Gnaah… the concerts on this Kaizers tour are really really inconvenient for people who don’t live in Norway. Lots of concerts in one city (which would be great!), but from Monday to Friday… yeah, sure. =:-( And on the weekends, Kaizers keep playing up in the VERY north… *sigh* But well, that just means you have to be really creative when planning your concerts and figure out that Trondheim and Levanger are fairly close! So like that, I managed to fit in two concerts and another evening with Sonny (this time in Oslo), with a reasonable amount of vacation days. Yay!
So I got on my way to Trondheim for the last of the concerts there. Samfundet is known for an amazing atmosphere and great concerts – yeah! But actually, it started out rather disappointing. Last time at Samfundet, we stood on the stairs and had a great view at the stage. This time, no one was allowed to stand there… So we decided for the stands instead, and got a good place with okay view there, but the sound was just awful! I’ve never experienced such bad sound at a Kaizers concert before… probably that was mostly due to where we were standing and it would have been better in the center, but where we were standing, it was almost impossible to even understand anything that was said on stage… And the setlist didn’t really hold any surprises in the beginning – at least no positive surprises. 9mm?! I mean, really…?! =:-/
After half the concert I started wondering what I should write in the report – up to then, Kaizers just played one song after the other, without any talking in between; and while the audience obviously was in a good mood, I’ve definitely seen a more enthusiastic audience before. And the bad sound… No, that wasn’t what I had expected and hoped for for my trip to Norway. =:-(
OK, there were some highlights – we got to hear Diamant til kull and Prosessen, but they were followed by Ompa til du dør and Bøn fra helvete. These two are great songs, no doubt, and I usually like to hear them, but considering that I could have gotten songs like På ditt skift and Tokyo Ice instead?!
And then the concert finally started. I mean, REALLY started! Hellraizer took over the microphone and started out with Rullett. =:-) And as a “mini encore”, we got another Hellraizer song, namely Dr. Mowinckel, yeah! (After the Jackal put on the required protective clothing – read: working gloves. *g*)
And then, from one second to the other, the concert turned absolutely awesome. No idea what the reason was that I couldn’t enjoy the concert that much before – maybe it was just me and my mood, maybe it was that the audience was too “reserved” (even though I don’t really think that; shortly after, the Jackal said that this was the best of the concerts in Trondheim), or if Kaizers themselves had to warm up a bit first – but well, it doesn’t really matter either. In any case, from then on we got a lot of talking between the songs, the audience didn’t just sing along but was fascinated by everything that happened on stage, and everything was just amazing! =:-)
The Jackal mentioned that Kaizers have the world’s best fans (and no, this is not just something that the newspapers write, but it’s true!) – but well, that’s not much of a surprise, since he himself is a big fan. He attended ALL concerts! And he actually knows the band! And he hangs out backstage!! *lol* Probably he even knows all the songs, pff… *g* And the best fans in the world don’t only like the old songs, but they like the new ones even better! We were about to protest when we found out that the next song was… Drøm videre, Violeta. So we didn’t complain. *g* And when the whole Samfundet waves their hands in the air in unison, this looks really really impressive…
Not sure, that might have been later when they played Hjerteknuser. Or during both songs, don’t remember. *g* Before Hjerteknuser, we were asked to decide if we wanted the French or the Russian opening for the song. Seems like this was not the first time that the Russian opening won – but we are supposed to tell everyone who’s going to attend a concert the next weeks to decide for the French opening, because they came up with a great intro there as well! So you know now. *g* And we got the Vodka opening, and the song started when the Jackal put down his glass. =;-)
Svarte katter was very impressive – in the beginning, Killmaster got up on his barrel (which works especially well if you’re busy writing down some setlist notes and don’t look at the stage until the song has started, and you’re completely surprised *g*). Since his hair is gone again, Helge did not take out a comb this time under his “big moment”, but wiped off his sweat. And anyway, he was the coolest guy on stage during the whole concert, as always. *g*
The Jackal stated once more that he definitely has the best job in the world. And we should get such a job as well! Don’t worry, that’s easy, no problem at all. “I mean, Hellraizer can’t play guitar either!” You just need some good ideas, and then it doesn’t matter, you can get this job even if you can’t really play the guitar… *lol*
As encore, we actually got the Gypsy Finale – even with the old “Do you want one more song? Or two more songs? Or THREE more songs?” to start it. Yaaaaaay! Nostalgia! =:-) And party! *g* By that time, Kaizers had the whole Samfundet under their control, absolutely. So it was no surprise whatsoever when the audience won the competition between band and audience about who was louder! But the band put soooo much more heart into it! At least that’s what they said… pff. We were louder and more heartily!! *g*
As conclusion, we got a beautiful version of Bris, with only the Jackal on acoustic guitar and Helge on the organ, and off they went… And then the boxes with shot glasses were sold out, grr… Let’s hope they find some more until Sunday!
But in any case: AWESOME! I WANT MORE!
And here’s the complete setlist:
I ett med verden, Tusen dråper regn, Femtakt filosofi, 9mm, Støv og sand, Din kjole lukter bensin mor, En for orgelet en for meg, Diamant til kull, Prosessen, Ompa til du dør, Bøn fra helvete, Rullett, Dr. Mowinckel, Philemon Arther & The Dung, Kontroll på kontinentet, Drøm videre Violeta, Svarte katter & flosshatter, Hjerteknuser, Dieter Meyers Inst. First encore Sigøynerblod, Bak et halleluja, and Resistansen, second encore Bris.