Last two weeks I spent in
Bonn (it once was the capital of germany before berlin) because of a journalism seminar that my
employer paid. The weekend between the two weeks I visited a good friend of mine - Sandra (thanks again for giving me a place to sleep and so much alcohol) in
Cologne. Of course I before checked the shows and bands that gonna play in cologne this weekend - and what a lucky girl I am: Japanther played at
Aetherblissement. Yeah! I was really excited because I knew the location before as I went to the Celeste show in summer. Pretty nice place I can recommend to all people who like small alternative self-ruled DIY places! I just liked the people there cause you get the feeling they really love what they do there. In fact the Aetherblissement is so fameless that you even have to ring a bell if you wanna come in. You wont ever find the location just from the outside cause theres no big sign or any hints that would reveal that old shabby "house" as an important alternative place (just a tip: it's located directly next to the Sonic Ballroom).
First band this evening was
FUUCKOH! from cologne. I really liked this band from the beginning cause they transported this "oldschool punk thought" about life and against mainstream. The female singer was impressing cause of her deep voice. They obviously didnt play a lot shows before but it was nice to see them having fun on stage (okay, not really a big stage, but the front place where the bands usually stand). The next band was: SHELLSHAG. I didnt know them before but was excited to see them. The noise-wave-pop-punk-duo (omg, what a long item) from Brooklyn/NY is touring with Japanther these days and consist of two (older) guys - a man and a woman - I guess shell and shag? The female drummer really kicked my ass, haha, not literally, but she was awesome! And their dynamic sound was pretty refreshing but reminded me a bit of the duo Matt & Kim. After their show I just thought it would be the best thing if I just wait for
JAPANTHER while standing in front of the stage and assure myself a good "point of view". Yeah it kinda worked - I was definetely in front row! And I felt like the location was overpacked with hundred people that would immediately jump around if the band starts... But no, that did not really happen. Well I was expecting an insane crowd and I saw maybe around ten people who really seemed to enjoy the show. Okay, Japanther didnt really have a good start, had some problems with the stage and the backline or whatever. And they seemed to be a bit confused....I really dont know. Whatever, eventually the two guys from Brooklyn didnt really screw it up, but had some difficulties playing a whole song first. But the show went better with time. I identified some songs I was listening to before and had much fun seeing them on stage. Drummer Ian Vanek always said things like: Im sorry we're so shit tonight. and also: It is boring. Mhh... dont know what that was all about. I didnt care. I just love their Ramones inspired pop-punk mixed with Hip Hop beats and rhymes....awesome and funny! Again a nice trip to cologne with a great concert with nice bands! The show was organised by:
http://www.myspace.com/hitandrunshows
If you want to join some pictures, contact me! I wasnt able to take a camera with me.
http://www.myspace.com/japanther
http://japanther.com/
http://www.myspace.com/shellshag
