Knust Hamburg – www.gehkacken.de

… a diverse community that strives, a family!

14.0 got Covid, 14.1 got Covid too – luckily 14.2 was only ever infested with the will to have a community meet with good music at a great location. The stuff you most likely do not get on New Year, hence the anual family meeting is on the 30th of December and allows you pass by any New Years Eve parties on the final day of the year.

The Razors this time round invited friends from near (Degenerate Ideol from Bremen) and far (Östro 430 all the way from the early 1980s). And the icing that came with it: Diversity. Both on stage but also mu-sick-ally. Can there be a better setting?

Degenerate Idol kicked off early, at 20:00 sharp. Most of the lot was still en-route to the Knust i guess, so they had to face at least some space down in the audience. But it did not deter them, they took the stage with humor, wit and a sound deeply rooted in the R of Punk Rock.

Degenerate Idol (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)

Some of their songs were really funny and their singer is defintly stage aware (and able to control the crowd) but for my liking some of their songs lacked drive and from where i stood the sound lacked guitar force … but hey, as ever, that is down to my own mu-sick-al likings. They had some cheers, some dancing and a good reception. And remember, they are from Bremen. Check them out yerself.

Next the reborn Östro 430. Their original incarnation dates all the way back to Düsseldorf in 1979 and i guess they where the first German all-female Punk band. And in true punk fashion they gave a flying fuck on norms: No guitar and songs with a view from the female mind, heart and i guess cunt. A realy refreshing change of view and views, specifically on sexuality.

Fast forward to 2019 and Östro 430 where re-born in Hamburg, i guess Martina was living here anyway, with locals added on drums and bass. And off it went, actually pretty quickly pretty well (and well received too).

Östro 430 (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)

They kicked off Christmas themed and then thanks to Martina being herself (that is largely expressing herself in what we call in Hamburg Kodderschnauze) they delivered some clear messages.

Some of the messages – as back then – where actually too strong to handle by some in the audience, Martina made some pointed remarks towards the use of gender stars etc in language and that seemed to piss off some young punks in front of the stage. To much fun for myself they took it as an offence that need retaliation by leaving the pit. Oh my, sign of times…

Östro 430 (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)

Östro 430 where just great, proved that mu-sick works without a guitar (and with double bass, when needed) and that girls (both on and off stage) are to be heard and not only seen. I thoroughly loved it, my guest of the night from Rotterdam was thoroughly surprised by them. Well done girls! All of their stuff is now available, i do hope new stuff is added soonest!

It was then for the Razors to carry diversity forward, they did it by using the big stage of the Knust and Sir Edwar Elgars Pomp And Circumstances March Number One for a grand intro …

Don’t go away now! Sure the lot did not want to go anywhere, here at the Knust they were perfectly happy and more than inclined to enjoy both the community feel and the Razors delivering a complete wash-up of their Œuvre, spanning from 1978 to today.

Razors (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)

Whilst they did not have a lot of shows in 2022 they were well rehearsed and took it on like a well oiled old engine, with only a few selected replacement parts. Sven batters foward, Stoffel speeds, Christiane glues it and Klaus delivers it.

Razors (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)

And whilst there are fun moments (like this intro with one of the most famous Hamburg Punk nostalgia quotes) there are also loving memories, to those long gone but also to those whom we lost in 2022. For those it was We Love You, followed suit by 1977:

It is exactly this contrast (and that is song origin) and spread that i love the Razors for, being able to glue it all in a still relevant (aka modern) way and deliver it with all the energy they have – giving the audience a change to suck it up and sing it out loud in return. Just purrfect.

Razors (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)

I am not sure how much of the Razors repertoire (thsat is i guess around 50 songs) was used as time flew by without a single boring second and without a song that i could not sing-a-long to.

One of Klaus favorites all the way back from the time when Punk entered the scene was sure part of the set, here is their blistering delivery of Heroes.

Now sing-a-long:

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be heroes, just for one day

And you, you can be mean
And I, I'll drink all the time
'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact
Yes we're lovers, and that is that
Though nothing will keep us together
We could steal time just for one day
We can be heroes for ever and ever
What d'you say?

I, I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together
We can beat them, for ever and ever
Oh we can be Heroes, just for one day

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be Heroes, just for one day
We can be us, just for one day

I, I can remember (I remember)
Standing, by the wall (by the wall)
And the guns, shot above our heads (over our heads)
And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall)
And the shame, was on the other side
Oh we can beat them, for ever and ever
Then we could be Heroes, just for one day

We can be Heroes
We can be Heroes
We can be Heroes
Just for one day
We can be Heroes

We're nothing, and nothing will help us
Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay
But we could be safer, just for one day

Oh-oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-oh-ohh, just for one day

It is a song about togetherness and together the lot was. And as always there was no boundary on and off stage, as such the family took the stage for the final song and helped Klaus to sing it out loud: You Never Walk Alone.

Razors Family (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2022 (c) gehkacken.de 2022)

I had a friend from Rotterdam over and me mate Frosch had a guest from Berlin, both noted that the community and/or family feel they sensed on the night was astonishing and something they do not see or feel back home. I guess they are right, Hamburg has something special going here and it is absoluty a joyful thing.

The joy ended in front of the DJ both over at the Bar, where Christian was doing his best adding sing-a-long and dance-a-long singles from back then and later too much appreaceation by the lot. I was home late, knackered. I kept the promise toward me love to help with early shopping but had to drop dead for another and much longer round of sleep.

Now it is 2023 already and i look forward to a new year with hopefully more shows and this Punk Rock Hamburg community even striving further. Keep the love, keep the memories and look forward.

Can i pencil in Burn Down The Baum 15.0 already? Yes? Great, luv it!

… enthusiasm over talent: 30 Years of Gerd

This should have happened in 2020 but as with many other items it just was not feasible. But with G2 (and the ask for G2+ unpinned by some free booze) this was ready to be executed in 2021. Given the current bad situation in Germany, though less in our northern home lands, it may just have been the last party for this year…

Support was supposed to come from The Guts (formerly known as the Shanghai’d Guts) but due to illness they had to pull out. Kent Nielsen, who can travel light and does not need a lot of setup, jumped in and volunteered for the warm up.

He actually took two of his tiny uke’s to the stage, but largely resorted to taking the opportunity of the excellent sound of the Knust to let his voice excel. And not only for giving the lot some nice redemption’s of sing-a-longs but also as a chatty storyteller that can give a wide lead-in for a song.

Kent Nielsen (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

As a solo artist using that voice is almost the only item to bring, he paired that with a excellent stretch of songs running all the way from Joe Strummer to Husker Dü. And some excellent storytelling from his long presence on the mu-sick-al circuit was added as the iciong on the cake.

Just take his piss-drenched lead into A New England, paired with the juvenile trust that if Billy Brag would have ordered a revolution it would have happened instantly i det hyggelige danske kongerige:

His style is one of these that you just need allow in if you are a listener in front of a stage: It looks different, it sounds different but it is still the same as in Entertainment, Message – Stance. And that is what Kent gets across just purrrfect. Tak min ven!

Whilst Kent did enjoy some almost church like sounds as not all ticket holders (in total some 200) went to see him that sound was toned down once Gerd took the stage as many bodies filled the large hall.

And Gerd took all of the rock star grandeza to make their presence known:

For those who are not from Hamburg some of the intro might be glibberish but rest assured it is full of reference to the namesake actually:

“Rocker” is a 1971 movie with a real amateur cast drawn directly from the seedy streets of Hamburg. And the namesake for GERD and hero of the movie was in attendance of the show and provided some extra grandeza to the proceedings.

Gerd with Rocker Gerd (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

Now thats a star celebration of 30 years of Gerd! From there they took it down memory lane and with a broad smile they provided high class entertainment.

Gerd (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

On top of all the baseline joy to listen to songs i can either hum to or sing-a-long loud & proud it is indeed the positive attitude and general joy that emits from the stage, pours into the ears of the audience and gets people going, like this old classic from The Nerves that had been covered by Blondie and had been ruined by Def Leppard.

Remember, whist it is Enthusiasm over Talent it does not mean there is zero talent. Where Def Leppard fail, Gerd does shine (and within that … yet again the excellent sound at the Knust enables Christianes voice to shine above).

Gerd (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

Looking back at 30 years Gerd also had changes, one of them was the seat behind the drums. For a long time that was filled by Frank “Magger” Martens and surprise surprise: he was back it tonight for celebrating a flash back towards how Gerd started off, simply slaughtering Kuschelrock!

Sure thing they have come a long way from that type of “lets kill that one with speed and shredding” into much more subtle variations. But it was fun to see that Frank was still able to push them ahead and unite them on the last chord.

Gerd (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

By this time the audience was in perfect mood, loads of singing and dancing. On top even a DIY stunt with 400 balloons raining down (actually onto the audience, i guess the better effect would have been onto the stage). And all of that showmanship did lead to not only one encore but also a 2nd one starting off with their Überhit “Born in Hamburg Horn”.

I would be very surprised though if the Knust would open a club on the Washingtonallee, out there in the deep East End, where i bet you the times of long haired rockers are long gone.

Gerd (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

For the final bit, the last song of the last encore, they resorted back to something that most likely sports the ultimate Glam Rock intro that everybody born in the earlier 1960ties can identify even in sleep.

Where the Sweet version (from 1975 actually) is grand, the 1:1 German version of The Hunters (Scorpions in disguise) in my mind is the biggest laugh (and my wish for the next Gerd party is that they take on this too).

Don’t forget – both are down there in the book under “Why did Punk happen” too.

With that one they finally exhausted what they had – less than more according to insider sources – rehearsed from their vast list of songs created since 1972.

For the collectors, archivists and librarians here is the full setlist.

Gerd – Setlist for 30 Years of enthusiasm over talent (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

A free drink of my choice if you can name the song they actually did not play…

And with Gerd walking off the stage drenched in sweat (but with broad smiles) the lot resorted to the next best thing: Carrying that enjoyment forward into the bar of the Knust and in front of the DJ’s, who gave the lot loads of old mu-sick to dance and sing-a-long to.

Happy Gerd Fans (Knust, Hamburg, 20.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

Whilst i started the evening with telling people off when they offered to buy me a drink i also now got carried away and ended up nicely loaded, talking sense and non-sense to people, singing along and too being a happy bunny. I can not recall when i last was home at 03:00 and had a great hangover next day – much appreciated my friends!

Thanks to Punk Rock Hamburg, Knust and Gerd & Kent for pulling this off, it was a grand show and hopefully not the last grand party of the year. Hopefully.

… welcome back, Norden!

Now this has been long in the making, both the show and the new (almost historic) 2nd Album from Norden. The record should have been out for a while but following a first test press early this year the sound was not up to the quality desired, hence a remix, remaster and repress was needed. And now, with shows under 2G again possible, the new formed line up of Norden (out Ratz on Drums, in Alex from Sheep On A Tree) was able not only to sell the actual record but also take it to the stage.

For the warm up we got a debut: Sparclub took the stage for the first time … and had lost their bass just days prior to the show. But they did not give in and took the stage anyway, i guess it takes a lot of stamina to do so but with some bright smiles they took on the challenge.

Sparclub (Knust, Hamburg, 12.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

Sure the songs where done for Guitar, Bass and Drums and thus lacked something but listening i could sense that they had something: Humor, wit and some wacky ideas like a love song to the Unemployment Office or an instant hit on “Passive Agressiveness”.

I got to admit that the more they played the more i liked it and my friends around also got some bright smiles on their faces. Lets hope they find a new bass and they get another chance, it is worth it. If you want to know how i could have sounded check out their Bandcamp site.

Next Restmensch, who jumped in for Thrashing Pumpguns, who where supposed to give a surprise comeback, but could not. Also for them it was the first show after quite some time and whilst stage hardend their intro into the first song was cut short by … a string of the guitar going. Loads of laughs by the fellow musicians in the audience!

Restmensch (Knust, Hamburg, 12.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

But that did not stop them, they just plowed ahead like a solid machine. They are not necessarily my mu-sick-al thingy but their hardcore leaning Deutsch Punk actually came across well. Speed variations, solid backline from Drums and Bass, for my liking one and the other metalic leaning guitar lick too much but hey, who am i. Check out for yourself…

They got some cheers and by the looks of it had some fans in attendance. In setting a contrast in-between Sparclub and Norden they worked well, as much as the Metalcorecrossover from Thrashing Pumpguns would have worked.

Restmensch (Knust, Hamburg, 12.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

My silly me only needed to complain about stage attire, i guess only the bass was setup correct. For the rest plenty of advice was traded secretly in the audience, which implies that we had good fun and that only ever happens if a band actually works. And Restmensch not only worked but worked hard on stage.

And that gave way to Norden and their return to the stage. I do not know the full story but their 2nd record had been fully recorded in 2005, following their 2004 debut on Mata Hari, but shelved. And i guess dropped. Only to be recovered during Covid times and, following a remix in 2021, finally put to vinyl.

Whatever the background, the songs sound as fresh as back then and actually deserved to be taken both to vinyl and the stage. And that was done in a very unpretentious way, almost in passing.

Norden (Knust, Hamburg, 12.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

Jan on guitar and doing the main vocals, Natascha towering on bass and Alex behind the drums hammering away. And they create an almost timeless sound that you can not tie to any of the usual styles, i recon it is just simple humble hard pop (like in popular) music with great (and clever) German lyrics (reminder to self: file for patent on the term “Simple Humble Hard Pop (SHHP)“)

I like it, it is both the German lyrics and the driving guitar sound that makes it so worthwhile for me (and looking around in front of the stage, also for others).

Norden (Knust, Hamburg, 12.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

Odd think though that under the conditions (rising infection rate, 2G for musicans, clubs and ticket holders) only around 97 (or maybe 103) good people came out on this rather cold Friday in November. Their return should have at least had 200+ people enjoying it and singing along, which many in the audience did.

What will be next for them? No clue, a tour circuit won’t happen soon so lets hope that the 300 record pressed (and inserted into a cool handmade cover) hopefully sell quickly. Trust me, it is a worthy investment!

Norden (Knust, Hamburg, 12.11.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

I thoroughly enjoyed it and by the looks the band also did like what they got onto the stage and out to the audience through the excellent sound in the Knust. Bonus: Also some excellent light was provided, cudos to whoever was accountable for that.

As always, once a band convinces me live, i do catch vinyl on the spot: Tonight not only the “2005 in 2021” 2nd LP (lower left corner) but also the 2004 LP (upper left corner), that was missing in my collection. Bonus: The C.C. Fliegen LP, which is the most recent output from Hake (bare song structures and sound scrapes largely).

And from the trusted folks that keep the Punk Rock Hamburg family floating i scored a shirt – almost a perfect weekend shopping!

A great night out, some good music, some new discovers (did i say Sparclub?) and some beers and chats with friends in one of may favorite places. Life, under today’s circumstances, definitely can be much more worse.