Gasoline Meets a Spark: Two Nights of Pure Punk Detonation!
On the last 2 days of January, The Meffs ignited the fire, The Baboon Show set it ablaze – here’s the lowdown on their sold-out tour finale in Dortmund and Münster, on 30th and 31st Jan 2026:
Upon annoucement of this tour, the immediate reaction was simple: what a combination! Two of the most explosive live bands in contemporary punk on one bill – could that even work without total combustion? When these two forces share a stage, it feels like bringing gasoline and a spark together – instant ignition. The result: an explosive wall of sound that transforms the entire venue into a raging, sweat-soaked battlefield.
Opening both nights were The Meffs – the Essex-based duo of Lily (guitar & vocals) and Lewis (drums). Their 45-minute set left no room for long speeches or breathing space. Instead, it was pure forward motion – relentless energy paired with a raw joy of playing that spread through the crowd within seconds.
In Germany, The Baboon Show have long been a firmly established name, and The Meffs are no small act either, easily filling 300-capacity clubs on their own. Unsurprisingly, almost every date on this tour sold out well in advance.
After the show, I briefly spoke to Lily. Still visibly euphoric, she summed up the experience in one sentence: “This was the best tour we’ve ever played.” Lewis clearly shared that enthusiasm – so much so that he even got the The Baboon Show logo tattooed upon himself. Some tours leave memories. Others leave permanent marks.
Following a necessary 25-minute changeover break – enough time to grab another drink and catch a breath – anticipation for The Baboon Show built quickly.
At around 9:15 pm, the curtain finally dropped. The Swedish quartet launched into ‘Be a Baboon’, and whatever energy remained in the room from the support set instantly reignited. The crowd seamlessly carried the momentum forward. More than 23 years of stage experience showed immediately. By the third song, Cecilia (vocals) was already deep in the audience.
On both nights, the boundary between band and crowd dissolved more and more, until it felt like one collective organism moving in rhythm.
Cecilia, of course, couldn’t resist leaping from the balcony into the audience on both evenings. Meanwhile, Frida (bass), Niclas (drums), and Simon (guitar) remained completely unfazed, driving the set forward as if there were no tomorrow and pushing both venues to boiling point.
Across nearly two hours, the band delivered a set spanning all phases of their career, balancing raw early material with later anthems, each one met with deafening singalongs.
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: FLORIAN REITH
The Meffs:
- Deathwish
- So Modern
- Stamp It Out
- Breathe (The Prodigy cover)
- Fight
- Look at You
- Disorder
- Wasted on Women
- Like Gravity
- Broken Britain, Broken Brains
- Clowns
The Baboon Show:
- Be a Baboon
- Walk The Walk
- God Bless You All
- Forward in Reverse
- You Got a Problem Without Knowing It
- Hurray
- Could You Be It
- Rolling
- Gold
- Playing With Fire
- No Afterglow
- It’s a Sin
- Class War
- Same Old Story (Knutna Nävar cover)
- Tonight
- Radio Rebelde
- Lost You in a Second
Encore:
- Oddball
- Medley
- The Shame
- Me, Myself and I
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I’m Florian “Flo” Reith, based in Düsseldorf, Germany. Since 2009, I’ve been living for live music – over 1000 shows, 200+ cities, 30+ countries. The camera was there from the very beginning: I tried to capture every gig I went to. Over time, things became more professional and more structured and somewhere along the way, I discovered writing too. I love supporting new and unknown bands. Whether it’s behind the merch stand, working as a roadie, helping organize shows, or sometimes co-promoting them myself – I’m always down to jump in where I’m needed. But let’s be honest: my favourite place will always be the pit – front row, dust, sweat, and pure mosh pit chaos!
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