After the festivals in Kristiansand and Stavern, it took me about a week to realize that I had to squeeze in another Kaizers concert before the end of their festival season – hey, half a year without any concerts, until the premiere in the opera? No way! There was exactly one free weekend left in my calendar this summer … and therefore I ended up in the periphery, more precisely in Glesvær on Sotra, in the vicinity of Bergen.
Thus in the middle of nowhere. But the festival was great! You can read the full festival report on konzertjunkie.com in a couple of days. And the headliner of the first night: Kaizers Orchestra!
Compared to other festivals this summer, this festival was incredibly small. Only 2500 people were allowed on the festival grounds each day, and that meant that the stage was rather small as well, at least much smaller than usual for Kaizers. And I admit that I was a little skeptical in the beginning about how the band would approach the concert. Such a small concert might seem like an invitation to “take it easy” …
But those fears were totally unfounded. Right from the beginning, Kaizers were going full throttle, they had the audience tightly in their hands, and the atmosphere was amazing. And if the first thing Killmaster does after the end of the regular set is hugging the Jackal, smiling broadly: “Det var kjempebra!” – that says it all, I guess? =:-D
The setlist was somehow surprising for me – it didn’t really include any rarities, but in a way I had been expecting different, more “usual” songs. The surprise was so big that I actually liked Enden av november and thought that Apokalyps meg was absolutely okay. =;-) The only mean thing was the introduction to Tokyo Ice … Kaizers explained that usually, they always say no when someone asks for a wish song. Even if the one who asks has good reasons – “I’m so sick! Please play Den andre er meg for me on Saturday!” But this time, they made an exception, because the wish came from their sick manager. And that’s why the next song was – Tokyo Ice til Clementine. Which is a great song, but then, Den andre er meg would have been even greater! (And it would have been possible as well …)
Kaizers had a lot of time for their gig, about one hour and 45 minutes. So they had decided to play what they wanted to play and not what the organizer had asked them to play. In the end, the time was running out after all … They had to start Hjerteknuser right after Drøm videre Violeta, with a jump off the barrel, without the – French or Russian – opening this time. Because the police was on their backs already, making sure that they didn’t play too long! “When you turn around on stage, you see your friends in the band, and behind them you see the crew, and behind them you see the police!” However, it turned out that the police man was a Kaizers fan and didn’t mind them playing another song. He was even allowed to choose a song. =;-)
For the little details, there was of course the announcement before Din kjole lukter bensin mor, that they need a female guest singer with the right dialect. Hellraizer: “Jennifer Lopez?” In the middle of the concert, the Jackal suddenly announced that they would now play an entirely new song. Which turned out to be … Kontroll på kontinentet. “You don’t know that one, right?” And it was awesome to hear the full version of that song again, including the band introduction! =:-) During the guitar solo, we got to see a little wine tasting as well: The Jackal wanted to jump up on the barrel, but his wine glass was sitting on top. So he grabbed it and got up on the barrel with the glass. When Hellraizer wanted to set it aside, he first started out by smelling the wine and tasting it. And apparently, he liked it. *g*
Both the Jackal and Killmaster did some surprise dance parts during the show; and some time during the show, when there was a short break, the Jackal asked jokingly confused: “What? Are you waiting for me? Is it my turn? I though it was your turn!”
All in all, it was another great concert. Huge fun to see them again! The concert was highly entertaining, the audience was excited, the band was in a great mood – amazing! I was pretty much in the front, so it’s hard for me to judge the atmosphere in the back. However, judging from the band’s reaction, there’s no way it could have been bad. *g* And the next day, everyone had very positive words about the concert. Yay!
The full setlist: I ett med verden, Tusen dråper regn, Femtakt filosofi, Støv og sand, Ompa til du dør, Din kjole lukter bensin mor, En for orgelet en for meg, Diamant til kull, Apokalyps meg, Enden av november, Kontroll på kontinentet, Tokyo Ice til Clementine, Philemon Arther & the dung, Svarte katter & flosshatter, KGB, Drøm videre Violeta, Hjerteknuser. Encore Maestro.
And so that was it with Kaizers in concert, until next year … but at least it’s not that long anymore until we get some new stuff “on tape”. Better than nothing!