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Tag: descendents

… the most smiles you can get: Descendents!
Being over 60 sometimes creates new tasks, like thinking ahead towards retirement. Thinking ahead on downsizing, so that less baggage will be carried around. In that context i will need to think ahead how to downsize my record collection (5.022 according to Discogs).

And thus the love of my life recently asked “what will you keep as your loveliest band?“. And without a think i replied “ALL Descendents” (and was damn sure she did not get the trick that technically speaking it is two bands i forever will hold on to). I guess she knew the answer anyway, as i was already on a high in the run up to the Descendents show at the Markthalle.

The last time i saw them was 2022 in Hannover, the last time they graced the Markthalle was 2018. As in Hamburg the summer (school) holidays had just started the show was not sold out, though well filled. And it was a somewhat warm and tropical (aka wet) evening, something that the bands under the stage lights would feel even more.

Support came from Scheisse Minnelli outta sunny Aschebersch, a Bavarian city closer to the drugs of Frankfurt than the beers of Munich (and technically speaking in Franken rather than in Bayern). Confused? As much as i was, as i realized that i would see them for the first time.

What did i get? For the start i got a tongue-in-check redemption of the old HoA classic “Hallo Nachbar” themed after a rather infamous local red light district non-hero.

Say hello to “Hallo Werner“:

It is right down my mu-sick-al preference that covers should slightly alter the original, slightly shift the meaning and/or style. Well done!

Unfortunately they had to setup heir gear in front of the standard Descendents setup, but given the large stage of the Markthalle nowadays there was still enough room to roam and jump around – wich the singer did to the max.
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Scheisse Minnelli (Markthalle, Hamburg, 23.07.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)
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They are around since 2003 and sport a singer self-exiled from California. And whilst he is indeed face and voice of the band on stage the other three provide excellent musical capabilities to the mix. Ahead of them playing a friend of mine noted to me how much he loved them, half-way into their set i leaned over to him to yell “now i understand why!“.

If they ever come across a working DMC DeLorean i am damn sure they will set the dial to something like “California, 1985” because that is where their sound deeply is rooted.

And trust me, they sound like really being from there. And definitely it sounds really great!

The audience, clearly primed on the Descendents, initially was reserved. But the more they got from Scheisse Minnelli, the more you could see appreciation and feedback.

I will sure check out their recorded output next and when possible, i will make an effort to the see them again. Nice surprise on my side, but that is what live mu-sick is for!

Thanks to the stage setup the changeover to the Descendents was quick and efficient, at 21:00 and a bit they took the stage and where greeted by loud cheers. As ever close to the stage we got a sneak into the setlist ahead, so knew what was coming.

Descendents – Setlist (Markthalle, Hamburg, 23.07.2024)

It was not dramatically different but well balanced between fan favorites and band favorites. And the catchy ones and the more difficult ones. The mid-tempo ones and the bangers. Basically ALL there is in their wide oeuvre.
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Descendents (Markthalle, Hamburg, 23.07.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)
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Two things this time round stood out for me:

First – i have always been fond of the many smiles they provide on stage. This time round this felt like quadrupled: At any given second one of them (if not more) was smiling either into himself, at the others or at the audience. They radiated so much happiness off from the stage … heart warming!

2nd – where other bands need resting, tuning, drinking or chatting breaks, the Descendents needed none. The played like 70 minutes without a visible break between the songs, left the stage and came back to hammer home the rest.

Stunning.

Oh yes: Stephen, Milo, Bill, Karl – you are the ones!

I felt like being completely engulfed in joy, lost track of time somewhat and just felt … happy as a fuck. And looking around there me were plenty more smiling faces, people singing along with the the full power of their vocal cords.

It was a hot and sweaty undertaking (on and off stage) and whilst roaming off stage to the barrier Milo noted that it was considerable more cool down there. And once that hit home with him he stayed some extra time there and close up with the audience.
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Descendents (Markthalle, Hamburg, 23.07.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)
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Stephen, as ever the mu-sick-al expert, noted to young ones in the audience that it is so hot because of the old fashioned floodlight light rig up there (emitting light in the form of heat), that was there already in 1977 when AC/DC with Bon Scott played the Markthalle and exactly that stage.

For me it felt like the best ever show of the Descendents at the Markthalle – tight, together, smiling and covering all of their variances musically. And great audience reception.

This quote from a German newspaper nicely sums it up:

… Aukerman’s lines express the beauty of the music, the healing power of three chords

I was not the only happy fuck, friends around me were happy too. Frank even scored a setlist for his life box.

Frank, Alex and Schreiber – Happy Fans with a looooong setlist ( (c) gehkacken.de 2024)

And no, i want to grow up eventually and yes, i want to be old – together with the love of me life. And maybe less records.

And yes, i still want to be someone (me!), hear and see the Descendents (or sure other #thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusic)! 70? Bring it on!
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Will I still want to be someone
And not just sit around?
I don't want to be like other adults
'Cause they've already died
Cool and condescending, fossilized

(When i get old)
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PS: A pity though that due to work away from Hamburg i have to let go the option to see them the week after at the Faust in Hannover. Damn work, time to retire, eh?

PPS: Big FANX to Frosch for the videos.

And whilst that is the “official” tour poster the cool artist Simon Marchner from Munich has created a much neater variant, score them at his shop!

I want to be stereo-typed, i want to be class-ified!
2024/07/26
… world tourage anyone?
Last time World Tourage (a neat euphemism) stopped in Hannover (2019, actually) there where plenty of folks from Hamburg who took the trip down south to Hannover. This year many where already en-route to Blackpool for Rebellion on the weekend, so the Hamburg contingent was rather small, though i met some surprise connoisseurs.

We took sail rather early from Hamburg on a hot & sweaty day and managed to get down to Hannover without a single traffic issue, on top we found a parking spot just next to the Faust – perfect. We knew that MakeWar would take the stage very early and we also realized once there that due to Holidays, still raging Covid and maybe a zillion other individual issues the show would be far from being sold out.

MakeWar we dropped, we rather had a beer, a bite and a chat in the lovely beer garden of the Faust.

When we decided to head into the Faust i was surprised how empty it felt, my guess would be that roughly 450 people attended (and i guess the Faust can hold ~700). A bit of a let down for the Descendents. Putting it into perspective i would also guess that in Hamburg, if they would have played the Markthalle again, it would have been similarly a feeling of emptyness.

A Wilhelm Scream i only ever saw in context of the Descendents, be it support in Hamburg or a the Open Air Festival in Barcelona, both in 2018. Both times they did not appeal to me at all, thus i decided to give them a full 3rd chance now.
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A Wilhelm Scream (Faust, Hannover, 03.08.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)
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Unfortunately they still do not resonate with me, too much of their sound is up an alley that i just do not savour. Their biggest asset to me is that everyone to the front is actually singing, so they got some nice multi-vocal songs and choruses. Also, after the show, they turned out generally friendly, interested and humble people. But for me it did not help, it is not my mu-sick.

Thanks to the Rock Star setting their equipment was moved off stage quickly and we had an unobstructed view towards Stephens twin Blackstar Amp & Speakers, Bills massive Drums and Karls twin Ampeg Amp & Speakers. If you bring me blindfolded into a club and just show me that setting – i would instantaneously know the Descendents are on.

And what where the on for tonight?

Descendents – Set List (Faust, Hannover, 03.08.2022)

Comparing to the last EU Shows a bit of a mix, a couple of standards where dropped in favor of some new stuff and the whole thing took an upside down makeover. I was eager by now and sharp at 21:20 (+/-) Stephen, Karl, Bill and Milo took the stage.

For the first couple of songs the sound on our end of the stage, just in front of Stephen, was terrible – the guitar almost non-existent. Luckily this was fixed and further down the set it was audible in the right way but by and large i was not happy with the sound. Maybe the lack of audience shifted resonances or whatever, i have seen and heard much better sound in the past.
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Descendents (Faust, Hannover, 03.08.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)
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Still, the lot had fun and also the band was smiling down from the stage. More to the center of the stage, fronting Milo, was actually a large female contingent having extra fun and being protected from the pit by that one pole – a lucky spot indeed.

How did it sound? As i was not happy with the sound i did not bother to take a video but me mate Beno did, so here is the ode to that little girl in pursuit of partying, using sex to get her drugs and alcohol. As she becomes the village bike, everyone gets a ride…

They played a hot SO36 the night before and i had the feeling that they where a bit exhausted. Somehow it came across as rushing through the set though it could also be down to the simple fact that i did sing-a-long to almost all songs and it went by like a fly.

Perfect away game though we came home feeling like having seen a good draw rather than a mighty away win. But as it was over early it meant we could all be in bed like 01:00 and get up at 06:00 for work, which we did.

… the proud, the few aka the crew!

Whilst some in Blackpool did hope that the Descendents would jump in to fill the Bad Religion vacancy short notice it was clear from their rooster that this won’t happen. But good to see them spending more than two weeks in Europe, lets hope that this will be the regular pattern for the future (and lets also hope they continue to alternate between Hannover and home sweet home).

PS: I have smart friends. Some just ask to hand a thanks to the band (which i did to Bill), some bring on some nice gifts. If you want to taste it, get your Descendents coffee brew down below (Click!Bait!).

Thanks Pery, much appreciated!
2022/08/08
… this is who we are, this is how we feel: Descendents!
When this years summer stint of the Descendents in Europe was confirmed i got quite eager to see where they would take camp besides known events like Punk Rock Holiday or Rebellion. To my surprise it was Hannover and the rather small Kulturzentrum Faust.

The good thing: I got 4 tickets (equals a car full of friends) on Day One of the ticket sale. The other good thing: Hannover is like only 160 KM south of Hamburg, so in reach of a quick ride.

The bad thing? It would be a weekday and it would be during peak traffic. The even worse thing? Construction on the motorway, narrowing it from three to a single lane. Paired with a chain of trucks, broken down trucks and end of summer school holidays this resulted in queues. Long and slow queues. It took us from our after work meeting point in Altona more than 3 hours to get there…

… only to realize that No Sugar (who had a slightly longer drive) got stuck and could not make it in time at all.

As we spent way too much time in the car we were thirsty and hungry, so instead of Useless ID we had a drink and a bite at the Faust with the other folks from Hamburg who made their way. We got a bit of the end of Useless ID and for my liking they are just way too soft. That type of Fat Wreck mu-sick that i happily let go.

Many people in the packed Faust left for fresh air after the Useless ID set, the Hamburg lot rather advanced to the front of the stage to make sure it can live out it’s Descendents appreciation. Fandom. Support. Whatever.

Most important things first: A scan of the setlist. And 30+ songs would wait for us, with a pretty good spread (though missing like 30+ favorites).

Descendents – Setlist (Kulturzentrum Faust, Hannover, 08.08.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)

As the Descendents did the headliner rock’n’roll setup (support had to setup in front of the Descendents gear) they were ready in minutes. Still, they took some extra time to kick off, eagerly awaited by the lot (checking times every minute). And in their typical unpretentious style they took the stage, smiled at the audience and gave it a little chatty intro to Suburban Home (and yes, we want to be stereotyped, we want to be classified).
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Descendents (Faust, Hannover, 08.08.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
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From the first chords on i had the feeling of something slightly more intimate, something more outgoing than the last two shows i saw: Markthalle and Barcelona last year. It may well be the much more cozy location, it may well be the not barricaded stage or it may have just been the fact that we had handshake distance to Stephen and got individually carried away into “this is my very own private show, they play just for me“.
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Descendents (Faust, Hannover, 08.08.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
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Bill as ever towering behind his giant drumset (i guess he uses the biggest crash cymbals i have ever seen on tour), the smiling Buddha with his headphone. Karl, the only guy i recognize to avoid a plectrum on the bass, holding things together and always looking out for the others. Stephen with his relentlessly shredding of his guitar and constantly throwing faces at the audience. And Milo being the most subtle front man, taking some songs light and on others throwing himself in like nobody else. I guess he takes some lyrics indeed personal!

And funnily they are all my age (MYAGE!) and a still “I don’t wanna grow up” means as much to them as it means to me (having had the poster on my wall for ages, actually until i got married and moved into a single apartment with me love).

Here is a snippet from @descendentscrew:

And if your eyesight is not impacted by computers, TV’s and mobile phone screens you can see the Hamburg lot at the far end of the stage, dancing away led by our Punk Rock Hamburg Nightingale, a Descendents fan extraordinaire. Sure thing she is also known to the Descendents and as the Hannover lot failed to pick up singing a chorus Milo resorted not only once but twice for her assistance…

Milo and Christiane (Kulturzentrum Faust, Hannover, 08.08.2019)

Will she wash her hands? Will she be able to sleep back home in sunny Hamburg? I guess she was simply happy as a fuck, though being a Rock Star herself with GERD (a band that fills stadiums rather than small Hannover clubs). As a Rock Star she doesn’t give a damn about her bad reputation and lives out her fandom totally unconstrained. Luckily only one audience member from Hannover recognized her, else it would have been news in the yellow press yet again.

The Descendents played on and on but also somehow rushed through their set (at least it felt so). I lost count of the songs, they also did re-arrange some of the order and at the end surprisingly came back for an encore. Years ago it was alien to all the US bands coming over but today most of them have adjusted to give something extra once they feel they got some extra appreciation from the audience.
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Descendents (Faust, Hannover, 08.08.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)
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I did not take count but they finished around 23:00, so that’ll be 75 minutes of perfect popular music if you ask me. And indeed the feeling we all had (“this was better than Markthalle last year“) seemed echoed from the stage: Whilst the rest of the band was already off stage Bill stood behind his drums and smiled away with a bright and bold smile, two thumbs up. The Hamburg lot did echo this, making it 4.

Descendents – 4 Thumbs Up (Kulturzentrum Faust, Hannover, 08.08.2019 (c) gehkacken.de)

And also the Hannover crowed did cheer a lot. On top i saw a lot of smiling faces, actually also quite some younger ones. I guess for them it was the first time to be blasted away by the Descendents.

We did not rest long, as we all had to work on Friday. A quick beer, a chat and back into the car. The drive north was nicely empty, so we made it home in less than 2 hours. And thanks to the foresight of our youngster on board we still had cool beer for the drive home.

I think i noted a couple of times that i am not a big friend of away tours when it comes to mu-sick. The Descendents though are worth that cause, period. I guess i will have to make sure every summer to catch them at least once. And i know that i have friends in Hamburg who will happily join in – just puurrrfect! #thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusic!
2019/08/10