The Skänks + Radio Havanna, 12/5 -08, Haffas, Ludvika, Sweden

WHY do I always show up just before the sound check? Seems I have some sort of strange aura, “Hey, Tess is in the building, let’s sound check!”. This happens to me every time I’m going to a show, no matter how late I show up.

For this particular show though, I was right on time. It was held at a small youth center, called Haffas. Haffas is Swedish slang for “Getting arrested”, and somehow I’ve always found that amusing.

As I was walking in, I suddenly remembered I hadn’t been there since 2005. That’s almost 4 years. I was a teenager back then, and enjoyed hanging out, listening to music, having coffee and playing pool. Since then, a lot of things have changed, but my love for live music have not.

An hour later than what was announced, The Skänks take the stage. They look good, but the sound during the first song is pretty much awful. A shame, since I suspect I could like this if everything was like it should.
It’s very clear all through the show that this stage is too small for them. They’re all over it, and not in a good way. During the second song, the bass player jumps down into the crowd. The only problem was that THERE WAS NO CROWD.

I did my best to forget about the bad sound, and give you guys something on the band, not just complain. As I was doing that, I realized the singer have a very distinctive voice. He could probably growl away in any given death metal band, and it’s exciting to hear a voice like that being used like this.

The guitars sound good, the few times I can actually hear them over the bass. That was also something that really bothered me., since I was SURE there was pretty good melodies somewhere.

What really amazes me about this band though, is their drummer. He shows pure talent, and the more I listen, the more I think he could be doing something so much bigger than this.

The sound gets a bit better with every song, and in the end it’s actually starting to sound quite good. They don’t do any of that small talk with the audience though, just “And the next song is called…” over and over again. As they was preparing for the encore, the drummer said “Do we really know that song?”, and that was the most spontaneous thing that happened during their show.

I really think they could have done much better, with better sound, bigger stage, and a bigger audience… And one day, I’d like to see that.

As Radio Havanna is to take the stage, I am starting to fill with fear. All around me the Mohawks are growing, the audience is wearing kicker boots and leather jackets, and I’m starting to hear the word “Punk” all around me. Punk was never my scene, and never will be. My punk knowledge stops at Sex Pistols, and I never thought I’d be stretching it any further. I decide to stay anyway, even though I had never heard the band, and was pretty much terrified.

They get on, and my fear starts to subside when I look at them just to notice their singer looks like a mix between a young Johnny Rotten and a kid I used to go to school with. In that case, it just can’t be as scary as I think. They have hardly started the first song when I realize my decision to stay was good.

They play on a completely different level than the Skänks, they have melody in their songs, and even the background singing sounds like something they’ve actually thought about, instead of standing in the back making noise.  It’s pretty obvious these guys know their stuff.

Since they are Germans, and all the songs they sing is in German, I can’t understand a word, and that actually lets me focus more on the music, and not just the lyrics. All in all, they are a nice surprise for a girl like me.

The bass player really knows how to handle his gear, and the guitar player makes sound that pretty much blows me away. From time to time, I find myself looking at his hands, trying to figure out how he does it, but I can’t. The drummer is beating his kit halfway to death, and that is something I really appreciate. The singer’s voice reminds me of the singer of Goo Goo Dolls, but I’ve never heard that guy use his voice like this. Easily put, I’m loving this.

In the middle of the gig, they suddenly start playing a cover of Outkast’s “Aisha”. That pretty much threw me off the couch I was sitting on. Hip hop, gone pop, gone punk? I never thought I’d see that, and I NEVER thought I’d like it.

I have to say, these guys are growing on me, more and more with each song they play.  They say this is their first show in Sweden, and I feel proud to have been a part of that. To see such a young band the first time they confront us boring Swedes, and still they seem to enjoy it… That is something very special to me.

They are working that tiny stage like it’s a huge arena, and they do all that spontaneous small talk the audience needs to feel special and chosen, even though it’s done by Germans speaking English to Swedes. As they get of the stage, I have that very special feeling I always get after enjoying a gig. It feels like happiness, mixed with sadness about it being over, and the urge for more.

I just wish I could have seen them in a bigger arena. I suspect these guys could be really big, and when they are played all over the globe, remember who told you first!

If you want to hear these bands, go to www.myspace.com/theskanksswe for The Skänks, and www.myspace.com/radiohavanna or www.radiohavanna.de for Radio Havanna.

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