Gig reviews & who are you going to see next (other than...)

[Uli]

Went to see La Brass Banda last night (@Zeltfestival Winterbach).

We arrived in time to see support band "Caravana Sun" (from Australia), who did a good job of warming up the audience (or should I say "heating up"? - it was hot in the huge tent), playing reggae/ska & pop/rock.

La Brass Banda is a brass band from Germany - but not playing the "typical" German brass music, they're more reggae/pop/rap/rock oriented. They know how to treat an audience, they sounded good and it was a fun show.

[Uli]

Went to a free festival ("Obstwiesenfestival") on Friday, to finally see "Die Nerven" again (not to be confused with "The Nerves", who I should go see again too at some point)!
They were awesome; the sheer energy they radiate, the noise from the guitar, the drums driving 'em forward, melodic basslines and vocals which were probably inspired by anger (is an energy)... 
Best live band outta Germany currently! 

[Rockula]

Half Man Half Biscuit was on Friday.

Next is not until Skeggy.

Then it's The Damned at the Hippodrome.

And Red Flag 77 in November.

That's it.

[GJ]

The Vibrators at the Bowery electric, New York on Saturday. Nice venue, big turnout and some different songs in the set. Very enjoyable. Also managed to visit 15 micro breweries and a football match.

[Uli]

Next up probably "Distance, Light & Sky" (project feat. Chris Eckman a.o.), then later in October a special "reunion" show by Crashing Dreams and in November I hope to see The Godfathers and Ruts DC!! 

[Uli]

Distance, Light & Sky were wonderful last night. Most songs are introspective, 2 acoustic guitars, 2 voices (male/female which blend in well together) and drums. I was at the far end from the drummer, so to me he was "distance", Chris Eckman was the "light" (despite some rather "dark" songs he wrote at times) and Chantal Acda with her clear voice was the bright blue "sky". 

You can almost see me in the pic, I must be in the dark place beneath the photographer. 


Video from Berlin:
https://youtu.be/BtyqAH1OPUE

P.S. it came to my mind that it's now 25 years since I first saw Chris Eckman live (w/ The Walkabouts), so things have come "full circle" in a way. 

[Uli]

Went to see the Ramonas in Stuttgart. Not too surprisingly, they covered lots of Ramones songs, plus playing some of their own songs. They were good, especially on the "not-so-typical songs" like "Poison Heart" or "Bonzo goes to Bitburg (My brain is hangin' upside down)"! Support band called "Problem System" was not bad at all.
Met some people I know, some of 'em had quite long journeys (wearing Ramonas t-shirts, no suprise here)! 

[Fred21]

Is there own stuff Ramones-like or a bit different Uli?

[Uli]

It fits their live show (they played Ramones songs, then a few of their own, then Ramones songs...), the songs were okay, I guess they're what you'd call "generic" (though not in a league with the aforementioned).
Here is one of 'em: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zhMaiv2LXA

This is the vid from the support band: https://youtu.be/rqCfLo2kLww

[Fred21]

Ta!

[Uli]

Isn't it great to go out and see a young band punkrockin' their shoes off? Well quite literally, as the first thing the singer of "Hands Off Gretel" did last night when she came on stage, was taking her shoes off (and she wore 2 different socks!)... The bass player, on the other hand, had nice boots on! 
Hadn't been to "Club Bastion" in Kirchheim/Teck for a while, I was way too early and it took a while until the band started.

First there was a house announcer, who wanted to make a short speech - well it was longer than anticipated, but at least he had the good news that The Dickies will return to the "Bastion" next year (I saw them here twice and once in a pub nearby).

The club is in an old tower/fortress and I was upstairs on the "balcony", good for taking photos. The band rocked it well, the songs are good (a bit "generic" of course), the singer has charisma and the players are good (especially Becky Baldwin on bass)! https://www.beckybaldwinbass.com/

[EastKentTaff]

Curved Air on Thursday night at 100 Club...   Oooh Sonja!!!!

[Fred21]

I've been, very unsuccessfully, fighting off a chest infection for the last few weeks, so I thought I'd cheer myself up by going to see John Otway and Wild Willy Barratt last night.

HUGE mistake!

My ribs only ached a bit before the gig, but they were so funny that they are now throbbing!

Alan would have loved it as he was a big fan of these guys - can you believe that today is his third anniversary?

[GJ]

999- Philadelphia, The Fire. Nick & Guy's flight the day before the gig was cancelled and after a 20 hour journey via Frankfurt they only arrived a few hours before the gig. After grabbing a couple of hours sleep in the van they were fine though and it was a good start to their 1st US tour since 2003.
999- New York, Bowery Electric. Fantastic night; sold out and a great vibe in the club right from the start. One of my most enjoyable 999 gigs. I saw The Vibrators here 8 weeks ago and knew it would be a special one.
The next night they were playing somewhere obscure and me and the Mrs couldn't figure out how to get there and back to New York so we went to a Broadway musical- 'Ain't Too Proud' which is the story of The Temptations and obviously contained some top tunes.
999- Coney Island Baby, which isn't in Coney Island but Manhattan's east side. Strange little bar with no sign on the door to say it is a music venue. Good turnout though and hopefully the rest of the tour is going well. Managed to visit 6 breweries in Philly too, plus 4 in New York that I didn't get to last time.

[GJ]

Hawkwind at the York Opera House on their 50th anniversary tour. Very good in parts but dull in others. Sound was poor, drums not miked up properly. It made a change to be one of the younger people there!