Shock for the punk scene: The city of Wolfsburg canceled the concert planned for Saturday, March 27, at the Jugendhaus Ost by the Wolfsburg band Machtkampf! Background: The city discovered offensive songs on the group's homepage. City youth worker Iris Bothe stated: "The song RAF glorifies violence!" Christian Frost from Machtkampf reacted in dismay to the concert cancellation: "We are speechless."
The musical power fighters, known by their stage names Frosti, Zombie, Caipi, and Obelix, wanted to present their CD "Staatsfeind No. 1" at the Jugendhaus. They had invited four other bands to join them. Together, the punks wanted to make some noise.
But unexpectedly, the city made the noise yesterday. Bothe had just come across a text by Machtkampf and then her jaw dropped: "The song RAF is glorifying violence, inciting, and dehumanizing. Taste is subjective. But when musicians refer to themselves as heirs of terrorists and thank them for their actions, a line has been crossed." Additionally, they have the song "Polizei SA/SS" in their program – which is on the index. "The songs are not suitable for performance in municipal venues. Therefore, we are canceling the concert."
For the punks, a world has collapsed. "We are speechless," said a dejected Machtkampf singer Christian Frost. "We have been playing these songs for years, and no one has ever been bothered by them." He assures that the band would "definitely not have played" the controversial songs on Saturday. Machtkampf then retreated and removed the disputed lyrics from their website. As a peaceful punk, Frost extended his hand to the city for reconciliation: "We have resolved the problem. Now we hope that the concert at Jugendhaus Ost can take place."
Source: Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung
The concert will definitely not take place now. To what extent the band's willingness to compromise pays off is questionable. Observers may doubt the connection of the "peaceful punks" with their sometimes indeed quite rebellious lyrics. Statements on the topic can be found on the Machtkampf homepage.
The musical power fighters, known by their stage names Frosti, Zombie, Caipi, and Obelix, wanted to present their CD "Staatsfeind No. 1" at the Jugendhaus. They had invited four other bands to join them. Together, the punks wanted to make some noise.
But unexpectedly, the city made the noise yesterday. Bothe had just come across a text by Machtkampf and then her jaw dropped: "The song RAF is glorifying violence, inciting, and dehumanizing. Taste is subjective. But when musicians refer to themselves as heirs of terrorists and thank them for their actions, a line has been crossed." Additionally, they have the song "Polizei SA/SS" in their program – which is on the index. "The songs are not suitable for performance in municipal venues. Therefore, we are canceling the concert."
For the punks, a world has collapsed. "We are speechless," said a dejected Machtkampf singer Christian Frost. "We have been playing these songs for years, and no one has ever been bothered by them." He assures that the band would "definitely not have played" the controversial songs on Saturday. Machtkampf then retreated and removed the disputed lyrics from their website. As a peaceful punk, Frost extended his hand to the city for reconciliation: "We have resolved the problem. Now we hope that the concert at Jugendhaus Ost can take place."
Source: Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung
The concert will definitely not take place now. To what extent the band's willingness to compromise pays off is questionable. Observers may doubt the connection of the "peaceful punks" with their sometimes indeed quite rebellious lyrics. Statements on the topic can be found on the Machtkampf homepage.
