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Tag: Hafenklang

  • … 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.

  • … pickin’ the best: Bass 1, Guitar 2, Drums 3 – perfect spread at the Hafenklang!

    … pickin’ the best: Bass 1, Guitar 2, Drums 3 – perfect spread at the Hafenklang!

    That was most likely the longest drive i ever did to see a show at the Hafenklang. I spend the morning still up north at our 2nd home in Nørrejyske Ø but then me love and me decided to return early due to heavy winds and rain.

    … up north, Jammerbugten ( (c) gehkacken.de 2025)

    And that little early would open up an opportunity for my humble self to catch Rancoeur, on of the best bands of that French thingy that pairs Oi! with Wave. And, thrown in, i would also get S.u.g.a.r. from sunny Berlin and Blowers from even sunnier Melbourne.

    I almost made it on time though the early start at 20:00 was a wee bit too early. And once i climbed the stairs up to the Goldener Salon i already heard Rancoeur, for me the headliner, already playing. Damn!

    I missed the first 4 songs me mates told me and was lucky that my current favorite featured in the next block … here is their own ode to Gilles Bertin (ex-Camera Silens and 28 years on the run after a bank robbery in Toulouse):

    That’s “Braquage” and it sure means Robbery in English. Great guitar, great drive – simply a great song!

    Having bought their first LP a while back i was not sure what to expect live, as the record ventures between melow & wave-like guitar work and simple hard & fast.

    Rancoeur (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 30.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Live, on stage, the 3 lads from Nancy took it to some surprise almost full throttle on the hard & fast side and boy there was nothing wrong with it.

    All three took vocal duties and whilst it all was uptempo it was still all hand-in-glove and a great sound (just, as often, bad bad lights).

    Rancoeur (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 30.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    They not only had their ode to France finest, they also gave Fab from the Hafenklang a Camera Silens cover (as he was as often sporting a Camera Silens shirt) as the finishing touch:

    Suicide from the 1985 Camera Silens masterpiece (though cut short by me).

    I enjoyed it big time, despite missing the first block. The audience in the well filled upstairs somewhat was reserved, in hindsight i guess because by and large they where out for the Australian side of things.

    Rancoeur – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 30.05.2025 (c) gehkacken.de)

    On top of that Rancoeur had super cheap quality shirts on sale but not yet their new vinyl, only the CD was already available. Damn, i was keen to score it!

    Here is a first glimpse:

    Next S.u.g.a.r. from Berlin and with them more hair. Much more hair. And for me they came across like if Hamburgs own Küken got transformed twice: From Hamburg to Berlin and their mu-sick-al reference from NYC 1975 to Australia 1978.

    S.u.g.a.r. (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 30.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    It was not 100% up my liking but at moments they had a real cool sleazy AC/DC sound and at other moments the excellent guitar did throw in some nice surf undercurrent. And, akin Küken, an almost wall of sound presentation.

    They had their fans, they had applause and they got a wee bit more people moving. Not bad, something new for me to dig a wee bit deeper.

    Go and check them out for yerself, they have their stuff on Alien Snatch, a label that definitely is trustworthy!

    Finally Blowers took the stage and where 3/4th was ready within few minutes the lead singer/guitar player took like 15 in-no-hurry minutes extra, up to and including trying to strum and not figuring out why no sound came from the amp.

    Sure the cable was not plugged into his guitar.

    With that start i somewhat feared the worst but was proven wrong on the first chords of the first song:

    Bang! Hard, fast and and in their own words most chaotic and unapologetically loud. And indeed they played at 12 rather than at 10 – it was a very loud set.

    Blowers (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 30.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Their references are most likely all over the place, low-fi garage punk or, as someone on the internet (damn internet, never forgets) pointed out:

    A lo-fi buzz-cutting garage-punk racket with proto-garage sonic-noise hostility.

    Eat that, coward!

    In reality and for me they also had an undercurrent of pop, some harmonies and some interesting twangs at high speed.

    And where Rancoeur covered France finest, Blowers enlisted S.u.g.a.r. to cover Australians finest for their final song.

    Here is New Race from Radio Birdman:

    A friend of mine after the show noted how much he loves them and that he had their stuff on heavy rotation going up to the show.

    I guess i will not go that far but they are worth checking out – cheeky song titles like this one are offensive enough to be checked out:

    Much more than the other two bands their beat undercurrent got the audience moving, i saw plenty of happy faces.

    Was it worth the 550km drive south? Absolutely, also because it was a great spread of music and a relaxed evening. Big fanx to Fab for always being willing to expose such wide spreads in one show, absolutely worthwhile!

    After the show a fellow connoisseur and me even got around to package it all together:

    We choose to take the Bass from Rancoeur, the Guitar from S.u.g.a.r. and the Drummer from the Blowers.

    What would that “best of the best” deliver?

    Yearning!