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Tag: The Haermorrhoids

  • … surprised down in the cellar: 4×4 and The Unknowns!

    … surprised down in the cellar: 4×4 and The Unknowns!

    Still suffering from the sadness of having loved ones in Hospital i choose again to get my head blown free, this time down in the cellar of the Komet. Where The Haermorrhoids were sure a receipt for success, The Unknowns … indeed the unknown in the formula. Too much hype around them sharing members with The Chats and – for my liking – too much of an Australian annotation if that makes any sense.

    But as ever, in order to form an own view you got to see a band live.

    The Haermorrhoids kicked off late, as it is more or less normal custom down at the Komet. They had shrunk their setlist for the support slot and arranged it into a near perfect 4×4 run.

    Pity though that a fan favorite like Overdose did drop out!

    The Haermorrhoids – Setlist (Komet, Hamburg, 18.10.2024)

    On the positive side: The 4×4 gave the lot Degenerator, a new song!

    As most of the times at the Komet the light was shite and the sound varied from where you stood. But sure thing that did not stop the 4 Haermorrhoids the slightest – full on #ramonescore delivered to an almost full house.

    The Haermorrhoids (Komet, Hamburg, 18.10.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    A very crisp set, little talking on stage (though news were shared that there soon will be another dad in the band) and simply delivering a well rehearsed set. The have come a long way by now and i sincerely hope that their way will be so much longer and further uphill! Next stops i believe are Flensburg (23.11.) and Berlin (20.12.), followed by a short tour with no good intentions next year.

    Go and see them!

    After a short (and from the outside a wee bit chaotic) changeover The Unknowns took the stage and surprised me big time, from the start.

    In an interview Josh (Singer, Guitar) confirmed the references that they triggered in mu-sick-al mind:

    Q: I love that you write love songs. That’s a big reason I love Eddy Current Suppression Ring too. A lot of power pop is about love also.

A: That’s the thing. I didn’t even know the actual genre term of power pop until, to be honest, a lot later because people started calling it that. It was a bit ditzy of me [laughs]. I just thought they were the best rock and roll bands. Look at the Beatles and the Kinks, all the British Invasion,  they brought back the whole resurgence in rock n roll and got kids listening to that stuff again. A lot of those songs were love songs.

From: Gimmie Zine

Great drive, heavy guitar work and all around great singing by all on top. From the start they were together, tight and pushed forward like well rehearsed and stage-hardened unit.

    Which i guess they are, as they exists since 2014 and all seems to play in a multitude of bands.

    In front of the stage they had by now an almost overcrowded room, loads of dancing and (wild bet: drunk) Swedish Turbojugend party crashers (that either fell into/onto the tiny stage or tried to to use the bass drum as jump point for stage diving).

    They also had female fans up front that acted like … screaming 70s rock fans. Or groupies.

    The Unknowns (Komet, Hamburg, 18.10.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    I feared the worse (that would have been boring Australian Indie stuff) and i got the best (and that is powerful Australian Pub Rock and Power Pop, in a near perfect mix). To that extend i can only urge that you check out their stuff but trust me – live, on stage (even in a tiny, dark cellar with too much smoke) you will get the best of them.

    Here is their stuff, go figure!

    Happiness for me, forgetting the pain of loved ones in Hospital, and surrounded by Friends, who equally enjoyed them. That is how it should be, period.

    And speaking to them after the show and congratulating them on surprising me … gave me the opportunity to also learn that they are very humble and very friendly people.

    I want them back, on a bigger stage!

  • … World Domination: starts in Schneverdingen, of all places!

    … World Domination: starts in Schneverdingen, of all places!

    Sometimes you gotta stick to your rules, sometime it is good to listen to mates. I am normally not an “on tour” guy when it comes to mu-sick but after the Haermorrhoids show on the MS Hedi one of me mates said something like “lets see them again tomorrow, i’ll pick you up from the train station and drive down“.

    And on the spot i said Sir, Yes Sir!

    Schneverdingen it was. South of the mighty river Elbe, deep in the Lüneburg Heath and once occupied by the lovely Danes (1712-1715 that was). And the only time i was there was a fun occasion, back in the summer of 1988:

    The magical FCSP had just been promoted to the first flight and needed to prepare for the Bundesliga, up to and including hiring new and impactful players. Came the day where the local press was full of praise of some Eduard “Edu” Eranosyan from Lokomotiv Plovdiv. With 299 games and 140 goals as a track record he was announced as Der Bomber von Lokomotive Plovidiv. That lured me and a mate down south into the Osterwald Stadium … we needed to see this magic striker.

    Came the game a guy with both knees bandaged entered the pitch and to our astonishment the magic name was paired by the announcer with the shirt number that guy had.

    Long story short: He was miserable to say the least, taken off at halftime and was not hired by the FCSP. He went to play elsewhere in Europe (having a single good season in Portugal with 22 goals). So much for the press pressure to buy the superstar that keeps us in the Bundesliga.

    Somewhat this is not a detour, the local Pub The Haermorrhoids where set to play is an obvious outlier in the region: Home of an FC St. Pauli Fan Club and home to very different mu-sick (in the eyes of the locals).

    Welcome to the Blue Bird, Schneverdingen.

    The Blue Bird in Schneverdingen, a tiny pub in a residential area – and crowded!

    Upon seeing the program we got tempted to return to Pariahlord (cool name) but Stoner Rock? Come on!

    Tough choices for the locals!

    The place is simply a small pub in a residential area, making us wonder about noise concerns from the surrounding neighbors. But i guess the owner has a good relationship and he also makes sure that it does not get too late.

    Kick-off was at 21:00 and The Haermorrhoids took the stage naah took the floor. One of the 3 small rooms was converted to “backstage”, the entry room was the stage and the 3rd room with the bar was … bloody hell, packed with locals. Many regular, older, country side pub goers.

    A bit of a difficult and sub-optimal setup for touring world stars to come but hey, it is these types of gigs that you need to have under the belt in large number to excel on the big stages.

    The Haermorrhoids (Blue Bird, Schneverdingen, 29.03.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024

    They took the same set as on the MS Hedi and simply went on to deliver.

    The Haermorrhoids – Setlist (Blue Bird, Schneverdingen, 29.03.2024 (c) gehkacken.de)

    I guess within 13 minutes they had bashed out 9 songs and left some of the locals blasted away. They got some applause and some people even cheered them up.

    The obvious question How did it sound? – it sounded like 1984:

    Under the circumstances (more a rehearsal room setup than a show setup) it was actually not too bad, a wee bid annoying was that people entering the pub actually had to side-step the 2nd guitar (or wait for a break).

    The Haermorrhoids (Blue Bird, Schneverdingen, 29.03.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024

    Whereas The Haermorrhoids the day before on the MS Hedi where tight, together and without any slippage … Schneverdingen was not turning out in the same way as a perfect set.

    Not sure if it was the setup or if they relaxed too much prior to the show, i guess to an extend it was like a professional footie team in a pre-season game away at an amateur side. Not everything works, energy and concentration levels tend to go down the bog.

    Still, they finished with some extras and my loveliest song, Overdose:

    Ups, not all ready for DNA.

    That is what you can only iron out with much more frequent touring and getting yourself fully into it. Which i trust they will do, they got 8 days to go from here (conquered Schneverdingen, next the World).

    Neat side step south from the big city, utmost nice location with friendly people and should i ever end up in Schneverdingen and thirsty, this is where i would go.

    It was now 22:00 and we simply jumped back into the car. Our driver got safely back to the train station and i jumped onto the S-Bahn and was home in like a breeze – thanks for the perfect service mate and thanks for the persuasion, you are indeed a sales man!

    And The Haermorrhoids? Hopefully play better stages, with plenty of listeners turning to fans and come home exhausted, all merch sold, still together and an even tighter outfit that takes on the World next.

    2 down, 8 to go! Go and see them!
  • … early Easter, early start: Showboating with loads of fun!

    … early Easter, early start: Showboating with loads of fun!

    It is not only me, also plenty of me mates share the desire to see The Haermorrhoids making it big. For a start (though a wee bit of a tiny start) they have setup a short tour through Germany, Dutchistan, Belgium and back to Germany: 10 shows in 10 days.

    Kick off was sure on home turf, this time round on the MS Hedi supporting Autogramm from yonder side of the Atlantic.

    Technically speaking it turned into a tour on the MS Claudia, as the MS Hedi was not available. The good thing with that was that slightly more people could be taken on board, so the packed tour turned into an even more packed tour.

    The Haermorrhoids kicked off and from the start proved that they set sail for the tour as a well rehearsed outfit. Banger after banger, little chit-chat between the songs. Also no hick-ups.

    The Haermorrhoids (MS Hedi, Hamburg, 28.03.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024

    Playing on a boat to an extend is also falling victim to the weather, luckily the mighty river Elbe was calm and thus the audience (standing 5 cm away from the musicians) was not falling into them (and vice-versa).

    They even attempted (and mastered) a new song never before played live, much to the joy of the audience. And as much as the outside was gray and rainy, the inside of the MS Claudia heated up nicely – fueled by The Haermorrhoids and their crisp Ramonescore.

    The Haermorrhoids (MS Hedi, Hamburg, 28.03.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024

    If anything, then this show yet again has proven that they keep it too small, to low profile. I do hope they lick blood on this short run and i also do hope for them that they say “Yes – go!” if even a glimpse of hitting it bigger – much bigger actually – comes around.

    Make sure you check them out – start with their 2nd and latest LP:

    Remember, they are the best band in the world (according to Luke).

    ( (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

    And Luke, as you can see, is able to drink the Jever double handed. As such he is an authority you must trust, period!

    The Haermorrhoids finished their hour just about when the MS Claudia was pulling dockside to replanish drinks and unload not needed gear. That gave way for the 2nd one hour sail through the harbor, mu-sick-al joy to be provided by Autogramm (technically from Vancouver, CA but with members from Vancouver, Seattle and Chicago).

    It was their 2nd show ever in Hamburg and their first on a tiny cruise vessel through a large harbor, with a large city (the most beautiful city in the world, actually) as the backdrop.

    Where The Haermorrhoids where Ramonescore (and thus very 70s), Autogramm are surprisingly 80s (and that in a very clever way). The Internet (damn Internet, never forgets) puts that in a few choice words (and references):

    If you've been hankering after some old school Tubeway army style alt-punk, then get an ear full of this: it’s the Cars driving Numan around listening to some real ‘80s radio before checking out Duncan Reid, it's that catchy.

(Dom Daley in Uber Rock Magazine)

    From the start Autogramm lived up to that promise. Pure Pop in power mode, melodies and umpf plus a fitting synthie (and sometimes … less so fitting). On top soft vocals, catchy refrains and multi-vocal choruses. And a stunning visual opposite to that mu-sick-al cupboard.

    Autogramm (MS Hedi, Hamburg, 28.03.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024

    They played their normal set i guess and also spend some time to enjoy both setup on the MS Claudia and the surrounding in the harbor up to and including the views on a harbor at work. And because they played their normal set they where done well before the MS Claudia was back at the Landungsbrücken.

    Whilst they started to pack up the audience insisted that they would only be done if the vessle is back at the mooring, so they unpacked and hit the lot with a real cool extra (that even has a video and a story):

    (Note: Live it had more power and was a great sing-a-long)

    And the story?

    It’s kind of tongue in cheek, being well aware that we are neither kids nor cool. We took the song and changed it to sound more 80’s and part of the Autogramm sound, adding keys and harmonies. The video is about a secret murderer loose in the forest around a camp site. It’s supposed to be a throwback to those cheesy 80’s campsite horror movies.

The video is based on a story/concept, ‘Unknown Caller’, by Jeffry Lee loosely and was inspired by 1974 Canadian psychological slasher film ‘Black Christmas’. It was shot on location at Lakeside Motel and Campground on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. 

Vocalist/guitarist Jiffy Marx says of the video:”I’ve always wanted to shoot a movie at Lakeside. It’s rustic simplicity seems frozen in time making it the perfect setting for a classic summer camp goofball comedy meets cabin in the woods slasher flick.”

    A perfect ending for a cool set, they even had the female contingent upfront dancing (whilst the males nodded away sipping on the beer). If only this would have been on a lush summer evening and without the need to leave work early (check in at 1700 on a workday is … for many a challenge).

    Don’t forget to check out their mu-sick, start with their recent LP:

    If you want to score the vinyl that is easy, just hop over to Sounds Of Subterrania (our trusted local dealer).

    Thanks to Wild Wax Shows for pulling this together and sending both bands on tour.

    I was enjoying it so much that i took the offer for a lift to the Haermorrhoids show on Friday in Schneverdingen (roughly an hour south of Hamburg), as this band should play sold out shows only. Period.