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Tag: Hafenklang

… San Vernando Valley 0, Long Beach 1: A sweaty Californian twin headlining!
Bang Bang Bang – Hamburg not only suffers from a heatwave of a tropical nature but also from show overkill. Following Battalion of Saints i did let go Ruiner (and more) on Monday only to return to a packed Hafenklang on Tuesday. I am not sure if it was The Dickies, i think it was the combination of T.S.O.L. and The Dickes that was to be a wide spread mu-sick-ally and thus lured a wide range of people.

A surprise support slot was handed to Scooter Kids Must Die, local heroes. A friend of mine had them down as worthy though their self set style as “punk doom hardcore punk thrash” did not speak to me. Others had them down as “THE new hardcore punk hope of Hamburg” and that at least had me check them out whilst i guess 150 people decided to enjoy beer outside the Hafenklang.

Scooter Kids Must Die (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 24.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)

For me they sounded at times hectic, at times fast and to the point and all the time with a singer that roamed the dance floor and yelled, mumbled and screamed. And moshed it out, more or less alone, in the pit. Mhhhh, tough one for me – i stayed on but left prior to the final song – i was not (yet) convinced. And the pairing was way too off against what was to come (says the man who preaches contrast is good).

Next on T.S.O.L. and ever since Jack Grisham in 1999 took back ownership of the name from the hair metal faction that did run it following the infamous Sun Set Strip Riot in 1983 T.S.O.L. are not only back for good but also enlighten the audience with a wide variety of mu-sick-al styles. Here is how they kicked off:

Ok, Jack has some additional weight on him but he still has a voice and has a band that fits him. They took the stage and gave the as good as sold out Hafenklang a wide run through what T.S.O.L. recorded over the years.
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T.S.O.L. (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 24.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)
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And the audience was more than receptive. Actually rather enthusiastic (though not as much as for The Adolescents a week earlier). Loads of nodding, lots of applause and some dancing.

Fun moment was at the end of every song: If the drummer gave a fraction of a second of pause then Jack eyed him angrily and yelled at him to speed up and storm into the next song: Obviously he had a game plan and did not care if his team died at 45° degrees heat on stage. A plan is a plan and a delivery to the audience is a delivery.

Double fun that Jack allowed himself to take a breath whilst Ron was singing a song that was just from another style…

Just perfect. And that is what i sometimes loved T.S.O.L. (and actually Joykiller too) and at times over all the years hated them for: Their spread of music is very wide and not that narrowed down as for other bands. And, on top, it is utmost fun when Jack starts talking between songs – he is a handsome entertainer!

Still they can trash out their old 1981 signature song “Abolish Government“:

For me they were just perfect. All i needed from a live show, although the sound was somehow not as perfect.

Next The Dickies, who seem to be on a two years rota: 2014 Hafenklang, 2016 Knust (a near perfect show with a “Hits only!” set) and now back to the good old Hafenklang.

And surprisingly they took the stage with an old Beatles classic:

Unusual and it should continue in that vain – it was not to be a sing-a-long series of old hits, nope, it was Leonard playing some word tricks with hints towards the final album to come and new songs from that final final album where to be included in the set. And Leonard was not shy to announce that it would finally be end of … whatever.
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The Dickies (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 24.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)
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The sound was still not perfect and on the stage it also felt a wee bit not in sync. There where quite some looks coming from the bass player towards Leonard and Leonard himself a couple of times was unhappy with the poor roadie who had to hand him the gimmicks to accompany the songs.

For me and some others it was a less fine show of The Dickies, something was just not right. Was it the band, was it the rooster of songs or was it the heat? Not sure – at least there is an outlook for a new Dickies LP and some final vinyl to accompany the many vinyl my collection holds (against a total 10 Albums (half of them live albums) and 20 odd singles (many in variations)).

The only wish i have – continued – is that i want to see them play “See my way“. That stunning Blodwyn Pig cover i desperately want to see live. Please. Pretty please me!

Just after midnight the show ended and it was more chats and drinks. And it was me at fault: The gang was there and i was not dressed for the occasion. What gang you might wonder? That gang with the “Free Melania” shirt from the Adolescents show it was. The other sported it proud, i just completely missed out. Hence i accept that i was the culprit that night. Accepted mates!
2018/07/29
… what a surprise: Battalion of Saints blast the Hafenklang!
It ain’t a sprint, July in Hamburg this year is a marathon in damn heat. Next on where Battalion of Saints from sunny San Diego, a household name in the 80s, a lesser known name in the 90s (even whilst on Taang back then) and a lost name/cause after that (at least from our viewpoint across that mighty ocean). Many people in Hamburg decided to let go the option, i was curious to see what they are up to now. On purpose i did not check out obvious sources like YouTube, ahead of the show, as i wanted to make my (most likely final) choice based on stage performance.

First on in a rather empty Hafenklang were The Cryptics, from New Hampshire in the US of A. They had the pain of playing towards say 15 people facing the stage and i have to admit they did well. They stick a “Melodic Punk” label onto themselves, i guess thats is something that works in the US of A but for me it ain’t working (and does not do them justice).
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The Cryptics (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)
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They had good moments when they where short and fast paced, they had almost good moments when they where fast but melodic. And they had lackluster moments for me when they were slow. Best was the bass, who kept a very groovy line throughout the songs. I think i will dig them out deeper, i already noted that the singer has some solo recordings up (on the internet, damn internet – never forgets) that at least got my ears.

But what started with them already was that itch that was to be carried forward to Battalion of Saints: In passing the singer noted that is was the first show with the guitar player and the 3rd with the bass. So effectively we saw a new band or, my wild guess, a band leader with a new assembly.

And that swiftly gets us to Battalion of Saints, who have George Anthony as the only remaining member of what was Battalion of Saints in their hey-days in the 80s. To be very frank my first shock was when i saw George, as he looked like a very wasted rock star. Very wasted. Very much too much weight on him. Then i noted that the singer of The Cryptics settled behind the drums. And my initial reaction was fear of seeing a joke. And little did i know!

To vocals and drums the setup added a fuzzed bass (with a very agile bass player) and a solid guitar (with someone who looked initially to be in the wrong band). And what they delivered was surprisingly tight, in sync and basically rock solid. And the more they played, the more they filled the Hafenklang (now still empty with say 45 good folks) with a unique wall of sound that had Georges unique vocal style has a high pitched instrument on top.
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Battalion of Saints (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)
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Most likely this ain’t the Battalion of Saints from eg. “2nd comming” but it is a Battalion of Saints with a unique sound, delivered surprisingly consistent and well. I could make out some songs i remembered, i could make out the notorious “Ace of Spades” cover in their unique style but to be frank i did not bother, as i got carried away by their sound.

And the end many of the people attending actually recognized the set as a good one and as someone put it in typical Hamburg style “…was für ein Brett!“. I have seen far worse incarnations of band names and i have listened to far worse performances over all the years. If you have a chance to see them in 2018 – go and check them out. If the figures on drums, bass and guitar change then fear the worst but at least expect a surprise.

I loved it but i can also understand why people did let go the opportunity: They most likely spared the 14€ for Dickies and TSOL on Tuesday.
2018/07/24
… for Steve!
Although i know that our little scene is actually very close, very tight and generally full of mutual appreciation there are these little moments, these little gestures and these observations that do stun me. Tuesday evening at the Hafenklang was such a moment: What under normal conditions would have drawn say 100+ people to see the Adolescents turned out into an almost sold out show that the Hamburg lot come out for and provided the band with a huge wave of love and appreciation.

When the sad news of Steve passing away came over many people thought “…that’s the end of the Adolescents, they will cancel the tour” and quite right so. We (and i) have lost members of our little scene in the past and not so recent past and it is a devastating feel. And now think of a band that just finished a new record, booked flights to Europe and all of that was managed by … Steve. It takes a lot of guts to then just hang in and come over. You could feel that the band was in two minds: The heavy push down by the sad loss and the uplift from the love coming back from the audience.

And whilst you should never reveal the end of the book at the start i think “For Steve!” is a good reason to let you know that the Adolescents came out of that amazing: They gave most likely the best, tightest and heart-full set ever in Hamburg: For Steve!

The support slot was taken by No Sugar who sported some familiar faces. It was their 3rd only gig but individually they have some experience under their belt. They claim to do Proto-Post-Punk/Anarcho-Rock’n’Roll and that makes me smile, as i can now add another drawer to my mu-sick-al cupboard.

No Sugar (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 17.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)

When they played i could actually not make out any connections to the cupboards mentioned, it think they play something with a good twang and have a special advantage by all of the three in front singing. Either individually, or in harmony or with some as chorus. Whilst i could not make out all lyrics (in English) it was their main asset.

Did i like them? Yes – i stayed inside during their set whilst half of the audience decided to have beer, sun and conversations outside of the Hafenklang. Their set was short (say 25 minutes) and only had one disadvantage for my ears: There was little rhythm change, little variations in speed. Whilst that per se is not an issue, i think their type of twang would work better with. Lets see where they head for and lets see how it works should i see them again.

And then came the Adolescents and they were greeted with loads of applause and loads of cheers. And they kicked in like this:

Bang, spot on. And sorry for cutting the cheers off at the of the video – there where many. It was clear that for them doing this was a heavy task, the heaviest most likely for Tony (who lost a life long friend) and for Brad (from F-Minus, Leftover Cräck and Rats in the Wall), who had to fill in on Bass.
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Adolescents (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 17.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)
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And whilst they blitzed, bulldozed and stormed through their set they also took the time to remember Steve and let the audience know how much they appreciate the support and expressions of love. It was truly a show fueled by love and positive energy and it made everybody feel good.

As stated earlier i think it was the tightest and most energetic set of the Adolescents ever in Hamburg. The longer the set went, the the way above 200 people in the audience got moving and enjoying. And i think also the band on stage really enjoyed it.

And when it came to the end there sure were encores and the final encore was an obvious one:

Thank you so much Adolescents! That was a worthy remembering of Steve’s legacy and that was a great show. Hard things may hit us and hard thinks will eventually hit us – it is how you go about it. You went about it in the best possible way and for that we are thankful.

And with all that love and joy most of the audience set off to plunder the merch table, many got the new record and a shirt – one loner got the first record and subsequently was taunted by one of me mates (for no good reason). I got the new record and the “Free Melania” T-Shirt and when i turned around 5 of me mates had done the same choice, so we decided to co-ordinate wearing it for one show in the future to appear as a gang.

I was home very late (and nicely hung over on work next day) but for a very worthy cause.

nb: And here is how the Adolescents phrase it:
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On June 27, 2018, we lost STEVE SOTO: fearless leader, bass player, singer, songwriter, producer, and best friend. After much internal conflict, soul searching, and heartbreaking discussion, we have realized that Steve - the hardest working man in punk rock - would be upset if we did not finish the tour to support the new record that he worked tirelessly on for well over a year.

Steve did not cancel shows, and considered doing so to be sloppy, disruptive, and unprofessional.

We will do what Steve set out to do. What he wants of us, and what is right. We will fulfill our commitment to share those songs. Longtime friend Brad Logan will rock the bass in Steve’s honor this summer in Europe and the UK.

We thank you for your support, love, understanding, and patience with us during this time and hope you will join us to celebrate and honor Steve the way we know - by playing the music he helped to create.

This is not a time for hate. Hug your loved ones; this ride is short. Come celebrate Steve’s legacy. Sing the songs we wrote.

Tony, Dan, Mike, Ian
The Adolescents
7.12.18
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2018/07/20