www.gehkacken.de

Tag: Monkeys Music Club

  • … 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

  • … of working class, female favorites and taking good care of the audience!

    … of working class, female favorites and taking good care of the audience!

    Motivation somewhat was low for this Friday and i casually was about to let go this show. On a 2nd thought i was thinking about a mate who thoroughly loves Gimp Fist and decided that i need to support him supporting Gimp Fist.

    And ran into many friends, including people travelling from far to enjoy not only one blast of Punk Rock but also next days show with Toxoplasma (since 1983 an very ill-fated relationship for me, so i sure would pass that one).

    Support was U.E.D.L. and ever since i saw them on the Blanker Hohn 40th anniversary bash at the Stellwerk i knew that i could be up for a surprise. By the looks they have a new bass player and by the setlist they seemed to have a couple of new songs too. It was a wee bit longer than the 9 songs they had down at the Stellwerk.

    U.E.D.L. (Monkeys, Hamburg, 02.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    It pretty much turned out a mixed bag for me: Some songs, specifically those where Arne but all of his (actually real) working class self in had something, others – for my ears – just where not of the same quality. The style is still hard rocking Oi! and reception was largely positive.

    Next The Spartanics from sunny Leipzig, self-proclaimed Streetpunk with 77 vibes. As much as i distrust labels that bands stick on them i was surprised that it was 100% correct.

    I missed them when they played the 2nd day of MOi!n It’s Hamburg #8 two years ago due to another commitment and wow, they surprised me big time now.

    The Spartanics (Monkeys, Hamburg, 02.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    3 guys, simple setup and a wow amount of melodies and an even wowowow amount of vocal harmonies: Their main asset is that all 3 sing and use their vocal capabilities to create a relatively unique sound.

    Plus they got most of the female audience up-front and dancing – for me that is always a positive indication of a bands quality.

    The Spartanics (Monkeys, Hamburg, 02.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    On top they came across well rehearsed and hand-in-glove, though not too much talkative. But their sound and their songs had something, as such my urge to buy some vinyl kicked in. Later i realized that they had a 10″ (the best format in the world) on sale, so after the show i had to score that one.

    And yes, they got plenty of cheers and – my guess – convinced many in the audience. I am pretty sure that i will make an effort to see them again, they are worth it!

    Gimp Fist next and by now it was full in front of the stage, though the Monkeys was not sold out. They are a busy band, many shows and almost every other year a new record. And they are utmost friendly, utmost humble and utmost … all around nice guys.

    Gimp Fist (Monkeys, Hamburg, 02.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    As ever when they play Hamburg they don’t have to do a lot to take the audience by storm and get it to sing-a-long. They just have to start playing, smiling and singing and the lot will chime in. Sometimes louder than the band itself.

    Gimp Fist (Monkeys, Hamburg, 02.05.2025)
    (c) gehkacken.de 2025

    For my mu-sick-al mind they most likely are the best transformation of ingredients taking references from Clash, SLF and others into something modern. I won’t even stick a label on it, if i had to it would read Gimp Fist.

    Great band, great show and plenty of energy flowing back/forth between on stage and off stage. And that is the way it should be. Can’t wait to have them back as having them in the house is a safe bet for an entertaining evening.

    As The Spartanics convinced me live i had to score. And as format matters there was no question about what to score:

    The Spartanics had a 10″ on sale (and a Best-Of CD thrown in), so that was a must to take home.

    I was not the only one to take that beauty home and right so! If you want to check it out for yerself go here:

    Thankfully i got a ride home by a mate, so it was late but not too late (as there was a decisive home game on Saturday for FCSP).

    And me mate who loves Gimp Fist? He was a happy one, knowing that his love is actually echoed.

    Because Gimp Fist do take good care of their supporters!