Some weeks ago, I had the pleasure of finally seeing KLONNS live on their Europe Tour 2024, promoting their newest album, Heathen. And while KLONNS were absolutely amazing live, the rest of the evening sadly felt more like a get-together of some local friends of the venue.
The evening started with the local opening act, Kuoleman Teatteri, who weren’t bad at all, yet generally too focused and repetitive on a typical D-Beat sound. Given the fact that they also started pretty late, it’s been a combination that didn’t really get me.
KLONNS, on the other hand, were a prime example of how modern Hardcore Punk should sound and feel: full of energy, full of variety, and full of fun. Even small problems with the touring equipment were simply and literally overplayed by the other members, starting a small mid-concert jam session while guitarist Funayama exchanged his torn string.
The overall performance of the band was just great. Although, I didn’t get the same spirit in Leipzig as the band had on nearly all other stops of the tour with an energetic chaos spreading the crowds. It was obvious that the four musicians live to play live, especially drummer Akihiro, who is by far one of the tightest and best drummers I’ve ever seen in this scene. Seriously, as soon as the concert started, he gave a solid 200%, which was absolutely remarkable to watch. I would advise everyone to see the band live only to watch him playing the drums. His play is outstanding—and pretty rare for a band in that genre.
Hardcore Punk can be quite sloppy when it comes to how accurately musicians play their instruments. And on many occasions, that’s exactly what defines the characteristics of bands in the genre, as Kuoleman Teatteri proved pretty perfectly.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean this in a negative way. Concerts in leftist-leaning spaces such as the venue ZxRx are all about the community and the time you spend together. It’s rarely about showing off your skills and your talent, but about having fun and coming together. And that regards, Kuoleman Teatteri definitely hit the vibe.
But then, having a band like KLONNS on stage really shows where Hardcore Punk could be musically and skill-wise. It always saddens me that there are only such a few bands who really step their game up, especially in a genre that is as unique and unconventional as Hardcore Punk. Even more importantly, KLONNS showed that you can have both: skills and talent and coming together to have a great time.
Yes, I wish that KLONNS had a better crowd that evening. And yes, I also would have liked to see more interaction between the crowd and the band, but given the circumstances of places like ZxRx, it definitely wasn’t bad for most of the people. The mood of the crowd was great for what this evening was supposed to be—it just wasn’t for me.
