Joined by Them Birds and The Dollfins, The Bone Collectors launched their debut album Black Love at the German club in Gardens. They fought bravely but sadly the strange venue got the better of all the bands…

The old German Club seems to have several names, I’ve always known it as ‘that place next to The Tafelberg Tavern’, a venue I remember for a gig at which I saw Lark for the first time and my grade 10 dance (yes those exist, and yes, it was as awful as it sounds).

Arriving on Friday I was greeted by a rather terrifying trio at the door – a guy with a noose  around his neck (and a mouth full of bad puns), a butcher with a bucket of bloody meat and the 7ft tall, flaming machete-wielding Bone Collector Ken Bullen-Smith.

They did a good job of preparing me for more macabreness, but unfortunately the weirness that followed was the unplanned kind, courtesy of the venue itself. I arrived pretty early so had time to take in the German TV in the bar and the dinner hall settings next door (before the tables were removed) and amused myself by trying to tell the bar regulars from the music fans…

The Dollfins kicked off the show, in a hall that smelled of new floor and generally looked a little unfinished. The opening set was plagued by sound problems which unfortunately didn’t get better as the night went on, the power even died (typically) during the Dollfins track I really like, In my head. Unfortunately all this meant the set wasn’t great; last time I saw the band I enjoyed them, this time round, not so much.

The hipster contingent of the crowd left with The Dollfins, making the already sparse crowd even thinner for Them Birds. It was my first time seeing them so I didn’t know what to expect. By this point I’d resorted to using my crappy earplugs which dulled the sharp pain of the over-loud speakers but didn’t do the music any favours. The band weren’t bad; their brand of old school rock n roll isn’t really my favourite sound, but I appreciated their frontwoman’s energy.

Another brief crowd re-shuffle (it happens all the time but somehow seemed more obvious at this gig than at most) and The Bone Collectors were up. They couldn’t all fit on the small stage and their guest brass (and harmonica) section spilled over on the right and aforementioned percussionist Ken occupied the left.

They thundered through their set, but even so didn’t get to play everything because of strict time constraints (the electrical issues earlier had delayed things) which sucked. They were also haunted by technical nasties for which I blame the cowboy doing the sound (not a random insult, the guy was wearing a straw cowboy hat…with backward sunglasses on top…).

It’s a real shame, the bands tried hard and were entertaining but the venue ultimately got the better of everyone. The one thing I will say for it though is that the big window behind the stage is really cool…
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The Bone Collectors   |  Them Birds  |  The Dollfins

Photos on Facebook over here