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Tag: Wonk Unit

  • … 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!

  • … warming up for Rebellion 2023 and finishing with a perfect punk rock opera!

    … warming up for Rebellion 2023 and finishing with a perfect punk rock opera!

    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.

    Harbour Rebels (Knust, Hamburg, 21.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    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).

    Razors (Knust, Hamburg, 21.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    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.

    Razors (Knust, Hamburg, 21.07.2023 (c) gehkacken.de 2023)

    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 many time 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?

    Yes, Repeat.

  • … Heidi ain’t no headcase, Heidi loves them horses!

    … Heidi ain’t no headcase, Heidi loves them horses!

    Alex Wonk loves them firsts … last year he was just about the first visiting foreign musician with an acoustic set for the Solidary Punk Rock Days at the Knust. This time round Wonk Unit must have been just about the first touring band from the UK hitting Hamburg under the revised post-Brexit scheme recently published.

    So Alex and his revised band hit the road, the ferry … and had their first breakdown in Belgium. One Van down, and barely making it to Cologne for the first show. Next day they set sail to Hamburg, only to break down again around Osnabrück. Two vans down they left two Wonkies back there and Alex and the Bass Player took the train to Hamburg … arriving just in time for this rather intimate show at the Monkeys in Exile, aka the beer garden of the Indra Club.

    They where quite done after too much travel and way too much hassle and for a start they took it mellow, soft and with not too much stretch on Alex vocal chords.

    That’s “Horses“, sure an all time favorite and a specific favorite of Heidi. You don’t know Heidi? Spare that question for later.

    The longer it got, the better the two grooved in, the more chatty Alex got and the more he started to actually stress his vocals chords. And from then on it was a perfect set: The rather low-fi acoustic (though electrified through a small P.A.) music was paired with harsh, angry and sometime screaming vocals. A near perfect clash, a near perfect contrast.

    The about 50 good folks where happy, enjoyed the banter and hopefully took note when Alex did divert the story line to rather serious items: Be it his deep dive into drugs or be it his recent struggles around is small daughter. That part was actual really hard and chatting to him after the show i realized how hard the ordeal around it has hit and continues to hit him.

    Wonk Unit Acoustic (Monkeys in Exile, Hamburg, 19.08.2021 (c) gehkacken.de 2021)

    As ever, they have friends in Hamburg and these friends gave them and Alex specifically an uplift. It felt just like a bit of a living room show with friends all around. I was actually happy that i did let go Arrested Denial and Berlin Blackouts a couple of 100 meters down the road at the Molotow for this lovely evening the intimate setting was much better.

    After the show Riebe revealed to Alex that his daughter Heidi actually wanted to sing “Horses” with him but being too young she was not allowed out and into the club. Hearing this and having a big heart for little girls Alex immediately did a special redemption for Heidi:

    I bet you Heidi was the happiest girl in Eidelstedt next morning!

    Looking at Alex you can actually see that they where done, so quickly they hit off into the Monkeys band apartment to hit a long sleep and to prepare for next day travel, via Osnabrück to pick up the rest of the troupe and  all the way to Karlsruhe. Erratic tour planning anyone? At least i could see from the internet (damn internet, never forgets) that they arrived in full and took the stage as 4 piece. Perfect.

    And, if not mistaken, the show was recorded in quality and Alex was also quite happy with how it went – so it may be put to Vinyl as a Wonk Unit Acoustic Album. 

    Let’s see and let’s pray that soon we get a conscious decision from our local government about revised Covid rules for Clubs and indoor shows and we can enjoy such fun more packed, much closer and without masks. I am all in for 2G to make that happen and i am all in for Wonk Unit as a full band to come back to Hamburg for a big raunchy party.

    Hit the road Alex, hit the road!

    PS; You don’t know Heidi the headcase? Listen up youth…

    Heidi is a headcase, a rebel and a rouser
    Cranks up her Rickenbacker
    Blasts away for hours
    What’s she doin’ now on the escalator
    Snorting up some speed on the picture of or Stiv Bators
     
     
    What ‘cha doin’?
     
    When I look into her big brown eyes
    I’m so glad to know she’s mine
    My little headcase, yeah
    Ooh, ooh, yeah, my little headcase, yeah
    Ooh, ooh, yeah