It wasn’t the best start into a Friday night show: I was sick most of the week, my team managed to loose despite scoring 3 goals, me mates who would accompany me to footie and to the show where off sick and i had plenty of time walking from the Millerntor down to the Hafenklang to replay the grotesque game i just had seen. Aaarrgghhhhhhhh….
At least the Hafenklang was warm, friendly (i had my ear protection forgotten at home but thanks to the lovely girl behind the bar got a replacement) and to-be full of fellow old punks. And actually it was to be sold out (no surprise, given The Generators street-credibility and musical capabilities) and one of me mates came late from the game and without a ticket and was … unlucky. Not very clever mate!
First on Toxic Vapors from ~100km south of Hamburg, so they do not pass as locals. They kicked of with a tight and fast version of “Filler” (Minor Threat) followed by “Boredom” (Buzzcocks) before relating to own material. The unsatisfactory first slot, as ever, was paired with ignorance by the crowd. But they managed through that and at the end they got some smiles. The Toten Hosen cover though was something i would always let go.
Next The Lamplighters from Sachsen-Anhalt who impressed me on many fronts: High on the list for rather pointless band name, a guitar player with a huge effect board (almost like in a surf band) and a bass player who centers (but does not sing). Very unusual and surprisingly good! The only item that did put me down was the fact the songs where almost all one tempo – variation please!
Unfortunately i only captured a short snippet and that from the side of the stage, but listen for yerself…
They got quite some applause from the by now full house and they seems to have thoroughly enjoyed the set.
But the crowd was waiting for Doug, Mike and the rest of The Generators – and they got it in a “wham-bam-thank-you-mam” fashion:
Shitty sound, technical issues and a bass player AWOL. That’s punk rock and it does not stop The Generators. For my liking the drums where to loud, the guitars to silent and the stage light too dark. Never mind, some of it got corrected during the set but the sound never was quite right (maybe on stage, but that is not really helpful for the audience).
But on stage they seem not to care too much, handled technical issues like pros (more or less) though Doug sometimes asked probing questions to his fellow band members (“Are we ready…?“). Still, the fun prevailed and they took course through the rather large Œuvre of 10 long players and some more and were met by an enthusiastic crowd (with an eye for detail and typical Hamburg hospitality ie. serving them some Jägermeister on stage).
The Generators (Hafenklang, 11.03.2016) (c) gehkacken.de)
And what more? Endless encores, i lost count after like six or so. So here is some more mu-sick to make you jealous (if you stood outside without a ticket mate):
That should have been the theme for the sound actually, “There gotta be a better way …“.
And on the final return to the stage they finally had an ear for the endless requests from the audience for “… play some Schleprock” (somehow this must be a bit of an annoying legacy i guess) – they gave a no frills version of my loveliest Schleprock song:
I guess that one went out to all the cheerleaders who talk to much, eh?
Luv it, just luv it! And it makes me so jealous that some of me mates saw Schleprock at PRB15 last year, damn them forever!
They blasted for 1 1/2 hours, took no prisoners and boy Doug is the perfect front man no matter what (by the looks, by the smile, by the commandeering of the crowd and sure by the voice). If only, if only – the sound would have been perfect. Then it would have been a perfect set, from a perfect band and would have wiped away my footie tears with endless joy. But hey, i am complaining from a very comfortable point of view and for fucks sake this is punk fucking rock!
With a nice Generators shirt for me wife i headed home and felt all fine again: good show, saw a lot of faces and finished of a bad week (out of work being sick) in best possible way. Thanks Hafenklang, Toxic Vapors, The Lamplighers and The Generators!