Michelle Records, Altstadt, Hamburg

do they still (or again) sell vinyl?

michelle records appeared to be the vinyl-in-thing during the 80´s and I spend all my pocket money there. they were primarily serving the rock- and independent field, those days, offering unique editions you didn´t find elsewhere in hamburg. such as a leather-coated record cover from motörheads "no remorse" album.

I remember I went there during the 90s, but thought they we´re just selling cds and mainstream as anyone else.

well, I dislike the idea to have complete rock-histories converted to mp3s and stored on USB sticks. so I started collecting vinyl again, as every single piece is an original......

i think i gotta go there next week and have a l@@k what they are made up for, now.

I don't really go to record shops anymore. In fact, i don't think i've bought a cd or record in about 2 years! But when i heard Jose Gonzalez was playing a secret gig here, I had to go. This is a small and initimate venue so it was amazing seeing this gig up close and personal. If i were you i'd DEFINITELY get on the Michelle records mailing list so that you are aware of upcoming secret performances!

Oh, they also have english speaking music magazines. It was nice to be able to thumb through rolling stone magazine while i was waiting for Jose to come on stage!

I've never bought a record from Michelle's, but it seems like a great place to buy one from. They have a really great selection of vinyl, from new stuff to a large selection of second hand (or at least they looked that way to me). They don't stock any metal, but hey, i guess no-one really cares that much.

So why write a review of a record store you've never bought anything from? Jose Gonzales. He played Hamburg today, but unfortunately it sold out before me and my friends got around to getting one. Luckily for us one of our friends is on the Michelle's Records email list and got a message from them today saying that Jose would be playing a secret gig at the store today at 6pm.

We got there at 5:45, meandered around for a bit until noticing a sign saying that he'd be on at 6:30. At this point we decided to go next door for a beer. Upon arriving back at 6:25 the place was completely packed, but oddly the later you arrive the closer to the front you get (pretty much), so we were at the front.

Jose came on pretty much on time and started with Hints from his veneer album. Then the Instrumental from the Australian Tour EP, then the international Sony-bouncing-balls-advert hit Heartbeats. Then we got an incendary version of Down the Line from his new In Our Nature album. It was at least twice as good as the album version. He finished with another oldie, Crosses.

Unfortunately 5 minutes plus of ovation couldn't convince him back onto the stage. Poor guy actually looked quite embarrassed. He seemed pretty humble. Actually I'm pretty sure he played another song, but I'm not sure which one from memory. We certainly got an awesome free gig. Better than most of the gigs I've paid for.

If you look at the uploaded photos you'll see what my mate took on his mobile phone. We were literally 2m away from him. Heck, you can see the detail where his guitar is damaged from his percussive hits in songs like Down the Line. It was awesome.

p.s. I'm thinking that the other song was Suggestions. Anyone confirm this?