Grade 2 at The Pitcher in Dusseldorf, Germany on 19 July 2024.
A couple of hours drive up the motorway to Dusseldorf to see Grade 2 from the Isle of Wight (UK) on a very hot and balmy summer day.
After checking into my hotel, I walk the 20 minutes to the venue, The Pitcher, which I know from a previous visit to see Maid of Ace in 2022. Even on a cold December day the venue was pretty warm inside for that gig, so I sort of know what to expect today.
I grab a burger down the road and then head into the venue, where I have a brief chat with the lads from Grade 2 about bringing them to play in Arlon (fingers crossed). As the venue fills up, the temperature rises quickly, and it gets too hot for me to stay inside to see much of the support band. So, I head outside with my beer and strike up conversations with a few people who had also escaped the heat.
I am determined to get a decent view of Grade 2, so I get inside again after a couple of beers and head down the front well before the band take the stage. The Pitcher is long and narrow, but then opens up a bit in front of the stage. The place is absolutely rammed for the main band and the sweat is pouring off me only a few songs into the set. I wake up the following morning having lost my voice, and my t-shirt is still damp the following afternoon.
Grade 2 are absolutely on fire, adding to the heat in the venue ( 🙂 ) and run through a blistering set, hardly pausing for breath. This is possibly the hottest gig I’ve ever been to, even beating New Model Army in Arlon a few years ago.
Since there is a pillar behind me, I am able to take a couple of videos (posted on my FB page) as well as the photos below, without obscuring anyone’s view. The footage is a little shaky, as I am down the front, and regularly get bashed into by the moshers. I have a few bruises the next day to show for it. It’s difficult to get shots without including the handful of people just in front of me (Mr. “hammers head” gets into quite a few 😉 ). But for me, that adds to showing the atmosphere of the evening.
There is quite a bit of crowd surfing too, particularly during the band’s cover of “Where Eagles Dare” by The Misfits. I manage to keep myself and my phone camera safe, despite the people hurtling themselves from the low stage, despite the confined space of the venue.
I finish the evening outside after the show, chatting to some nice people whilst attempting to dry off and cool down. Then a few games of darts over more beers in the company of a certain German-based drummer until late into the night.
All in all, an amazing gig from a brilliant ‘young’ band who I will make sure that I see again at Rebellion Festival in a few weeks time.
