It was not supposed to be a great Wednesday evening. After all, who is on vacation and has had a few drinks in the days before doesn’t really think about how they would like to spend a "rest day".
Before I could sink into my thoughts, "Oigen", the loyal drummer of our small, insignificant basement band, called me up to spontaneously invite me to a concert that was supposed to take place at the "Jugendhaus Ost" in Wolfsburg. "Good thing," I thought, as I could use some live music again, not to mention the people I would finally get to see again. Let’s go!
The fun only costs 5€, which awaited us on a weekday. As it was explained to me, there are events at the "Ost" that start early in the evening so that the party doesn’t go on until the night, which is supposedly for those who still had to work the next day. After all, a nice idea!
That evening, we would be expecting the following bands: "Disposed To Mirth", "All You Can Eat", "Tasters" (who played in place of "Noise Of Minority") and "Texas In July". Especially the last two bands have a good reputation and are relatively well-known. Hardcore fans are excited!
We arrived a bit late, but still early enough to get an impression of the first band "Disposed To Mirth". If it were up to me, we could have arrived even a bit later, as the singer drove me crazy with his antics. The music – although it sounded like standard hardcore – was not particularly captivating and didn’t really sound like something I would recognize again. Nothing but played-down and average hardcore. The performance was worsened – as already mentioned – by the singer. He had – unless he broke his promise by playing 2-3 encores after the "really last song", even though this music obviously interested hardly anyone – nothing better to do than constantly talk to the audience and say: "Come to the front, come on". It’s understandable to say something like that and not unusual, but to mention it after almost every song (and even during!!) is really annoying.
Fortunately, this misery ended and "All You Can Eat" took the stage. These guys were not only a bit younger (almost cute), but they were also much more likable to me for one reason: They spared the unnecessary words and instead packed them into their songs; and that in the form of singing. They weren’t a great hit, but definitely better than the band before. While musically everything might have been "okay", it sounded like every standard hardcore. It was quite nice, but I also missed some variety and decided to head towards the bar with Oigen to see some familiar faces again. The time travel was about to begin!
After a little trip outside (which we started after our visit to the bar) and a few beers, we decided to head back inside, as the group "Tasters" from Italy was about to start playing.
But hardly had the six gentlemen arrived, it kicked off! Wow!! An extremely fat sound, physically very active band members, and endless passion! That’s probably the best way to describe the performance if one really wanted to. They literally swept the audience away and said in very decent English how "Fucking Awesome" (that is, "damn cool") the people were who were celebrating this band. I can’t blame them, as "Tasters" played incredibly well. Hard and heavy riffing, grand shouting, and a huge amount of energy that the Italians radiated. My head didn’t appreciate it, as I stood right next to the speakers, but feeling that sound in my heart (is that healthy?...) made up for the headaches! Awesome! Of course, it should also be that I would get a CD from this band (the review for that is already available).
After a longer break and many familiar faces, "Texas In July" finally took the stage to give Wolfsburg the rest!
However, I didn’t catch as much of these guys as I did from the rest before. What I heard sounded good and also significantly better than what the first two opening bands delivered, but "Tasters" remained the highlight of the evening. Of course, this shouldn’t diminish the performance that the guys on stage showed. Moreover, I seemed to be alone with this opinion, as the audience went wild again and created thick air in the room. "Texas In July" seemed to be cleaning up properly by threatening to blow away the rows of fans. That the soundscape was also quite good could not be denied.
Unfortunately, the concert enjoyment was significantly diminished by the "fans". I have nothing against pogo that is a bit more intense, but I find this silly jumping around and "wildly hitting and kicking" quite ridiculous. Firstly, a few people got injured who just wanted to enjoy the concert, and secondly, there was basically too little space left for such nonsense. Anyone who enjoys such martial arts-like antics can either do that at home in their basement or create it when there is really enough space for it, so as not to affect other listeners. Anyone who flails around so mindlessly and thereby willingly accepts greater harm to uninvolved parties seems to have a disturbed relationship with themselves and their life if they must "dance" their own crap out of themselves at all costs. Sorry, but I have ZERO understanding for such things. Probably just as much as the girl who was eventually pulled out in great pain because she couldn’t breathe anymore… whether she participated is hard to say, but the looks of those who were also hit (and in the best case only scratched) spoke volumes.
All in all, however, it was a great evening filled with joy of reunion and bands that sweetened this "not great Wednesday evening" for me. I not only got to know a new band that I will permanently add to my music repertoire, but I also finally got to see the old venue from the inside again, where I used to go a bit more frequently a few years ago. It’s just nice to hang around a bit in the past again. Hooray!