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Tag: Hafenklang

  • … fucking loud, fucking wild, fucking hot: School Drugs & The Drowns and a sweaty lot!

    … fucking loud, fucking wild, fucking hot: School Drugs & The Drowns and a sweaty lot!

    The Sunday at the Hafenklang with Good Riddance was pleasant and warm, that hydrogenic ball out there though decided to heat things up for The Drowns: It was a very sunny and very hot day, well over 30 degrees. Walking along the banks of the mighty river Elbe towards the Hafenklang was – where it lacked tree cover – a damn hot exercise.

    Arriving early it was time to get rid of water and get some fresh one, booze was not the right choice for the day. And somewhat – given the weather – i was happy to see the show was moved from upstairs (that is damn hot due to the windows) to downstairs in the the larger space (that is a tad bit colder and gives more space to breathe).

    But weather was not the reason, it was presales going well (and remember kids, Clubs and Bands these days need presales!) and a decent turnout was expected.

    School Drugs (indeed a cool band name) kicked it off and i was keen to see them, i did read some good references but shied away from checking their mu-sick-al output to have an unbiased live experience.

    They turned out a five piece, with 5 different stage personas. Most notably the singer, who went wild roaming from the start.

    School Drugs (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 01.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    And from the start it was clear that the well filled Hafenklang was facing a more than decent set. They where tight, excellent on their instruments, together and still delivered an energetic show (without being bogus showmen).

    How did it sound and look like? Like this:

    A very 80s and a very East Coast approach that worked more than well for me (and also for many around me). They also threw in enough variations (including an instrumental) to keep the audience on their toes.

    Here is the same song from the record – class one!

    Perfect and some of the guitar work in my simple mu-sick-al head triggers Clowns, not the worst reference for me.

    School Drugs (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 01.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Great hard & fast set and already getting some of the crowd going. They actually bragged from the stage to get married in order to get a Green Card for Germany, they seemed to dig it here (understandably). Lovely!

    They also had some merch, in hindsight i regret to not have scored these 4 beauties.

    Cool Idea: Spreading the Funeral Arrangement LP over 4 perfectly styled 7″.

    I gave them a decent listen via Bandcamp and they are a great quartet. Perfect from sound to visual, wow. Now my greedy record collector scum self needs to go hunting.

    Great start and by the time The Drowns came on condensing water/sweat came already dripping from the ceiling.

    And this is how The Drowns took ownership of the stage:

    They followed right where their friends School Dogs left it, hard & fast but less hardcore – more rock (as in Punk Rock).

    I missed them every time they graced Hamburg before though many of me mates put more than good words forward (only one outsider claimed “too much of a rock show for me”).

    Whilst i can hear the claim towards “rock” i could not make out the “show” element. They are humble, outspoken and real. And emit a shitload of positive energy down from the stage.

    The Drowns (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 01.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Their main asset next to drive & speed is their multi vocal singing, this both adds to the choruses but also the needed variations for the songs.

    The Drowns (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 01.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    And, as a bonus, they can even tone and slow it down a bit and still deliver a punchy message.

    What also caught my ear and eye was the fact that they where fucking loud (even with ear protection) and that somewhat the audience did shrink, i guess either people gasping for air or just being forced out by volume.

    Those who stayed in front of the stage though slowly lost the nordic reseved style and to the end turned into a surprisingly big and dancing pit.

    The Drowns (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 01.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    They finished it off with some extras and for the start had the perfect sing-a-long from that little green island:

    Ever since 1980, when SLF played for my 16th birthday at the Markthalle, i can sing-a-long to that one:

    And they say they’re a part of you
    And that’s not true, you know
    They say they’ve got control of you
    And that’s a lie, you know
    They say you will never be free
    Free
    Free

    Splendid!

    Here is what the set plan looked like:

    The Drowns – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 01.07.2025 (c) gehkacken.de)

    They played about an hour and where totally done after it (though they had the hindsight of arriving to Hamburg and the start of the tour a day early to be able to shed off the jetlag easier) – as much as the audience was.

    Sauna feeling included for free!

    For me it was two bands i have not seen prior and both where great in their own way. Bonus: Both together worked well. Strange though that somewhat less people stayed for The Drowns…no clue why.

    Luckily there is cooling down ahead, on stage hopefully it remains loud and wild!

  • … packing a punch into 60 minutes: Good Riddance!

    … packing a punch into 60 minutes: Good Riddance!

    Summer is back in Hamburg and plenty of shows ahead, bands do like to tour in summer. On a warm and pleasant Sunday evening it was Good Riddance who finished their almost 3 week run through central Europe in Hamburg.

    Support was to be from Slaughterhouse but short notice they pulled out and thus caused confusion (as to who is going to play with GR).

    I was actually keen to see them and, greedy record collector scum that i am, i was keen to score their single-sided 12″ (with eachings).

    They got something and they sport a female contingent, always a positive thingy.

    I finally got to understand that Loaded would be the support and in my head it triggered “Duff McKagan’s Loaded” but not a German band. But that was far off, Loaded are from Mannheim, have 30 years under their belt, and …

    … a mate referenced “Ska” in their context. Not really a good trigger for me. As with many German bands i guess i happily ignored them over 30 years, so i was bit reluctant at first.

    In reality they turned out as a lovely 3 piece with their main asset being their always smiling, always laughing and hart hitting drummer Julia. The positive energy she emits, boy – it does make up for the occasional ska interlude.

    Loaded (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 29.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    I guess by and large they have morphed into something that is much more on the punk side, the guitar sounding more rock and the bass (manned by an exiled American) is more on the hardcore side.

    Somewhat a surprisingly interesting set, at moments even with right amount of umpf to take the audience along. They got a fair share of applause beyond their fans in row one. And they deserved it, short notice they opted for the slot and endured a “7 hour hell drive” back to Mannheim.

    I will now check their output in more detail, I also guess i will not pass the option to see them again should it arise.

    Not seeing Good Riddance on the other hand is not an option, in my single minded mu-sick-al head they are one of the few of the US (and specifically Californian) bands of the early 90s that are still relevant (and that still have a say).

    Here is what they set up for Hamburg for ending their Europe 2025 tour:

    Good Riddance – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 29.06.2025 (c) gehkacken.de)

    And this is how they kicked off:

    From the start i had the sense that we would be lucky and GR would be going ALL IN for the final slot in Europe. Energy, fun and loads of forward pushing power.

    Loaded (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 29.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    They Hafenklang was not completely full but there where enough folks to fill the room and have a decent going in front of the stage, including plenty of sing-a-longs for many of their old hits.

    Best thing – next to Chucks banter with the audience – was the guitar sound. Luke not only shredded it like hell (and with relentless energy) but it sounded near perfect. That was a real “wow” throughout the set!

    Loaded (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 29.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    The same relentless energy by the way came from Sean on the drums, he was hitting it hard at any speed, much like a human metronome.

    Loaded (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 29.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    I guess nobody in the sweaty but happy audience noted that time flew and GR should have gotten a speeding ticket.

    The finished their set and came back for some extra fun:

    Just puuurfect! Ever since they are back at it they come on a regular basis to Hamburg and every time they have been utmost convincing. Lets hope that indeed they have a new record in the making, because that would bring them over yet again.

    Great evening at the Hafenklang and i was lucky to capture the essence of a GR show in a single shot (though Sean is hidden).

    So this is for you:

    Click! for high resolution version download (opens in new window).

    There was no vinyl to score but a grateful mate not only did hit me up with a ride but also with the last ever Effigies record (“Burned”, a loving memory for John François Kezdy who tragically died in 2023 before the record could be completed). So was not only home early but also with black gold in tow.

    Perfect summer Sunday!

  • … convinced in 30 minutes: Lost Legion know the trick!

    … convinced in 30 minutes: Lost Legion know the trick!

    Monday night at the Hafenklang – a band, a DJ and table-tennis. And for me and a small number of mates it was a great opportunity to see Lost Legion all the way from the South Side of Chicago.

    They have done something to that little Oi! niche that maybe only ever the French have done recently: They created something unique, something of their own.

    Lost Legion came over for a brief sprint across Germany and neighboring cities. Given the bands initial existence was a mere recording project and their first ever live gig was only in 2023 it was no surprise that they enlisted a local guitar for 2nd guitar – the spot was filled by Valentin (Brutal Bravo, Collaps and many more bands).

    Lost Legion – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 16.06.2025 (c) gehkacken.de)

    Given that they only had like 10 songs rehearsed together and ready, in the end they even tried – forced by the lot – a new one apparently just written on the way from Hanover to Hamburg.

    How did it sound? It sounded reasonable well:

    And great visual, i love when a band dresses for the occasion. Here it was sunglasses. And sure Ian on vocals sports the neatest business casual persona. Perfect!

    From song to song they grooved even better, up to and including some veritable dance hits with a heavy dance rhythm undercurrent.

    Pity only that only two handful of people made it, hence no circle pit.

    Lost Legion (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 16.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    That Lost Legion are nowhere near the normal breed of Oi! was somewhat clear at the outset. Ian also runs Foreign Legion Records and has released stuff from Fuerza Bruta, Ultra Razzia, Syndrome 81, Urban Savage, Snake Handler, Rogue Trooper and Brick Assassin next to own stuff.

    His distance to that normal breed of say humpta-Oi! he voice quite neat in an interview:

    I think a lot of Oi! bands claim to be talking about reality, but they all get their model of reality from Hoxton Tom or Mickey Fitz. We got our model of reality from Robert Anton Wilson and Genesis P-Orridge.

    Whilst their appearance was brief, most if not all of the audience smiled big time and had a very happy look on their face.

    They played their songs, they played an extra and the lot still wanted more.

    And got it – here is their final song:

    With that, they exceeded expectations also on the timing: They graced the stage for more than 30 minutes!

    As ever when a band convinces me live i score vinyl and with Lost Legion i went ALL IN.

    “Bridging Electricity” was one of my favorite songs of 2022 and i finally could score the 10″ (anyway the coolest format in the world).

    You can get these beauties from eg. locally Sounds Of Subterrania or direct from Mendeku Diskak. But they run in small quantities!

    Pity though that the turnout was so small, how great would it have been if they had shared the stage with Rancoeur two weeks back. But even the best booker (and trust me, both shows ran through the hands of the best booker this side of the sun) could not do that trick.

    Great evening and i was able to see a band that most likely i will not see again. But hopefully will get even more output to listen to.

    PS: Rancoeur T-Shirt count of the night was three. Even more an argument to get the DeLorean fixed and get us and Lost Legion back to the Hafenklang on 30.05.2025.