Messed!Up
Let’s make one thing clear from the start: Bad Nerves don’t need the punk scene, the punk scene needs Bad Nerves! It’s by far the best that happened to punk music since Black Flag was formed in 1976 (although that’s hardcore), both on record and live.
Described as the lovechild of Ramones and The Strokes, the band released their self-titled debut under peak pandemic in 2020 and followed it up with their sophomore album Still Nervous at the end of May this year. And they offer some well-crafted punk songs; it’s garage punk riffs on triple the speed, thrown into a blender where it’s mixed with pop punk, and out comes some of the best high-speed punk melodies heard on record in the 2000s. It’s raw, in-your-face punk songs with pulsating energy, and if you’re into frenetic 90 miles an hour garage punk rock with hooks at every turn, led by the amazing and enigmatic frontman Bobby Nerves, then I can’t think of a better.
We had the band for interviews in December 2022 and February this year, and in between those interviews, their band career has really taken off with support slots at major venues for bands like The Darkness, The Hives, Nothing But Thieves, and Royal Blood. That’s not small steps to fandom, it’s a leap! Now they’re back in Germany for a major headliner tour, and their gig at Molotow has been sold out for months. Playing at Molotow also means that they’ve gone the full circle; it was at Molotow we discovered them the first time, at Reeperbahn Festival in 2018 just by chance because we didn’t have anything else to do and thought that hanging out at the first gigs at Molotow could be fun – and we had a blast!
Bad Nerves shoot out of the gate like a junkie shooting up on a Saturday night, it was pure chaos in the best way possible already from the start. Within seconds, the crowd was in full mosh-pit mode. The guitars were as loud as ever, with rough, jagged riffs that shredded through the room and made the whole venue to vibrate. Firing off ‘Baby Drummer’, ‘Palace’, and ‘Terminal Boy’, fan-favorites from their self-titled debut, ignites mosh pits that never stop because the audience isn’t given any chance to slow down – there are no slow songs, it’s full steam punk machine from the start to the end! Behind dark sunglasses, Bobby’s unmistakable piercing vocals were sung from the top of his range as he commanded the room in a distinct stride.
At most shows, I experience a moment mid-set when it gets a bit blasé before it takes off again and you get that amazing ending, but Bad Nerves don’t let you linger for long. It’s fast, intense, and incredibly catchy, and when ‘Don’t Stop’ turns up as the fourth song there’s a tsunami of sweaty people running around Molotow. And they also played one of the oldest songs, ‘Bad Kid’, according to Bobby for the first time in forever. In fact, there’s not a single moment to relax meaning you’re frequently bombarded with more and faster songs. From electric performances of ‘New Shapes, ‘USA’ and ‘Antidote’, their edgy garage rock sound infuses a hit of power pop that sent the band into a frenzy of melodious rapture.
The crowd wouldn’t let them go without an encore although they already had played 17 songs. Bad Nerves came back and delivered three blistering songs before calling it a night, the fantastic anthems ‘You’ve Got the Nerve’, my personal favorite ‘Can’t Be Mine’, and ‘Dreaming’. 20 songs in just over an hour was enough because there was no air left at Molotow and I struggled with my lack of endurance.
After a brief visit to the merch stand and buying a t-shirt and a pair of socks for the photographer, we didn’t follow our plan and went home. Instead, we got caught in the vibe, had a few more beers, and hit the dancefloor. Just an ordinary Friday night in Hamburg, right?
