Gig Review: Booze Cruise Festival, Hamburg, Day Four 10/6/19

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

It was time for our fourth and final day of Booze Cruise 2019. After a leisurely stroll around the area in search of breakfast and finding lots more things close in Germany on Bank Holidays than they do in the UK, we headed to Molotow where the majority of the day’s fun would be taking place.

First up on the Molotow stage were Arterials. After yesterday’s great set on the boat I was very excited to see what they can do on dry land. It was, of course, no surprise that they were again brilliant. The great raspy vocals along with that excellent mix of indie punk and hardcore but at Molotow it all sounded crisp and cleaner. With a bigger stage to work with, Arterials put on a big show for the folk that had gathered early. Arguably it wasn't as intense as the day before had been but it was still a hugely impressive set from this fantastic band. Arterials are a band I will definitely be telling anyone who will listen about. I enjoyed the set so much that as soon as they left the stage I made my way to the merch area in the beer garden and bought their debut LP, Constructive Summer, and a t-shirt.

Having popped outside to buy some Arterials merch and for some fresh air, we weren’t 100% sure if the next band, Offmountains, had properly started their set when we came back inside. Even in soundcheck they sounded impressive, particularly vocalist Andre – what a voice he has! Offmountains are a four-piece band from Hamburg who don’t strictly adhere to a typical punk rock sound. There’s definitely something about them that would appeal to a wider audience of alternative rock. At one point someone must have flicked a switch on the smoke machine because the band soon became silhouettes on the stage which, rather than detracting from the performance, actually made it all the more atmospheric. Another great band that we’d never heard of before – it’s always worth taking a punt on an unknown name.

Chris Cresswell of Canadian band The Flatliners was next to grace the Molotow stage. Although I know The Flatliners, and have seen them live a few times, I wasn’t familiar with any of Chris Cresswell’s solo material – and we weren’t actually sure whether he’d be playing acoustic Flatliners songs. We soon found out, but not before Chris apologised for being late – we hadn’t noticed. There was one Flatliners song, Birds Of England, in his set but the rest consisted of solo material that was very alt-country in sound, perhaps partly due to Chris’ distinct vocals I think. The audience was very patient and attentive, both between songs when Chris was offering up anecdotes and during, which was something that was not overlooked by Mr Cresswell – he was very appreciative. It was just really lovely all around.

Next up at Molotow were another band that neither of us had heard of before Booze Cruise. Laureate weren’t from Germany however, they were from a little further afield – Montreal, Canada. Playing a brand of emo influenced pop punk not too dissimilar to 90s bands such as Saves The Day, it took me a couple of songs to get into them but once I did it was a very enjoyable set. I really enjoyed the contrast between the two vocalists, with Erin’s softer and sweeter tones set against Giancarlo’s huskier voice – which incidentally reminded me a lot Jon Loudon from Restorations. It’s also always nice to see a band so happy to be playing together and just generally stoked to be on tour. I’ll definitely be making a point of checking this foursome out again.

I've been a fan of Western Settings since seeing them live at Fest 16 in Gainesville. Since then I've been patiently awaiting their return to Europe, as well as their first visit to the UK. This was able to happen because of Booze Cruise. At the beginning of their tour, I got the opportunity to see them at the New Cross Inn thanks to Gold Soul Theory Promotions and then, when the Booze Cruise schedules were released, I saw I got the opportunity to see the San Diego four piece twice at the festival. The first was on Sunday night in the tiny Gun Club and the second was at Molotow. As the tour has gone on, Western Settings have gotten better and better and it seemed to me that they were at their peak in Molotow. Even little guitar issues didn't prevent an absolutely stellar set from the band in front of what was a very friendly crowd. Playing a host of tracks from previous releases Yes It Is and Old Pain as well as brand new EP Agnus, Western Settings are a captivating band to watch – frontperson Ricky Schmidt has such an intense expression that it's hard to look away from. Sadly we had to leave the set a little bit before the end so we had enough time to get some much needed food before the next group of bands at Überquell but getting to see Western Settings three times on this tour was an absolute pleasure.

Getting ourselves some chips en route, we headed over to Überquell where we would be finishing our 2019 Booze Cruise Festival. There were a fair few folk already there, hanging about in the beer garden in the, sort of, sunshine (it did try to rain shortly after) while The Run Up were sound checking inside. Before The Run Up were due on stage however, we were treated to an acoustic set outside courtesy of Henri Parker And The Lowered Lids. The festival was definitely missing some banjo thus far and I do love me a bit of banjo! The Hamburg-based folk band often play as a four piece with cello and percussion but for their Überquell performance the band simply consisted of Henri on acoustic guitar and Kris on banjo, with both of them singing. We pulled up a chair and proceeded to soak up their upbeat folk tunes. Truly wonderful stuff.

Heading inside Überquell, spirits were as high as ever as we awaited the penultimate set of the festival. Who better to put the cherry on top of a marvellous weekend than The Run Up and Bong Mountain who had already played twice each. I imagine there weren’t many people in the room who hadn’t seen The Run Up live before by this point but they’re just that good that we keep coming back for more! Giving it every bit of energy they had left, and then some, The Run Up stormed through a triumphant set of everyone’s favourite songs, including WKND, The Upside Of Being Down and Learning Loss. There was singing, dancing and so many smiling faces, many of which belonged to pals of the band – although, let’s face it, everyone is or should be pals with The Run Up. They’re just such nice guys. So nice in fact that singer Larry kindly dedicated the song Shark to Colin and myself. The track features on the CPRW 5th Birthday Comp (which is available now for £7, with the funds going to Mind) and is about making friends through music. A perfect song for our comp but also the perfect song for a festival like Booze Cruise. The Run Up are brilliant. 

The final band of the entirety of Booze Cruise 2019 was Bong Mountain. This would be my third time seeing them at the festival and fourth of the tour and was as excited for the fourth as I was at the first back in London. This set was a bit more relaxed than the previous times as it was their last night of tour before heading back to Michigan. It felt more like a time to kick back, have some fun and play some songs rather than a proper punk gig and I really appreciated that. It had a been an exhausting four days and I was really keen for a nice relaxed finish. The band spent time joking between themselves, as well as with their new best friends in The Run Up, throughout the set and it felt as if we were all a part of this gang. Bong Mountain are a band that are so watchable when on stage, they have an undeniable charisma matched by few bands. There was a nice moment where lead singer Chris took time to thank The Run Up for everything they've given them throughout their two week tour together. It was a bit of an emotional time and it's so clear that a massive bond of friendship has been made between the two bands. It was such a lovely time having one last sing and dance to Bong Mountain and this was the perfect way to finish Booze Cruise Festival 2019.

Booze Cruise Festival was an amazing experience for myself and Emma. From start to finish, the event ran so smoothly and there was this fantastic chilled out vibe throughout. It was an absolute honour and privilege to travel to another country and witness another scene and to quickly feel at home. Everyone was so amazingly friendly and so passionate about every band that played which was so inspiring to see. I was having a conversation with a friend about how sometimes a UK crowd is perhaps a bit too reserved and cool to really get into a gig but that was certainly not the case at Booze Cruise. Everyone wants to have the best possible time for every band. I loved the idea of there not really being any headliners, this really got people going to see all the bands throughout the day and not just turning up when the ‘main event‘ was starting. On a more personal note for me, I was a little nervous about going to a festival named Booze Cruise given that I am tee-total and at times I do get a bit anxious about being in an environment where heavy drinking will be occurring. Thankfully within minutes of arriving at the festival any anxiety I had about this vanished and I had the very best of times. Sure the fine folk of Booze Cruise were enjoying their booze but the festival was more about having fun with your friends rather than getting a bit merry. This is what makes all festivals great – it's about the music and the friends you make. If I had to describe Booze Cruise in two words I'd definitely pick ‘music’ and ‘pals’. We're already looking into going to Booze Cruise 2020 and we're looking to bring plenty more pals with us. Thanks to everyone involved in Booze Cruise 2019. See you next year!

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.