Is it just me, or are Zappa fans weird ? Or is it just German Zappa fans ? There was weirdness aplenty at Fabrik, for the Frank Zappa tribute band « The Grandmothers of Invention ». Perhaps tribute band sells them a little short. Two of the band members actually did play with Zappa back in the day, and the Grandmothers did so much more than just rehash the material and try to sound just like Zappa.
Sax player Napoleon Murphy Brock leads the Grandmothers, and on this occasion brought them to Hamburg for the « Roxy and Elsewhere and More » tour. Brock has built up what you could call a « concept band », each tour doing one of the Zappa albums on which he played. And there were a few of those. Between 1974 and 1986, Brock played on ten studio albums, probably the better known in Frank Zappa’s extensive discography.
The Astra Stube hadn’t grown since the last time your indomitable Zasph correspondents ventured through the doors of this sweaty broom cupboard nestled under one of Hamburg’s iron railway bridges. This bar, only a few hundred meters away from the trendy shiny-people’s scene that is the Sternschanze, is as gritty and claustrophobic and real as the Sternschanze is not, although the odd morcel of forced laughter and flash of perfect teeth do manage to make an appearance here.
Despite its size, Astra Stube really puts on some quality acts and this night was no exception.
For those who’ve never heard of Django 3000, let me paint a picture. This four piece combo from Germany’s deep south combine Klezmer, ska, psychobilly, Russian folk and punk. Then they top off this heady mixture by singing in Bayrisch, the dialect commonly spoken in Bavaria.
A large bearded man with tattoos and a perky waxed moustache plays the sweetest gypsy violin you’ve ever heard south of Stuttgart, Bavaria’s Stradivarius, if you will. A psychobilly spider monkey keeps rhythm intact with his upright bass, a homeless man in a pair of stolen dark glasses belts out the tunes on a battered acoustic guitar, and the drummer sits to one side behind a minimal kit which would be almost unnoticeable if it were not for the fact that it is lit from within by flourescent coloured neons.
The crowd was a mix of ages, but down the front were mostly students in their 20s, dancing like sardines would dance if they only could after they had been squeezed into a can. A couple of girls even sported Bavarian-style dirndl dresses, though I’m no expert on these things. They may have been the genuine article or they may have been rented for the evening. The dresses I mean, not the girls. Or, well… I’ll leave it at that. The main thing was everyone appeared to be having fun, and after a brief pause during which the door was opened to allow fresh air in and cigarette smoke out, the band thrashed out three encores, or « Zugabe » in the local parlance.
These Klezmer Klowns bring catchy rhythms, hummable choruses and unintelligible lyrics to the stage in a mix that makes for pure dance-inducing fun ; and it would be fitting to see them take Germany to the podium at the next Eurovision song contest.
For those who have never been to Astra Stube in Hamburg, the venue is about the size of an airing cupboard and nestles resentfully under a railway bridge in Hamburg. I suppose you could say it’s the troll of all venues.
Local four-piece Kapelle Herrenweide kicked off the evening’s entertainment with their brand of urban folk-rock, for want of a better way to describe it. They combine influences from Finnish humppa music, klezmer, and polka, coupled with German pop and schlager, with lyrics which the band and two or three people in the audience (at this point of the evening I wouldn’t call it a crowd) found hilariously funny.
These youngsters lean heavily on German witticisms and social observations from the Teutonic perspective. The lyrics are of course in German. Their music occasionally runs uncomfortably close to bad cabaret with slight rock influences, a style which is well-liked in Germany but I’m not sure if it could really appeal to non-German punters. I couldn’t understand most of their puns and witty innuendo, so concentrated on the musical side of the performance. After three songs I was on the footpath with the rest of the crowd waiting for the Barons of Tang.
If you thought it was hot inside Astra Stube, the thermostat in the broomcupboard was about to be wound open several notches.
Between festivals, Melbourne’s self-proclaimed Pioneers of Gypsy Deathcore decided to grace Hamburg with their presence. And the Barons were worth the wait.
Combining tango, ska, punk, Balkan and metal influences, just to name a few, this seven piece combo from the Antipodes set the place on fire. Packed like cigarettes the crowd moved shoulder to shoulder as a unit, with just enough space down the front for one white guy with dreadlocks (why is there always one?) to embarass himself and everyone else by dancing like no-one was watching.
The lead singer slapped his double bass to psychobilly speed, with a box full of pedals to stomp on, while the rest of the band kept pace on whatever came to hand. It seemed like every member played at least two instruments, often simultaneously.
From « Villain Stage Left », which combines tango strains with old style ska and wistful jazz refrains, to the sheer musical violence of « Dogs of Rotterdam » and « Even if You’re Missing Fingers You Can Still Make a Fist » the Barons of Tang had us totally under their spell until finally the door opened after the last number and the steam rushed out of the pressure cooker. The band and crowd mingled sweatily on the footpath, gasping like fish and gulping beer.
The Barons formed in 2007 and they’ve risen rapidly. This year they played about 40 dates on a merciless three month tour of North America and Europe. That tour sees them with a berth at no less than ten European festivals, including giants such as Roskilde in Denmark, Sziget in the land of the Magyars and Womad in the UK. Not bad for a band that’s only been around a couple of years.
ZASPH! 