One night in Hamburg is always a pleasure and when you couple that with a musical outing the resultant pleasure is compounded. Having sold out two nights at Grosse Freiheit Nordic sensations Katzenjammer are riding on the crest of a wave which will break on UK shores early December. Currently rising up the German album chart with their second album ‘A Kiss Before You Go’ this vibrant port provided the perfect setting in which to break my Katzenjammer cherry.
A complex infusion of Balkan beats and burlesque sensuality this all girl outfit provide a musical feast to tingle even the most hardened taste buds.
Refreshingly unpretentious the Katzenjammer sound is hard to pigeonhole but would sit well with fans of vagabond legend Gorgol Bordello or Dixie Chicks devotees.
From the outset it was clear that Katzenjammer were more than just four pretty faces. Their well-crafted songs perfectly complementing their distinct vocal styles and range with sugar coated harmonies sweetening the spectacle.
With tonight’s show being recorded for an upcoming Universal DVD and the four-piece took to the stage with glitzy gusto ready to entertain a packed auditorium of fans.
Genuinely talented these multi-instrumentalists regaled the audience with a plethora of instruments all proficient in contrabass balalaika, banjo, kazoo, melodia, xylophone, mandolin, glockenspiel, Kazoo, washboard, trumpet, acoustic guitar (to name but a few) and what looked like a metal dustbin attached to the drum kit. Each song saw them swapping instruments like glances seemingly in a continuous round of musical chairs.
Wearing an all in one shorts and top combo with red and white hem Anne Marit bore more than a passing resemblance to wonder woman and when she began playing three instruments at once she could almost have you believing she was while Turid, looked captivating in her black and red, evening gown was resolute on the huge contrabass balalaika.
There’s a homemade feel to the music and a free spirit that’s entwined within it that gets the lips curling skywards and hands clapping happily along as tonight’s crowd could testify. As Solveig took her turn at the helm of the band, the lights setting her long blonde locks alight, wearing what I’d consider to be Tarzan’s Jane outfit she could not have looked more enticing.
During ‘Aint No Thang’ Marianne Sveen showed her voice had all the depth of the Pacific and concluded the rendition asking the crowd “promise me you’ll all go home and have sex tonight!”
With perfect timing, well crafted songs and an infectious charisma I found myself gripped by an overwhelming desire to beat my chest raw in my best Tarzan impression.
With a flurry of facebook activity testament to their growing popularity (50,000 ‘likes’ since the start of their current tour) treat yourself to an early Christmas present and catch them at Dingwalls in Camden on December 4th.
Their second album ‘A Kiss Before You Go’ is slated for an early 2012 UK release but prior to that do check out their classic debut ‘Le Pop’ you won’t be disappointed.
