Jenny Lund Madsen – 30 Tage Dunkelheit (Tropen, 2023)
Gelesen: 16. – 23.06.2023 (netto 391 Seiten).
Aus dem Dänischen von Julia Gschwilm.
Literatur, Lyrik … My Ass! Fast schon ein Feindbild für mich. Ich will Crime. Hard-Boiled. Insofern ist die Heldin (aka die arrogante Literatin) schnell das personifizierte Schlechte, Nervige … das Feindbild.
Zum Glück geht das auch den anderen Personen im Buch so.
Hannah Krause-Bendix (perfekter Name um sich bereits darüber aufzuregen) schreibt Literatur, wohl für Frauen, die tolle Kritiken bekommt aber sich nicht verkauft. Sie kuckt hochnäsig (aus der Position der Hochkultur) auf Krimi-Literatur runter, für sie ist das langweiliger billiger Dreck.
Auf einer Literaturmesse legt sie sich mit jedem an, auch mit Jørn Jensen (einem der billigen Krimi Schreiber). Und als ihr vor laufender TV-Kamera die Argumente ausgehen haut sie
In einem Monat habe ich einen Krimi geschrieben, der besser ist als alles, was du jemals veröffentlicht hast.
raus. Und kommt aus der Nummer nicht mehr raus. Ihr Agent schickt sie nach Island, zu Freunden seiner Familie, in das Dorf Húsafjöður, in der Hoffnung das ihr Ruhe und Einsamkeit Inspiration schenken.
Das Schicksal schenkt ihr aber eine Leiche und ab da dilettiert sie als Detektivin durch die Landschaft (und nutzt die Story als Rohmaterial für ihr Buch). Und da sie keine Ahnung hat was einen guten Krimi ausmacht, fällt sie jedem möglichen Twist (oder auch red herring) zum Opfer. Am Ende hat sie fast alle Einwohner des Dorfes als Mörder überführt (und wird doch immer wieder von der Realität überholt).
Jede, aber auch wirklich jede, Krimiplattitüde wird hier auf dem Rücken von Hannah abgeritten. Kleine Dörfer und ihre Geheimnisse. Kleine Dörfer abgeschnitten vom Rest des Landes durch einen endlosen Schneesturm. Unfähige Polizisten. Überraschende Liebe, die die Angelegenheit noch schwerer macht. Noch mehr Leichen.
Herrlich, immer wieder stürzt sich Hannah auf die nächste neue Idee respektive Plattitüde nur um wieder in der Realität zu landen.
Großes Kopfkino, perfekte Anti-Heldin mit perfekter Ego-rotziger Attitüde und ein Buch über einen Krimi der in einem Krimi … einfach ein genialer Kniff. Ist das ein Meta-Krimi? Aber kein Wunder, Jenny Lund Madsen ist eine erfahrene und erfolgreiche Drehbuchautorin. Die kann Plot und Atmosphäre.
Endlich mal wieder ein richtig überraschender Krimi bei Tropen. Schön.
Ach ja, schafft Hannah den Krimi? Wird nicht verraten.
For quite some time the Hafenklang supports the K-Town Hardcore Fest by giving travelling bands (and others) a pass-through opportunity, this year the warm-up was with 5 bands travelling through Hamburg to K-Town and A.F.K. as a local add-on.
As always it was to be a mixed bag, this time ranging from near (Azijnpisser from Eindhoven) to far (HEZ from Panama) but all in true DIY spirit. DON/T from Hamburg where also planned in but had to drop out short notice.
So it was for the dutchies from Azijnpisser to kick off the proceedings, as early as 20:00. The Hafenklang was not yet full and for me as a local it felt attendance was largely bands’n’friends. It did change later but i guess the Hamburg lot was still underrepresented.
Azijnpisser (means “vinegar pisser”, a cool band name as a dutch mate of mine pointed out) perfectly set the pace for the evening: hard hitting, fast forward and aggressive. And all of that with a near perfect sound & delivery despite the fact that they had to enlist a replacement bass player for this show.
Their real asset though was their singer, great vocal abilities and perfect screaming, howling and growling… all that roaming in front of the stage with an in yer face attitude. They have just released their first vinyl, 16 songs across 25 minutes – go and check Cold Cuts out now!
Next A.F.K. from Hamburg and they took the banging to the next level I’d say: No compromise seeking banging and even more aggressive vocals. And the singer sported a fun add-on i had not seen on stage prior: He strapped a belt to himself with an effect pedal he ran his mike through (either reverb or echo effect i guess), giving his voice the extra umpf or shreekness.
A.F.K. i believe is short for Aargh Fuck Kill and that is how they went about: Knüppelgeballer (that is “stick banging” literally and describes the feeling as a listener that the band thoroughly beats you up with a stick) at its best. I did not come across them before but i will now check out their output, they where very convincing live.
One of the first row dancers to A.F.K. took the stage next, the guitar player from HEX also seemed to have enjoyed the locals pretty much. With HEX i got a first, this is the first punk band from sunny Panama i get to hear and see. What immediately stood out was the four distinct different personas on stage, what also was going to stand our was their sound.
I can only make wild guesses here but i my guess would be that mu-sick-ally they have grown up in an environment that – on the positive side – gave them no scene inherited boundaries. On the negative side i guess there are plenty of boundaries for them with their music, locally. Check out their song “La Hez“:
Habitamos las cloacas
Es una vida subterranea
Somos seres subversivos
Y tu no eres mi amigo
Nos alimentamos de tóxicos
Vivimos rodeados de tóxicos
Somos seres subversivos
Y tu no eres mi amigo
No somos de tu clase
Y no queremos agradarte
We inhabit the sewers
It's an underground life
We are subversive beings
and you are not my friend
We feed on toxic
We live surrounded by toxic
We are subversive beings
and you are not my friend
We are not your kind
And we don't want to please you
For me the positive side upheld: They added some unusual bits to their sound next to the stomping drums and distorted bass in namely the guitar adding soundscapes. And the vocal delivery was – yet again – all angry. Great stuff, check them out for yourself.
And where HEZ where surprise for origin, Zanjeer appeared as a total surprise for almost anything: Origin – Bremen, of all places. Members coming all the way from Colombia, Pakistan, England and Germany. And vocals delivered in Urdu, Farsi & Punjabi. Something strange to read & listen? Here you go:
Bhaago bhaago bhaago
Bhaago bhenchod
Bhaago bhaago bhaago
Watan se bhaago
Des ghaleez jese public ghusalkhanay
Zehni mareez, sab watan pagalkhanay
Kidhar mein jau?
Kahan mein rahu?
Mere paas kya hai?
Mere paas kuch nahin
Hamdullah!
Run run run,
Run motherfucker
Run run run
Run from your country
My country is filthy like public toilets
All nations are mental asylums
Where do I go?
Where will I live?
What do I have?
I have nothing
Thank God!
On top they also created a very different visual on stage, sure largely to the singer looking different than usually expected in a H/C band. Adjust your assumptions!
They surprised the hell out of the lot and despite some of their songs sounding the same (at least to my innocent ears) they got everyone dancing and sweaty.
Lovely people going crazy (K-Town Warm-up at Hafenklang (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
That was indeed different and for me exactly in the sweet spot of getting out to experience something new, something uncommon and – if lucky – something nonconforming. I guess i will need to quiz some folks who went to K-Town how they were received there, it is a special band for sure.
With Code 13 from Minneapolis, Minnesota, the proceedings got back into more common territory – plain good fast USHC. They have been around ever since the 90s and played Germany on DIY tours a couple of times i believe. I always missed them, so was happy to see this incarnation.
Their blasts where short and fast, their Complete Discography clocks in at 50 songs in 50 minutes – no chord wasted. Out of the rooster that night they may not have been the one with the most cheers but they definitely where the ones most versed and most tight. A solid fast slab of HC!
By now it was late and almost midnight, with still a band to come. Rigorous Instituation had to reach the Hafenklang first, got stuck on the way through Germany and making it literally only by a narrow margin. As such it took them a wee bit longer to setup, get eg. the synthies hooked up & working and do a little sound checking (with the drummer up’ing and down’ing the Bass in his monitor somewhat erratic).
Finally they kicked off, all the way from Portland, Oregon. And being very non-Portland to me when it came to sound. And presentation.
From the start i had the feeling i am seeing a play (as on a Theater Stage), delivered by a doomsday troupe. Delivered against a backdrop of scorched earth. Used as a soundtrack for a movie that is very very dark, very very creepy.
Given they played last the had the fitting tasks, at least to a certain element, to empty the Hafenklang. And indeed not everybody was up to their assault. In good moments they created a near perfect wall of sound, in bad moments they sound like an erratic presenter with a band grabbed from the streets, thrown together at random.
I bet you they are not out to be loved and they do not seek love. But as a doomsday troupe they do work – check them out yerself.
It was a somewhat non-Hamburg night at the Hafenklang, i only had two lovely companions around me and saw only a few custom faces.
Was the rooster too tough or unknown? Was the urge to experience something new, something different, something uncommon not there? No clue, i left the Hafenklang energized to sustain work on Friday and with the outlook to be seaside with me love on the weekend.
The shortest praise for the evening though came from Fab, who books this and other shit at the Hafenklang:
Great night!
150 lovely people and 6 bands from around the globe in an sweaty humid packed room going crazy.
This kind of shows are the reason i‘m still doing this, cauz one night like this, still gives me more positive energy than anything else and still helps me to stand all this sick shit on this fucked up world.
❤️🖤
stay punk!
support the international DIY punk scene!
It is that simple, it is that plain. Thanks Fab for making this (and much more) possible every week, it is worth it if i have to do the accounting! Already looking forward to the next surprise.
It feels quite odd if the singer of a band points at you during the set to thank you for attending though “... he listens to other music normally“. It happened to me thanks to Oile from Blanker Hohn. Indeed the amount of “Deutsch Punk” in my collection (warning, #recordcollectorsarepretentiousarseholes incomming: 4.956 this morning according to Discogs) is neglecteable tiny and i tend to not go to shows showcasing it.
But Blanker Hohn, longest running Punk Band from Harburg (south of the mighty river Elbe), did throw a 40th Anniversary Bash at the Stellwerk so i gave it a chance.
For a start they were clever with their choice of support from north of the mighty river: The Razors paid tribute plus a cool addition from way back in U.E.D.L. as a real surprise.
Their split tape with Spiel 77, recorded down at their local youth center, was one of the mid 80s items done by mates because all their friends where in bands and they wanted one too.
U.E.D.L. Split-Tape with Spiel 77 from 1985 … that is all what remained!
It did not create a lot of success but as friends they largely stayed around, continued to play low key every once in a while and never went anywhere. But they where contemporaries of Blanker Hohn and as such a fitting support.
For me it was the 2nd time to see them, if my memory serves me well i saw them back then at either a Youth Center or a School thingy in Bunny Hill or Bramfeld/Barmbek and … it was not a highlight as far as i recall.
Fast forward more than 40 years and to the Stellwerk. Fast forward to a show where a friend of Arne endured a 600 KM drive to actually see them. Fast forward to one of the situations where your expectations are lowest and …
… you get the surprise you never expected.
U.E.D.L. had a setlist of just 9 songs, played old ones at the start and got some lukewarm response. Then they got in new ones and with that me and me mates stopped chit-chatting and actually focused the attention to the stage.
They more they played the more they both got into the groove, got self-assurance and actually had some tunes that fully worked: Deeply ground in a hard rocking sound (as on the positive side of hard rock), leaning toward what some dub nowadays “Working Class Rock” or “Street Rock“, there where some cool melodies, hooks and breaks.
Plus Arne delivering a fitting singing. Even on this single cover song it worked:
Wow – i really did not expect this one. No clue if this incarnation of U.E.D.L. will go anywhere but on this night, on this occasion – they simply took (let’s say half of) the crowd by storm. I will definitely seek out a chance to see them again, i do hope they stick to it for a little bit longer.
Without a lot of changeover the mighty Razors took the stage, trimming their set down and ending it with a barrage of covers.
The Stellwerk was crowded by this time, not sure if sold out but i guess 200+ folks being there. And the Razors had the lot from the first chord, a solid machine that delivered hits with ease.
What did strike me on this occasion was that i actually was looking out with joy to a single song:
An obscure 1979 Power Pop song from Scotland, of all places. Way ahead of times when it comes to guitar pop up North. And turned by the Razors into what i what call by now their signature song (bypassing Tommys Gang, that i always thought of as something like their signature tune).
Enjoy:
Whereas The Headboys only ever got it to #45 in the UK Charts in 1979 i’d say that the Razors get the song to a new high.
A critic on the original has it all:
60’s inspired late 70’s jangly guitar pop with catchy tunes, irresistible rhythms & punchy chanted choruses from this great Scottish skinny-tie power-pop/new wave band that should’ve been big(ger).
Once i will win in the lottery and make my plan for a “1976 to 2026 in Songs” Double LP with gate fold cover a reality i will have this song re-recorded and produced by … let’s see. Let’s aim for the Blasting Room as a start.
Alike the Razors blasted through their set, only Sven needed to take a minute out, his drumming corner was not only way too hot but also sans oxygen, as windows had to be kept shut as for noise protection. Great set by Hamburgs finest. Not more, not less.
With that it was time for the birthday boys (though they wisely choose not to play in their birthday suits), with Janny doing some tongue-in-check introductions. He apparently saw them as a 13 year old kid at a long defunct youth club in Harburg and went on to blame them that he got stuck on Punk.
Next to Youth Of Altona he should look out for a 2nd career – he is a funny entertainer!
Blanker Hohn, for this special occasion, did resort to an old trick currently being used by many old bands – playing entire albums in sequence of the record. So Set 1 was going to be their 2023 effort:
That record is – according to my navigation chart – actually one of the better ones when it comes to “Deutsch Punk“. Starting with the cover (and the series that goes with it) and all the way to surprisingly crisp songs like this 11 Minute killer:
Blanker Hohn had a lot of family and friends in the audience and plenty of sing-a-long and dancing in front of the stage. On the not-so-positive side i wold recon that most of their fans still are from south of the river, only few from up north joined in.
For my ears most of the new songs worked quite well, you can sense that their song writing and recording abilities improved by a long shot ever since they recorded their 1984 Long Player.
They have been around 1983 to 1986, topping it with support for Die Toten Hosen at the local Harburg youth center FZ Nöldekestraße in April 1984. A show that i saw and where my memory of Blanker Hohn is … mhhhh … let’s say “not impressed”.
Blanker Hohn burned like a small candle and burned out pretty fast, by 1986 they went on with their lives. They enjoyed a brief return from 2001 to 2004 but it took to 2018 to really get them back touring and recording.
Even the almighty AI (ChatGPT) has some doubts on brightness of that candle (AI, my ass):
Their 2nd Set was their 1984 LP, which stands out for one of the worst covers ever being put to print. And not really for the mu-sick if you ask me. But hindsight is always easy, what they did play and what they did record was fitting the days back then.
Here is one of these songs, in the stereo-typical western style that many added to their rooster back then under the moniker “Fun Punk“:
The No Fun part though is that this documents also the drunken loonie sitting on stage – few songs later he either collapsed or head crashed on the dance floor. As his situation looked not good the show was stopped, an ambulance was called and he was lifted out of the venue towards hospital. I hope he is well, asking around i was not able to establish that though.
Sad end to actually a neat show at the best location south of the river. Lets hope that Blanker Hohn can capitalize on their current record, they deserve it.
And because it is such a stark contrast – here are the two records side-by-side:
Blanker Hohn – Worst Cover 1984 vs. Inteligent Cover 2023
Rhetoric Question: Which would you choose? And more detailed record collector question: What what you choose from the used records bin“?
With that i took home on public transport, easy from the location – not so easy if you miss the train by seconds and got to wait 20 minutes on the platform with intoxicated youth heading for PAAARTY in the area you actually take residence in.
nb: There where fully happy consumers like Frank and Yvonne…
… and somewhat happy consumers like Andre and Thomas
Somewhat happy? ( (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
nbb: Getting Die Toten Hosen to support them did not work out, the only thing they got was the poster design – well done!
