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Bücher, schnell gelesen: 1.666

Robert Reuland – Brooklyn Supreme (Polar Verlag, 2023)

Gelesen: 20.10. – 08.11.2023 (netto 487 Seiten).

Aus dem Amerikanischen von Andrea Stumpf.

Ein ziemlicher Brocken und für mich nicht wirklich flüssig zu lesen, obwohl es eigentlich ein spannendes Buch ist. Mit einer ganz neuen Perspektive.

Robert Reuland ist Jurist. Er hat in der Wirtschaft gearbeitet bevor er zur Bezirksstaatsanwaltschaft Brooklyn gewechselt ist. Nach 5 Jahren dort ließ er sich als Anwalt in NYC nieder und verteidigt Personen, die aufgrund von polizeilichem und staatsanwaltschaftlichem Fehlverhalten zu Unrecht verurteilt wurden.

Sein Blick auf die Polizei, die Staatsanwaltschaft und die Richter ist also geprägt. Und offensichtlich hat eine ganz persönliche Konsequenz gezogen: Vertrauen muss wieder hergestellt werden. Denn ohne Vertrauen in Polizei und Justiz geht das Gemeinwesen den Bach runter.

Reuland zeichnet mit vielen Details ein Panorama das offensichtlich von seiner Arbeit als Staatsanwalt und Strafverteidiger geprägt ist. Und dieses Panorama trieft vor Zynismus: „Wahrheit spielt im Brooklyn Supreme Court keine Rolle, nicht am Ende. Das Einzige, was zählt, ist die Lüge, mit der sie dich erwischen.“ Und um diese Lüge zu bekommen wird manipuliert. Und zwar alle gegen alle.

Im Buch geht es um Will Way, einen Gewerkschaftsvertreter der lokalen Polizeigewerkschaft mit dem launigen Namen Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. Er soll einer noch sehr frischen Polizistin beistehen, die einen farbigen Jugendlichen erschossen hat (nachdem dieser ein Geschäft überfallen hat). Sie war vorher Marine (also bei den Streitkräften). Der Junge war bewaffnet, zumindest wurde eine Waffe bei ihm gefunden.

Schnell wird klar das da was nicht stimmt, ihr Partner war nicht bei ihr und das mit der Waffe …. mmmhhh, stimmt wohl auch nicht. In der Öffentlichkeit gibt es einen Riesenaufschrei, die Politik mischt sich ein und Will ist jetzt noch mehr angestachelt die Polizistin in diesem Wahnsinn von “Keine Gewalt gegen Schwarze – Weg mit der Polizei” zu beschützen.

Reuland greift immer wieder zu kleinen Kniffen in dem er Sachen verschweigt und dann später in der Handlung klarstellt. Den Alltagsrassismus des Lesers erwischt er früh: Nach den ersten Demos und Protesten wg. “Gewalt gegen Schwarze” erfahren wir beiläufig das die Polizistin farbig ist. Eine Schwarze. Niemand hat danach gefragt.

Will Way erkennt schnell das alle, die mit dem Fall zu tun haben, entweder versuchen ihre eigene Suppe zu kochen oder aber einen Schuldigen zu finden. Und er erkennt auch, das er als nächster hingehängt wird.

Und das wird er auch, für seine Haltung fährt er ein:

( (c) Polar Verlag 2023)

Hammer. Nix für hard-boild Krimi Fans aber für alle die nochmal kräftig über ein durch- und durch kaputtes Rechtssystem abkotzen wollen.

Soundtrack dazu: Jon Cougar Concentration Camp – Georgina, was sonst?

2023/11/10
… perfect Monday, sold out: Saufknast, Chain Whip, Ping Pong!
Monday upstairs at the Hafenklang is most of the time a fun experience: Either something completely unknown, with donation at the entry, followed by Table Tennis and DJ or something special, following the same logic. This Monday it was the latter, Chain Whip from Vancouver, BC, came through town and where supposed to top their energetic performance at last years Get Lost Fest.

Support was by Saufknast, a fresh band from Hamburg/Kiel, sporting a great name (it is a play on words best translated to Drinking Prision) and a graphically not so great logo. When i arrived at the Hafenklang it was already well filled and Saufknast kicked off way ahead of 21:00, making some miss their set.
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Saufknast (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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What did i get? Strings paired with hair. A drummer sporting a Grauzone shirt (and playing way off that reference). And a female singer with a high pitched voice with too much reverb on it – from start to finish i was not even able to make out in which language she was singing.

How did it sound? It did not sound perfect but specifically the hairy strings where able to give it quite some umpf, drive and force.

Checking out their Œuvre (available on Tape from Flennen too) i have to admit that they actually have something. And on top the lyrics, in German (surprise), are actually very clever and surprisingly well done (and sorta out of genre).

Check it out for yourself, it is worth it:
<a href="https://saufknast.bandcamp.com/album/ep-i">EP I by SAUFKNAST</a>
I’d love to see them again, with a slightly better sound, and i yes i’d buy that EP on Vinyl – after some contemplation i found them so much better than most of me mates around me (who more or less shrugged them off immediately). They also got a fair share of applause for their short & crisp set, including from Chain Whip band members.

Next Chain Whip and the upstairs at the Hafenklang was by now well filled though with 130 folks technically not sold out. A stark contrast to some Monday entertainment with say less than 10 people attending. I could sense quite some eagerness with people, a largely rather young audience. Already sensing ahead of the show that Chain Whip currently are hot shit i was eager myself to check if they are able to live up to that.

Here is how they kicked off:

Bang! 5 seconds of build up and then off we go – the perfect recipe of 80s West Coast Hardcore. Singer Josh Nickel used to play in The Jolts (a Vancouver band i would have loved to see over here) but is now set for something else:
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Whether that's good or bad, I like violence. If I don't get that from the audience of my own free will, I just have to create it within myself. I'm not out to hurt people. That's for assholes. 

But when I see a killer punk band or stand on stage myself, I want to smell sweat and see blood. I want to feel like it means something to the band to be there. Hardcore is raw energy. I want it to wrap around me when I'm at a show. 

I'm also painfully aware that I'm a 35-year-old playing music that was invented and perfected by 17-year-olds. Sometimes you have to face this fact.
```
Whoahey – right on all counts (though for me and me mates age is more times two)! As one of me mates always states: “It is time to bring danger back into hardcore“. Indeed such a setting get’s the better out of a show.
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Chain Whip (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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They are around now for about six years and got plenty of output – all into the very same direction of short, crisp and aggressive blasts in the best vein of said West Coast Hardcore as in the early 80s.

But they can also temper themselves and stretch it out longer. And still, it is great. Listen up youth:

They got plenty of cheers, little dancing and loads of folks pilfering the merch table. Towards the end of the set they where plagued with technical problems, the bass amp had some issues (gone from overheating?) interrupting the flow of the songs.

For me – besides the sound not being as perfect as i would love to have it – a great set, not wasting too much time between songs and letting go a lot of energy into the direction of the audience.

Near perfect drumming, sturdy bass and forceful guitar shredding paired with a lunatic on vocals – ain’t that the best lure and the best delivery option?
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Chain Whip (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 06.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Perfect if you ask me. And as i am old and still get up to work the early end of the show around 22:00 was great too, some chatting, some merch and then off & uphill into me bed, full of energy.

This time round i even got vinyl twice, an absent mate asked for “everything on vinyl” to be purchased but i spared him “everything” and just took home the latest LP.

Chain Whip – Call Of The Knife (Drunken Sailor Records, 2023)

Indeed that record is a worthy blast, check it our yerself:
<a href="https://chainwhip.bandcamp.com/album/call-of-the-knife">Call of the Knife by Chain Whip</a>
Another worthy Monday, crisp in mu-sick-al delivery and followed by the lot with table tennis (the band was barely off stage), for myself not. I am old, i went to bed.

Smiling.
2023/11/08
… næsten alene blandt rockere: Hola Ghosts tilbagevenden!
Whilst the Punk Rock Hamburg community is a mainstay, it is not the only genre with such a community. There is also King Rockers Hamburg serving that other genre that – in contrast to 1979 – at least has some overlap (and not just slaps).

That community had it’s gathering at the Knust and as it added Hola Ghost to the rooster it was a must for me. But i was almost alone, at the end i had a count of 4 people i knew and 4 more i knew from seeing. The rest was about 150 aging rockers, as such this community shares another thing with Punk Rock Hamburg – getting older and older, with little to none young people joining ranks and being driven by the urge of live mu-sick.

Dukes Of Tijuana kicked it off and i guess what they do is authentic Rock-a-Billy (and i have to admit that i have no clue of the cupboards in that genre). They main asset for me was definitely the Gretsch (and the guy who perfectly handled it).

Here is a prime example:

Rather mid tempo and a near perfect guitar play using both the low (twang!) and high (ping!) tones of the spectrum. Wild guess – he can also play a near perfect surf guitar.
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Dukes Of Tijuana (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Paired with the upright bass, light-weight drumming and vocals supported by a wee bit of reverb it made for a pleasant though for my untrained ears a sounds to much alike listening.

Here is an up-tempo one, a Tainted Love cover (genre typical i guess):

They also switched instruments, a nice Johnny Cash cover with the guitar singing and the singer mastering the upright bass. They came across quite joyful, loads of smiles on stage and tried to encourage the audience. But as often, the audience was holding back, including leaving an empty space in front of the stage.
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Dukes Of Tijuana (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Not bad these Dukes, the only reference i could find was sometimes into Tiger Army direction, but as said – this ain’t my genre and i have an even lesser clue than in my accustomed one. At least they got some friendly and supporting applause.

For Hola Ghost it was the 2nd time in Hamburg, returning after 4 years. Last time they graced the Monkeys, this time they took residence like this (after a lengthy instrumental intro):

Thats Chupacabra, most likely their signature song. Tempo variations, great build up of chorus and the horns from hell thrown into it in perfect support of the sound.

It is anyway one of their biggest capabilities: They are able to create soundscapes, songs where the sound is left hanging in the air without the songs ending in nowhere land. Sure that tends to drive up song length but hey, a price worth to pay.
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Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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If they cut short, then it is something special. Like this old Misfits stomper turned Mariachicore:

And it still stretches out the original from 1:47 to 2:34 but has everything they are good at condensed into it. Perfect, ain’t it?

And where Dukes Of Tijuana faced a bit of a void in front of the stage Hola Ghost had everybody in the room and all front rows nicely filled. They even got some few people dancing and some old fellas to throw their fists into the air.
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Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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They had plenty of audience interaction, though most through Peter who grew up just north of the German/Danish border and thus is bilingual. And they had fans from across Europe dropping into Hamburg – from home in Denkmark, from sunny Finland, from that island yonder that wanted to get away and from Belgium.

I guess it was more of an inside joke that Peter commented on the absence of the Swedish contingent, though more people and a packed main hall of the Knust would have been a bonus (for the band, for the guys who set it up and for the Knust itself).
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Hola Ghost (Knust, Hamburg, 04.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
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Hola Ghost got plenty of cheers, plenty of applause and delivered a little bit more than an hour of non-stop fun, non-stop Mariachicore, both in high speed and temper mode.

And they included their nod towards Lemmy, Mariachicore in Motörhead style:

Just perfect. On all fronts. Once they finished they made true on the promise to see people at the bar and where great folks to chat with. Both myself and me mate Frank more than once reminded them that they must come back earlier than later, we both demand that that they significantly reduce their time between gigs in Hamburg.

And as ever when a band convinces me live i took something home, this time a new Hola Ghost shirt for the me love (who could not attend due to Covid, still raging!) and i was finally able to score the Fight (Lemmy Tribute) 7″ (for a bargin price, hüstel).

Hola Ghost – Fight (Lemmy Tribute Version, Hola Pete Records, 2018)

I was home late, only had a minor number of beers and happy as a fuck. Now my dream still is that Hola Ghost play a sizable audience in Hamburg and take say 400 people by storm.

En god drøm at beholde.
2023/11/06