It ain’t a sprint, July in Hamburg this year is a marathon in damn heat. Next on where Battalion of Saints from sunny San Diego, a household name in the 80s, a lesser known name in the 90s (even whilst on Taang back then) and a lost name/cause after that (at least from our viewpoint across that mighty ocean). Many people in Hamburg decided to let go the option, i was curious to see what they are up to now. On purpose i did not check out obvious sources like YouTube, ahead of the show, as i wanted to make my (most likely final) choice based on stage performance.
First on in a rather empty Hafenklang were The Cryptics, from New Hampshire in the US of A. They had the pain of playing towards say 15 people facing the stage and i have to admit they did well. They stick a “Melodic Punk” label onto themselves, i guess thats is something that works in the US of A but for me it ain’t working (and does not do them justice).
The Cryptics (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)
They had good moments when they where short and fast paced, they had almost good moments when they where fast but melodic. And they had lackluster moments for me when they were slow. Best was the bass, who kept a very groovy line throughout the songs. I think i will dig them out deeper, i already noted that the singer has some solo recordings up (on the internet, damn internet – never forgets) that at least got my ears.
But what started with them already was that itch that was to be carried forward to Battalion of Saints: In passing the singer noted that is was the first show with the guitar player and the 3rd with the bass. So effectively we saw a new band or, my wild guess, a band leader with a new assembly.
And that swiftly gets us to Battalion of Saints, who have George Anthony as the only remaining member of what was Battalion of Saints in their hey-days in the 80s. To be very frank my first shock was when i saw George, as he looked like a very wasted rock star. Very wasted. Very much too much weight on him. Then i noted that the singer of The Cryptics settled behind the drums. And my initial reaction was fear of seeing a joke. And little did i know!
To vocals and drums the setup added a fuzzed bass (with a very agile bass player) and a solid guitar (with someone who looked initially to be in the wrong band). And what they delivered was surprisingly tight, in sync and basically rock solid. And the more they played, the more they filled the Hafenklang (now still empty with say 45 good folks) with a unique wall of sound that had Georges unique vocal style has a high pitched instrument on top.
Battalion of Saints (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 22.07.2018 (c) gehkacken.de)
Most likely this ain’t the Battalion of Saints from eg. “2nd comming” but it is a Battalion of Saints with a unique sound, delivered surprisingly consistent and well. I could make out some songs i remembered, i could make out the notorious “Ace of Spades” cover in their unique style but to be frank i did not bother, as i got carried away by their sound.
And the end many of the people attending actually recognized the set as a good one and as someone put it in typical Hamburg style “…was für ein Brett!“. I have seen far worse incarnations of band names and i have listened to far worse performances over all the years. If you have a chance to see them in 2018 – go and check them out. If the figures on drums, bass and guitar change then fear the worst but at least expect a surprise.
I loved it but i can also understand why people did let go the opportunity: They most likely spared the 14€ for Dickies and TSOL on Tuesday.