What do you do when you've been looking forward to a concert for weeks and then just before it, you're knocked down by a nasty flu? You could get upset and stay home. But you could also do everything you can to pep yourself up to experience the concert. That's what happened that evening. A good two grams of paracetamol and plenty of caffeine made me forget that just hours earlier I was sitting at home with a runny nose and a heavy head. I won't let TALCO pass me by!
TALCO had already played at S.O. 36 a few times before. It was always packed, sometimes even sold out at the box office, but I was still surprised that the band had sold out the club in advance this time. About 50 hopefuls without tickets were waiting outside the club, hoping to somehow get in, when we entered at 8:30 PM.
Inside, it wasn't too crowded yet, since everyone already had tickets, so we could take it easy. However, that meant we might have missed the first band, ASHPIPE.
The Italians opened the evening and surprised with a rare lineup for the folk-punk / ska-punk genre. The two singers, who sang both together and alternately, were visually striking as well. They were joined by a violinist. Stylistically, the band offered a colorful mixture. Like a bouquet of flowers made up of different blooms, all with the same colored stems. The band unleashed a mix of ska punk, folk punk, and melodic punk rock, sometimes in English and sometimes in their native language. Particularly the two singers were a highlight both visually and vocally. Since this Saturday, I also know that Costa Cannabis (singer of Sondaschule) has an Italian brother.
The audience liked the band, and the crowd in front of the stage grew larger. Especially the women present were moving, while the men slowly got into the groove by tapping their feet. Great show, fantastic sound, great band.
ASHPIPE is a name to remember!
As the second band of the evening, after a changeover, THE DREADNOUGHTS from Vancouver, Canada took the stage. Before the music started, the audience got to taste the stage drink of the bassist, who looked a bit like Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood story. Then it finally kicked off.
The first song from the band surprised with fast, perfect interplay and an engaging stage performance. This was Celtic punk rock, like The Real McKenzies might have played in their younger years. It was fast, crazy, captivating, simply exhilarating. The audience, surprisingly many of whom knew the previously unknown band, went wild and had a lot of fun. It could have continued like this. However, the song “Polka never dies” marked a turning point. Polka and punk were then offered. For about 45 minutes. The band went completely wild on stage. The guys gave it their all. They jumped into the audience, made bad jokes, even worse announcements, and put on an impressive show. However, some of the songs had rather shallow lyrics, and the overall performance showed that the guys are more of a party band. They do that damn well and have a lot of fun. More than that was hard to find with the Canadian band, at least on that evening.
Be that as it may, politics, social issues, and corresponding engagement came next from TALCO. The hall was very warm when the guys started playing, despite the ventilation running since the beginning, and of course, it was packed. The audience immediately started dancing to the first beats. The already good mood increased even more. TALCO also contributed to that. The band looked fresh and unspoiled at their last concert of the tour. Particularly, trumpeter Sandokan acted intensively as a virtuoso entertainer that evening.
TALCO thanked the audience several times for the great atmosphere and the friends present for organizing the gig. Melodic punk rock meets ska and influences from Southeast Europe, that’s how one could describe TALCO. Add to that the pleasant Italian language, perfect interplay, and a love for speed. TALCO has been around for many years now. Even though I've seen several shows of the band, they continue to fascinate me. Just like that evening. Since it was the tour finale, there was a bit of a celebration on stage with the guys from Canada as well. It was a great time in a very hot and very humid hall. No matter, dance, have fun, and enjoy the time. And don't forget that Silvio Berlusconi is still an asshole, that antifascism is not an opinion but a crime, and that this unfortunately has to be said again and again.
After two encores, the last of which was definitely not planned, we slowly but very satisfied made our way home. Happy, sweaty faces in the audience confirmed to me that I was not alone in my feelings.
It may not have been the best gig from TALCO in Berlin, but that could also have been due to my condition. Even if that were true, it would be complaining at a high level. So high that it’s actually silly to even mention it.