Well, what do you expect when the band is billed as a 19 piece punk brass-band ? What you get is the What Cheer ? Brigade, a street band from Providence, the capital of Rhode Island in the USA. And indeed, the band takes their name from the motto of this state, « What Cheer ? » What Cheer ? Indeed. Rhode Island has eight universities and colleges, a poverty rate of over 20 percent, and is famous for its poultry, but not much else usually happens there.

On this particular evening, the sons and daughters of Providence brought their own brand of brass-band chaos to Hafenklang in Hamburg. They almost outnumbered the punters, and it was clear the stage had never been intended to hold a 19 piece brass band. It was also clear that this band was never designed to play on a stage. The group was in constant movement (no surprise, as they’re pretty much a marching band) and the room very quickly became a melee of thrashing trombones and gyrating Germans.

Most Germans love a good marching band, but some punters stood folded-armed and bemused against the walls, short fat bottles of Astra clutched to their breasts. Others appeared to believe themselves accessories to a voodoo rite and, possessed by the spirit of the cornucopia of horns, they whirled and stomped and leaped and sweated with even less rhythm and coherency than the band. It was hard to tell if the enthusiasm was real. or forced – of the kind seen so often at German Samba festivals or at Karneval time in the Rhineland. There was also a disturbingly strong Glee-club vibe coming from the band, which made me wonder if they were Evangelists.

This Brigade really belongs outdoors, in the street, and that’s where they went for their last two numbers. By the time they played the Serbian folk-song Bubamara (The lady bug) I was almost able to enjoy the performance, and the windows of nearby office buildings soon began to fill with people who had fallen asleep at their desks earlier in the evening and were now wondering just who was making all that racket.

I couldn’t help thinking that had the band played in the streets somewhere as part of a larger festival, and I had been drinking rum, they may have been a lot more entertaining.

© CCC