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Tag: Monkeys Music Club

… a master class in modern Oi!
The lead in towards this master class was just another master class by FCSP, a neat home win vs. Holstein Kiel that finally had the team score at home. And not once, not twice but 5 times.

FC St. Pauli vs. KSV Holstein Kiel 5:1 (3:0) ( (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

The master class exhibit here was the tactical choice to give up the box and score (4 out of 5) from outside the box with stunning kicks from far out. That home win was a perfect intro into the early show at the Monkeys, fueled with joy i set out on me bike to see not less than one of the best French band of these days (next to Syndrome 81 and Kronstadt)

Cran are very new and as such i guess their setlist included all the songs they have done so far – it covered their great LP, a new (old) song and their excellent (if not world class) contribution to the Paris on Oi! compilation).

Cran – Setlist (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.09.2023 – from the collection of Monsieur Matthias)

They started bright and early at 20:00 and where done within i guess 30 minutes. But stunning 30 minutes. 30 minutes of near perfection. Sturdy drumming (that though sometimes was not mellow enough, the only little naughty bad feel i had during the set). A near perfect guitar wandering between Blitz, Test Tube Babies and Wave. A full perfect Cold Wave Bass sound and execution, with good drive. And aggressive but fitting vocals and presentation by Edlira.
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Cran (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.09.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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And how did it sound? Here is how one of the more tempered songs sounded:

I was lucky to capture Edlira on stage, most of the time she used the void in front of the stage to roam around and dance with those from the audience how also danced along.

They have something and they are one of the great examples of creating and subsequently filling a niche within a niche genre (which itself is a sub-genre of another genre). Marketing literate people would have fun to unpack that, i rather enjoyed a great set of something that the French currently do extremely well.
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Cran (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.09.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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They finished off their set with Famine, a song that is as much great on the musical side as it is on the lyrics: It is a hymn (and sing-a-long) to carry the memory of the Holodomor – the great Ukrainian famine of the 1930s and simply another forgotten genocide.

Wow, what a stunning set by a young band. For very good reasons they got plenty of applause and support, up to and including my friend Matthias dancing all the way throughout the set.

And for me it was the much needed live set that did allow me to finally buy the record (remember the rule: Only buy records if the band convinces you live). This was holding true to the promise to their bass player when he graced the Monkeys earlier in the year with Claimed Choice.

After that great but short set any band would have just a little bit of difficulty unless … yeah, unless they completely change course, direction and sound.

And voila, Béton Armé did set themselves up on stage, had a little but of sound probing and knocked us back in time. They are self-proclaimed a Montreal Oi! band inspired by French Punk/Oi! bands from the 80’s and that is what they did throw at the audience:

It was very primitive, very cut back to the bare bone, full of chorus-chants (like on this one from their 2023 EP) and delivered by the singer full on at dance floor level instead of the stage.

And what comes across initially too primitive turns out as just a crisp delivery of some really lovely sing-a-longs (if only i would speak French). And whilst the band on stage did not move a lot but hammered out the songs with a sort of smile, the singer was on non-stop movement, boxing, kicking and just like a whirlwind.
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Béton Armé (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.09.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Go and check them out for yourself, best live. They are worth it if you dare bare bone and a real deal. You won’t be disappointed! And if they pop up in a package – even more, because i saw all 4 supporting Crane in front of the stage and later No Class. They are simply into it!

It took No Class (sometimes also referred as Nö Class) a wee bit more to setup (as they had two guitars) but they did not fiddle too much with sound settings. By 21:45 (remember, it was a 20:00 start) they where ready to ruck (though Australia just lost to Fiji in the 2023 Ruby World Cup in France).
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No Class (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.09.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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And where Cran where the French surprise and Béton Armé the Canadian full-frontal it was no surprise that No Class very clearly took the audience down under, into a sleazy & greasy bovver territory with rustic calls into Rose Tattoo and – no surprise – Colored Balls.

It is all baseline Rock’n’Roll in the end and it is all about energy. And loads of energy came down from the stage, all contingents (Hamburg, Norway and Denmark) where up in front of the stage and everybody enjoyed it.
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No Class (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.09.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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The only item of concern was that No Class where thoroughly roughed up in the previous rucks of their “Trouble over Europe” Tour, they admitted that they where a wee bit spent. This was their final date leading into a couple of days off (recovery, anyone?) before they finish of the tour in style in Paris.

As such they only ever got like 30 minutes under their belt and then needed recovery time (which i guess they later traded against party time at the Jolly Roger).

As far as i am concerned they are a simple but perfect party band, like the other two they would have fitted MOi!n It’s Hamburg just perfect. Because it would have given them so much more bodies in front of the stage.

Whilst me mates took home shirts, EP’s and even more i focused on convinced me most – Cran. As such the excellent Cran LP ended up at my home.

Whilst the Millerntor was sold out for the home win, this master class session was far from. It had more attendees than the Claimed Choice gig (and people coming all the way from Norway and Denmark to see the package) but still lacked overall presence from the Hamburg lot.

Sad.

Great evening, perfect timing, early home and on Monday still a broad smile. Life can be good, you gotta just enjoy it! And whilst enjoying yourself, you gotta support the band and the club, please. Me and me mates did it and we got something back.

Your turn. Now.
2023/09/18
… how to ruin a good show!
It could have been a great Thursday, the tourist from St. Ingbert yet again in town and visiting the show, the lovely couple self-exiled to Denmark (❤️ 🇩🇰 ❤️) was there and a perfect line up with local heroes Red Bricks, the energetic Antagonizers ATL and the so called “legend” Anti Heroes (who played Hamburg last time 20+ years ago). But it would turn a wee bit sour at the end …

Red⚒Bricks kicked off with a great (at least according to the Blackpool Pilgrimages tales) Rebellion Set under their belt. They where hampered though by the fact that their Bass Player Keith was not available short notice, hence the Bass from Antagonizers ATL jumped in (and did a good job under the circumstances).
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Red⚒Bricks (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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The unfortunate thing though is that indeed the signature bass was missing, for my ears it provides that extra that makes them slightly different, slightly better. How did it sound? It sounded like this … though throughout the whole night the sound was not perfect, somehow.

Still, a good set and a fitting start into the evening. For their little niche they bring everything needed and specifically melodies, though they can also do full frontal chants. Check out their new single “They Shall Not Pass” which has just been released .

Next Antagonizers ATL from sunny Atlanta, Georgia, in the US of A. And from the first chord on their main asset towered the center of the stage: Their singer Bodan is large, present and lends into it as if he is commandeering 100s (if non 1000nds) in front of the stage.

I take it that he is also self aware, as sometimes he steps aside and gives space to the others too, great stage movements by all actually making it a really entertaining set. On top they have all ingredients in the music, a well balanced mix of pace, melodies, twin guitars and sing-a-long.

The played for like 45 minutes and had a good grip on the audience, i saw a lot of smiling faces around me and even a couple of folks happily dancing away in front of the stage.
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Antagonizers ATL (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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For me and my ears a near perfect set (give or take on the sound, it wasn’t perfect all night) delivered in class (and completely unpretentious). Rock solid work if you ask me, out of the rooster of American Street Punk (what damn stupid cupboard actually) one of the key assets. I will definitely endeavor to see them again, suggest you check them out too if this is down your mu-sick-al alley.

Finally Anti Heroes, if my memory serves me well they played Hamburg last somewhere around 2000 or 2001 at a small youth club in Ahrensburg, a suburb just north of Hamburg.

Here is what they set out to deliver:

Anti Heroes – Setlist (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de)

And this is what we got:

From a musical point full on and absolutely my thingy: hard, fast and short. What quickly caught the eye of some folks though was the shirt of Mark Noah – the slogan “Let’s go Brandon !” is taking a side that was not savored well.

During the show he paired it with the explanation “It means fuck Joe Biden”, after the show when a friend asked about the shirt he responded with a barrage of trash along “… Joe Biden is more bad than Hitler and Stalin together, you in Germany get not told the truth“. My wild bet would be that he also explained the corrupt left press is the reason, i guess the odds are 1:1. My friend turned around and did not want to have anymore of that shit, rightfully.

One part of the audience decided to let go during the set and retreated to the pub, the larger part stayed for the show. I had no clue what the shirt actually referred to during the set and the “Fuck Joe Biden” comment could have meant anything – so i kept watching.
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Anti Heroes (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 17.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Luckily he took the shirt off (not sure if told or because it was too wet). On the mu-sick-al side they continued to deliver strong though.

After the show i got tipped off with respect to the shirt and context and somehow that took away large part of the joy the live music provided. I have no clue how much the rest of the excellent band shares Marks views, from where i stand i will sure not take an effort to see them again. I guess they will also not be booked anymore into my favorite clubs and i am fine with that.

Still, great evening with some good chats and great music. I could also walk the tourist home with a bit of sightseeing, explaining the beauties of the Große Bergstrasse emptiness at night. He and his son only ever complained about Beer pricing in Hamburg, one of the key disadvantages of the big city.

But whatever great music, stupidity sometimes ruins it. Well done Mark, now go back and bail out America from the hands of the Un-Americans. Oh my lord …
2023/08/19
… quand la joie l’emporte sur la musique : Le retour des Bolokos!
Last year The Bolokos delivered the show of the year at the Indra, surprising 30+ people with more than 2 hours of joy. This years return optimistically was moved to the bigger Monkeys … and indeed more than double (but still not enough) turned up.

Support was to be Dead Dates from Düsseldorf, who would have brought the gear. They had to pull out short notice and the Monkeys had to find a local support with Backline. NōōS jumped in to help and thus secured the evening (and a support slot).

Without NōōS there would not have been a show, hence they had my sympathy. Unfortunately they only called debits on that sympathy account, largely for their mu-sick (a bit of everything) but also for the overly self assured (and talkative) singer.
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NōōS (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 15.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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To a different audience and setting they may work, for me they did not work at all (though their Bass was fun – a guitar with Bass strings). For the rest of the audience they also did not work, it turned into the rare occasion that a band literally is emptying the room in front of the stage.

… NōōS really achieved emptying the room, outsch!

Sorry NōōS, with me you need to try again. Or better not, as my mu-sick-al mind is very narrow minded i fear.

Next The Bolokos and they simply followed on from where they left it almost a year ago on 19.08.2022 – childlike joy and emitting fun down from the stage. Yet again with their borrowed drummer (running gag ctd, their drummer could not travel) and in their typical Bolokos gear (did i say that i like uniform stage attire?).
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The Bolokos (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 15.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Thats energetic Edy Caramello on Guitar, lovely Océ Cheapfret on Bass and the running gag on Drums. Edy joked that the last time they rehearsed was right back on the stage of the Indra – i guess that was a lie, as they where perfectly together.
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The Bolokos (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 15.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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It was nice to note that Edy could remember almost all that attended the show last year but it was even more fun when he realized that the “lalala” replay attack would be levied against them again. His realization and the broad smile that came – priceless.

I guess they did not play as many songs as last year, this time round they limited themselves to “only” ~2 hours. But these two hours where filled with exactly that uplifting joy that makes you feel good.

As me mate Christian noted: Musically there are definitely better bands, but in terms of sympathy and what they have delivered, The Bolokos are way ahead.

As expected the distance between the band and the yearning audience disappeared quickly and as per Bolokos custom their version of “If the kids are united” invited everyone on stage. The only item odd was that it also lured Luke (of Spitfire Stevens fame) on stage with something brewed in his hands that was not … Jever. Wow!
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The Bolokos (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 15.08.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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They came back for some more and despite that the Bass did not work anymore on the final song they got the lot singing. Indeed The Bolokos know how to deliver and how to take an audience along and thus deliver a worthwhile evening, period. Even with the too small attendance on a Tuesday evening.

The only item i’d love to see next year is that they up their merch to include the famed Bokit sandwich and some local white rum. They they would not only please my ears, my eyes but also my stomach.

How about that Edy?

For the Hamburg lot the gentle reminder that attending a Bolokos show is minimum 2 hours of joy – don’t miss that next year (the only ones excused this year where those seeing DEVO in Berlin on the same evening).
2023/08/19