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Tag: Monkeys Music Club

  • … fun friday with The Snouters and Wonk Unit!

    … fun friday with The Snouters and Wonk Unit!

    I had a bad week: First off sick, in parallel palliative care for a loved one and some tough work related items. I was basically yearning for a mind change. The promise of Wonk Unit returning to Hamburg and a Friday evening thus was too good to be missed.

    Support was from The Snouters, a name that i had not heard before. One of me mates guessed them towards Dutchistan, when they entered the stage they looked much more southern and quickly revealed that they are from Italy.

    The Snouters (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 27.03.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    They play Ska with some scent of Rock (too many solos by the Guitar) and a good dose of Surf (too few surf reverbs by the Guitar). And have a girl singing.

    In good moments it was energetic, uplifting and inspiring the lot to move, in not so good moments it was a wee bit too much show (but that is a typical stoic northern complaint).

    The Snouters (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 27.03.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    Some folks compared them to The Interrupters but that would a too simplistic match, they where not even half as annoying with their live performance – i did dig them, they where entertaining and emitted joy from the stage.

    And they had a great Ghost Town cover, well done.

    If you like Ska, go and check them out:

    Next Wonk Unit, in a slightly adjusted fashion: Only one guitar and the original drummer back behind the kit. According to Alex the best incarnation in a while.

    The last time they graced Hamburg was in 2023 at the Knust, that one was for me like the best ever Wonk Unit set at our shores.

    Three years on at the Monkeys it was less full than i expected, i take too many other shows on the same night.

    It did not deter Alex, always the entertainer and giving it all, nor the band as they rushed through their quite large set list (that would carry the lot across all of their nine albums from 2009 to 2024).

    Wonk Unit (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 27.03.2026)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2026

    In between they simply left it to the audience to pick and choose and finished off with plenty of sing-a-longs like Je M’appelle Alex:

    Sing-a-long:

    
Do I look Rich? Do I look Rich?
And I would love to indulge your ego
But suddenly, you appear dead to me
And I would love to indulge your ego
But suddenly, you appear dead to me

    That one is an at par (if not even better) ode to the infamous Guest List already referenced by P&TTB. The one that you should never need to or dare to ask to be on!

    And remember that Alex has more good choices and advice ready! BIN HIM!

    Dare to sing-a-long:

    
Bin him before you end up in a bin
In a bin

Oh god he's gonna hit me
Oh god he's gonna hit, gonna hit me

Like fuck are you gonna hit me
Fuck are you gonna hit, gonna hit me

    I guess they played 1,5 hours and had the lot going non-stop. They are just fun to watch when they banter on stage, they are fun to listen to live and they are simply uplifting.

    To that extend the promise by Alex prior to the show was met, my fucked up week was done with with the help of The Snouters, even more help from Wonk Unit and some help of mates (up to and including some pints of Guinness).

    And as ever when a band convinces me live i need to buy something off them, my choice was the neat Black Flag themed Wonk Unit shirt!

    Good evening, though they should have gotten a larger installment of good people in front of the bar & stage.

    From where i sit they can come back on a more regular basis, it is always worthwhile to speak to Alex and listen to Wonk Unit.

    And the best? A quick lift by a mate all the way home.

    Purrfect and fun Friday evening!

  • … late but reasonably happy: Clox, Erection and 999.

    … late but reasonably happy: Clox, Erection and 999.

    Frank, i wanted to be at the Monkeys on Friday. To see D.I. who twice convinced me big time at the Hafenklang recently. But family care duties came first, so i opted for the next available show: 999 with support from Clox (a very very long running band from Dortmund) and Erection.

    I somewhat missed the message from the Monkeys that the show was moved forward, so that later in the evening the Tainted Love party series could happen. Instead of doors at 20:00 it was doors at 18:00 and Clox starting shortly after 19:00.

    I was not alone with that miss, a mate who was earlier than me said that many did miss Clox.

    Clox (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 26.07.2025 (c) Clox)

    In hindsight i am frustrated now, as they ring a bell from back then and still create a very British style of Punk:

    They existed 1977 to 1986, with their prime being around 1983/1984 when they toured with Die Toten Hosen extensively. The came back together in 2008 and ever since are at it.

    My mate, who was almost on time, praised their set.

    Pity poor me, i missed it!

    I also missed the first half of Erection, in contrast a rather young band from sunny Regensburg. And that is quite a ride north for them in order to grace Hamburg.

    They play self-proclaimed Pussy-Penis-Power-Punk and their main assets are the outgoing singer Julia and Schtiefn on guitar. Songs are in English and German, the mu-sick is wandering between many references.

    Erection (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 26.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    For me the Englisch songs worked better, specifically when it wandered into Thunderland (no surprise the Guitar sported a LAMF shirt), modernized. Here is one of them:

    Towards the end of the set though a nagging itch in the back of my single-minded mu-sick receptors broke through: It was too much of Rock, too much of Rock show elements.

    Did i dislike them? No. Did i like them – still a no. I realized others around me where of similar feel, a larger part of the audience though did dig them.

    Next 999 and more of a time warp. From their initial success (the first three albums and a slew of singles carry almost hit after hit) they disbanded twice in the 1980s, only to come back in the 90s and doing the rounds ever since.

    999 (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 26.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Nick was a bit underestimating the Hamburg lot, when he referenced them playing early on in Hamburg at the Markthalle Christian lectured him on support (Fehlfarben) and what color Nicks shirt had back then. A wee bit of a surprise smile came over Nick…

    … if you dare listen to the live tape conserved over at Tape Attack:

    Click me!

    Whilst they also put out new records (every 10 years or so), their 1978-1980 hits, slightly speeded up, still make the cut to get the people going and – line by line – sing-a-along.

    999 (Monkeys Music Club, Hamburg, 26.07.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    As i dodge Blackpool every year it has been quite a while since i saw them, i think that was like mid-1990s in London. And the longer they played, the more i liked it. It ain’t something fancy new but it is a slew of hits, many sing-a-longs.

    And there is nothing wrong in keeping these songs going.

    Whilst i was still unhappy with myself having missed the early start i was reasonably happy as #thereaintnuthinbetterthanlivemusic!

  • … hand-in-glove, on all fronts: Razors & Knock Off!

    … hand-in-glove, on all fronts: Razors & Knock Off!

    It has been a while. As much as i can recall i did not see the mighty Razors live in 2024 and Knock Off last time graced Hamburg as far back as 2019, when Razors invited them over for the annual year end proceedings.

    Came Covid, came other stuff … it took indeed 6 years for them to be paired again.

    And whilst a good a number of folks flew over to Glasgow to see the Ex-Pistols and a couple of other bands (some in better shape, some in not so interesting shape) about 100 folks made it to the Monkeys.

    Razors kicked it off at 21:30 and at the start … had a couple of sound issues on the guitar side. After some checks and some adjustments from the mixing desk the guitar finally came alive in the wall of sound way desired.

    And from there the Razors took off with quite some speed. And broad smiles.

    Razors (Monkeys, Hamburg, 20.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    It was a home game, it was a supportive lot and overall everybody felt like being in a good mood.

    What was wrong? Absolutely nothing!

    That is from their 2008 Dirty Thirty effort and boy, it is already another 18 years further down the road.

    Still, it sounds like a fresh song: Umpf, great guitar work, hammering interludes and sing-a-long chorus.

    Razors (Monkeys, Hamburg, 20.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    They played an hour and a bit, had fun on stage, Klaus had fun handing out Pogoverbot and Sven was thirsty for some Holsten.

    And at the end, as ever, they took the lot for a ride with Because You’re Young / Walk On. And everybody, including the small Danish contingent, chimed in.

    Razors (Monkeys, Hamburg, 20.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    Perfect set and showcasing that the Razors are still relevant today, owning a niche (in that little niche we all love so much) and being able to take the audience along.

    Almost running late Knock Off took the stage and to my surprise there was a new bass player. I knew that they somewhat parted with their recent one, had to pull out of some gigs and got Lozz out of the mothballs for their UK gigs.

    But here i saw a younger face that i could not immediately connect but was reminded that he used to play with The Agitators. As far as i understood Knock Off did not want to pull out of this short run in Europe (Antwerp, Hamburg, Essen) and thus looked for help.

    Jelle stepped up, rehearsed at home and joined them in Antwerp (near his home). And came across hand-in-glove.

    How did it sound? It sounded like this:

    This is what they are, this is what they do: Hard hitting, words with a meaning and great choruses.

    On top their recent, self released, album has a just puurfect name (and textbook definition):

    lowerarchy (noun)
    [lo-err-ark-ee]

    1. A series of people or things considered as representing progressively lower levels of a series or whole

    2. The ones that don’t fit in, are frowned upon and cast aside.

    That is great tongue-in-cheek to frame the position, i guess it is pretty obvious where Knock Off see themselves.

    Knock Off (Monkeys, Hamburg, 20.06.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    And all was delivered with a smile and, as said, surprisingly tight for a band that has a bass player standing in on day two (and already has the audacity to demand “less guitar” on stage).

    Goed gedaan Jelle, goed gedaan!

    They played old songs, new songs and within that also my lovelisted song, most likely the best song in Punk Rock to remind people to look after themselves:

    And it ain’t a love song!

    Knock Off got the lot well going, entertained and into it. They skipped the walk-off-come-back for efficiency and played also for about an hour and finished off to a lot of applause.

    A pity that the wander across to Hamburg so rarely, in my head they seem to get as much sympathy and love as … let’s say Gimp Fist.

    Great evening, albeit too small turnout, and after the show i had a realization of sorts: Whilst Razors and Knock Off are coming from different directions, sporting different sounds a show with them playing back-to-back is like a hand-in-glove feel.

    Both work together for the audience like a charm, like they where made for playing together. And i sense that there is also mutual appreciation.

    Razors & Knock Off (Monkeys, Hamburg, 20.06.2025 (c) Knock Off)

    I stayed way much longer than planed with some final pint(s), chats and then the long way home. And grateful for having seen two great bands.

    #handinglove