t as desired and does not do the good sound justice, i ended up too near to the stage, under a ceiling mounted PA speaker. The pics are extra shitty as for both bands the stage was flooded with rather stupid red light only. I guess there was no light man around/booked. But you get to see what i got to see, unedited.
For quite some time the Hafenklang supports the K-Town Hardcore Fest by giving travelling bands (and others) a pass-through opportunity, this year the warm-up was with 5 bands travelling through Hamburg to K-Town and A.F.K. as a local add-on.
As always it was to be a mixed bag, this time ranging from near (Azijnpisser from Eindhoven) to far (HEZ from Panama) but all in true DIY spirit. DON/T from Hamburg where also planned in but had to drop out short notice.
So it was for the dutchies from Azijnpisser to kick off the proceedings, as early as 20:00. The Hafenklang was not yet full and for me as a local it felt attendance was largely bands’n’friends. It did change later but i guess the Hamburg lot was still underrepresented.
Azijnpisser (means “vinegar pisser”, a cool band name as a dutch mate of mine pointed out) perfectly set the pace for the evening: hard hitting, fast forward and aggressive. And all of that with a near perfect sound & delivery despite the fact that they had to enlist a replacement bass player for this show.
Their real asset though was their singer, great vocal abilities and perfect screaming, howling and growling… all that roaming in front of the stage with an in yer face attitude. They have just released their first vinyl, 16 songs across 25 minutes – go and check Cold Cuts out now!
Next A.F.K. from Hamburg and they took the banging to the next level I’d say: No compromise seeking banging and even more aggressive vocals. And the singer sported a fun add-on i had not seen on stage prior: He strapped a belt to himself with an effect pedal he ran his mike through (either reverb or echo effect i guess), giving his voice the extra umpf or shreekness.
A.F.K. i believe is short for Aargh Fuck Kill and that is how they went about: Knüppelgeballer (that is “stick banging” literally and describes the feeling as a listener that the band thoroughly beats you up with a stick) at its best. I did not come across them before but i will now check out their output, they where very convincing live.
One of the first row dancers to A.F.K. took the stage next, the guitar player from HEX also seemed to have enjoyed the locals pretty much. With HEX i got a first, this is the first punk band from sunny Panama i get to hear and see. What immediately stood out was the four distinct different personas on stage, what also was going to stand our was their sound.
I can only make wild guesses here but i my guess would be that mu-sick-ally they have grown up in an environment that – on the positive side – gave them no scene inherited boundaries. On the negative side i guess there are plenty of boundaries for them with their music, locally. Check out their song “La Hez“:
Habitamos las cloacas
Es una vida subterranea
Somos seres subversivos
Y tu no eres mi amigo
Nos alimentamos de tóxicos
Vivimos rodeados de tóxicos
Somos seres subversivos
Y tu no eres mi amigo
No somos de tu clase
Y no queremos agradarte
We inhabit the sewers
It's an underground life
We are subversive beings
and you are not my friend
We feed on toxic
We live surrounded by toxic
We are subversive beings
and you are not my friend
We are not your kind
And we don't want to please you
For me the positive side upheld: They added some unusual bits to their sound next to the stomping drums and distorted bass in namely the guitar adding soundscapes. And the vocal delivery was – yet again – all angry. Great stuff, check them out for yourself.
And where HEZ where surprise for origin, Zanjeer appeared as a total surprise for almost anything: Origin – Bremen, of all places. Members coming all the way from Colombia, Pakistan, England and Germany. And vocals delivered in Urdu, Farsi & Punjabi. Something strange to read & listen? Here you go:
Bhaago bhaago bhaago
Bhaago bhenchod
Bhaago bhaago bhaago
Watan se bhaago
Des ghaleez jese public ghusalkhanay
Zehni mareez, sab watan pagalkhanay
Kidhar mein jau?
Kahan mein rahu?
Mere paas kya hai?
Mere paas kuch nahin
Hamdullah!
Run run run,
Run motherfucker
Run run run
Run from your country
My country is filthy like public toilets
All nations are mental asylums
Where do I go?
Where will I live?
What do I have?
I have nothing
Thank God!
On top they also created a very different visual on stage, sure largely to the singer looking different than usually expected in a H/C band. Adjust your assumptions!
They surprised the hell out of the lot and despite some of their songs sounding the same (at least to my innocent ears) they got everyone dancing and sweaty.
Lovely people going crazy (K-Town Warm-up at Hafenklang (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
That was indeed different and for me exactly in the sweet spot of getting out to experience something new, something uncommon and – if lucky – something nonconforming. I guess i will need to quiz some folks who went to K-Town how they were received there, it is a special band for sure.
With Code 13 from Minneapolis, Minnesota, the proceedings got back into more common territory – plain good fast USHC. They have been around ever since the 90s and played Germany on DIY tours a couple of times i believe. I always missed them, so was happy to see this incarnation.
Their blasts where short and fast, their Complete Discography clocks in at 50 songs in 50 minutes – no chord wasted. Out of the rooster that night they may not have been the one with the most cheers but they definitely where the ones most versed and most tight. A solid fast slab of HC!
By now it was late and almost midnight, with still a band to come. Rigorous Instituation had to reach the Hafenklang first, got stuck on the way through Germany and making it literally only by a narrow margin. As such it took them a wee bit longer to setup, get eg. the synthies hooked up & working and do a little sound checking (with the drummer up’ing and down’ing the Bass in his monitor somewhat erratic).
Finally they kicked off, all the way from Portland, Oregon. And being very non-Portland to me when it came to sound. And presentation.
From the start i had the feeling i am seeing a play (as on a Theater Stage), delivered by a doomsday troupe. Delivered against a backdrop of scorched earth. Used as a soundtrack for a movie that is very very dark, very very creepy.
Given they played last the had the fitting tasks, at least to a certain element, to empty the Hafenklang. And indeed not everybody was up to their assault. In good moments they created a near perfect wall of sound, in bad moments they sound like an erratic presenter with a band grabbed from the streets, thrown together at random.
I bet you they are not out to be loved and they do not seek love. But as a doomsday troupe they do work – check them out yerself.
It was a somewhat non-Hamburg night at the Hafenklang, i only had two lovely companions around me and saw only a few custom faces.
Was the rooster too tough or unknown? Was the urge to experience something new, something different, something uncommon not there? No clue, i left the Hafenklang energized to sustain work on Friday and with the outlook to be seaside with me love on the weekend.
The shortest praise for the evening though came from Fab, who books this and other shit at the Hafenklang:
Great night!
150 lovely people and 6 bands from around the globe in an sweaty humid packed room going crazy.
This kind of shows are the reason i‘m still doing this, cauz one night like this, still gives me more positive energy than anything else and still helps me to stand all this sick shit on this fucked up world.
❤️🖤
stay punk!
support the international DIY punk scene!
It is that simple, it is that plain. Thanks Fab for making this (and much more) possible every week, it is worth it if i have to do the accounting! Already looking forward to the next surprise.
Sometimes you got give in. Give in to the urge to jog down memory lane. Being able to see Bärchen und Die Milchbubies at the Hafenklang was such an occasion, as they had been a known name from Hannover in the early 80s. But i never got to see them as far as i can remember.
Lulu und Die Einhornfarm was the support, though it is their recent record that gave the tour the apt name: “Alles Klärchen Bärchen” – i guess they were the real headliner. I knew that it is a side project of one of the Crackhuren lot but that Band is way off my mu-sick-al territory, so i did not know what to expect.
Lulu und Die Einhornfarm (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 04.06.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
What i got was a very modern interpretation of 80s Deutschpunk, thankfully delivered with drive and in short & fast doses (my guess would be all songs clocked in around the 01:30 mark). They had plenty of fans dancing and singing so i guess they qualify for being popular (as in Pop).
It wasn’t my thingy but i can see why it touches mainly younger folks (with a less narrow minded mu-sick-al upbringing than myself). Check them out for yourself, who am i to judge?
Next on the revived Bärchen, shrunk to a 3 piece with original members Annette singing and strumming the Guitar, Kai on Bass and singing too plus Markus (Hamburg Ramönes, ex-Rotzkotz) on drums.
Little fun fact: Whilst originally part of the No Fun family of Hannover fame all of the current members reside in … sunny Hamburg. The lure of the big city?
I guess since their retrospective collection came out on Tapete Records they have found larger interest beyond record collector scum hunting for their 1980 single with the all time novelty hit “Jung Kaputt Spart Altersheime“.
Where Lulu & Co where fast, wild and i guess obnoxious (and lured the younger contingent), Annette & Co where slow, behaved and … shy (and lured the older contingent).
Like offensive little sister vs. behaved older sister – the loudmouth on the outside whilst the shy older sister has more inside depth. But in the end both are the same blood – personal stories from a female perspective.
Bärchen und Die Milchbubis (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 04.06.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
There was distinctive less action on stage and off stage, i also sensed less people in the room. Knowing some of their old stuff i guess i knew what to expect and partly i got that. What did strike me though was that the few songs announced as new by and large worked much better for me, specifically when the Bass was playing chords to carry the vocals. They got friendly applause and on some of their old & known stuff even some sing-a-long.
Would i see both again? I guess not, unless eg. Bärchen would appear as a package at the Hafenklang. Was it worth it beyond discussions on Senseo-Pads, Incontinence and Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz with fellow Oldpunks? I guess yes, because the memory lane only ever is good if you ground yourself into realities of today.
NB: Memory lane also came up with this pic that i always found utmost funny back then – additional fun nugget is that the Skin with the black eyes now is a renowned Professor for Experimental and Quantum Physics. Beat that freedom of mind!
Bärchen und die Milchbubis (80something – (c) Tapete Records)
