Konzerte

21.06.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (OverOslo, Oslo)

Saturday, June 22nd, 2013
21.06.2013 – Photos Kaizers Orchestra (OverOslo, Oslo)

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 …! =;-)

08.11.2011 Katzenjammer (LKA, Stuttgart)

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Hmm… over the last couple of years, I saw quite a few Katzenjammer concerts, and I was always very enthusiastic afterwards. These girls are just so adorable, so lovable, the music is fantastic, and the concerts are incredibly fun. This time it’s the first time that this feeling was different. It’s hard for me to put my finger on the “why” or “how”. It’s not because of the girls! They were as lovely as ever, the music was great as well, but somehow it feels like… well, maybe they have outgrown me? Sounds weird, I know…

But: LKA was sold out. Or maybe not sold out, I didn’t check, but so crowded that you had to fight your way through to get to a place where you could enjoy the concert. The audience was rather old for Germany. In Norway, that’s one of the things I love about concerts: that I’m not the oldest one there, but that adults actually attend concerts. However, it’s different in Germany… So you have this huge crowd at the venue, and they applaud nicely after each song and nod their heads and… well, no “and”. That was it. No wild dancing, no jumping around, no partying to the Katzenjammer songs. And come on, these songs deserve it. This BAND deserves it! But no, the audience was quietly listening, clapping when a song was done, tapping their feet, nothing else. A grown-up audience, in a way.

I hate to accuse a band of selling out, of becoming mainstream – and I’m certainly not gonna do that for Katzenjammer. They didn’t sell out, they didn’t go mainstream, they didn’t do anything. Their music is just like it was, they are doing just what they used to do at concerts (even though I think they could use a break from touring – they did seem a bit tired at times). But obviously their music appeals to the mainstream audience, and these people come by to see a concert.

Which is great, don’t get me wrong! It’s fabulous to see all those people falling in love with Katzenjammer. And all in all, the show was really nice. It just wasn’t what I expect from a Katzenjammer concert. There, I want to start dancing during the first song and not stop until the last. And I would love the people around me to join. And not just stand there gaping. Too bad they did just that.

It seemed like this show was a “bad one”. I assume that most other Katzenjammer shows have a better crowd – judging from the band reaction and their “helplessness” when people just didn’t react at all. So no, I don’t blame Katzenjammer at all. I don’t blame anyone. It just felt a bit like I need to take a little break from Katzenjammer concerts in the future – to come back in a year or two and be blown away by their show again.

So: Takk for sist og ha det bra, Katzenjammer! =:-)

13.05.2010 Katzenjammer (Substage, Karlsruhe)

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Schicht im Schacht… that was the motto of the concert, or rather the motto of the whole concert week at Substage. To be precise, it was the motto of the LAST concert week at Substage! =:-( So it was no wonder that I had mixed feelings about the concert… I’ve been to Substage over and over again since 2002, and there’s lots of great memories connected to it – and now it’s gone. =:,-(

But actually, I wanted to write about Katzenjammer here. Well, what should I say? Fabulous, amazing, fantastic, adorable, ingenious, energetic, phenomenal and all in all just plain out great. =:-) The atmosphere was great right from the beginning, everybody was joining in, singing along, dancing, having fun. And by now I even understand the tale about the viking chiefs. *g* All the new songs are fabulous, and I would say it’s time for a second album now, right? And please use ALL of the new songs. Don’t mind if you’ll have to make it a double CD then. *g*

12.05.2010 Katzenjammer (Universum, Stuttgart)

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Yes, they are back in Germany! =:-D The four ladies from Katzenjammer… so amazing. When I first saw the tour dates, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to go to Stuttgart or Karlsruhe. So what does a concert junkie do in this case? Yes, of course: Go to both concerts!

OK, Universum sucks. That was my first thought when I read where Katzenjammer where playing this time. Fortunately, I googled the venue a few days ago – and found out it isn’t where it used to be! No clue when it moved, but it did, so I was curious to see if it was turned into a nicer concert place by now.

No. It wasn’t. Not at all. It’s as bad if not worse than it used to be – and yes, this spoiled the concert for me. It was impossible to see, and in the few meters where you could actually stand and see the girls on stage, it was so crowded that you couldn’t move. Let alone dance…

The concert itself was great. Katzenjammer were in a great mood, and they claimed that this was by far the best show of the tour. And I agree: The audience was very loud and impressive! But also a bit annoying – but well, in that venue you probably didn’t have a chance to enjoy your concert if you didn’t annoy others. *sigh*

So it was a fun concert – but it didn’t blow me away. It seems Katzenjammer will always be the band I don’t get to see at a concert… But well, let’s wait and see how it’ll be tomorrow in Karlsruhe!