A random picture, no hints who, where and when.
It will be one of those items i miss: Largely Shows and Footie. And i fear the worst for the remainder of the year.
As such be generous and give to your favorite clubs. And bands. And lables.
Love,
D. (custodian of the Archive)
As i am not yet back at the treadmill it’s time to take a toll on 2019. As ever i kept track of what i read and what i listen too (via this blog and via the playlists published here).
On the show side 2019 was great, up to and including a single away trip to savior and pay homage to the Descendents in Hannover with some of me close mates. Biggest miss was not taking the trip to Punk Rock Raduno #4 in sunny Bergamo – i have been reminded more than once by the Hamburg lot attending it.
Here is the tally:
| Bands seen: | 104 | ||
| Shows attended | 36 | ||
| Venues | Shows | Bands | Bands/Show |
| Hafenklang | 14 | 37 | 3 |
| Monkeys | 7 | 19 | 3 |
| Molotow | 5 | 13 | 3 |
| other | 10 | 35 | 4 |
Best show? I think that goes to D.I. at the Hafenklang, closely followed by Descendents in Hannover, Hag and Axe Rash at the Hafenklang and mOi!n it’s Hamburg #4 at the Monkeys.
And at that show also the biggest single surprise did play: Kalenko Urdangak from the sunny Basque country single handedly did not only blew the roof off but stunned 200 odd people versed in the genre.
Runners up where Nasser Hund with their record release party at the Hafenklang, Yard Bomb with their D.I. support and Loose Nukes during the K-Town Warm-up. And just slightly off the standard pattern Hola Ghost with their stunning Scandinavian B-Movie Mariachi Rock, Gringo style (at the Monkeys).
Biggest miss for me? Sharp/Shock at the Monkeys. Damn. Killer band.
Honorable mentions need to go the Mighty Mighty BossTones for coming back to Hamburg after 21 long years, Clowns for repeating last years blow-out of the Hafenklang and to the Bar Stool Preachers for matching the Adolescents in speed during their surprise show at the Hafenklang.
Most heart warming moment of the year was Old Erwin’s farewell at the Knust, there are no words that can spell out the loss for our little circuit.
So a big thanks to the venues, the bands and all those in attendance with me. I love you. Biggest surprise on that front was that the Hafenklang finally took up my suggestion to sell a season ticket. I am now proud holder of a 2020 All Shows tickets for the Hafenklang and i am even more spoiled by the fact that this is season ticket #1.
May i suggest that Sam and Ralf of the Monkeys give it a thought too? I would be tempted.
And on the reading front? Here we go:
| # of books | # of pages | |
| Crime | 59 | 20.765 |
| Music | 4 | 1.075 |
| History | 3 | 1.083 |
| Scifi | 1 | 878 |
| Total | 67 | 23.801 |
Now that is significantly less than 2018, namely due to the fact that we moved house and that requires you to pack / unpack your 1000’s of books and records rather than reading them or listening to them.
Pity that i did not get to read more music books, i think i will need to redouble the effort on that side of things.
Best read 2019 was Ivy Pochodas “Wonder Valley” followed by anything from Garry Disher. And if you trust people – i trust those who run the Polar Verlag and Pulp Master. I buy their stuff without any pre-checks or hesitation.
And i can also safely recommend anything that has been going through the hands of either Thomas Wörtche or through a translation by the wonderful Conny Lösch. Honestly. Trust. Me.
And on the record front? Discogs count moved from 4.732 to 4.783 (this is due to my self imposed rule to only buy records from bands that i have seen live and preferably at the show itself – and yes, i do break that rule for the occasion).
Best records 2019 down below – get your own copy!
Best away record:
Best home record (tie at 1st place):
Time to take a toll on 2018. As ever i keep track of what i read and what i listen too (via this blog and via the playlists published here).
On the show side 2018 was just perfect, up to and including away trips that turned out to be great shows: Sick Of It All and Descendents (among others) in Barcelona and Dag Nasty in Bremen – with the some of the same mates.
Here is the tally:
| Bands seen: | 89 | ||
| Shows attended | 37 | ||
| Venues | Shows | Bands | Bands/Show |
| Hafenklang | 16 | 31 | 2 |
| Monkeys | 7 | 15 | 2 |
| Molotow | 4 | 13 | 3 |
| other | 10 | 30 | 3 |
Ok, the Hafenklang is the clear winner this years, after loosing out against the Monkeys last year. It’s proximity, i guess, paired with rooster. And it’s more than in 2017! More shows! More bands!
What did surprise me 2018? Hysterese, H¥ENA, Daikaiju, Yard Bomb, The Haermorrhoids, Es War Mord, The Scanners, The Hacklers, Ultra Razzia and The Clowns. Best show i attended? Adolescents – For Steve at the Hafenklang. Never ever i experienced a venue filled with so much love and appreciation and a tight unity between those up there and those down there. Stunning feeling.
The best picture from shows you will find with the hashtag #thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusic on Instagram. Follow me if you dare.
And a gentle reminder that you need to go out there, to your local clubs, to experience this. Make an effort!
Bands i would have loved to see? Hakan! MEGA! Youth Avoiders! Good Riddance! The Windowsill! And a wee bit more surf! What did i really miss? Punk Rock Raduno in Bergamo (i was in Barcelona for the mighty Descendents, bad bad timing).
And on the reading front? Here we go:
| # of books | # of pages | |
| Crime | 59 | 22.971 |
| Music | 7 | 1.990 |
| History | 4 | 1.049 |
| Scifi | 1 | 352 |
| Total | 71 | 26.362 |
That is actually less books (-2) but more pages (+1.106) read in 2018 and i made an effort to buy more books that are related to music. Best read there was Alice Bags Bio!
Meine Lieblingsserie ist inzwischen die vom Polar Verlag, da kommen wirklich tolle Bücher raus. Aber auch Pulp Master hat einige Highlights, vor allem Tom Franklin und Rick DeMarinis. Größte Überraschung: Lisa Sandlin und James Carlos Blake.
Save 2019 my friends, if you like what i spit out here please leave a comment of appreciation or hate.
nb: Fun fact on the side – in 2018 i put all my records to Discogs and now can start to report the size of the collection: 4.732 releases are in there!