With chaotic charm, sharp NDW-punk energy and plenty of humour, Cologne’s rising underground outfit turned a Wednesday night into a sweaty DIY celebration!
A few weeks ago in Essen, while opening for Panic Shack, Cologne-based four-piece Schnuppe completely caught me off guard. Up until that night I had never even heard of the band, but after only a handful of songs it became obvious that I needed to see them again properly in a full headline setting.
Even more surprising was the fact that their very next show would take place in my own hometown of Düsseldorf!
The concert was held at WP8, a small independent arts and culture space near Düsseldorf’s main station that has long been part of the city’s underground and DIY scene. This alone already made the evening feel special, as it had been years since my last visit there.
At around 9pm, the four musicians of Schnuppe stormed onto the stage. Since regular drummer Diana is currently unavailable, Bernhard stepped in on drums for this live date, joining Mel on guitar, Dani on bass, and Kat on vocals and keys. From the very first song, the band radiated the kind of loose, playful energy that instantly fills a room.
Musically, the set strongly recalled the first wave of classic German punk acts such as Hans-A-Plast and Östro 430 – raw, quirky, noisy and danceable all at once.
Midway through the set the band also played a cover version of ‘Rock’n’Roll Freitag’ by German fun-punk legends Die Mimmis. Since the gig happened on a Wednesday rather than a Friday, the song was naturally renamed ‘Rock’n’Roll Mittwoch’ for the occasion! Having heard the original countless times before, I was initially a little sceptical, but the band managed to completely win me over.
Thanks especially to the prominent keyboard parts, the song felt less like a straightforward cover, and more like a genuine Schnuppe reinterpretation.
The set lasted around 60 minutes, with the band visibly enjoying every second on stage and effortlessly transferring that enthusiasm to the audience. One of the evening’s most charming aspects was how refreshingly unpolished and spontaneous everything felt, including the banter between songs.
By the end of the night, the band had already worked their way through their entire catalogue, so for the final encore they brought back ‘Plastik’ one last time – an honest, funny and somehow perfect ending to a show that captured exactly what makes small DIY punk gigs so memorable in the first place: chaos, humour, spontaneity and genuine passion.
Main Photo Credit /All Photos: FLORIAN REITH
Video: FLORIAN REITH
- Storno
- Veränderung
- Betriebsausflug
- Rock ‚n‘ Roll Freitag
- Aspirin
- Showbizz
- Plastik
- Identity
- Cote D’ Azur
- Die hängengebliebenen
- Don’t babe me
- Bier für die Girls
- Plastik (encore)
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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!
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
