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.
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.
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.
It ain’t all honky-dory all the time, for myself i was confined away from shows for some weeks due to an operation on the leg but that ain’t nuthin compared to the fate that the Molotow awaits.
It’s now 10 years that they had to evacuate their old place below the so called Esso-Building (as the owner let it rot to the point that tenants, business and the name-giving petrol station had to be evicted as an emergency) and now they single-handedly got their lease for their current place terminated by mid-2024.
It will be torn down and another new Hotel will rise.
It actually does not matter at all that club itself ain’t a favorite of mine, the simple fact that yet again all of the praise of the cultural work of places like the Molotow (coming through once the City can suck up Press and Mu-sick Industry praise for something like the Reeperbahn Festival) is void and nothing if it comes to hard business that makes the City tick.
Another deal with another property developer. Fuck it.
The Molotow asked for solidarity and that is what they got – approximately 3.000 people took the Reeperbahn and made a stance.
Molotow Must Stay! (Reeperbahn, Hamburg, 30.12.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023
Team Scheisse was supposed to play but generator problems hampered the start but then they set sail, up the Reeperbahn and down the Ost-West-Strasse to finish in front of another Hotel of that chain.
What really sucks is that the fate of the Molotow (being bend over and raped three times directly or indirectly by property owners) is the custom fate of the smaller & underground clubs. The City of Hamburg is only ever paying lip service when it comes to support towards more underground and/or independent culture and for sure all is void when it comes to making money from or supporting money being made from property deals.
Regardless if the investor meets his promises (like the one that was supposed to re-build the former Esso-Building complex).
A really sad start into a long evening with good music, family and friends but it was also good to see so many faces i know from shows (on and off stage) taking the street – it means a heck within the given limits and it generated at least a peak of noise in the local press.
Will it help? I doubt. Damn.
Still, as long as we can, we gotta take our side of the story into the world – and the annual We’ll Burn The Baum Down (now as edition 16.0) is exactly part of the storyline: Next to Staatsoper, Elbphilharmonie and Ohnsorg Theater there are tight and striving communities and they stick together, against all odds. But it is getting harder.
This year the Razors went all local, providing stage time for their Rebellion companions Harbour Rebels and … big surprise … providing a comeback opportunity: The Rubbermaids came back out of (almost) nowhere.
The Harbour Rebels had the hardship of starting early (as in 20:00) but the Knust was already well filled (as many where taking the street for the Molotow and just strolled over from there).
As much as when they supported the Razors for the Rebellion warm-up earlier in the year they are a mixed bag for me. They got the right messages, they even get some dance-a-long Ska-stuff in their set but somewhere in the back of my single-minded mu-sick-al brain always opens the cupboard “Deutsch-Rock“.
And as ever my deduction of received mu-sick might not be all right, so check them out for yourself. They do their thing, with dedication, and such do deserve the spot up there. And deserved the share of applause and support they got.
Next from the ashes of the Rubbermaids … the Rubbermaids. And this is how they kicked off:
They had a more of less secret gig in March 2023 at the Indra for a Birthday Bash and now, with apparently only a few rehearsals, took the big stage of the Knust. I guess that this surprise return also up’ed the numbers of tickets sold, they did draw plenty of additional people.
And from the start they where back together as if they never disbanded in 1994. I saw them a couple of times in the late 80s and the beginning of the 90s and always thought they would make it big, but somehow they never got off the independent label circuit and signed by the industry. They biggest shows where support slots in Hamburg and Bremen for the Toten Hosen on their 1992 Learning English Tour.
They sure looked different than back then, where they took the look of the time all in: Hair (extra hair), non-punk conformity clothing, ribbed and thorn jeans and sneakers. Very 90s. Very American.
And being able to pen matching hits like this one (and the video definitely sports the look of those days):
And how did it look and sound today? It sure looked different but sounded still great. And their main asset – lightweight songs with drive paired with multi-vocal harmonies still comes through almost puuurrrfect on That Rings A Bell:
I was not the only one more than positively surprised. And taken back in time by say 30 years. Wow. As much as myself plenty of folks of the now packed main room of the Knust had either their jaws dropped or moving in sing-a-long.
They did not do a lot of chatting, rather kept the flow and nodding toward many old fellows in the audience. And receiving loads of applause.
Near perfect set, only few misses in chords or rhythm. Perfect drumming, perfect bass and fast forward dual guitar play. And their biggest asset in perfection: Near perfect vocals and multi-vocal harmonies. From where i sit one of the biggest mu-sick-al surprises in 2023, i honestly did not expect this.
Will they do this again or more regular? No clue, as they all have family, work and other musical adventures. In different places.
It did set the bar high for the Razors though, trust me! And the Razors kicked of like this:
Bang! As in a literal and visual Bang!
And from there they took the lot through an extended set – old old stuff and new old stuff. Favorites and outtakes. Covers and originals.
Oh oh oh oh the shape of things to come
Oh oh oh oh the shape of things to come
The well oiled machine almost never stopped to take a breath: Christiane on the wild side, Stoffel shredding it (in a great shirt, Bärchen was in attendance of the show actually) and Sven hammering it home.
It was almost midnight when the encore culminated into the all family hands on deck sing-a-long mix of “Because You’re Young” and “YNWA” and the whole place sung the last song together with Klaus.
Razors & Family (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023
The perfect finish to 2023, a year that as said was not all honky-dory but as most of the years the traditional Razors show was an uplifting one. Plenty of people to bump into, to speak with or to just say Hi to. And great mu-sick.
And as every year it draw people from Hamburg and far. My friend Nico from Rotterdamn did return after being my guest last year and walking him home to his hotel after the show i realized that he is now ready to sign up for the Razors Fan-Club (he liked the sing-a-long attitude of the set).
Due to the post-Op situation of my leg i did not stay for the dancing procedures in the pub of the Knust but rather went home – all sober – early with my guest. Big thanks to the Razors and the Knust for making this possible, year on year. We love you!
PS: As an extra, as Sven is most of the time hidden behind the drums and those who can roam around the stage without the baggage of a drum set (and thanks to the virtue of long cables) – here is the god of drums:
Sven “Gott” Gotfredsen (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2023 (c) gehkacken.de)
As as form of appreciation here three downloads you can print on high gloss photographic paper if you dare (or in any other form). For me they sum-up the evening and have a lot of individual details (go searching!) that make me simply … smile! Go klick on ’em!
It is this time of the year: Plenty of bands from the US play Hamburg left and right of Rebellion Festival and plenty (actually many) of the Hamburg lot take the pilgrimage to Blackpool.
The good folks behind Punk Rock Hamburg and the Knust teamed up to provide the two bands from Hamburg playing there this year with a warm-up opportunity. To round off the feeling of Festival they paired them with the mighty Wonk Unit, who are kinda special love affair for the Hamburg lot.
First on and very early the Harbour Rebels. Actually like 20:10 – fitting for the age group expected as the audience, thank you very much. I guess they played their to-be Rebellion set, short and crisp and with their music being more on the mid-tempo melodic side.
It is not too much up my alley, in good moments it is catchy, sing-a-long and with great female vocals – in bad moments my brain deducted “Deutsch Rock” rather. I think you got to check them out for yourself, my single minded mu-sick-al mind might not be the best advisor . For Blackpool and the audience there i can see how they fit, they will play on Friday 4th of August 21:30-22:00 After Dark in the Arena.
Back to the Knust and already at 21:00 the Razors entered like this:
I guess they also tested their Rebellion set and this is indeed a perfect and catchy lead into playing for well aged punk connoisseurs (actually Friday 4th of August 18:30 – 19:05 at the Pavilion).
It took a bit of time to lure people from the outside and from the bar towards the front of the stage, i guess around 200+ folks filled the Knust (and that makes it only half-full, unfortuneatly).
With their wide variety of songs it most likely is hard to make a call what fits towards Rebellion, for me they took the right choice to cut out most of the local Hamburg favorites (be it Tommys Gang or Law) and focus a wee bit more international.
Like their redemption of Heroes:
With every word you can feel how much Klaus is into this, how much he loves to pay tribute to David Bowie. And the musical uplift the rest of the band provides makes it more than a worthwhile sing-a-long, it is actually one of the songs that gets the audience going.
But the Razors not only look back and take their inspiration from back then – they also take inspiration from today’s Hardcore scene: “No Brains” form their first LP back in 1980 has been transformed into a less than 30 seconds assault, up to and including fitting new words:
My take: The Razors are well rehearsed and ready for Rebellion, lets hope they got plenty of folks enjoying them – as ever they are worth it!
Once the Razors where done there was a bit more of a setup for Wonk Unit, 6 people and as keyboard needed to fit the stage. Came 22:10 and Alex and his troops where ready … and boy where they ready:
The setlist was 40+ songs and they where not limited, as they did not have to warm-up for Rebellion as they will not play (they got Wonk Fest lined up for 29th of June rather).
Wonk Unit – Setlist (Knust, Hamburg, 21.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
And believe it or not, they played – my wild guess – all of these and they would finish up only two hours later, just ahead of midnight.
It was the can’t remember how manytime they played Hamburg but they where never that tight, that together and that brilliant. And it was simply like this beauty, all fun, all dancing and all sing-a-long:
Where The Adicts throw a sing-a-long kids party it is Wonk Unit who throw more of an adult party, sans drugs but with plain good clean fun. And in brilliant moments they even sounded like The Dickies (a view a mate levied upon me and i have to say that i agreed on the spot).
Wonk Unit (Knust, Hamburg, 21.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
A party they indeed got started, plenty of dancing, plenty of sing-along in the audience and plenty of tongue-in-check banter by Alex between the songs.
His lengthy into to one of the all time faves included a more detailed then needed advise that it was time to piss on your friend or your girlfriend and be pissed on too. Time to enjoy the experience.
Lewisham, of all places:
Just puuuurfect.
They not only played plenty of great songs, they also where incredibly busy on stage – moving around, changing position and trying to guess what song Alex desired next, rarely he gave away more than an indirect clue whilst chatting to the audience.
Wonk Unit (Knust, Hamburg, 21.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
They played and played and then came back for plenty of encore, kicking off the add-on part like this:
Even down from the large stage of the Knust they where one with the audience, had people dancing on & off stage. With Alex commandeering the troops on and off stage, even something irrelevant like stage diving was converted into a family thingy providing additional joy.
Wonk Unit & Family (Knust, Hamburg, 21.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)
After almost two hours of fun, fun and fun they closed it down with a big hats off to the Punk Rock Hamburg Family, to which they most likely by now are adopted from the island yonder.
Thanks Alex, thanks Vez, thanks Max, thanks Pwosion, thanks AJ and thanks Jude. This was the best ever show you gave the Hamburg lot! It felt like a double album, gatefold cover damn fucking Punk Rock Opera without any break.
Simply a perfect evening with perfect companionship on and off the stage. Could i ask for any more?
