Finkel concerts, Jette (Bruxel)

People keep asking about other fests from this era that were not organised by our Smurfpunx collective… So let’s try to incorporate some of them here then. Counting on anyone for help/contributions again!

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‘De Finkel’

85-02-02: Scoundrels (Nl), X-Creta (Bel) [flyer: Dirty Scums (Bel)], Wulpse Varkens (Bel), Zyklome-A (Bel)

86-05-17: M.O.G. (Nl), Ear Damage (Bel)

86-11-86: Kina (Ita), Hate Crew (Bel), Repulsives (Bel)

86-12-08: Senza Sterzo (Ita) – Manimal (Ita) – Deviant Gedrag (Bel) – Brain Disorder (Bel)

87-04-12: W.C.F. (Nl), Cry Of Terror (Nl), Hate Crew (Bel), Taartje Aardbei (Bel)

87-05-03: S.C.A. (Nl), Vortex (Bel), Deviant Gedrag (Bel), Indirekt (Nl), Vernon Walters (Nl) ???

88-07-31: 5Les (Bel), Deviated Instinct (UK), [split] => Mind Exit (Bel), Dawn Of Liberty (Bel)

88-04-09: Mental Disturbance (Bel), Violent Mosquitos (Bel), Disgorge (Bel)

88-08-28: Negazione (Ita), Political Asylum (UK), Lethal Gospel (USA), Cry Of Terror (Nl), Dirty Scums (Bel)

88-11-13: Bobwire (Nl), Mental Disturbance (Bel), …

88-12-18: S.N.F.U. (Can) – The Ewings (Ger) – Dr Rat (Ger) – Mental Disturbance (Bel) [organised by Smurfpunx]

89-01-27: Flitox (Fra), Bad Influence (Bel)

89-02-18: M.S.T. (Fra), Smegmatics (Fra)

89-03-29: Concrete Sox (UK), Doom (UK), Chronic Disease (Bel)

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De Finkel was the youthcentre for young people in Jette from the mid ’70s to the beginning of the ’90s.

As in other youthcentres in the Brussels area during that period, the initiative to start up a meetingplace for youngsters arose in a ‘bottom up’ manner. There was no low-treshold meetingspace for the baby-boomers – young people of 20 in the ’70s – in Jette during that period, except for the pubs or ‘taverns’ in the municipality (that were heavily frequented after school-time an/or on Sunday-afternoons after activities of the youth-movements). In the light of all this De Finkel was born.

By the end of its existence as youthecentre, the relation with the local administration would certainly become often ‘problematic’. Not in the least because De Finkel got associated with the Dutch-speaking, Flemish youth of Jette and the northeast of Brussels, while during the ’70s Jette was a municipality with a mainly French-speaking population, which was reflected in its  administration, and hence the youth-policy. The aim of the younthcentre’s  activists was nevertheless always opening up towards all languages and cultures. In the end De Finkel was a meetingplace for the metropolitan youth, with music being a binding factor. The location where the youthcentre was started, couldn’t have been a better one: an abandoned brewery: a big, industrial, concrete building adjacent of the Garcet park, near the Jette railway-station.

From the mid ’70s on many concerts, parties and a pub got organised. The youngsters of Jette and surroundings reacted very positively to this new offer, what translated into e.g. huge memberships – some 300 – of young people that wanted to make use of De Finkel. A yearly acme for the activists during that period was the ‘Finkel Festival’, taking place the last weekend of August augustus and where a lot of the established values and pioneers of the Belgian pop- and rock-scene played: Raymond van het Groenewoud, ‘TC Matic’, ‘The Employees’, ‘Red Zebra’, etc.

From the middle of the ’80s on De Finkel ended up in difficult existential waters. Not just because of its ever strained relations with the local administrations, but also because of the changing public. The pioneers of the ’70s declutched and their place was taken by the often alternative new-wave and punk youngsters of Brussels. Their pick of meetingplaces and alternative music-venues in Brussels had gotten quite more extensive (DNA, the university’s Kultuurkaffee, Ancienne Belgique, …) in the meantime, what meant that De Finkel was less and less able to attract collaborators and volunteers.

Filip ‘Boulle’ Burgelman

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We [‘Indecency’, ‘5Les’] rehearsed there. On Sunday-mornings, with free Kriek [cherry-beer]. Our first rehearsal was legendary. We’d never played together and Chris had never held a microphone before. I was thinking: we’ll invite an audience. One of the first concerts I went to was at De Finkel (‘Zyklome-A’, ‘Wulpse Varkens’ & ‘Scoundrels’.

Onno Hesselink

88-12-18 (De Finkel) S.N.F.U. – The Ewings – Dr Rat – Mental Disturbance

Since our ‘home’ (Netwerk) was not always available to us (at that time there was ‘book-week’), we sometimes cooperated with other groups of friends who had a space. ‘De Finkel’ was such a place: kind of a darkish, dilapidated youth-centre hidden in a park in a Brussels’ suburb…

At first the plan was that ‘Accüsed’ were gonna be playing too but due to a ‘misunderstanding’, Thomas from We Bite recs booked them elsewhere (a big metal show in Gent – turned out to be a pub of 3 by 20 m, together with ‘Suicidal Tendencies’)… This one was a very successful concert, though smaller (150 attending) but more intimate. Hetty (Konkurrent) came over from A’dam by train. Very good live bands. Friendly people.

I had arranged a show for the ‘Berliners’ in Terneuzen (Nl) the day before and we had met in the summer of ’88 when I toured with ‘Hate Crew’ – they played together in Frankfurt. So I already knew them: Luciana (bassplayer in ‘Dr. Rat’) recognised me immediately. Also ‘Ewings’ guitarist Walt Molt, Bernd (Huber; ‘Dr. Rat guitarist) and the other guys…very decent chaps (‘Ewings’: Ant – bass, Roland ‘Role’ Wagner – vocals).

‘S.N.F.U.’s set was rather short (singer Chi Pig was ill – diarrhea because of Salmonella-infested eggs eaten in England) but very intense. After the show we drove everyone to Aalst where the bands spent the night in ‘our’ pub (Gele Limonade). We had a serious discussion about major labels but also a lot of fun (especially with bass-man Curtis and the roadie)! Playing for ‘S.N.F.U.’ (‘Society’s No Fucking Use’, from Edmonton, Canada) during this 1^st European tour were vocalist Kendall ‘Ken’ Chinn a.k.a. ‘Mr. Chi Pig’, the twin-brothers Brent and Marc Belke (both guitar), drummer Ted Simm and bass-player Curtis Creager.

Brob

gig-review (by Simon Guy) in Non-Conform #3

That was our [Ewings] second last gig ever before splitting up. We did our last one the week after. I moved to Hannover and still playing drums in a band called ‘Blank’. Walt & Ant still live in Berlin. Role, our singer, emigrated to the Canary Islands and lives very isolated in some kind of cave (nobody knows for sure). I haven’t seen Luciana & Bernd [Dr. Rat]  since I left Berlin in 1998. The same with Michele, their Italian drummer… Fifi, the singer from ‘Doc Rat’, died in the early ’90s because of his heroine addiction.

Carlo Kallen (‘Ewings’ drummer)

It was amusing to see 4 stalls with T-shirts. […] The ‘Ewings’ were super…

Alain ‘Nabate’ (personal communication ’88)

I remember this show! Great times. Actually the guitar-player from ‘Mental Disturbance’ (Michel Kirby) has some a video from some shows at the Finkel… We were so excited to open for ‘S.N.F.U.!!!

Marc De Backer (‘Mental Disturbance’ bassist)

More great pictures by ‘Kockie’:

S.N.F.U.

in action…

Chi Pig

gig-review in Kwalpol #6:

>>December 18^th it was. Whatever. Making up reviews from behind the typewriter is something I wouldn’t advise, but well. ‘Mental Disturbance’ are from Brussels. Under normal circumstances that would say enough; not so here. At times a bit too fast for my liking but they’re OK. ‘Dr Rat’ from Berlin: don’t ask me to whistle any of their tunes. It was Hardcore-With-Exciting-Tempochanges. People who already liked the ‘Ewings’ LP, better go check out this band live in order to get really thrilled. Damn, what an energy, not of this world. The same goes for Mr Chi Pig of ‘S.N.F.U.’, according to connoisseurs one of the most mobile front-men in hardcore-land. I am a connoisseur. So. This was the best concert of 1988 indeed; do note that this is possible in De Finkel. Can you spare a dime?<< [;-) Sorry for non Dutch-speaking people but it’s really hard to capture Bart’s irony and play on words.]

86-12-08 (De Finkel) Senza Sterzo – Manimal – Deviant Gedrag – Brain Disorder

[Sometimes people think a certain concert was organised by Smurfpunx, when it wasn’t…]

This wasn’t a bad gig, although the attendance wasn’t that great if I remember correctly.

‘Manimal’ and ‘Deviant Gedrag’ were good; no memories pop up about ‘Senza Sterzo’; and ‘Brain Disorder’ was the chaotic poseur-band of that skater Thierry ‘Areuh’… [Brob: Areuh Sertyn played for ‘Brain Cancer’…]

Why wasn’ t this organised by Smurfpunx? Look at the date… It was only one week after the first Smurfpunx-concert with ‘Ceresit’ in ‘Netwerk’. It was an ad hoc collaboration with Filip ‘Boule’ Burgelman (‘Indecency’ / ’5Les’) who set up gigs in ‘De Finkel’ [youthcentre in Jette, near Brussels] regurlarly. Filip organised the tour for ‘Manimal’. He probably contacted ‘Mokka’ first for a concert in Aalst but we weren’t able to do it (‘Netwerk’ was not available and ‘De Gele Limonade’ was finished for the time being.).

It was ‘Mokka’s and my intention also to keep a good contact with ‘De Finkel’ [Duco also did the poster for this one.] in case ‘Netwerk’ wouldn’t work out when we were offered interessting acts that were ‘too small’ to fill up ‘Netwerk’. [There was more cooperation later on, as one can see in the concert-list.]

Duco

‘Manimal’ was a Roman HC band consisting of bassist Carmelo Seminara, drummer Fausto Delfini (drums) and guitarists Massimo Iacoponi & Fabio. Their self-titled LP was recorded in April that year and released by Contagio recs. They had already toured Germany with ‘Negazione’ & ‘Indigesti’ in 1985.

Donatella ‘Doda’ Mariotti (bass) played for ‘Senza Sterzo’ (from Pisa), together with Marco (drums), Luciano (guitar) and ‘Mad Jack’ (vocals). If I’m well informed, they only did a demo (7 songs) in 1988.

Brob