Nothing In Common @ Sonic Ballroom, Cologne

All good things have to come to an end eventually and since Lisse, Nothing In Common's guitarist and singer, decided to join Aachen's Pale and play bass with them, the end of one of Germany's finest punkrock bands came to an end last Friday. What a fitting venue the Ballroom is for an occasion like this.
We (a.k.a. A Modest Proposal) have been friends with Nothing In Common for a long time because our singer Pascal and Lisse grew up together. It was always a pleasure to watch them play and the songs they performed were always highly entertaining. As were Lisse's announcements and actions on stage. For their last two release parties they asked some of their friends to perform punkrock and hardcore classics only accompanied by a piano player. Great stuff.

So this was their last show and the place was packed. So packed that - honestly - I wasn't in any mood to join the crowd so I kept standing in front of the room and talked to some people. It seems that the days of great shows which were more like a huge meeting of friends with some random band playing are a thing of the past now. So people only show up for special stuff like Gorilla Biscuits or for the last show of some of their friends' bands. For The Day (Aachen) opened up for the evening which took me a little by surprise since I thought that they had called it quits as well. What I was hearing from outside sounded as good as always and their choice of coverversions was exquisite as well (Jawbreaker "Boxcar" and The Undertones "Teenage Kicks"). Next up were D.H. from the east of Germany. I had seen them play with Nothing In Common at some show in Brühl years ago and I really liked what I heard so I bought their record. Still I can't remember much of it and it's been quite some time since I last listened to their music. By the time they entered the stage on Friday I didn't really pay any attention. Unfortunately maybe. If I remember it right they had a more "German" touch to their music, but still their brand of punkrock had something of some American bands as well. Note to myself: Have to listen to the record again.
So the I left I didn't see Nothing In Common play their final show because I had to work the next day. I believe they were awesome as they always were when I saw them. Another great band left the stage.