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Tag: Hafenklang

  • … the future is bright and catchy (and rides a skateboard)!

    … the future is bright and catchy (and rides a skateboard)!

    Hamburg lately has been a damn hothouse, temperatures reaching easily 30something. The outlook of a show in the heated city was … let’s say sweaty.

    But hot shit was announced, a band from Soweto that not only flushes into everyone’s timeline (by the virtue of these damn algorithms) but last year played with “legends” DEATH at the We’re Loud Fest in Kenya.

    The show sold well upfront but when i arrived it was mucho vacio. Some folks are not yet in sync with “Doors 1900 Show 2000” by the looks of it. And when it was 2000 the support band did make any impression to take the stage…

    … that got me a tad bid annoyed as i wanted to get home as fast as possible to not have to use public transport with people returning from watching that stupid tournament over yonder.

    I did spy the setlist of Worn Down Thread and it had a whopping 18 songs, god damn, that looked like a stretch. But once Abgenutztes Gewinde (a beautiful band name btw) took the stage it was quickly clear that potentially the whole set might only take say … 20 minutes.

    Worn Down Thread (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    Worn Down Thread are a simple 3 piece with all members sharing vocal duties and sport a cool self-reflection:

    WDT gives blood, sweat, and throat — direct, loud, and without unnecessary extras. Fully DIY, the band runs on a regional-train-optimized setup: minimal gear, maximum energy.

    And indeed they sprinted through the set, started at 20:32 with their intro and started their finishing song skateboard fahren at 20:58:

    01:20 later they where done, even prior to 21:00. Go and check them out for yourself, they are raw (and sometimes bumpy), rough (and sometimes out of sync) and edgy (but never annoying).

    In short: Pure fun! Like the chorus in above: “Du Boomer!”

    If i get a chance to see them again i’ll be happy indeed. And in hindsight they where the perfect lead in to what was going to descent upon the by now packed upstairs of the Hafenklang.

    Twenty One Children hail from Soweto, a former Township that got incorporated into Joburg and back in 1976, when Punk hit the UK, was home to one of the uprisings of the oppressed black majority of the Republiek van Suid-Afrika.

    And the least place from where in 2026 i would expect see a H/C Band coming to Hamburg.

    Even prior to the show they where utmost friendly people, saying “Hi” to attendees and shaking hands. Once it was time, they took the stage one by one: First Guitar, jamming through some riffs that sounded almost Hendrix to me. Then the drummer slammed onto the stage and drove the jamming into more structure.

    Finally the singer crawled onto the stage and promised the lot to FUCK SHIT UP:

    Wow! And, given the guitar got amplified through both bass and guitar amp, i was not even missing a bass player.

    From the first chord they had the sweaty lot moving, dancing and almost frenetically applauding the band. I got to admit that rarely i had seen such a fast and almost instant connect between audience and band.

    Twenty One Children (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    They simply took the lot by storm, the sheer amount of juvenile fun, positive energy and determination simply reflected back on them. I saw a huge amount of smiling faces, dancing and “Thumbs Up” and the fun coming down from the stage just did not stop.

    Besides that, they also had so much going on on stage, eg. the drummer leaving his chair to slam dance on stage, the guitar disappearing into the crowd and the singer stage diving into the lot. And none of that felt rehearsed, planned or orchestrated.

    They are simply kids having fun. And yes, sure, that are influenced by American Hardcore. And yes, adopted gestures, styles and whathaveyou from visuals of the bands or records.

    And there ain’t nuthin wrong with that, that is how it works when you discover as youngster a style, a scene & a sound that make you go-bang.

    Twenty One Children (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    I guess all of that you get on this one, neatly tucked into 1:20something:

    By this time all attending already where devoted 21ers, without a doubt. In the end they finished of with the most simple and most honest words: “Let’s stop here and have a beer (together)”.

    And, icing on top, they are also creating unique setlists. The guitar player took a decent amount of time to draw this beauty (on the inside of a paper box lid). DIfuckingY.

    Twenty One Children – Setlist (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 25.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    Go and the see them live. Fullstop. Only after the show i checked out their releases and whilst they are good … they do not transport the no bullshit all energy feeling of the live show.

    It is 2026 and young kids falling for this shitty cupboard labeled Punk and turning it into some inspirational, boy, the future must indeed be much brighter than me old goon thought.

    I will try to see them again but at this pace they soon outgrow the upstairs of the Hafenklang and sure the downstairs too. Will they hit big? I do hope for them, they are authentic to the max. And live, boy, a real killer. Show of the year material? Sure thing!

    Perfect evening, though sweaty to the max. And i got a new country covered, never before saw a Punk Band from iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika.

    And plenty of happy friends around me, a win on all fronts.

  • … small turnout, loyal supporters and surprise visitors!

    … small turnout, loyal supporters and surprise visitors!

    Hamburg has been damn hot for a couple of days, luckily this early Sunday show happened in a slightly cooled down Hafenklang where my favorite booker relentlessly promotes DIY Punk (in the most professional way possible) and seeks the special stuff, off the beaten track (and inside a great little niche).

    As such he got his hands on Venenö, an absolute niche outta NYC. All members are battle hardened in other bands, here they come together from some real cool Post-Punk with a scent of Wipers (or French Cold-Oi, to add more labels).

    The Caved supported the early show and where a little surprise: After 10 years Cavity/Search just had enough of the name and choose … i guess a restart with a new name.

    The songs largely remained the same plus they where still selling some of their 2020 LP’s too.

    They live by the large, room filling, voice of their singer Aga, the backdrop of the rhythm section is somewhat indeed in the background and the guitar also felt a bit less driving.

    The Caved (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 21.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    For me it did not work too well this evening, somewhat it did not hit me as much as i wished. Friends around where quite of a different opinion, so it must have been me again.

    They had their fans, they got a fair share of applause (with i guess 20odd people attending still tough to drive & accept feedback) and there was nothing wrong with them preparing for Venenö.

    And the lads from NYC kicked off like this:

    Wow, that had much more umpf and hard edges than i thought upfront! Much to my liking i have to admit!

    Vocals are in Spanish, both Bass and Guitar sing. The Drummer makes plenty of funny faces whilst playing but boy hits utmost hard and drives the sound forward in a very literate way. Sometimes he even got up from the stool to hit super hard.

    Venenö (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 21.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    The longer they played the better it sounded and the more folks i noted with smiles on their faces and somewhat tapping along to the music with their feet.

    At the end the enthusiastic few in front of the stage pressed Venenö for an extra, they had already played all they ever had (rehearsed and recorded) so after a short internal debate they opted for something not by them.

    And that was a indeed a cover from Paralisis Permanente (thanks to Thomas K, always in the know, to hint at that), straight out of the 80s.

    Overall the songs and presentation where much harder, with more edges, more drive than on the records, live that definitely made utmost sense.

    To an extend it lost a little bit the softer side, as here on their EP, but that was not a bad thing at all:

    I already scored both records a couple of months ago from my trusted dealership, so i did let go the offer “buy both EP’s and get one T-Shirt for free“. Others did grab ’em, also the tape they had on offer sold well.

    I would suggest you give it a try too, if you like it hop over to Sounds Of Subterrania and get ’em there (sans shirt)!

    Great early Sunday (though again with the most shitty lights setup drenching everything in red) with a sadly small but expert turnout. And the continued assurance that both my favorite booker and my trusted vinyl dealership pick good choices. In my favorites niches.

    And the best: I can trust that like minded people around me share the urge, interest and curiosity. Perfect!

  • … back in time to be blasted: Yard Bomb, Guitar Wolf and Hard-Ons w/ Jerry A!

    … back in time to be blasted: Yard Bomb, Guitar Wolf and Hard-Ons w/ Jerry A!

    When the show was announced i was a wee bit in tears, as i was to be up North in our 2nd home. But the love of me life, knowing my desires all too well, agreed to scoot home a day earlier, despite the great weather up there.

    Yard Bomb kicked it off to an already well attended (but not yet filled in front of the stage) Hafenklang. Why the heck they choose to give the smoke machine a full bloom i have no clue but it completely ruined the visual for me.

    Yard Bomb (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    Still, their American, Californican and Olschooligan approach to H/C is very relevant and i guess there is no other band from say … Schleswig-Holstein, that does it that good.

    They choose to bite the audience a wee bit, wasted a bit of time with banter and finished their short & crisp set like this:

    Always great too see & listen to, always a bit different (this time round i would have loved the guitar to sound more heavy, more distorted) but by and large simply a great band.

    Why there are still people without their 12″ is beyond believe to me, whilst online sold out the last few copies are sold at gigs – do it like me mate Frank, get this beauty without hesitation!

    Next the leather clad jet rockers from 東京都. Another visit from Japan at the Hafenklang, only a couple of days after The 50 Kaitenz took it by storm (and made a shitload of folks happy & fans).

    Guitar Wolf had the room packed and … nuthin’ happened. They needed their Intro mu-sick and somewhat playing that through the PA was a problem. Once on stage, it took the guitar plenty of time to get the amp going. And then they bursted into … a lengthy and chaotic intro themselves.

    I take it was show and their approach to showmanship but for me it was rather just that … show.

    When they finally kicked into their first song it sounded like this:

    Sure they where wild, sure they where loud (the young rhythm section rather than the guitar) and sure they can blast. And, yes, they did not make use of the smoke machine thankfully!

    In good moments it was fast forward garage trash rock with a capital R, in bad moments it was too much show and too little substance to me, including ritualized stage dive and a lengthy feedback orgy with a “surprise” select from the audience.

    Guitar Wolf (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    For me it simply did not make click in the same way as with the lads from Osaka, within the audience though was a large fan base who all seemed to enjoy it right-away. As perfect contrast point to both Yard Bomb and the Hard-Ons it was though spot on, so i will not complain at all.

    The headliner was much awaited … and finally came about, though apparently a bit jet lagged as this was the first show in their North-European and Scandinavian run.

    Last year Hard-Ons and Jerry already collaborated and created quite some interest with the resulting 7″:

    It sound almost as good as the collaboration Jerry did with them Spaniards under the moniker Black Bacon, and outlook of more like that with the Hard-Ons both gave hope and, frank, also some doubts. How would this work live?

    Other than the jet rockers from Tokyo sticking to their leather the Hard-Ons quickly dropped the shirts after their Intro and … took the lot (and i take Jerry too to an extend) by storm.

    Hard-Ons w/ Jerry A (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 02.06.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    I am not sure if they where able to rehearse together in person prior to the Hamburg show, my guess would be that they only did it remote. To that extend they asked for forgiving, as most of the songs played where played live & on stage for the first time.

    My high hopes rather than doubts where matched and my feeling was that both the packed Hafenklang and me mates around did dig it.

    It is a pity that the LP that should come out of this collaboration is not yet available and the band itself has not real clue when pressing & distribution will happen. Some of these songs indeed have something special, be it more on the pop side (like Radio ready) or even almost spherical.

    They are sure way off the earlier treasured Hard-Ons singles that we greedy #recordcollectorsarepretentiousarseholes all collected in the later part of the 1980’s but boy, they are now venturing much broader than what i would have guessed (but it still offers the chance to refer back to one of me lovelist Hard-Ons songs anyway).

    Great set, almost 100% together and giving indeed an urge to score that LP once it is out. The audience was seemingly enthusiastic too and dancing a lot, quite a surprise to me.

    Great evening again at the trusted Hafenklang and that Hard-Ons-with-Jerry-A thingy was in hindsight a positive surprise (as they matched my hopes indeed).

    As it was late and i was already somewhat tired i scooted home and within that made sure that a mate gets home safely too, though our conversation about stage uniforms and Douglas Adams must have irritated the other passengers on public transport somewhat.

    But hey, do we care? Off course we do!