8Kids - 14.05.2022 - Darmstadt Centralstation

In mid-May it was finally time for me to see the 8Kids live in Darmstadt at the Centralstation. Discovered by accident, immediately fell in love with the band, then found out that they are from Darmstadt. Perfect. Then the pandemic came and all the opportunities to see the three of them live disappeared. But now finally it was the time. And on top of that, another premiere for me was taking photos at the Centralstation for the first time. In short, it was a home game for both the 8Kids and me. But first things first. I didn’t even know who the opener was until the evening, where I found out that it was the band BLUTHUND. Didn’t tell me anything, so I was very excited to see what’s coming. It started at half past seven and two people wearing white masks stormed onto the stage and started off with fireworks. German-language crossover boomed out of the speakers, while the singer ran across the stage like a madman and lived the music, which also spread wonderfully to the audience. An absolute live band, which brings a lot of energy and doesn’t stay calm. It made a lot of fun, even if you could wonder if they are just the two of them or where the rest is. A conversation after the concert brought light into the darkness, actually there are four of them, but the whole tour they had the problem again and again that one or the other dropped out due to illness. That’s why only the singer/rapper and drummer are left here. What happens when there are four of them? I’ll definitely try to experience that and keep an eye open for more concert dates from BLUTHUND. There was a short guest appearance by Jakob and Hans of the Kids, of course also masked, but it was clear who was hiding behind them. Unfortunately, after half an hour it was already over, it could have gone a little longer.

At half past eight the Kids came on stage, together with their new drummer Leif. What can I say, it was a spectacle as I had hoped. BLUTHUND’s energy must have somehow stayed on stage and then transferred to the 8Kids. Jakob in particular kept running around from one side of the stage to the other, whether with or without a guitar. With Bordsteinrand right at the start, everyone was also shaken awake and people rushed in from the outside. The crowd trembled and formed a real mosh pit in the middle, which partly covered half the hall. With Der Weg there was also a Grönemeyer cover, in the middle there was WTF, my personal favorite song, not only because of the lyrics, but because it is just so gripping. As the concert was also the last of the tour, the BLUTHUND boys couldn’t help but bring a bengalo cake on stage with the text “BLUTHUND liebt 8KIDS” written on the inside lid of the package. They used that right away to perform Wir bleiben Kids together. Friendships were formed during the tour. A gorilla was also allowed to have a guitar fight with Hans. After 13 songs, the short “Encore Calls” break came, only to come back with one of the most socially critical songs, Dein Zuhause. But also Dämonen and Ich gehöre dir nicht are songs that make you think. The conclusion then came, fittingly with Zeit. After almost 1 1/2 hours, that was the end of a great evening that calls for a repeat. There will be at least one smaller possibility next Friday when the 8Kids play at the Traffic Jam Open Air.