Gig Review: Booze Cruise Festival, Hamburg Day Two 8/6/19

(Note: Colin's parts are in regular text and Emma's parts are in italic.)

Day one of Booze Cruise had set the bar high but day two was even more jam-packed with bands we were excited to see for the first time, as well as some of our existing favourites.

We started our Saturday of Booze Cruise Festival at Molotow to see Regensburg trio Irish Handcuffs. If you read my ‘top ten bands to see at Booze Cruise Festival 2019’ then you’ll know that this was a band I was looking forward to seeing. I clearly wasn’t the only one as the room instantly packed out, with folk emerging from the beer garden, as soon as Irish Handcuffs stepped on stage. It was immediately clear that this is a much loved band in the German DIY punk scene – they’ve played every Booze Cruise to date, in fact. Their set consisted of tracks from last year’s brilliant EP Comfort In Distraction as well as some older fan favourites, which all sounded excellent. The highlight however was when they threw in a great cover of The Loved Ones’ 100K. What a great start to the day.

All Aboard! were a band I'd kind of seen previously when they played Manchester Punk Festival a couple of years ago. Unfortunately I only caught the last song and couldn't see the stage at all so Booze Cruise presented me with a chance to see them properly, upstairs in Molotow. Playing some superb gruff punk that I was dying to sing-along to – if only I had tried to learn the songs before the festival! Sadly, during their set the microphones cut out. This led to an impromptu unmiced cover of Against Me!'s Sink Florida Sink. Soon enough, the sound person got the microphones working again and the band finished their set with as much gusto as they started with. Later that night All Aboard! were playing an Against Me! cover set, so to give the crowd further teaser of what to expect they also played Black Me Out – to a great reaction. Despite the technical difficulties, I was very impressed with All Aboard! and hope to see them again soon.

Heading back downstairs to the ‘main stage’ at Molotow, it was time to watch Irish Handcuffs’ tour mates – Dan Webb And The Spiders. Hailing from Boston, the four piece were another band that I was looking forward to seeing live for the first time this weekend after enjoying their recorded material. If I was to sum up Dan Webb And The Spiders’ performance in one word it would be slick. They are clearly great musicians and I really enjoyed their two-part harmonies, although they were not as frequent as I perhaps would have liked. However it didn’t really feel like the band connected with the audience at all, barely saying a word between songs – particularly now that I reflect on the whole weekend and all the other bands we saw – which was a shame.

After Dan Webb And The Spiders, we made our way up the one million flights of stairs back to Molotow Skybar for Manchester's Aerial Salad. As we entered the room, Aerial Salad's lead singer and guitarist, Jamie, was seemingly welcoming everyone into the room and thanking them for coming to see them which I thought was the sweetest thing ever. The room filled very quickly for the three piece for what I think was their first time performing in Germany. This was somehow only my second ever time seeing Aerial Salad live and I was keen to see how they've progressed in the year or so that's it's been since the first time. Wow, these guys have come a long way in a short amount of time! Particularly bassist Mike who has really exploded out of his shell, now bouncing around the stage and providing a great second vocal. Jamie has also added a bit more intensity to his performance as well as some super sexy dancing. From now on he shall forever be known as Sexy Jamie Munro. The set was comprised of mostly new material, with only two songs from Roach appearing in the performance. Those new songs sounded fantastic though and I can't wait for them to be released. Aerial Salad definitely gained some new fans with this superb performance, they are one of the best up and coming bands in the UK.

After Aerial Salad we hurried off to Goldener Salon to catch Resolutions. Resolutions, a five piece from Hannover, have been on my radar for a while now so I was looking forward to having the chance to see them live. When we arrived at the venue, the room was already packed so we had to make do with standing at the back of the room trying to peer through the mass of humanity in front of us. Something that we noticed throughout Booze Cruise was how loyal the German folk are in supporting their fellow countrymen. I'm not sure this is really a thing that happens quite so much in the UK so this was nice to see. Resolutions’ gruff pop punk certainly gained much favour from the crowd who seemed very into it and there were plenty of fists in the air and sing-alongs. Unfortunately, I think due to my spot right at the back of the room, I found it a bit difficult to really get into it, it kind of felt like I was listening to a live performance on the radio rather than being there in the flesh. That's not the fault of the band – who sounded fantastic – it's just we were late arrivals and then short people problems too. Next time I get the opportunity to see Resolutions, I'll make sure to get there early and be right down the front.

California’s Neighborhood Brats were preparing to start their set when we headed downstairs and an eager crowd had gathered. This was a band I wanted to check out, having listened to them a bit prior to the festival, but they were by no means top of my list. Well, maybe they should have been! From the first note through to the last, I was simply blown away by the energy these four musicians generated. Singer Jenny in particular was captivating to watch as she bounced up and down and ran around the stage, at times looking almost possessed – but in a good way! It wasn’t all about Jenny though as the whole band looked to be having a lot of fun and were clearly putting everything they had into their performance. It was tiring to watch, let alone perform, but all very enjoyable. After the band’s set I described them to Colin (who was also really impressed by their live show) as ‘pop hardcore’ – pop punk melodies and speed but pure hardcore energy.

We popped up to Goldener Salon to see who was playing before Überyou were due on stage downstairs and found a four piece post-punk band called Marbled Eye playing to a small but attentive audience. The band seemed to be having some sound issues to begin with as the vocals were being drowned out by the guitars but this was soon rectified by the sound engineers. We stayed to watch part of the band’s set, which I’d liken to Restorations, but left early to get a good spot for my most-anticipated band of the whole weekend…

Überyou are a five-piece punk rock band hailing from Zürich in Switzerland but, having seen the way the crowd reacted to their performance at Booze Cruise, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Hamburg was their hometown. As soon as the band stepped on stage, the room was alive with energy – I’m not sure who was more energetic to be honest, the band themselves or the front rows of the crowd. There were some of the first stage divers and crowd surfers I’d seen of the weekend, including Überyou vocalist Ian who was really not content with staying on the stage. I was really impressed by how three different members of the band all felt like lead vocalists at different times, as well as uniting together (and with the audience) for some killer gang vocals. In my opinion, the band was near flawless as they tore through tracks from their most recent album, Night Shifts, including Survivors, More Time For Love and Taking Chances. The new record is one of my top three albums released in 2019 so far and it was amazing to hear those songs live for the first time and to sing along. (I was finally able to buy a copy of the vinyl after this set. Sorry for my awkwardness, Ian.) The set also included a number of older fan favourites, such as These Walls, that were just as well received as the newer tracks. Unsurprisingly, this was my favourite band of the weekend.

I had to leave Überyou a little earlier than I would have liked, as they were being incredible, but I HAD to go see my pals in The Run Up back at Molotow Skybar. I got between venues in what I imagine was near record time and I could hear The Run Up had already started. When I reached the top of the stairs, I found myself having to squeeze into the room as it was jam-packed. This was my first realisation that The Run Up are punk superstars in Germany. At the end of the year when I think about my favourite sets, this one will definitely be very close to the top. It was such a special thing to witness. It was amazing to see a band from the UK get such a big reaction far from home. The majority of bands in the UK don't get this kind of reaction when they play hometown shows, so to see that not only was the room full but the crowd was full of people singing along, dancing, stage diving and crowd surfing. From my position at the side of the stage, I had a big smile on my face watching this beautiful chaos unfold as well as watching The Run Up just be blown away from the reception they received. This was all between me singing my heart out to favourites such as Shark, WKND, Captain and the final one-two punch of Learning Loss (one of my favourite songs EVER) and Good Friends, Bad Luck. This was one of those special moments that will stick with me for a long time. The Run Up are not only one of the best punk bands to come from the UK but they are also among the hardest working and nicest people you are ever likely to meet. I was very proud of my friends after this set. They were the best.

After buying my Überyou record, I dashed upstairs where Personal Best were already in full flow. The room was fairly busy but I managed to squeeze my way into a space near the front and immediately found myself bobbing along to the Southsea foursome. If you don’t know Personal Best, they play honest yet uplifting and empowering poppy indie punk and there was a general air of carefree happiness in the Goldener Salon room throughout their performance. It was a completely different feeling to Überyou’s set downstairs but no less enjoyable. The band themselves were clearly having a lovely time, guitarist El commented how they were happy to be playing Booze Cruise for the first time as a couple of the band had attended the festival before. Their setlist included several tracks from the band’s new album What You At, including singles Baby and Jennifer, which sounded great – definitely check out the album. Personal Best are great. 

For me, no band was going to top The Run Up's set today, not even the mighty As Friends Rust who took to the stage at Molotow next. Of course, the club filled up to see these Gainesville legends’ only (apart from the secret one that took place upstairs later in the night) European show of 2019. I opted for a spot towards the back of the room on a raised bit as I'm not overly familiar with the band but down the front stood a mass of very excited people ready to completely lose their minds And lose their minds the crowd did. Whereas The Run Up's set was chaos in a friendly way this felt far more intense as the fivesome blasted through their set. Melodic hardcore with a social and political conscience is the name of the game for As Friends Rust. It was passionate and it really hit the spot. A theme for the whole weekend for me was watching how these bands connected with the crowd and basically became one. This certainly happened for As Friends Rust as the sing-alongs were huge whether they were shouts up from the floor or folk getting on stage shouting down the microphone and diving back into the crowd. Unfortunately, just as it seemed As Friends Rust were really getting warmed up, the set came to an end as their allotted time was over and it would have been unfair on the bands after them to keep going. As Friends Rust were awesome and even though I'm not an old school fan like many people I was so pleased I had the chance to see them.

If you’d have told me ten years ago that in 2019 I’d be watching post-hardcore turned alt-Americana band Chamberlain play live in Germany, I don’t think I would have believed it. I didn’t quite believe they were actually playing Booze Cruise until right before their headline set when they were about to go on stage. Playing live in Europe for the first time in around twenty years, this Indiana five-piece were an absolute must-see for me. The crowd gathered in Hafenklang wasn’t nearly as large as it was for Überyou which may have been because Chamberlain were actually playing their second Booze Cruise set of the day and/or because Gainesville legends As Friends Rust were playing their own headline set at Molotow at the same time – who are perhaps a more typical ‘Fest’ sounding band. The size of the crowd didn’t phase the band or the audience one bit however and from the outset we were singing our hearts out. The set opened with a stripped back song from classic album The Moon My Saddle, although I’ve forgotten which song specifically, with just guitars and vocals which was a great way to entice us in. I was pleased that the setlist was heavy on tracks from the aforementioned album as it as probably one of my favourites of all time. Singing along to songs such as Try For Thunder and Mountain Of A Heart was just wonderful but it was Crush You that perhaps received the biggest crowd reaction. At one point Chamberlain stopped singing and just let the audience do their bit which felt hugely emotional. I reluctantly left Chamberlain’s set early but had a big smile on my face as I sprinted over to Molotow – please don’t leave it another 20 years to come back to Europe, Chamberlain!

The reason I left Chamberlain’s set early was that Bong Mountain were playing at the Molotow Skybar. We saw the Michigan four-piece less than two weeks before at the New Cross Inn in London and it was off the back of their brilliant performance on that occasion that Colin and I decided that we basically had to see them as many more times as possible (which, as it turns out, was three times over the Booze Cruise weekend). When I got to Molotow, Bong Mountain had already started and the room was jam packed with sweaty but merry people seemingly having the time of their lives. I found Colin and some of the chaps from The Run Up (Bong Mountain’s tour buddies) at the side of the stage and joined them in loving every second of this incredible band’s performance. The amount of passion that Bong Mountain pour into every song is incredible – it is an emotional experience to watch and just generally be a part of. I must admit that I do not know enough of the words to enough of their songs but I was at least able to sing along to bits of 26 Caroline and Why You So Short? towards the end of the band’s set. When members of The Run Up and New Junk City, along with Jamie Aerial Salad and a few other folk, invaded the stage for the final song, I knew we’d made the right decision in seeing Bong Mountain again. It was chaos – beautiful chaos – and a fine end to day two of Booze Cruise Festival.

This review was written by Colin Clark and Emma Prew. Photos also by Emma, although much better photos (that weren’t taken on a phone) can be viewed here.