The still young year could report a concert highlight on this day. The Italians from TALCO honored us once again at the Kreuzberg S.O. 36. After their last official performance was already a few days ago, and only a few initiated fans could see the band for a short appearance at the farewell concert of the Berlin ska-punkers DELIKAT, there was again the full program today. The band is simply indescribably present live, full of energy, leaving one standing with an open mouth in front of the stage while simultaneously jumping around wildly. But before that could happen, there were still two bands to warm up the crowd.
We arrived at the club around 8:30 PM and even found a place to sit to enjoy our first beer of the evening.
The hall filled up only very slowly, so the first band BRIGATA CANI DA BIRRA from Italy had to play in front of maybe 100 people. You could see the band's nervousness in the first songs, but also that they had expected more people. Nevertheless, the band immediately stepped on the gas to impress at least the few present. And impress they did. First and foremost with singer Panesalame. A beast of a man, completely shaved, with upper arms that some might not even have as thighs, and a voice that gives the songs the necessary roughness, anger, and fighting spirit. The band's sound was solid Oi with a lot of hardcore and streetpunk influences. It packed a punch, at least after the band's nervousness subsided and tempo came into the songs. The sound was fat, the band was happy about everyone who moved a little, and by the time the political songs came, the first fists were raised in the audience.
BRIGATA CANI DA BIRRA played for 45 minutes, which was a bit long for the band. After about 30 minutes, it became clear that despite all the good signs, the band mainly headed in one direction musically. A bit more variety wouldn't hurt the songs, but for warming up, they weren't bad.
By now, the place was also quite half-full, and people were still streaming into S.O. 36.
STRAWBERRY BLONDES from Newport in the UK were thus able to show what they could do in front of more people. At first, the trio couldn't get into gear. Whether it was due to the sound, their nervousness, or simply because BRIGATA had more power? So we waited a few songs to see if it would get better. The already good sound improved a bit, but that went unnoticed by the band. Musically, they couldn't convince with their streetpunk. Too many choruses, too many stadium rock melodies, and too little power. The best songs were the ones where a trumpeter played a few songs with the band, but she couldn't save much. To make matters worse, the three were very introverted, and the few announcements they made were hardly understandable. If I want to hear such music, I'd rather reach for Frontkick or Radio Dead Ones from Berlin.
However, it must be said that the band sounds good on MySpace and would certainly find a good place for their CD in a punk rock bar. Just live, they were anything but good; 45 minutes can feel quite long.
After that, there was a major setup change because it was now TALCO's turn, and the hall was now really full. Maybe not completely sold out, but very well filled. It was again a colorful mix of people waiting for the band, ranging from muscular skinheads to hippies.
When it got dark in the hall, the first "Talco, Talco" chants rang out. After the intro, the band took the stage and was warmly welcomed. As the first notes sounded, the crowd went completely wild. In the front, people were jumping, pogoing, stage diving, and singing along. In a word; collective freak-out was on the agenda. Even in the middle of the hall, people were moving extensively. As is customary with TALCO, there was first a full blast of three songs in a row until the first breather came in the form of a small announcement. TALCO called Berlin their second home, which is certainly true, as Berlin is a stronghold of the band, and it is always a celebration to see the band and feel their energy. The band's songs, which are extremely melodic and varied, go straight to the legs and get you moving like hardly any other band. Is it due to the great weather or the zest for life of the Italians? Ska-punk at its best, that's TALCO.
The set was blasted through the speakers at high speed, and with every song, they gave it their all. The atmosphere was fantastic. It was a great party. Especially the songs from their current hit album "Marzel Tov" were extremely well received, but of course also the evergreens like "Bella Ciao" at the very end.
After two hours, which felt like 45 minutes, the band left the stage after two encores. The crowd lingered in front of the stage and only slowly moved back. People were still completely blown away or just totally exhausted.
The rocked crowd was welcomed by DJ MUTTI, who played some of his favorite records for dancing for a few more hours. And those who really hadn't had enough danced until the early morning.
This concert has set the bar very high for highlight concerts in 2010, but maybe the band will come back in 2010.