A shitload of folks was eager for this show, Civic to finally return to Hamburg (though they would have ample reasons to continue to bypass Hamburg). A couple of folks went abroad to see them, be it in Gronnigen or following them in the UK. It was to be an early show on a cold and miserable Sunday, i took more time than normally in me warm home prior to strolling down to the Hafenklang. Mainly as i had little interest in the support to be.
But i missed something, somehow Shitshow short notice landed the support slot and when i arrived at the half filled Hafenklang they just entered the stage … out of blue i was luckily spot on with the time.
Shitshow caught my attention with their first EP last year, as this sported a veritable hit:
Great snotty lyrics and a near perfect chorus, delivered with a straight punch into the groin…
There’s a smile on her face Her brother can´t recognize it And the sun in this place He can’t see it He’s caught in a lie Time is money Money’s time They believe, believe in this crime Baby, baby It’s stealing your time Pay attention, just be mine Ring, ring, ring Driving against trees Bling, bling, bling What the hell is so funny bout gifs? And the weather doesn’t matter, Your best friend Is just a machine yeah!
As such i was positively surprised and i guess cautiously optimistic. And indeed they delivered a near perfect support stint on the big stage of the Hafenklang.
What did i get? Marta with her out-of-genre Bass, always smiling. Kirschan on Guitar, shredding ahead like no tomorrow. Julia, singing with the right balance between aggressiveness and the full vocal spectrum (howling low, yelling high – but always loud). And Vic on Drums, one of the most forceful drummers in Hamburg i guess.
Shitshow (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 26.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023
And all their songs are crisp, fast forward and with umpf. Plenty of umpf actually. Here is “CopPorn” from their new EP, out just now.
A perfect sum of their abilities and these do include that – even when crisp – the songs have structure, build up and repeats. Go listen to the recorded version, go!
And this one has even has more weird lyrics, down to almost being a poem:
I take a knife, you bring a gun I’ll kill them all, I do it all for good Don´t need no make-up Can do without I am your nightmare I´m coming from behind Cause you You took my life and I’ll leave it all behind I´d rather be afraid I´ll leave it all behind I didn´t love to I will make it! You shot the sheriff, I took his gun We do it all for good And I´ve seen freedom for all mankind Can see it with my eyes
I was convinced within a few songs and somehow was angry to myself that i did not try to make an earlier effort to see them (but rather got them now as a by-product). The audience was also happy, plenty of applause and smiles around me.
Shitshow (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 26.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023
My wild guess is that they played all they had but as said, that constituted a near perfect set with almost perfect sound. Look out for them, it is worth it.
The only complaint i heard was a faint one, a mate took a small offense in the – as he phased it – metal like frontwomanship of Julia. I guess it was his envy towards her headbanginghairthrowing, something his rather bald (and hatted) head won’t allow.
I ignored the complaint, as i was long set to buy their new EP (as they convinced me live).
Next Civic, after a short changeover on stage. They took the stage completely unpretentious and set the lot the following goals:
That was a lot and within the first block it already gave us their new single Hourglass. Me mate Frosch, a Civic devotee, took a recording:
It nicely sums up the set in totality: Somewhere between what a Music Paper summed up as “an unholy Lo-Fi-Mashup out of Garage Rock, Punk and 1990s Noise-Rock” and simply noise. Loud noise. And, standing on the left of the stage in front of Lewis, a fucking loud guitar i’d say. Overly loud.
Yannick, who drums for The Haermorrhoids and does sound at the Komet, complained already after the first song to Lewis that his guitar was too fucking loud. Jim took a slight offense in that complaint and asked the audience if there where more opinions for them on stage.
There where none.
Civic (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 26.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023
For the complaint itself it was justified, the last time a guitar bulldozed the rest of the mu-sick-al delivery that much was when Dave Chandler took his amp to 12. And that felt physically equally painful. But putting aside the level of amplification it was just master class manipulation of the guitar, the pedal board with effects and specifically the wahwah pedal by Lewis.
Horrific loud guitar soundscapes anyone?
Resting on the rock solid backbone of Eli on Drums and Roland on Bass his guitar is the main sound element, specifically live. Frontline delivery by Jim adds the right level of kick, punch and aggression, so that the full mix is almost an art out of noise.
Civic (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 26.11.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023
To me Civic are one of the few bands where my normal mantra “see live and only when convinced live buy a record” most likely would not work out for me, as this live delivery 1:1 to record would not suit my listening experience at home or on the move.
But luckily their recorded output is a wee bit more behaved, a wee bit better produced and the recording allows Lewis to record multiple guitar overdubs to make the songs … more polished? More well behaved?
I’d say … more perfect. Like my lovelist sing-a-long (that got slaughtered live too):
But hey, that is the joy of live mu-sick. Though i would have loved a wee bit more craftsmanship on the sound. But maybe my position in front of the stage, surrounded by mates (some with odd footie choices, give and take), was just the wrong one.
Another mate who stood back and near the mixing desk reported a good sound. Maybe the 100something folks in winter attire in front of him worked as a perfect sound barrier …
And how did Frosch like it? Very much … here is his account:
I definitely have to agree with Dirk as regards to Civic’s live performance compared to their recorded output. They surely kick ass on stage, and when I did recommend the band to friends and they did like what they heard, I was always in danger of getting told off, because playing live Civic always deliver a far more heavy, dirty, psyched out fuzz sound. “Fuzz is a special type of distortion where harmonic overtones dominate the overall sound” the internet says, and maybe I’m completely wrong, being purely a fan not playing the instrument myself, but that might describe it very well. Yeah, it’s a type of distortion but not for the sake of it or noise, but rather carrying the songs, giving them that special extra, like all the predecessors playing Australian Punk such as Celibate Rifles, Radio Birdman, Cosmic Psychos, just to name a few, did. And even if Yannick would have tuned Lewis guitar down a little he was still well impressed by Civic’s professional performance just as most of our friends attending the gig. Plus Civic did start their set with “Selling. Sucking. Blackmail. Bribes”, their most fuzzed out, in your face, almost hardcore punk song, the brutal sounding “7” released by Total Punk in the US. Just confirms what Wikipedia states: The band's concept was to "do good rock and roll and not to stuff about with it". Their set at Hafenklang was even a little shorter than usual, but we did get an encore, unfortunately not the possibly too obvious, but nevertheless fantastic “Hollywood Nights In Hamburg” from their Future Forecast album. As Civic are working on their new album, and their latest song “Hourglass” promises a lot, I hope we’re in for another Civic tour and Hamburg visit in 2024!
Or, simple, it was a great show on a dark Sunday as both bands kicked ass. And as such i had to take vinly home, both in #recordcollectorsarepretentiousareseholes #coloredvinyl (and both #limitededition).
That is Shitshow’s 2023 EP, klick and order it!
And this is the latest from Civic, a collection of their EPs and other old stuff. And as i never bothered to run after their EP’s a nice completion for me. Go and order (by klicking it).
And whilst it was an all around nice one, there was something missing. Me mate Frosch (a Civic devotee, did i mention it?) went all the way to try to persuade an Australian with an interest in mu-sick to come down and see fellow Australians (and handing him a CD that Civic gave to him in the UK, to add to that persuasion).
Unfortunately Jackson did not make it (or maybe in disguise, no clue) but plenty of me mates made it (sans those down with Covid (get better mate!) or in NL (enjoying a short break after attending Revolution Calling)) and thus i felt simply home at the Hafenklang.
And Jackson? He will have all forgiveness of the world on Friday, right after the final whistle.
Top of the League, as much as both bands.
