SIMON CHAINSAW featuring CHRIS KLONDIKE MASUAK
Club W 71
Weilkersheim, Germany
Friday, April 8 2011
Words and pictures: ANDREAS GEBHARDTShare Weikersheim is "somewhere in Germany" Chris Masuak mentioned on Facebook this week. When I first heard of the location, I thought it was a mistake. But yes, it was the venue in Weikersheim, and that was good for me.
The Club W 71 is a small venue, located in the south of Germany and it opened for the first time in 1971, my year of birth. The venue is known to Australian rock music lovers because of Kim Salmon & the Scientists played there in 2007. I'd met Chris on the 2002 Radio Birdman Oz tour and was excited to see him playing again. along with another guy, I knew from the Vanilla Chainsaws in the mid-'80s, Simon Chainsaw.It took me just a 20-minute drive from my hometown to get to the location. And I found myself alone with the promoter, the barman, the ticket girl at the door and the band. They were getting ready to sound-check. Doors will open at 9pm and they’ll start playing about 10.30pm, so there's ample time enough to get the people in, I thought.
I re-introduced myself to Simon and we just talked about for a few minutes. After sound-check, Chris came up to me and we had a drink and talked about everything til 10.30. That's when the promoter came to Simon and told him: "It’s time for Rock ‘n’ Roll."
The promoter, the band, myself and the people who came were actually disappointed that only a handful showed up. Why?I Really, I don’t know. Maybe it had something to dow ith the promotion or there were other events that evening. Nevertheless, the band wanted to perform well and give the small crowd a good show. And they absolutely did, they earned applause for each song and it looked like that everybody had fun tonight.
They opened with “Eight times lucky” and Mr. Chainsaw showed right away which way it was going to go for the next hour. High energy Rock’n’ Roll Punk with Klondike's distinctive guitar playing. Following “Deaf Ears” (which reminds me of the US West Coast punk bands of the early 90’s) we get the melodic, high energy punk ‘n’ roll of “Bruna” a few songs later. After that a pause for breath, Simon introduces Chris to the crowd, which was a surprise for a few who didn’t know him.
Chris grabbed the mic for a doubleheader of classic Birdman songs: “New Race” and “Burn My Eye.” Yeah Hup! Tonight's versions are fast and turbo-charged high-energy numbers with Klondike's
fascinating playing a feature. After another short breath, they finished with Simon's “One For The Road.”
After demands from the crowd (they wanted more and screamed for a “zugabe”) the guys gave it to them. The encore was a cover version of the Dead Boys' “Sonic Reducer” and then “So Complicated”, finally leaving after a 55-minute set. Everyone was happy and had their next bottle of beer.
After the show Chris and Simon came down to the crowd and had a beer and wine with them. They said they were enjoying German food. It was 1.30 when I left the club. The band drove to their apartment and then the next day towards Switzerland.Setlist:
EIGHT TIMES LUCKY
DEF EARS
REACH FOR THE SKY
RAMONE CONTROL
LIMBO LAND]
BE YOUR DRUG
ANGRY MAN
GIANT FOR EVERYONE
KICK HER OUT
DISCOTEK WRECK
ZEN
BRUNA
NEW RACE
BURN MY EYE
ONE FOR THE ROAD
SONIC REDUCER
SO COMPLICATED
Chainsaw band touring party outside the venue.
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