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26.07.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (Trollrock, Beitostølen)

Saturday, July 27th, 2013

Actually, I’m not really a huge fan of festivals (or at least not such a huge fan of “Kaizers at festivals”), and my last Kaizers concert at Ravnefesten in Kristiansand absolutely confirmed that opinion. Nevertheless, I wanted to see another full festival in Norway again this year. The decision for Trollrock was pretty easy – fairly small, nice area, and an awesome line up! Besides Kaizers, bands like Oslo Ess, Katzenjammer, Tommy Tokyo, and Turbonegro were playing. Yay! And right from the start it was obvious that Trollrock was the right choice. Very nice, very well organized, enough beds nearby to sleep in (I hate camping), and awesome weather – just perfect!

And in addition to that, we got a perfect Kaizers gig as well! Right from the start, the concert was awesome; finally there were a few changes to the setlist again, the atmosphere on stage as well as in the audience was amazing, and even though there hardly was any talking in betweeen the songs, the concert was so much fun.

Omen was at his best again – or well, probably he is always at his best, but depending on which side I’m standing on I can either see him all the time or just once in a while. =;-) In any case, there were flowers and notes again, he was drinking water from the bottle cap instead of the bottle, he was dancing during Støv og sand, having long telephone conversations through the megaphone, and he was feeding his lamp. At least I’m pretty sure he did?! Later on, he threw stuff at it, probably crumbs or something. Then it was time for his solo part in Svarte katter, and as usual, he put his whole soul and body into it. Then he reached out to grab something on the organ, and I figured he was reaching for his blood pressure pills or something. =;-) But no, far from it – he grabbed some soap bubbles, put them up in front of his mouth and started blowing bubbles. *rofl* This guy is just totally insane, but in the positive way. Which the band obviously thought as well. =;-)

What else? Right in the beginning already the audience sang the full chorus of Diamant til kull, without any help by the Jackal – and all in all, the audience turned out to know their lyrics and be very loud and willing to sing. Before Kaizers played Din kjole lukter bensin mor, we had to request a duet. “Sei: ‘duett’!” During his rap part in En for orgelet, Hellraizer gave at least 120% percent this time, with a squeaky voice and full energy. And after Støv og sand, Killmaster disappeared from stage – very sudden and very hurried. There’s a German cowboy comedy movie where the chief cowboy says to his men: “Now everybody go potty again before we ride on!” – maybe the Jackal should start doing that as well. =;-) But well, that was probably due to Killmaster’s energetic dancing under En for orgelet. *gg*

Hjerteknuser has gotten a life of its own by now. “It has become less of our song by now, and more and more yours.” Haaaach … =:-)

Then it was time for the encores – first Begravelsespolka, of course, and then Drøm videre Violeta. “Can you handle another song? The organizer says you can’t, but I think you can. Can you? Killmaster, you were right, you said they could take another one!”

Of course we could handle Maestro, and after that they came to the front to say goodbye and throw sticks and pleks. Peeking towards the side of the stage at the same time – how much time is left? Turned out it was almost 10 minutes, thus enough for another song. “The police and firefighters have allowed us to play another one!” So as conclusion, we even got Die Polizei, which had been requested by the audience earlier on during the concert already. An awesome ending!

All in all, Kaizers played two hours and thus used the full time they had – so much better than the forced concert in Kristiansand. =;-) The atmosphere was amazing, Kaizers were having fun, we were excited – perfect!

The setlist:

  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Siste dans
  • Tusen dråper regn
  • Diamant til kull
  • Delikatessen
  • Din kjole lukter bensin, mor
  • En for orgelet, en for meg
  • Forloveren
  • Støv og sand
  • I ett med verden
  • KGB
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Sigøynerblod
  • Resistansen
  • Ompa til du dør
  • Svarte katter & flosshatter
  • Hjerteknuser
    ———-
  • Begravelsespolka
  • Drøm videre, Violeta
  • Maestro
    ———-
  • Die Polizei

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14.07.2013 Die Ärzte (Festplatz am Viadukt, Bietigheim-Bissingen)

Monday, July 15th, 2013
This entry doesn't exist in English.

Jede Band kriegt das Publikum, das sie verdient. Genau das ging mir durch den Kopf, als Rod beim Ärzte-Konzert in Bietigheim-Bissingen Seven Nation Army anstimmte, die anderen einstiegen und das Publikum den insgesamt wohl lautesten Mitsing-Chor des Abends anstimmte und – logischerweise – auch nicht mehr aufhörte. Und damit ist das Konzert auch schon ziemlich gut zusammengefasst.

Aber okay, drei Schritte zurück. Ich war den ganzen Tag, ach nee, das ganze Wochenende nur am Hetzen, und dementsprechend abgehetzt (ach …) kam ich auch am Gelände an. Bändchen gab’s zu diesem Zeitpunkt nur für die zweite Welle. (Man beachte übrigens das fehlende “noch” – wenn mir jetzt bitte noch jemand erklärt, warum zuerst ein paar Bändchen für die erste Welle, dann alle für die zweite Welle, und dann der Rest für die erste Welle verteilt wird … ?!? Und dann wird auch noch der andere Arm kontrolliert, damit man sich bloß nicht eins für die erste Welle holt, wo man doch schon in der zweiten ist … äh ja, goodbye Logik.) Aber whatever, das störte mich erstaunlich wenig, schließlich erwartete ich von dem Konzert sowieso nichts. Das erste Konzert nach dem offiziellen Fanclub-Ende, die Karte hatte ich mir erst sehr spät und eigentlich nur “aus Gewohnheit” gekauft, und ich kam nicht ansatzweise in Versuchung, noch zu irgendeinem anderen Ärztival hinzuwollen. Immerhin spielte das Wetter perfekt mit, das Festivalgelände war schön, die Anreise unproblematisch (wenn auch hektisch, aber nun ja …). Die Preise auf dem Gelände waren gesalzen – 5 Euro für vegetarische Nudeln, 4 Euro für Bier, 3,50 Euro für Wasser?! Aber nun ja, kennt man ja, alles nichts Neues.

Die Vorbands waren nett – Side Effect wurden nach engagierter Ansage von Farin vom Publikum sehr gut empfangen und abgefeiert. Ich fand sie auch klasse, vielleicht ein wenig eintönig, aber mit guten Ansagen (auf Englisch) mittendrin war das Konzert echt in Ordnung. Sator gefielen mir letztes Jahr besser, die passen offenbar besser in eine Halle. War aber auch okay.

Dann waren die Ärzte an der Reihe, und ich versuchte, möglichst neutral ins Konzert zu gehen. Ich glaube eigentlich auch, dass mir das einigermaßen gelang. Und dennoch war mir schnell klar: brauch ich nicht (mehr). Ein paar Sprüche auf der Bühne waren gut, insgesamt war es recht unterhaltsam, aber es gab nicht eine einzige Überraschung in der Setliste, es wurde halt der ganze alte (oder eben nicht alte) Mist runtergespielt. Bei der Comeback-Tour war ich ja nicht dabei, und die Ärztival-Setliste ist also eine abgespeckte Version der “Das Ende ist noch nicht vorbei”-Tour. Und nee, das brauch ich nicht. Ob ich wohl meine 100 Konzerte noch voll kriege? Die Festivals werden’s zeigen … denn ohne Steigerung: Nö. Brauch ich nicht.

Einen großen Anteil an meinem Fazit hatte allerdings auch das Publikum, denn das war vor allem eines: tot. Es kam überhaupt keine Stimmung auf (außer bei Seven Nation Army, siehe oben *rolleyes*). Um mich rum wurde gequatscht, geguckt, und bei Lasse reden, Junge und Zeidverschwändung auch mal kurz mitgeklatscht. Sonst war alles andere wichtiger. Klar, kann an der zweiten Welle gelegen haben. Oder daran, dass es insgesamt doch sehr leer war (ich hab nie in dritter, vierter Reihe gestanden und so viel Platz um mich rum gehabt – und in der ersten Welle sah es noch leerer aus). Oder daran, dass bei den “echten” Fans mittlerweile einfach eine Sättigung eingetreten ist und sie sich die Konzerte sparen, sodass zu den Konzerten hauptsächlich die “Event-Fans” hinkommen. Wenn sie denn überhaupt etwas davon mitbekommen – erst letzte Woche wurde ich gefragt, wie man denn an Ärzte-Karten kommen könnte, ich hätte da doch Beziehungen. “Hmm, für welches Konzert denn? Zurzeit ist doch kaum was ausverkauft.” – “Na ja, Stuttgart oder so? Das war doch letztes Mal sofort ausverkauft?” – “Also, nächste Woche spielen sie in BiBi, gibt noch Karten …” – “=:-o ?!?”

Sprich, das Ganze war nicht wirklich ein Ärzte-Konzert, sondern ein Event. Damit ging natürlich auch jegliche Subtilität verloren – selbst der Zeitungsbericht warf die Frage auf, ob der Beginn mit “Abenteuerland” von PUR wohl eine Hommage war oder ob es darum ging, dass jetzt etwas ganz anderes kommt. *rolleyes* Diese Eröffnung fand ich allerdings absolut genial, und genau daher glaube ich eigentlich auch, dass ich doch recht positiv ins Konzert hineingegangen bin und nicht mit vorgefertigter “wird doch eh doof”-Meinung. Aber nach drei Liedern mit nervigem Publikum, uninteressanter Setlist und “same old, same old” war die Luft dann auch raus, und dass DÄ danach dann immer wieder möglichst subtil übers Publikum abgelästert haben, ohne klar zu sagen, was sie doof finden – nun ja. Kann man ironisch und total lustig finden. Oder auch nicht.

Wie gesagt, mal sehen, was die Festivals bringen. Komplett abgeschrieben habe ich die Band noch nicht, aber das war auch kein Konzert, was mich überzeugt hat, dass sie doch immer noch “die beste Band der Welt” sind …

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28.06.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (Ravnefesten, Kristiansand)

Saturday, June 29th, 2013

On June 28, 2003, thus exactly ten years ago, I visited a festival in Germany, kept a friend company in the front row, and had to suffer through lots of awful newcomer bands. One of them: Kaizers Orchestra! That’s when the “suffering” suddenly stopped and turned into a loud “Halleluja!”.

Ten years later, I got in the car, a plane, and another car, just to get to see that band play in Kristiansand. For the 163rd time. Ooops. =;)

Guess I should mention right away that this was definitely not the best Kaizers concert I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I thought it was pretty … no, not bad, but “standard” in a way – nothing special happening or anything that you would remember afterwards. Actually, I think that this was mostly due to me standing in a rather bad location; in the front and to the side, as always, which is usually great – but after some people pushed in right before the concert started, I could hardly see anything throughout the first half of the concert. And the concert didn’t really seem to be of a lot of interest to most people around me – conversations were much more important, apparently. And these are the things that really annoy me, so that I get into a bad mood and don’t enjoy a concert as much as I could have. And in addition, when the concert was just getting started, there were a few drops of rain …. aargh! But luckily, there were really only a few drops, which you hardly noticed, so that was good.

What I loved throughout the show, however, was thinking back to my very first Kaizers concert once in a while and comparing the two – Kaizers from back then and Kaizers now, my reaction and feeling toward them back then and my reaction and feeling now. And the conclusion was without doubt: The ten years were terrific, and I would never want to miss them. Thank you, Kaizers Orchestra!

The concert started really promising, also considering the announcements on stage: Before they played Din kjole lukter bensin mor, the Jackal looked for someone to join him in a duet. Someone from the band. But no, not the drummer. And Omen was wearing a mask, so he couldn’t do it either. “The one who gets to sing the duet is pretty tall and has blue eyes. Can you see the eye color at all, by the way?” Sure of victory, Thunder stormed to the front of the stage – just to walk back embarrassedly when Hellraizer was chosen in the end (well, who would’ve thought? *g*).

Omen was busy with a bunch of flowers that kept falling off the keyboard and which he had to find and pick up again. I’m sure he did a lot more, but I could hardly see him, unfortunately. =:-(

Just like at the last concerts, we got the story about the crew member again who had his last day on the job and wanted to hear Forloveren. And then the Jackal read on the setlist that now it’s time to ask “do you feel alright?”. And by the way, he brought his whole family to the concert. “Back there, big ones and small ones. But you cannot see the small ones.” But when he’s sitting in the kitchen at home in Stavanger and the small ones don’t want to eat their food, he always says “Don’t you know who wrote Kontroll på kontinentet? Now eat your food!”

And actually, that’s all already, there wasn’t much talk apart from that. The setlist:

  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Siste dans
  • Tusen dråper regn
  • Din kjole lukter bensin, mor
  • En for orgelet, en for meg
  • Forloveren
  • Ompa til du dør
  • Støv og sand
  • I ett med verden
  • KGB
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Philemon Arthur & the Dung
  • Svarte katter & flosshatter
  • Hjerteknuser
  • Begravelsespolka

No encores. And that’s what I found very weird … it was only a quarter to midnight, so I’m sure they would have had another 15 minutes. And in addition, they had started 15 minutes late! So, if you think about that, the only reasons for this would be them not wanting to play more or them missing the energy for a long set. And both options are rather negative. =:-(

The audience couldn’t believe that there really wasn’t an encore – everybody stayed and cheered for at least ten minutes, even though the lights and music were on already. Well, no way that could mean that there wouldn’t be an encore … or could it?! Yep, it could and it did. And of course, that left a rather bad feeling after the concert.

So all in all, definitely not a bad concert – but no highlight either. And the ending was just so sudden and unexpected … But still: a great night! With really nice company, without any rain, and with a Kaizers concert – what more could you possibly want?

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22.06.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (Gamlebyen, Fredrikstad)

Sunday, June 23rd, 2013
22.06.2013 – Photos Kaizers Orchestra (Gamlebyen, Fredrikstad)
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Next stop: Fredrikstad! This time it wasn’t a festival, but a Kaizers concert with several support bands (which, unfortunately, turned out to be rather boring though). Not up on a hill but in the middle of the ancient town center, and – at least according to the weather forecast – without the rain, yay! Well. Unfortunately, you should never trust Norwegian weather forecasts … which meant that it started raining again already before the Kaizers concert started. But fortunately the rain was in no way like the rain the night before – not much more than drizzle instead of downpour. Which is still annoying, but much more bearable. And like the organizer put it before the concert: Kaizers are breaking up, and the weather gods are crying …

All in all, the concert was very similar to the one in Oslo. Only a few small changes in the setlist (they added Delikatessen, Maestro was played much earlier, and the last encore was 170), an enthusiastic and loud audience, good atmosphere on stage – and still, it didn’t catch on as much as the Oslo concert, at least in my opinion. For some reason, I thought that the beginning of the concert was fantastic, but then it got a bit worse throughout the show. Some of the announcements sounded a little like the Jackal wasn’t too much into the concert. “The management says we have to ask if you’re having a good time. So: Are you having a good time??” … Which can be really funny, but in the actual context, it wasn’t really. Not bad either, just … strange.

But that isn’t supposed to mean that the concert was bad or not entertaining, not at all! Right in the beginning, the Jackal was amazed: “Wow, there’s really a lot of you by now! And we’re still six …” *g* A bit later, there were long discussions about how big Fredrikstad is and if there are more or less people living there than in Sandnes or Drammen.

At the beginning of En for orgelet, the Jackal realized that it has a perfect hip hop beat and that you can sing “ah ah” and “hey” to that beat as well. Which – what we learned later – works just as well for Evig pint. =;-)

Before they played Kontroll på kontinentet, we got a little striptease – first the jacket, which the Jackal just held out behind him until someone took it. Since the crew was busy, the “someone” turned out to be butler Killmaster. *g* Then it was time to take off the tie, same procedure of course. And later, the crew had to tape up Janove’s pants and fix the broken microphone. Pretty cool if you have people pampering you all the time. =;-)

Killmaster celebrated his solo in Kontroll på kontinentet and dragged it out a lot. Then the song “finally” continued, but the Jackal stopped it again: “Wait – Hellraizer, did you want to play a solo as well?” Hellraizer could do without though. =;-) Instead, he stepped up on the drum pedestal a bit later and started messing with Mink’s drum set, until Mink pushed him down. *g* And exactly those are the little details that make a concert really entertaining!

But the best guy on stage that night was definitely Omen! He was so in his role again – even before he entered the stage. If you were standing towards the side, you could see him make his way towards the steps up to the stage – already wearing his gas mask -, and before he actually climbed them, he checked out the stage and the area, seemingly impressed. And as always, it was really worth keeping an eye on him constantly during Delikatessen. He took up his suitcase, opened it, and found a vase that he put on the keyboard. Next he found – of course – some flowers, which he put into the vase. Then it was time to play some organ, but right after he was done, he grabbed his water bottle. First he drank a little – and then he was apparently addressed by the flowers, who also wanted some water! *rofl* But first Omen had to play again, then he could continue the discussion with the flowers and finally pour some water into the vase.

Fast forward to Svarte katter, right after Omen’s second solo. He’s completely exhausted and definitely needs something to drink. So, what are you gonna do? Right, of course you grab the vase with the flowers and drink from it! *rofl* AWESOME! And of course he filled up the water again afterwards – after another conversation with the flowers. Hach … I really want a DVD with a separate Helge cam! By the way, Omen actually came out into the aisle after the concert and wrote some autographs and took pictures with the fans. Really nice!

And as the report shows, I guess, the concert was really great, all in all – even though it wasn’t as good as the one at OverOslo, because the last little bit to turn it into the perfect concert was missing. But still amazing! =:-)

The setlist:

  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Siste dans
  • Tusen dråper regn
  • Din kjole lukter bensin, mor
  • En for orgelet, en for meg
  • Forloveren
  • Støv og sand
  • Delikatessen
  • I ett med verden
  • KGB
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Ompa til du dør
  • Evig pint
  • Philemon Arthur & the Dung
  • Svarte katter & flosshatter
  • Hjerteknuser
  • Maestro
    —————
  • Begravelsespolka
  • Drøm videre, Violeta
  • 170

My next concert will be next week, with my 10-year anniversary … and better weather, I hope!

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21.06.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (OverOslo, Oslo)

Saturday, June 22nd, 2013
21.06.2013 – Photos Kaizers Orchestra (OverOslo, Oslo)
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Time for the summer festivals! My first one this year: OverOslo. A very fitting name, considering that the festival takes place on a hill/mountain in Oslo, with a fantastic view over the whole city. That is, if you can actually see anything through all the rain …

But I’m getting ahead here. Kaizers actually played two gigs that night, the first one in the city; unfortunately it wasn’t possible to attend both gigs. At least not if you wanted to catch Katzenjammer who played at OverOslo as well. And if you didn’t catch them, you missed one of the two highlights that night. =;-)

Right when we got on the shuttle bus to the festival, it started raining. Two minutes after we got off the bus, it REALLY started raining. And it didn’t stop until Kaizers played their last song … Well, that’s a way of starting the festival season! Wet to the skin – but at least it was rather warm-ish, so that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. And the amounts of rain that poured down that night were actually so ridiculous that it was almost funny again … =;-)

As always, the Kaizers concert started with Omen entering the stage. He made his way to the part of the stage that was NOT under the stage roof first and tested the rain. Then the rest of the band came on, and the first thing the Jackal did was to move his microphone stand from the (more or less) dry part of the stage to the very front. And that’s exactly where the Jackal stayed throughout the whole concert – respect! I think that this was one of the main reasons that the concert turned out as awesome as it did, in spite of the awful conditions. The Jackal didn’t care about the rain at all, and so the audience didn’t either. Well, yes, you got all wet, but so what? And the rest of the band joined the Jackal in the rain over and over again as well (and when they said good-bye, even Mink made it to the front … without shoes *g*). And it definitely looked impressive when the Jackal jumped around on stage and the water was splashing everywhere … Actually, the Jackal even ignored the rain poncho someone threw on stage for him. *g*

Because of the weather, I took as few notes as possible – my mobile doesn’t like floods. =;-) What I remember is a rather unprepared organ player under the introduction in Forloveren; Omen was busy looking through his document suitcase when he was introduced, so he had to put away his suitcase first before he could play. =;-)

Killmaster really enjoyed his solo under Kontroll på kontinentet, so the Jackal praised him for his “god solo” afterwards. A couple of times. And the audience confirmed it. Then Hellraizer was supposed to do a “god solo” as well, and sing it at the same time, thus “scatting”. Then it was time for a singing solo of the Jackal, and finally the audience took over the solo. “The biggest choir!” And in general, we got some real and serious praise in the end for being “the best audience” – nobody left before the end of the show even though it was raining all the time.

The setlist:

  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Siste dans
  • Tusen dråper regn
  • Din kjole lukter bensin, mor
  • En for orgelet, en for meg
  • Forloveren
  • Støv og sand
  • I ett med verden
  • KGB
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Evig pint
  • Ompa til du dør
  • Philemon Arthur & the Dung
  • Svarte katter & flosshatter
  • Hjerteknuser
    —————
  • Begravelsespolka
  • Drøm videre, Violeta
  • Maestro

All in all, it was an awesome concert with a great atmosphere – and the terrible weather couldn’t spoil it! The only downside: Kaizers really should have played Katastrofen …! =;-)

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22.05.2013 77 Bombay Street (Universum, Stuttgart)

Saturday, June 1st, 2013
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Konzerttechnisch gesehen war der Mai ziemlicher Wahnsinn – Art Brut, Benzin, dann eine Woche New York inklusive Kaizers-Konzert, dann Honningbarna und zum Abschluss noch 77 Bombay Street. Die wollte ich unbedingt mal wieder sehen – nachdem sie mich beim Open Air Gampel 2011 sofort überzeugt hatten. Also keine Müdigkeit und auf ins Goldmarks … oder nein, kurzfristig verlegt ins (deutlich größere) Universum, gutes Zeichen!

77 Bombay Street sind in der Schweiz riesig – hierzulande aber noch quasi unbekannt. Die Musik kann man wohl am besten als eingängigen Pop auf Englisch beschreiben, und genau da haben wir sowohl die Stärke als auch die Schwäche der Band. EINGÄNGIG. Ohrwurm, aber absolut! Lieder wie “Up in the sky” oder “I love Lady Gaga” hört man einmal, singt am Ende schon mit, und zwei Wochen später immer noch. Und interessanterweise funktioniert das auch auf Platte: Die Lieder kann man immer und immer wieder nebenbei hören, sie sind einfach schön, gehen einem aber nicht auf den Geist.

Aber wie gesagt, es ist auch gleichzeitig die Schwäche. Hört man auf die Texte oder liest sie gar im Booklet nach, ist man doch enttäuscht, denn … nun ja, “banal” ist noch nett gesagt. Zwar sollen da durchaus immer wieder Gesellschaftskritik oder ernste Themen drinstecken, aber über eine minimale Prise kommt die Band nicht raus. Schade! Man muss es also wirklich als seichten Pop ohne Tiefgang nehmen.

Das ist ja aber auch absolut in Ordnung, solange die Musik Spaß macht. Und dementsprechend freute ich mich auf das Konzert – war aber erst mal ernüchtert. Denn was stellt man sich beim Stichwort “seichter Pop” vor? Genau, vier weichgespülte Grinsebacken auf der Bühne, die ihre Lieder runterspielen und dazwischen eher unbeholfene Ansagen ins Mikro grinsen. Und genau das war es. 🙁 Die erste Hälfte des Konzerts fand ich absolut enttäuschend und fühlte mich simpel und einfach “im falschen Film” – das mag ja ganz nett sein, aber es ist nicht meine Welt. Absolut nicht. Am Tag zuvor hüpfte noch der Sänger der Honningbarna um mich rum, da fühlte ich mich um einiges wohler …

Aber – zum Glück – zu früh verzweifelt! Nach einer Weile wurden 77 Bombay Street immer lockerer und damit auch sympathischer. Der Lead-Gesang ging reihum, jeder durfte mal ans Mikro, es wurde sehr unterhaltsam und man merkte, was die Jungs musikalisch so alles draufhaben. Und als dann als letztes Lied noch “Waiting for tomorrow” akustisch und ohne Mikros dargeboten wurde – auch wieder auf alle Band-Mitglieder verteilt und mit lautstarkem Mitsingen des Publikums – da hatten sie bei mir absolut gewonnen. Das war stark, wahnsinnig stark. So viel Ausdruck sucht man bei anderen Bands vergeblich.

Mal sehen, wie lange es dauert, bis sie es wieder nach Deutschland schaffen – und wann der große Durchbruch kommt. Denn der muss kommen – radiokompatible Ohrwürmer und musikalisches Können, was will man mehr?!

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21.05.2013 Honningbarna (Zwölfzehn, Stuttgart)

Saturday, June 1st, 2013

I was quite surprised when I received a newsletter announcing a Honningbarna concert in Stuttgart. Seriously? Honningbarna? Why would they tour in Germany?!

Just a little bit of background: Honningbarna is a Norwegian punk band that has been strongly influenced by Skambankt. I – as a Skambankt fan – have always seen them as a rip-off of Skambankt. However, after seeing them play at Odderøya Live last year, I have to admit that it’s not “as bad” as feared: Yes, they play punk songs with Norwegian lyrics, yes, they have a song where they mostly shout their own name, yes, that is quite like Skambankt. But then, their songs are different and they use a cello in addition to the usual instrumentation. And, just like Skambankt, they have a great energy on stage and their concerts seem to be really fun.

Still, an unknown band singing in Norwegian … I wouldn’t expect them to tour Germany. But hey, if the come, I’ll go and see them! I even got my ticket beforehand, because I returned from New York City the day before, and I knew that without a ticket, the sofa would win that night …

I arrived pretty late, when the support band was already playing. There were about five people outside the venue and – except for the band on stage – about five inside. *uhem* Subtracting the guys from Honningbarna, that left about four or five paying (?) guests. Ooops.

It did get a little bit better until Honningbarna went on stage, but still there weren’t more than 10-15 people there. And honestly: If I had been in charge, I would have forced the support band to watch the concert instead of standing outside or hanging out backstage. But well.

Honningbarna didn’t care about how many people were there (or at least they didn’t show it). They delivered! Full energy, jumping around, screaming – impressive, especially with such a small audience! It might have been a bit too much in the beginning though … I mean, I would have come forward and stood closer to the stage, but I don’t want to jump, I don’t want to mosh, I don’t want to watch out for anyone suddenly jumping into me. And during the first song, singer and guitarist left the stage and started jumping around wildly in the front – which was awesome and is probably typical “them”, but it made all the spectators draw to the back and to the sides to get out of the danger zone. 😉 Uhm, probably not what was intended.

Anyway, it was an awesome (and intimate *g*) concert and great fun. I’ll really need to get the albums – because even though I speak Norwegian, I didn’t have a chance to understand anything they were singing. Next time I’ll come better prepared. 😉

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17.05.2013 Janove Ottesen (Sjømannskirken, New York City)

Monday, May 20th, 2013
17.05.2013 – Photos Janove Ottesen (Sjømannskirken, New York City)
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On the day after the concert in New York City, there was a little extra bonus for all Kaizers fans: The Jackal played at Sjømannskirken’s celebration to honor the Norwegian national day. Alone on the piano (actually, the whole band was asked to play, but for some reasons that didn’t work out), without a real setlist, very spontaneously – or at least that’s how it seemed.

These are the songs we got to hear:

  • Hjerteknuser
  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Di grind
  • Romantisk salme in F-dur
  • Drøm videre, Violeta
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Forlover

A great concert! Even though the Jackal pointed out several times that things might go wrong – normally, he doesn’t play the songs on the piano himself, and he hasn’t played them for a long time. And in addition, not all Kaizers songs work with only the piano. And yes, some notes did go wrong, but nobody minded that. That’s just the logical result: “I write such complicated songs by now that I cannot play them myself – which is of course great, to debut in New York City with such C moments …”

But the Jackal definitely didn’t need to worry about that! The audience was twofold. In the front, around the piano: American Kaizer fans who were singing along every single word (or rather every phone sequence *g*). In the back: Norwegians who wanted to see what the Sjømannskirke had organized to celebrate the day, but who hardly knew the songs. And in the end, everyone was excited about the concert! But it did seem like the Norwegians needed a while to wake up … =;-)

The one thing I found sad was that the Jackal didn’t take the time to come down for a bit after the gig, to give the fans the chance to say thank you for the concert(s). There was only a handful of people there, but it would have meant a lot to them. On the other hand, it is totally understandable of course that the work part of the day was done after the gig …

But at least the fans had the chance to see two concerts instead of only one – and as a concert junkie, I totally approve of that of course! *g*

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16.05.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City)

Monday, May 20th, 2013
16.05.2013 – Photos Kaizers Orchestra (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City)
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Kaizers Orchestra in New York? Well, I am a loyal fan, but there’s a limit to everything; I don’t need to be at EVERY concert … at least that’s what I decided when the show was first announced. But after some more consideration … New York had been on my list of cities to travel to for a long time, but there had never been a good opportunity to actually do that – and the flights were affordable, May was the perfect time for vacation for me, and it wasn’t hard to convince a friend to come along. So well, why not? A week in New York City, including a Kaizers concert! =:-)

I guess I don’t need to write anything about New York City here – a great city! Unfortunately it was a bit chilly for May (except for the day of the Kaizers concert; that day, the weather was just perfect!), but the city was absolutely impressive and exciting. A great vacation. =:-) And on Thursday it was finally time for Kaizers!

Honestly, I really hadn’t expected much of this concert. Kaizers concerts in new cities tend to be rather “standard”, nothing special, because the “newcomers” to the Kaizers family will be overwhelmed by what they get no matter what – even if they get “only” a minimal concert without much extra effort. In addition, the concert was far from sold out (you could still order very good tickets on the website a couple of days before the show), and that of course is bad for the atmosphere. Also, the audience would probably be made up of a few American hardcore fans and a lot of “oh, fellow Norwegians visiting, never heard of them, but let’s go there anyway”-Norwegians living in New York. But hey – when you’re in New York anyway, you’re not gonna miss out on the concert of course. *g*

The concert took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in a concert hall that was probably intended to host classical concerts, ceremonies, or talks. So there were fast seats, a balcony, and a stage without any special decorations – well, of course Kaizers couldn’t bring their video wall. Actually, they even had to rent most of their equipment except for the pump organ and guitars. But with a red velvet curtain in the background, it didn’t seem like anything was missing on stage, the stage decorations were just a little minimalistic. But to make up for it, the Jackal had found his tuxedo again. =;-)

The atmosphere was awesome even before the doors opened – and very very exhilarated and excited. No wonder, many of the fans had been waiting for this moment for years and years! So I got to meet the biggest American hardcore fans before the show (cheers to all of you!), until people made their way inside. In the auditorium, it looked a bit sobering though: lots of empty seats, and – for whatever reason – these seats were all in between the taken seats. Since tickets were for specific seats, this was pretty stupid and looked quite sad, too many empty spaces everywhere. =:-( Still, the excitement grew, and at precisely 7 p.m. the show started. Lights out, spot on, Russian Dance!

And: Screaming on! *g* Yep, of course I had expected excited fans, but that was definitely way over what I had reckoned. Kaizers hadn’t even entered the stage yet, but the fans were already screaming and screeching from the top of their lungs. It definitely didn’t sound like the auditorium was half empty, not at all. =;-) And of course the fans got even louder when Kaizers actually entered the stage, live and in color. Goosebumps, hell yeah! And interestingly enough it seemed that most “real” Americans had managed to get their seats in the front rows while the “Norwegian” Americans were farther back. Perfect!

At the beginning of the concert, the atmosphere was quite weird … On the one hand, fans were soooo enthusiastic, on the other hand, they were in their seats – and had to stay there. The ushers had made that perfectly clear right from the start; it wasn’t even allowed to go up to the stage before the concert started (well, except if you were wearing a Konzertjunkie shirt, didn’t hear about that weird rule, and went to the front to say hello to people there … somehow, nobody sent me back *uhem*).

So we had an audience that was really well behaved and sitting in their assigned seats, shaking and dancing as much as possible in a sitting position, singing along from the top of their lungs (partly in a bit of gibberish, of course), and adoring the band. After the third song, the Jackal couldn’t take it anymore: “Hey, stand up and come all down and to the center!” The poor ushers looked terrified, but the Jackal didn’t have to say that twice – everyone jumped up and crowded in in front of the stage, in the aisles and between the seats. That was when the concert turned from great into perfect. My thought at that moment: They are about to tear down the Met. Wohoo!

Let’s start with the setlist:

  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Bøn fra helvete
  • Svarte katter & flosshatter
  • Støv og sand
  • KGB
  • Delikatessen
  • Sigøynerblod
  • Bak et halleluja
  • En for orgelet, en for meg
  • Veterans klage
  • Evig pint
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Philemon Arthur & the Dung
  • Tusen dråper regn
  • Resistansen
  • Forloveren
  • Ompa til du dør
  • Hjerteknuser
  • Maestro
  • Dieter Meyers Inst.
    ——–
  • Begravelsespolka
  • Die Polizei

So all in all, the setlist was a bit more classical or “old-fashioned”, with a few surprises (Evig pint! <3) and just about two hours of playing time. To jump ahead a bit: I was totally amazed by the concert. One reason was of course the whole situation - there's this tiny Norwegian band that I discovered totally coincidentally ten years ago, on stage in a city on a different continent, in front of screaming fans; and I'm there. =:-o (And in addition to that, I was greeted by lots of people with a "are you Susi" right after I arrived and got lots of comments and thank-yous about this site ... =:-O Guys, you made my day, it's so awesome to hear that the work I do here actually is of help and interest to others!!!) Another reason was that the concert was so incredibly ... relaxed? It's hard for me to put it into words, but it felt like Kaizers didn't have anything to win or lose at this concert, and therefore they went into the show much more relaxed than with other concerts. Usually, they are "at work" and have to deliver. Here, it was clear right away that the fans would love the concert, no matter what would happen on stage - and so there was no pressure at all on the band and Kaizers could play their concert without worrying about anything. They obviously had great fun on stage. The Jackal tended to drift off into "stand-up parts" once in a while, which made the concert even more entertaining. And even though there might have been some problems with the sound and playing - simply because of the borrowed instruments and unusual sound on stage - everyone seemed to have fun, on stage and of course in front of it. There are already a few reports about the concert online, so here are just my notes without too much explanation:

  • “Kaizers Orchestra in New York, for the first and last time!” – “It feels somehow weird to come here and promote the band, and then to never come back …”
  • The audience sang along very loudly during Bøn fra helvete – and keep in mind that at that time, everybody was still sitting!
  • “This might be the best show you’ve ever seen!”
  • During KGB: “Can you hop up and down? Bounce, New York, bounce!” *lol*
  • During Delikatessen, Omen was busy writing in his diary. When everyone on stage “froze” and stood there motionless, the Jackal asked Hellraizer: “Is everything going fine? Any problems we should know of?”
  • During Bak et halleluja, the audience had to shout “wop!” like usual. “Hey, that’s not loud enough!” – and of course it worked even better (and louder) after that! And the Jackal managed to get even the folks on the balcony to stand up.
  • En for orgelet was translated to “One for the pump organ and one for me” this time.
  • Then it was time for some small talk. The Jackal wanted to know what the first thing was that Hellraizer did in New York. “Oh, I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, and then back to Manhattan – you know, I have this bridges thing when I travel … You’ll have to tell me what you did in the city in the meantime.” – Jackal: “Oh, so you want to meet Jeff Bridges?” – Hellraizer, appalled by the bad joke: “Uh … sorry guys, the show’s off …” But the Jackal apologized and admitted that it wasn’t a stand-up show. =;-)
  • Of course there was the obligatory poll where the fans come from – lots of fans from America in the front, then a whole lot from Norway, two from Germany, one from Sweden (“Get out!! No, just kidding …” works in NYC as well. *g*).
  • After Killmaster’s solo in Kontroll på kontinentet, the Jackal complimented him: “They already love you!” But Killmaster didn’t seem satisfied … Jackal: “Well, I see you’re not satisfied with the solo. But you can do better next time! Or … no, actually not, because there is no next time.”
  • Before they played Resistansen, the Jackal explained that he has so many interesting stories to tell. “Too bad they are all in Norwegian, so you cannot understand them! But actually, Norwegian is easier to understand than to speak. Right? You probably understand half of what I am saying … in English.”
  • Of course the rest of the band already played the intro to Resistansen during the Jackal’s monologue. They didn’t really manage to transition into the song afterwards, so the Jackal stopped Mink: “Stop, it’s not working! And anyway, your cymbal is upside down, that means you’re playing the song backwards!” *lol*
  • “Feels like home!”
  • “Thanks to the Met for having us! Who would’ve thought we belong in a museum already? I’m not even 40 yet, but only 29!” Next up was a quiz about how old Hellraizer is – right, 12 is pretty close. Actually, he’s 14. *g*
  • Before the concert, Kaizers had met some fans on the street already, and they were really glad about that. They always dreamed to play in New York one time, but they would have expected to maybe play in some small pub. “But no – it’s the Met!”
  • Before Hjerteknuser: “This is the song that payed for the trip!” *lol*
  • Someone in the audience shouted “Maestro” after that statement, but no: “Maestro? That is the song that payed for the last tour …”
  • About Hjerteknuser: “Hmm … do you think that could break in America?”
  • “We traveled a long way for this – do you mind if we play one more?”
  • Of course nobody minded, and Begravelsespolka as first encore got a great response as well. And then, as conclusion: “a song for the Germans – a Norwegian band singing German in the USA”.

An amazing conclusion for a terrific concert – even though the singing didn’t continue this time after Kaizers went off stage. But instead there were gleaming eyes and euphoria all around, and the fans jumped at the memorabilia – setlists, plecs, barrels (which they even managed to smuggle out of the Met in the end, hidden from the security).

All in all it was an awesome concert. No, an awesome experience! It was great to finally get to meet the “US fans” in person and not only via the internet. And the concert was really something special, once in a lifetime, and … hach. A wonderful evening, there’s not really anything else I could say about it. THANK YOU to everyone who was part of it!

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25.04.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (KOKO, London)

Saturday, April 27th, 2013
25.04.2013 – Photos Kaizers Orchestra (KOKO, London)
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The next step towards world domination: Kaizers Orchestra take over London! And the fans are all coming along … =;-)

For me, that meant a week in London, filled up with lots of action – sightseeing in bright sunshine every day at daytime, and at night we went out to the O2 arena and some concerts. Yay! Quite exhausting actually, but a great vacation. Kaizers really picked the perfect week for their trip to London.

Finally it was Thursday and thus the day of the concert! After an extensive Vorspiel at our flat (where we – amongst other things – found out that both ladles and tea strainers are perfectly suited to fill up small bags of confetti *g*), we got on our way to the legendary KOKO. Just before the doors opened, there was quite a queue there, and right from the beginning it was obvious that there was only a small percentage of British fans in the audience. You heard mostly Norwegian everywhere – okay, with a bit of German blended in, and yes, of course also some English. =;-) But during the concert it was totally clear that most of the audience consisted of fans that had traveled to London to see the show. On the one hand, that meant of course that Kaizers probably did not win over any new fans or “conquered England” with this concert, but then: what other band manages to fill up a venue of 1500 people somewhere abroad? For most bands, it’s only a handful of “hardcore fans” that travel abroad for shows. So wow, that was definitely impressive!

Kaizers were supported by the Scottish singer Siobhan Wilson. Honestly, nobody really seemed to care or listen – I have to admit that I didn’t either. But then, I was still busy handing out the last packages. =;-) And of course admiring the venue – as if it was made for Kaizers! It seemed like an old opera theater, with galleries and boxes, three or four tiers, red velvet everywhere … just beautiful.

At 9:00 pm, the lights went out and the Russian Dance came on. It got more and more crowded in the front – and in my opinion, too crowded and a bit uncomfortable. That’s the problem if a venue is filled up with fans and fans only – everyone wants to be in the front. And where I was standing, we got regularly showered with beer from the galleries above … which means that I’ve definitely experienced more comfortable concerts. =;-)

It was obvious right from the beginning that this would be a legendary show – the atmosphere was indescribable, the audience incredibly loud, and EVERYONE was into the concert. Not like it usually is, that half of the audience is there for the party only. So considering the audience, this was a very good “Norwegian” concert with a very enthusiastic audience. But in London!

The Jackal mentioned a few times that this was the “first and last Kaizers concert in London”. Apart from that, there wasn’t really much talk at all – maybe because Kaizers just didn’t know what language to use? The poll in the beginning showed that there were about 100 people in the audience that did not understand Norwegian. Still, the Jackal switched to talking Norwegian after asking that. At least part of the time – I gotta admit, by that time I had been in England together with a group of Norwegians for five days; so I don’t have the slightest clue when he was talking English and when Norwegian. *g* But as I mentioned, there really wasn’t that much talking anyway. I would assume that this was due to the fact that KOKO had a strict curfew at 11, and even without talking, Kaizers easily played the two hours.

The setlist was pretty much standard: Aldri vodka Violeta, Siste dans, Tusen dråper regn, Din kjole lukter bensin mor, En for orgelet en for meg, Ompa til du dør, Bøn fra helvete, Det polaroide liv, Sigøynerblod, Forloveren, Støv og sand, KGB, I ett med verden, Kontroll på kontinentet, Philemon Arthur & the Dung, Svarte katter & flosshatter, Hjerteknuser, Maestro. Encores Begravelsespolka, Bak et halleluja, and Die Polizei.

Right from the beginning, they made eager use of the barrels (even though some guitarist had to be encouraged – “Get your ass up there!”), the audience was singing along loudly (very impressive at the end of Din kjole lukter bensin), and quite early on in the show, we got a “Say halleluja! Say save me Kaizer! Say PLEASE save me Kaizer!” part. During Philemon Arthur, the Jackal seemed like a priest, standing in front of the crowd with his arms spread – so impressive! And they celebrated the break in Svarte katter for very very long again, which was also absolutely awesome. Or, to use the Jackal’s words: “Watch out West End, here we come!”

Oh yes, and then there was Forloveren =:-D – and there was confetti in the air …:

Thanks a lot to Linda for the video! And if somebody accidentally filmed this song as well, maybe even from the galleries, let me know! *g*

As encores, we first got the Begravelsespolka – what was quite surprising by the way was that the Jackal was not wearing a tuxedo and later a red shirt on stage, but the “normal” suit like on the European tour. Which of course didn’t hurt the atmosphere though. =;-) Next up was Bak et halleluja – even though originally, they had probably planned to play Dieter Meyers Inst. And as very last song, they played Die Polizei because “You were a fantastic audience; you must all be Norwegians!”. And the song worked perfectly as conclusion of the concert … and after Kaizers went off stage for good, the audience kept singing for quite a while. Awesome! =:-D

Unfortunately, there was no time for another encore, but the concert was fantastic as it was. Actually, it didn’t really mean that much that it was in London – but the audience was totally unique and special. The atmosphere was magical, and – if not before that – I’m sure there were a few tears falling during Die Polizei …

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