The Haermorrhoids – www.gehkacken.de

… third verse, not different from the first two!

Punk Rock Hamburg with their own “Third verse, different from the first” rather – twice delayed due to Covid. By design another evening fully local (bands and audience alike) and off the beaten track (both location down south, over the mighty river Elbe, and spread of mu-sick-al styles).

5 Bands, early start and luckily only a fast train ride south with easiest access to the location: The Stellwerk (in English Signal Box) is an unused space in the Hamburg Harburg Central Station (warning, sarcasm incoming) – a former Signal Box given up when switches and signals where electrified.

In the spacious main room the Punk Rock Hamburg family setup stage, merch and was ready for a sold-out fun evening.

The hardship of being first came down to Nixda!, who had to embark with one member being off sick. In my head i had little bad boy saying “lucky“, as the missing member was the girl who normally operates the flute (and rather strange instrument in on single-minded mu-sick-al horizon).

Nixda! (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 04.02.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

Thanks to Dennis on the front they had stage presence but taking all in it was not really up my alley: They do have excellent German lyrics, some even on the clever side but their music is at bad time rather Deutsch Rock to me, at good time Deutsch Punk. But they put everything in and thus had their share of applause.

What came next though was a welcome contrast: Punk Du Arsch! are local heroes with loud (and indeed loudmouth), intolerant and exhausting Asi-Punk paired with a real showman up front.

Punk Du Arsch! (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 04.02.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

They pick’n’choose from a wide variety of styles – a bit of Glam here, a bit of old Sparrer there but always fast paced and forward driving. And most of the times the lyrics aim to confront the listener or tell a tale – like this one:

And in Englisch it sounds even more hilarious: It is an ode to an unnamed Returnable Bottles Collector Of Love. Lovely stuff! They had more people in front of the stage and they had more applause – well deserved.

Next Fat Flag, a band that i never ever noted before. They already won me over when they changed on stage into stage uniform: One of the principals i stick to is that bands need to dress for the occasion and that this dressing should be orchestrated. Well done lads, you had my attention from the start.

Fat Flag (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 04.02.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

Mu-sick-aly they took the audience down a more modern, more US like route with loads of breaks, speed changes and paired with German lyrics – sometimes on the clever side. And on the funny side, specifically for me mate Frosch, they had a song about spawn and pong. Very Froggy!

They where fun, they had humor and emitted that from stage And their sound actually did please my ear. I really wonder how i missed them, they seem to be around for a while. My biggest surprise that night and one of the reasons why it is worth to take such a local thingy in.

Next Norden, back from the ashes of Norden. Their start though was hampered with sound issues, not so much in front of the stage but more for Natascha on the stage. More than once she threw up her hands in frustration though whilst still trying to plow on.

Whilst she was frustrated with the sound i was frustrated with the light, it was washed up in blue with some little red thrown over, it neither looked nice in real nor anyway good on the few pics i took. Not sure if it was desired by the band, if so – just pitch dark would have worked too.

Norden (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 04.02.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

With Norden the sound was moving yet again into a different direction, to the bone song structures driven forward by Jan’s excellent guitar play and the rhythm section. And on top almost storytelling by Jan with again to the bone German lyrics.

I do like what they do, specifically as it is definitely off the beaten Punk track. That said, somehow i felt that appeal was not commonly shared – i guess only a subset of the audience actually did dig them.

Late (against the running order) came the headliner and this is how they kicked off:

Bang! Different style, different speed, different presentation. The Haermorrhoids just had a blast at the Puke Fest in Münster and following the account of those present simply blew the roof of the house.

The Haermorrhoids (Stellwerk, Hamburg, 04.02.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

Back home they continued in that vein, though the audience never went fully ape shit like in Münster (no flying bodies anywhere) – it was the stereotypical reserved reaction. That said, the floor was full and people where moving and enjoying it.

Their set was sharp, delivered almost without break (to make up lost time vs. the running order) and at break neck speed. As always they finished their set with my very own favorite Overdose:

Following that stage time was up but they did not give too much shit about it – speeding up even more they bashed out three more perfect Ramonescore blasts!

They had plenty of cheers, loads of applause – though that all turned into a bit of a sad moment after the show when i got to know that their bass player is no longer able to play for them. I do hope that quickly they can get someone fitting in place as currently they are a very well oiled machine at an outstanding level of performance!

And that finished off Punk Rock Hamburg Fest #3, way after midnight. The train ride home was pleasant when it came to companions but really strange when it came to locals from down south doing a Saturday night trip towards the Reeperbahn. Strange people, strange behaviors.

I guess the 3rd sold out Punk Rock Hamburg Fest was a solid success, though i have to admit that i hated the amount of smoking going on. When i finally woke up Sunday to get ready to enjoy a home win (and a home win was delivered) i had severe throat issues and felt hungover (though i only had a single beer) – all down to the smoke. If i could have a plea – non-smoking please.

I know that won’t deter the good people at #entstationpunk and #punkrockhamburg (who are to be thanked for this local festival, year on year) so here is the link for the early bid tickets for 2024. Be there or be square!

… one forth of the Hamburg Punk Rock Days 2021, only!

Also this year the good people that orchestrate the Punk Rock Hamburg community put a small DIY event foward, making it Hamburg Punk Rock Days 2021. Spread across the Molotow, the Dschungel, the Hafenklang and the Knust it was to ensure that the locations where not forgotten.

For many it was the local replacement for the Blackpool Pilgrimage that was due over this weekend but like many other events got canceled.

Planning was not easy, rules unclear and eg. a boat trip on the MS Hedi was not possible. Instead it started on Wednesday at the Molotow with Cavity Search and Wreckage Dance, a date i had to miss due other commitments. I also did not find the time (and frank energy) to have a beer at the Dschungel on Thursday but i had my tickets fixed for Friday and Saturday at the Knust.

Came Friday and in my part of town, just about when i was to travel to the Knust, torrential rain came down, thunderstorm and … flooding. I was just about to skip the trip when a friend already at the Knust messaged me “it’s all sunny here, we are waiting for you”. So a wee bit late i set sail.

I thus arrived only when Küken had already claimed the stage. They jumped in for another band from out of town who could not make it (and in my mu-sick-al chart would not have featured anyway). And they delivered a perfect broadside!

Küken (Knust, Hamburg, 06.08.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

Some people claim “their songs all sound the same” but that is a naughty complaint. They have found their own niche and they fill it almost perfectly. They actually play very modern Rock’n’Roll if you ask, if only more bands would dare to do the same and not be copycats.

At the Knust they came tight, together and as one wall of sound … listen for yourself:

I am still hooked on them, their driving and fast paced guitar sound with the unique twin voices is really something i dig. Luckily i was not the only one and a number of the Blackpool Pilgrims in the audience took positive note too, up to and including fetching a record.

If you want to do the same, hop over to https://kueken.bandcamp.com/

Next on the best Ramonescore band in Germany (according to Luke) and with them a swift change of sound. Less “wall of sound”, more variation in speed and a different style of dual vocals.

I am definitely looking forward to this 4-piece hitting the studio to record the follow up to their epic 2019 LP Apparatus Of The Ultimate Power, if they again get to capture their energy it will be another class record.

The Haermorrhoids (Knust, Hamburg, 06.08.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

What did strike some (and me too) was the fact that whilst the outdoor seating at the Knust works quite fine the setup itself (2×4 people facing each other on beer benches) lures too many people into talking whilst the bands play. Somehow this leads to some “distance” and is quite unfair the band playing.

Maybe that is also the reason my recording device lost attentiveness exactly after 01:00 into this beautiful ode:

(Due to a malfunction the song is cut at exact 1:00, but i guess you get it folks)

In the end more than one of the Blackpool Pilgrims took a rather surprised note of them (finally!) and after the set they were able to sell some of their records in double quantities. Well deserved, though i still would want them to both do something on stage attire and with stage movements – for my liking it is all bit static.

And the folks attending? They were happy, they were chatty, they were smiling and the enjoyed time out with friends with good music. And that is what this small DIY thingy is about – from the community for the community.

Happy People at Hamburg Punk Rock Days 2021 (Knust, Hamburg, 06.08.2021) (c) gehkacken.de 2021

But somehow this was a fucked up weekend for me, as i missed 3/4th of the proceedings due to too many circumstances. But for the times we currently face this was well done, so capital Credit and Thanks to Punk Rock Hamburg (Arne, Perry), Knust, Molotow, Dschungel and Hafenklang.

Let’s get vaccinated, the sooner everything falls back into place for those who love and yearn for live mu-sick.

… it’s a long way back to … Ramonescore!

The circuit already started to pick up again but i was enjoying a break away to Danish shores, so this slot was my first show since … 23.09.2020. 9 months without a seeing and feeling live mu-sick. Daunting. Devastating for both Clubs and Bands.

But with vaccination picking up, numbers currently being rather down, the outdoor seated (and regulated) show has resurfaced and everybody is willing to put something up, provided the Club actually has access to an outdoor area (with my loveliest Club hasn’t, damn).

This time round it was the Molotow and the reformed (and enlarged) Haermorrhoids that lured people towards the end of the Reeperbahn.

Kick off was early, queuing was eager as it was first come first serves when it comes to front row seating. The support was taken by Notgemeinschaft Peter Pan, another local outfit. And just another band that could not really keep practicing during the pandemic situation.

Notgemeinschaft Peter Pan (Molotow, Hamburg, 25.06.2021)

Their approach to Punk Rock is neither 77, nor hardcore and also not humpta-humpta Deutschpunk. They rather work on the fringes of all of that, most of the time the later two. Paired with strong political lyrics and their neat ability of dual vocals (the drummer sings half of the songs) it came across not at all bad.

They got good feedback but you could feel that both the audience was up for Ramonescore and they needed some time to get back into it.

Next on The Haermorrhoids, the best band in the world (as one assured member in the audience kept on bragging). They exchanged they sturdy bass player for two new members: A new bass (almost as tall as the old one) and an additional guitar. So a fresh start into the post-pandemic circuit, hopefully also with fresh output – the long awaited 2nd long player.

And the start was … like this:

Hui, the addition of the 2nd guitar has strengthened their own wall of sound. I guess as they had to bring two new members on board they did rehearse a lot and thus sounded quite together, tight and almost perfect.

The Haermorrhoids (Molotow, Hamburg, 25.06.2021)

The only complaint i got to make is about stage attire and stage movements, it was all pretty much static and thus some of the energy of the songs got a bit lost. Specific the bass in the middle was almost shy, i guess it was the nervousness of the first show.

The longer it went, the better it sound – specifically also for new songs. If they keep direction, if they keep pace and if they capitalize on the additional guitar then we are in for something mighty!

The audience had much fun, plenty of booze and enjoyed it thoroughly. And as ever, the finish got me me loveliest song by them, now it is OVERDOSE as a four piece, cool.

Great start into getting back onto and in front of a stage, little did i know that the beer quality in the Molotow Back Yard would lead to some headaches next morning. But their ain’t no headache that can’t be cured with … more beer next day. And that was waiting at the Knust, where we would be stopping next for … DeALL!