Live report FILTER & BELMONDO, Knust, Hamburg – March 29th, 2024

A rock show on Good Friday? Now, this isn’t very common in Germany as it is a day of grief, being part of the Easter days and music shows, sports events and similar things aren’t allowed that day. But there are exemptions which allows American alternative rock and metal band Filter to play a show at Knust as a part of the current European tour. The Hamburg show is the second last on this road trip and fans are excited to see their idols on stage.

Opening act on this tour is a group that is rather young. Belmondo is the moniker of a band that premiered live in 2022 and what the four-piece delivers today is a highly energetic show. The blend of grunge and alternative rock is explosive and fans at Knust get more and more excited the longer the show goes on. Centerpiece of the band is singer/bassist Carmen Mellino and her very expressive stage performance. Also not shy of jumping off the stage and singing a song in the middle of fans is a moment that shows the joy this young and hungry band brings to the plate. Belmondo made good use of their 40-minute playing time, and I guess they made quite some new fans tonight.

And on we go with the main act tonight – Filter. The band, formed in 1993 by Richard Patrick, prefers light but at the same time wants to act in the dark which both fit the sound of Filter very well. Stage smoke is what is all over the place when the band starts into their show at 22:15 and it is ‘You Walk Away’ from ‘The Amalgamut’-album being the first chapter of 18 songs featuring setlist.

Filter released a new album a few weeks ago and the tour is a perfect moment to present some of the new material in a live setup. With ‘The Drowning’ one of the songs from ‘The Algorithm’ comes rather early and there are with ‘For the Beaten’, ‘Obliteration’ and the lead single ‘Face Down’ three more tunes coming from the latest release.

Filter present really good stuff on this Friday night which brings us back to Good Friday. As Patrick states, every Friday is a good Friday – and Saturdays are even better. The fans agree with 100%. The room is in the meantime also pack to the last row and with songs like ‘Take a Picture’ and ‘It’s Gonna Kill Me’ Filter create a thrilling and dark vibe at Knust. The classics from the first releases – ‘Welcome to My Fold’ and ‘Hey Man Nice Shot’ – herald the end of a 90-minute set and what everybody attending got served tonight was a well-chosen mix of songs from different moments of the band’s career.

Filter delivered a set, that was very professional from start to finish. Sound and fan euphoria were great and yet it was the unleashed authentic passion of Belmondo that impressed even more.