It was July 2019 when D.I. made a triumphant return to Hamburg, thanks to Covid it took them another 4 years to be back. The Hamburg lot was eager to see them, even folks who where in London on Saturday to see Generation Sex came down to the Hafenklang to see D.I..
Whilst i had high hopes for another sold out show the post-Covid reality is still that a percentage of guests seems lost, on this lovely Sunday evening it was “only” about 170 good people at the Hafenklang.
Support was for Youth Of Altona with the first show in the new reformed outfit, playing favorite Wipers songs … these actually.
Youth Of Altona – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de)
They lured most people in front of the stage but actually repelled some. I can only guess that was either for generic dislike of the cover band concept per se (which i could buy) or because of the nervousness hick-ups in the first couple of songs.
Here is “Let’s go”:
I still like their concept and i do like that they allow me to listen to some neat Wipers songs, all done in a complete unpretentious fashion. As Greg Sage won’t be on tour soon, where else would you get the chance?
And the more they got into it, the less hick-ups where around. And smiles appeared on stage and with those in front of the stage – as it should be.
Youth Of Altona (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
I also took note of the D.I. folks coming out from backstage and having a decent look into Youth Of Altona, up to nodding along to the sound. And given that they kept the set crisp and avoided length it was a fitting lead-in into the evening.
Here is “Return Of The Rat”, their closing song:
I continue to give them credit for what they do and i am damn sure they will also develop a little more groove along the set, the more they play together. It is one of the better cover ideas and executions, trust me (if you dare).
D.I. sure would speed up things and would give us more of of a Southern O.C. sound than the northern sound from PDX. And this was what they set out to deliver:
And lets be frank, a band that kick into “Johnny’s Got A Problem”, “Imminent War” and “Hang Ten In East Berlin” after an instrumental intro … wins over the audience at anytime, anywhere. Really fast.
Here is “Johnny’s Got A Problem”:
Bang! This time round they came with two guitars and that added to an overall near perfect sound. And boy, they where fucking tight from the first chord. And sure thing the audience went sing-a-long from the first chorus onward.
It was less crowded compared to last time, the average age in the audience was significantly higher … but D.I. made all up for it by leaning in even stronger.
The only item of moaning was that it was over so much quicker, 19 songs clocked in within 50 minutes (my wild guess), here are the finishing chords:
The one item that stood out for me was that they delivered simply a near perfect show, with near perfect sound. And even the sometimes very visible staged chats, banters and acts came all naturally and added to the show.
With this setup (top twin Guitars and them Tatar brothers on Drums (providing more grins, more tricks) and Bass (with even more singing, more fun making of Casey)) D.I. is a mighty force that is able to take over any place, anytime. And provide more than a decent punk fucking rock experience.
Thanks largely to D.I. there was an upbeat feeling after the show, plenty of talking, bantering (up to and including a proposal to burn down me mate Lukes car) and drinks. I ended up with two mates still chatting when the Hafenklang switched on the lights for final clean out. The good feeling of
#thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusicamongfriends
Isn’t that what it is all about, despite an alarm bell on Monday reminding you of the treadmill?
PS: The video sound ain’t as desired and does not do the good sound justice, i ended up too near to the stage, under a ceiling mounted PA speaker. The pics are extra shitty as for both bands the stage was flooded with rather stupid red light only. I guess there was no light man around/booked. But you get to see what i got to see, unedited.
It took the Descendents and the Mighty Mighty BossTones 21 fucking years to come back to Hamburg … and it took the mighty D.I. 25 years to be back at Hamburg shores, a place that in the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s was full of D.I. devotees.
So when the news came around that they hit Europe the Hafenklang was sold out quickly: It was a Friday evening in Summer, they paired with Poison Idea on their farewell stint and had with Yard Bomb the hardest and corest local support that you could wish for. People came from far and also near – the Hamburg lot was in full contingent and even Bremen showed up in force.
The unpleasant support the support slot was for Causes from Hanover, they had to lure 200+ people drinking and chatting outside the Hafenklang into the main room and in front of the stage.
They did not succeed. I gave it a try, as i am always keen to see new bands. But they just did not touch my soul with their rather dark punk. They also looked a wee bit static on the stage, so i had to let go for another beer and another chat. But by all means, make up your own mind and check them out.
With a swift changeover it was time for Yard Bomb, currently for me the hottest hard core unit on the local circuit. And they kicked of like this:
Their drummer was absent with leave, so their old drummer filled in after leaving 5 years ago to give them the opportunity to excel on the same stage as D.I. and Poison Idea.
They had a rooster of 14 songs prepared and from the kick off it felt that they wanted to shove it up the audience ears with no fills and no frills: Net they clocked in at 21:05 for the 14 songs, that is a near perfect 80 seconds per song on average (and allowed for 10 seconds between songs).
Their visual on stage is still a nice spread: Rolf yells, moans and groans and has every muscle full of relentless energy, Benny smiles and hammers the bass and Sven has his guitar strapped high and generates both knife sharp chords and a chaotic swirl. And all of that backed by solid drumming (though sometimes you could make out that they most likely did not have too many hours in rehearsal together).
I loved the energy, i loved the mu-sick-al Blitzkrieg and the take no prisoners attitude. At times i even had the feeling they would overtake themselves but i saw a couple of smiles on the stage so they looked all happy with the effort.
They have a veritable hit (one of my top 10 songs by a Hamburg band) and that one sounded in a speed up trash’n’burn version like this:
Sing-a-long to this beauty:
Milhouse will be a better man
Next 40 years from now
Don't smoke
Don't drink
Don't fuck around
Everything is turning up
On Milhouse right now
Will be a better man
The next 40 years
Will be a better man
Don't smoke
Don't drink
Don't fuck
Don't curse
Milhouse!
If you ask me for my humble opinion (and that comes with 40 years of listening to that genre called widely Punk or Hardcore Punk or even Hardcore) that is perfect song that you would think came out of California or Washington DC say 1983 – but not out of Hamburg, in the year 2014 resp. 2019. Kudos Yard Bomb – you got me!
That Poison Idea finally say farewell in contrast was less than a surprise. Too many in’s and out’s, too many health and other problems. And sure losses like the passing of Pig Champion But Jerry kept things together like on this final tour, where a last minute change had to be done to guitars.
Poison Idea (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 19.07.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
What the audience got was nevertheless a great showcase of the wide variety of the Poison Idea output (that actually stretches from 1983 to 2016 and still puts #recordcollectorsarepretentiousarseholes to a stunning test in getting a complete collection).
And how did it sound? It sounded quite well:
The strength of the set to me was that for more than half of the songs the audience carried the band forward with all the singing, dancing and energy – one final time both Poison Idea and Hamburg where indeed united in their loved for hard & cheap.
Poison Idea (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 19.07.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
Jerry smiled a couple of times and thanked people for coming out. I’d like to reply that this was the minimum to do, they have been around for me almost all the time (and stock 18 record in my collection) and some of their output is definitely stuff that i will carry into the elderly home (once the rest of the collection is auctioned off to pay the fees).
Thanks Jerry for all the years of effort!
By now it was quite late (10 minutes to midnight) and there was still the headliner to come back on us after 25 years.
And this is how D.I. came back:
They came back as a 4 piece (though i heard rumors they would come with two guitars, did not get to check out more detail) and with a lineup that has been together now since 2003 (so for a while, though it is Casey who has been around ever since and that is since 1981).
Their strength sure is their early output until 1988 – for us over here the stuff was just like honey: Sweet. Sticky. And of quality. Little did we know over here about the many line up changes, there must have been like 20 different line-ups with Casey being the only constant.
But what it always had was a quality O.C. Hardcore sound. That cool blend of various bits of Rock, Punk, Surf and all of that neatly given some speed (in both senses).
Those with an eye for the more historic side of Punk Rock sure know that Casey was the original drummer for the Adolescents and as such he took great pleasure in the design of both the Yard Bomb debut 12″ and the matching T-Shirt. He even took it on stage and used it to deliver praise for the late Steve Soto (and that was echoed from the audience with some For Steve! returns).
And his old Adolescents classic (actually, again for those versatile in Punk Rock History, a Detours song by Messrs Royer and Agnew) was his own ode to his old mate Steve – here is Amoeba, 2019 Version by D.I.:
To no surprise the audience went ape shit. Loads of dancing, loads of singing and across the board very bright smiles not only in front of the stage but also to the back of a fully packed Hafenklang.
The most smiles actually came from the stage: Joey Tatar on drums not only does every trick in the drummer book with his sticks (and then some more not in any book), he also pulls faces left, right and center. Once you fixed your eyes on him you could not let go – it was utmost fun!
D.I. – The Drummer (utmost fun and pulling faces galor (c) gehkacken.de 2019)
They came back more than once and they gave the audience everything and a wee bit more. As one of me mates noted it is not custom for US bands to come back for an encore – but coming back three times and late into the night, that is just class.
With all that fun, all that joy there where also toned down moments, moments where Casey (a heroin victim himself) praised those who made a step away from drugs (and never returned to them) and he was also careful enough to explain that “Richard hung himself” is actually not a fun song but a hard truth. As such he urged people to take care of those around him. Well done Casey, well done.
Casey’s own issues with drugs have been in the news, up to and including not so fun family moments that made the press. His advise offered in an interview was simple: “My advice… hard drugs will ruin you and your music, unless you live in Amsterdam. Then you will write good music, but die young.”
They played until 01:00 and they left behind a still full, fully sweaty and extraordinary happy Hafenklang. On top they also had class manners, thanking each audience member that came forward for a chat.
I resorted back to the bar for beer, to the merch for two Yard Bomb 12″ (that i have to picture below in color … because of the cover, sure thing) and a Poison Idea T-Shirt for me love. And more beer. And more chats.
I can only urge you to get this beauty upon real release (that’ll be 27.09.2019) or attend the record release party at the Hafenklang on 02.10. (with the mighty Razors and Suck). Make sure you buy like me an extra one to make it a gift. Try to convince someone outside of Hamburg of Yard Bomb! Mine will go south and i am looking forward for the feedback…
… and with a broad smile i finally took off home, yet again through empty streets on my short stroll uphill and home.
Whilst i was on the way to bed, the docks yonder still kept working on the cruise ship – i wonder when that finally will be done with the makeover.
Thanks for Hafenklang for setting this up and thanks to lot and the bands for making it a very worthwhile entertainment. Farewell to Poison Idea, hello to Yard Bomb and dear D.I. – be back soon!
