June 26th, 2012 at Druckluft/Oberhausen, GER
I was immensely pleased when I noticed that THE BELLRAYS would play a show in my hometown Oberhausen. Firstly, because I'm a huge fan of California's finest purveyors of soulful hard-egded rock 'n' roll and also because good shows are rare in Oberhausen. At least, with regard to my musical taste. For this reasons, there was an attendance requirement for me. In addition, I missed the acoustic show of singer Lisa Kekaula and her husband Bob Venuum a few weeks ago at the same venue what still annoys me like a splinter in the finger.
When I arrived a lot of people were already there and it was nice to meet old friends again. After a few beers and a couple of conversations, the opening act Pascal Briggs entered the stage with just one acoustic guitar. I remembered that a good friend of mine once was playing a record of Briggs' own band, The Stokers, that I liked and one track in particular. To be honest, I have to say that I would have wished to see The Stokers that evening, because his solo material didn't make me very happy. It reminds me of bands such as The Pogues and stuff like that, but only as an acoustic version. I find this kind of Celtic punk, or whatever you call it, quite unbearable due to its lager-swilling mood. So I left the hall and preferred to drink another cold beer outside instead of listening to Pascal Briggs.
