Großmarkt, Hamburg, Germany16th August 2019
Hammaburg Festival 2019 with The Sisters Of Mercy, Life of Agony, Clawfinger, Emil Bulls, Lonely Spring
The weather forecasts did not look great this week but the weather gods were merciful - maybe for a reason, thinking of the headliner of this year’s Hammaburg festival. It was raining cats and dogs on Thursday and Saturday, but not on Friday, the day of the event.
Lonely Spring
The festival ground was still quite empty when the first band entered the stage. LONELY SPRING, four young talents from Passau, played a decent gig in their own refreshing style. The Post Rock / Emo style band signed with Sony earlier this year. And I’m pretty sure were are going to hear more from these guys.
Emil Bulls
Also from the South of Germany but much longer in the business are EMIL BULLS. The band has released nine albums in 20 years and proofed that they still got it and Punk’s not dead at all.
Clawfinger
Next on the bill were CLAWFINGER. Although the Scandinavian band announced that the group would disband several years ago they still play festival gigs. Despite of facing some technical issues with the guitar sound on stage they played a storming gig and seemed to enjoy themselves as well. These guys also seem to have a good sense of humour and don’t take themselves too seriously which makes them even more sympathetic. Fun fact: The SISTERS OF MERCY’s Ben Christo is a huge CLAWFINGER fan and watched the gig from the side of the stage. // Setlist: 01. Goldfinger “Clawfinger” Theme (Shirley Bassey song) / 02. Prisoners / 03. Nothing Going On / 04. Rosegrove / 05. Nigger / 06. Two Sides / 07. Recipe for Hate / 08. Biggest & the Best / 09. The Price We Pay / 10. The Truth / 11. Do What I Say (incl. ‘The Final Countdown’ snippet)
Life of Agony
Next act was another 90ies alternative metal group: LIFE OF AGONY. The band has changed their style over the years several times. Today the influence of Led Zeppelin and BLACK SABBATH can’t be overheard. The performance may have been not everybody’s cup of tea but pleased their fans for sure. // Setlist: 01. Lost at 22 / 02. Weeds / 03. Underground / 04. Through and Through / 05. Scars / 06. Love to Let You Down / 07. Other Side of the River / 08. Bad Seed / 09. My Eyes / 10. Empty Hole / 11. This Time / 12. River Runs Red
The Sisters of Mercy
Finally THE SISTERS OF MERCY entered the stage playing already at half past nine p.m. Although the band has not released any records for more than 25 years they still headline festivals across the world for a reason. Some months before this year’s tour the former guitarist Chris Catalyst has left the band and was replaced by Dylan Smith. Dylan is an Australian instrumentalist who played in a band called I Nation before. The critical but still loyal fan base of the SISTERS gave him a warm welcome and was rewarded with a pretty good gig.
However, there were no new songs played and no cover version. Andrew Eldritch celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this year and his voice may have suffered over the years but he obviously still enjoys playing the old classics. So if you want to see a “Greatest Hits” show don’t miss the SISTERS on this year’s tour in October! Setlist: 01. More / 02. Ribbons / 03. Dr. Jeep / Detonation Boulevard / 04. Crash & Burn / 05. No Time To Cry / 06. Alice / 07. First And Last And Always / 08. Marian / 09. (We Are The Same) Susanne / 10. Flood II / 11. Dominion / Mother Russia / 12. When You Don’t See Me / 13. Lucretia My Reflection / 14. Vision Thing / 15. Temple Of Love / 16. This Corrosion.
All pictures by Christian W.
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