Apart perhaps from my daughters, there’s nothing I love more than live music. I don’t go to gigs nearly as often as I’d like to, but luckily there’s now a vast library of full sets freely available on YouTube. True, it’s not the same as being there, but on the plus side, the sound and picture quality is often excellent, and there’s nobody talking just behind you or pushing past on their way to the bar. Plus you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own sofa.
So I thought it might be fun to do a virtual gig series. Weekly/fortnightly/monthly, depending on how it goes.
I’m going to start with a ’Spill favourite. Most people here will be familiar with Katzenjammer, but might not be aware that they’re even more fun live than on record: swapping instruments, harmonising exquisitely, playing a massive bass balalaika painted like a grinning Cheshire cat and generally giving off enough good energy to power a small city.
This show comes from Hamburg in 2012, and is possibly the most joyous 86 minutes on YouTube.
There’s usually an element of FOMO when it comes to watching these virtual gigs, but in this case I was fortunate enough to see them play a near identical set at Concorde in Brighton at around the same time. My jaw literally ached the next day from the grin on my face all night.
If any genies are reading: world peace, a stable climate and, pretty please, a Katzenjammer reunion.
The 'Spill 
It is indeed the most joyous event and features, possibly, their best ever versions of Hey Ho (On the Devil’s Back) and God’s Great Dust Storm. Oddly when I click on it here I get “this video is unavailable. I don’t know if that is due to ,my computer’s settings, the length of the video being embedded or what. But just in case it works any better I’ll post it here as well.
Seems to be working here!
I was lucky to see them at Cambridge folk fest a few years back, sadly not long before they split up. A Katzenjammer reunion, yes please!
It’s me, Suzi. Having trouble logging in.
and now it seems that I have…!!
Yes, that does look like a lotta fun!
But enjoying live gigs from the comfort of my own sofa is a not-unfamiliar experience…. 😉
(C)
Here’s a video from Cambridge folk fest. I’m in that crowd somewhere. 2015 – a very good year. Katzenjammer at Cambridge and Dismaland at Weston-Super- Mare. Was it really nearly 9 years ago? 😦
Pingback: Virtual gigs: First Aid Kit and friends – Leonard Cohen tribute – The 'Spill