"Do You Feel Like a Finger"
My old buddy Denni asked me when I told him I would sharpen my pencil and write a report about his concert. Denni has been consistently organizing punk rock concerts in Spargeltown since the late 90s. That evening, a benefit concert for refugee aid was to take place, for which he managed to recruit the old punk rockers Lustfinger from Munich.
So I got into my car in the evening and drove along the winding and narrow roads from village to village. The roads here are often no wider than dirt paths, and the dense fog made the drive significantly more difficult. As a local, you get used to it, but I thought to myself that a drunk person shouldn't have run in front of my car.
The district of Neuburg/Schrobenhausen has had a very vibrant scene since the early 80s, and while there was more action in Neuburg an der Donau in terms of chaos, there were more bands and concerts to be found in Schrobenhausen. The JUZ in Schrobenhausen is a cult place where a lot happened. The performance of the 'Guano Apes' before they really took off is probably legendary.
When I arrived, I was warmly welcomed at the entrance by Frosche and Nadine, and we exchanged a few words. I chatted briefly with Denni, and inside, the songwriter Ralf was just strumming his original compositions. Snippets like "Beer, Liver, Boots in the Face, Dog Poop, and Punk" stuck in my memory. I caught two or three songs from his set before it was already over. He did quite well.
After a short break, Snumen from Irgertsheim near Ingolstadt took the stage. They describe their music as hardcore. I would categorize them more as new rock and pop-punk. The band is very well-rehearsed and got the place warmed up. I didn't catch much of the lyrics. I believe they aren't that important to the band anyway. Fun is the priority, and the sympathetic village rockers know how to convey that accordingly.
Next up were Lustfinger from Munich, who have been active since 1981. After the releases of their first two albums 'Harte Männer tanzen nicht' and 'Last Tractor to Kreml', they even made it onto US radio stations and toured Europe, Japan, and the USA in the following years, achieving chart success. The Lustfinger project has seen frequent lineup changes since its early years, and the last remaining founding member is singer Tom "Foug" Fock. In 2014, a refreshed lineup released the new album 'Zündstoff'. Stylistically, they are similar to Betontod; I would say that gives you an idea of where the musical journey is headed. Schlager rock with punk roots probably hits the nail on the head.
When the Munich band kicked off, the room filled with a mixed audience. There stood the teenager next to the old punk and the refugee, and everyone was in a good mood. Lustfinger started with 'Euch gehört die Macht', and there was a proper mosh pit in front of the stage. The audience sang along to classics like 'Bitte lieber Staatsanwalt', 'Heilig', or 'Grünwalder Stadion' with absolute certainty. The singer, however, was not so sure about the lyrics. He had an analog teleprompter from which he read the lyrics. That means he stuck the lyrics to the monitor speakers. The people didn't want to let Lustfinger leave the stage, and as an encore, they played the 60s song 'Löwenmut' and as the very last song, the cover of the CIA cover of 'König von Deutschland'
All in all, it was a great evening that was a lot of fun.
Thanks to Denni for still actively organizing concerts, and of course to Nadine for the photo and Frosche for relaying the information.
Schrobenhausen is always worth a trip. ;)
