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Tag: Komet

… guitar galore: the raw garage sounds of Kassel and Tokyo!

… a variant of the headline could have been DIY galore: Both bands are DIY, Sound Of Subterrania is DIY and the whole setup this evening was DIY (with Gregor from Sound Of Subterrania doing tour, doors, merch and sound).

Smokin’ Taters from sunny Kassel kicked off, a duo with just Vocals, Guitar and Drums. For my ears very American trash beat garage with a strong (and dominant) Guitar.

Smokin’ Taters (Komet, Hamburg, 22.08.2026)
(c) gehkacken.de 2026

I liked them most when the guitar went a bit free wheeling and loose, paired with the vocals wandering about (again in a very American bluesy way as far as my mu-sick-al receptors work).

Go and check them out for yourself:

<a href="https://smokintaters.bandcamp.com/album/do-the-java-jive-ep">DO THE JAVA JIVE! EP by SMOKIN´ TATERS</a>

In a nutshell though the guitar sounded too much the same (a problem that slightly less dominant was true for Smallspeaker later too) and that somewhat made it a wee bit less enjoyable. They also had one instrumental and there the guitar excelled and carried the sound, so maybe it was just me again.

Smallspeaker, all the way from Tokyo, needed a bit of encouragement by Gregor to get going (and onto the stage) and made an almost shy impression. But boy, once the Guitar started blaring and Bass & Drums provided the push, it turned much more offensive.

Smallspeaker actually tie back to the Registrators, a Japanese band that i actually have 4 records of in my collection (and that is the highest scoring count from that country).

I never did dig into 日本 deep but know from friends, who even traveled there, that it is home to a small and active scene, with clubs & shows being even more “small” then the cellar of the Komet.

Smallspeaker (Komet, Hamburg, 22.08.2026)
(c) gehkacken.de 2026

Smallspeaker had definitely more umpf than Smokin’ Taters, sure largely by the addition of the Bass. But also sound wise they ventured much wider – slower stuff, fast banger and even pure raw Punk songs.

They played the setlist and then where forced to play 3 to 4 more songs, with a reluctant smile they actually gave in on that urge from the rather small crowd.

Smallspeaker – Setlist (Komet, Hamburg, 22.08.2026 (c) gehkacken.de)

I liked it, a great raw set. But did i like it enough to score the LP? I got to admit … not yet. I will give it a bit of time and listening online to make that call.

If you want to score it, hop over to our trusted local dealer Sounds Of Subterrania:

Smallspeaker – This Record Kills All Trend Scums
(Sounds Of Subterrania SOS 258, 2026)

On the bonus side the words put against that record are just to the point:

Punk isn’t seen as a mere extension of rock or a supposedly political playground for more or less well-intentioned ideologies, but rather as a nihilistic social corrective. This approach catapults Smallspeaker to the forefathers and thus the beginnings of every relevant youth culture that rebelled and questioned the system in its entirety.

And that’s exactly how their music sounds. Raw, snotty, pissed off, it creaks and groans, practically screaming at you: Fuck off if you can’t handle this!

Smallspeaker are to today’s punk what the Monks were to the beat of the 60s. They are both a disruptive force and a catalyst. Their temple is the garage, which they immediately demolish again in the spirit of the old “Killed by Death” tradition.

If someone were to ask me what’s left of 50 years of punk, I would answer: Smallspeaker, the rest is a museum.

On that account i agree, Smallspeaker live was just not museum. It was very real. And would have warranted a bigger turnout!

2026/08/24
… like in a Nashville smokehouse: Tan LeRacoon & Racoonery with The Sleeveens!
Now thats a fun coincidence: I finished the mu-sick-al year with Tanju and his Racoonery and a wee bit late in February i got a kick-start into shows yet again with them.

From set to set they seem to become more glued together, more defined and – in my head – more energetic.

Down in the cellar of the Komet and for the support slot of The Sleeveens they choose a crisp, uptempo and to-the-point set.
```
Tan LeRacoon & Racoonery (Komet, Hamburg, 21.01.2025 (c) gehkacken.de 2025)
```
What they do might not be 100% down my mu-sick-all alley but their songs are full of little references, nuggets and just neat chords and harmonies. On top of a solid back line of drums, bass and guitar Tanju is giventhe ability to front, wander around with guitar and vocals.

I got to admit though that this condensed form somewhat works best for me, for the surprisingly rather low number of folks on this friday around me it seemed to work too:

Plenty of applause!

Next The Sleeveens from Nashville, Tennessee. They got a critically acclaimed debut out on Dirtnap Records in 2024 and sport “77 dublin nashville punk rock & roll garage pop pub rock punk rock n roll milwaukee” in their references resp. stickers on their cupboard.

Check it out here:

<a href="https://thesleeveens.bandcamp.com/album/the-sleeveens">The Sleeveens by The Sleeveens</a>

Fun fact: The Sleeveens had dancing girls at the front (but did not give them regards).

And this is how they kicked off:

First impression:

Very Unamerican (in terms of musical style). This is mainly fueled by the accent of Stef Murphy and i guess his own upbringing as a musician in Dublin (eg. with his Power Pop outfit The Subsoncis around 2000).

Seeing an interview with Stef on the Internet (damn Internet, never forgets) it looks like he is also very self-aware and has a solid reflection on being a touring musician:

It all sounds very glamorous, but the reality of
being a touring musician – and Murphy and his band
tour a considerable amount to stay financially afloat – is what
he called “15 per cent glamorous and 85 per cent extremely hard work.”

“It puts a terrible strain on your family,” he says, nodding somberly.
“My family are terribly supportive, but it’s very tough on
your own mental health, and I find that particularly hard.”

Irish Post 2015
```
The Sleeveens (Komet, Hamburg, 21.01.2025 (c) gehkacken.de 2025)
```
Their sound indeed varies between Power Pop, Pub Rock and early Punk and next to Stef’s voice (and vocals) it was the Bass (DeeDee Ramone style through and through, including downstroke galore) and the Drums (very precise and hard hitting behind a wall of hair) that made an impression.

They rounded their set, about an hour long, off with two covers, one not very surprisingly from the mighty Undertones:

Get Over You is sure thing a safe bet. Much better and surprisingly was the 2nd cover as an extra – a long forgotten 1980 gem by the Jim Carroll Band:

Into that one specifically Stef put a lot of energy in – that was indeed a good selection and great cover version.

Did i buy a record? No, i did not. But it was nevertheless an entertaining set and The Sleeveens are worth a listen.

Is solid the word i am looking for?

Besides that i was surrounded by friends, had chats and a beer or two and was a wee bit surprised that the smokehouse below the Komet was not full.

It was Friday, what else do the kids need to come out?

nb: Following the short stroll home the love of me live indeed complained that i smelled full of smoke – it is probably a Rock’n’Roll coolness thingy that the cellar under the Komet is a heavily used … smokehouse.
2025/02/25
… surprised down in the cellar: 4×4 and The Unknowns!
Still suffering from the sadness of having loved ones in Hospital i choose again to get my head blown free, this time down in the cellar of the Komet. Where The Haermorrhoids were sure a receipt for success, The Unknowns … indeed the unknown in the formula. Too much hype around them sharing members with The Chats and – for my liking – too much of an Australian annotation if that makes any sense.

But as ever, in order to form an own view you got to see a band live.

The Haermorrhoids kicked off late, as it is more or less normal custom down at the Komet. They had shrunk their setlist for the support slot and arranged it into a near perfect 4×4 run.

Pity though that a fan favorite like Overdose did drop out!

The Haermorrhoids – Setlist (Komet, Hamburg, 18.10.2024)

On the positive side: The 4×4 gave the lot Degenerator, a new song!

As most of the times at the Komet the light was shite and the sound varied from where you stood. But sure thing that did not stop the 4 Haermorrhoids the slightest – full on #ramonescore delivered to an almost full house.
```
The Haermorrhoids (Komet, Hamburg, 18.10.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)
```
A very crisp set, little talking on stage (though news were shared that there soon will be another dad in the band) and simply delivering a well rehearsed set. The have come a long way by now and i sincerely hope that their way will be so much longer and further uphill! Next stops i believe are Flensburg (23.11.) and Berlin (20.12.), followed by a short tour with no good intentions next year.

Go and see them!

After a short (and from the outside a wee bit chaotic) changeover The Unknowns took the stage and surprised me big time, from the start.

In an interview Josh (Singer, Guitar) confirmed the references that they triggered in mu-sick-al mind:
```
Q: I love that you write love songs. That’s a big reason I love Eddy Current Suppression Ring too. A lot of power pop is about love also.

A: That’s the thing. I didn’t even know the actual genre term of power pop until, to be honest, a lot later because people started calling it that. It was a bit ditzy of me [laughs]. I just thought they were the best rock and roll bands. Look at the Beatles and the Kinks, all the British Invasion,  they brought back the whole resurgence in rock n roll and got kids listening to that stuff again. A lot of those songs were love songs.

From: Gimmie Zine

Great drive, heavy guitar work and all around great singing by all on top. From the start they were together, tight and pushed forward like well rehearsed and stage-hardened unit.
```
Which i guess they are, as they exists since 2014 and all seems to play in a multitude of bands.

In front of the stage they had by now an almost overcrowded room, loads of dancing and (wild bet: drunk) Swedish Turbojugend party crashers (that either fell into/onto the tiny stage or tried to to use the bass drum as jump point for stage diving).

They also had female fans up front that acted like … screaming 70s rock fans. Or groupies.
```
The Unknowns (Komet, Hamburg, 18.10.2024 (c) gehkacken.de 2024)
```
I feared the worse (that would have been boring Australian Indie stuff) and i got the best (and that is powerful Australian Pub Rock and Power Pop, in a near perfect mix). To that extend i can only urge that you check out their stuff but trust me – live, on stage (even in a tiny, dark cellar with too much smoke) you will get the best of them.

Here is their stuff, go figure!

<a href="https://theunknowns4.bandcamp.com/album/east-coast-low">EAST COAST LOW by The Unknowns</a>

Happiness for me, forgetting the pain of loved ones in Hospital, and surrounded by Friends, who equally enjoyed them. That is how it should be, period.

And speaking to them after the show and congratulating them on surprising me … gave me the opportunity to also learn that they are very humble and very friendly people.

I want them back, on a bigger stage!
2024/10/22