Stavanger

01-09.09.2023 Kaizers Orchestra (Konserthuset, Stavanger)

Tuesday, September 12th, 2023

OK … I guess I can do one report for the first week of Kaizers concerts. =;-)

I hadn’t planned on writing anything, and to be honest, it felt incredibly good to be at a concert without writing down the setlist and trying to remember everything that happened – and of course, without having to find time the day after to come up with a report.

But then, this WAS the big Kaizers comeback that we all wished and hoped and waited for for the last 10 years, so OF COURSE I have some thoughts about it. And of course I’m gonna write them down. *g*

So, let’s start at the very beginning, with the very first concert, September 1. I had not prepared at all – I hadn’t listened to any of the old albums, I hadn’t re-watched any DVDs, I only had a few plays of the new songs, and I also hadn’t arranged to meet anybody. Because why would I – Kaizers concerts work in the way that you walk in and you see heaps of people you know and want to talk to, right?

Wrong. I walked in, was handed a Kaizers scarf (which could be really nice if I wasn’t so incredibly not interested in football =;-) ), and … didn’t see anybody I knew. When walking into the concert hall I at least ran into one fan I knew (and I’m sure there were more in the front row, of course, but I don’t queue), and then saw a rather poor amount of people in the front and otherwise – emptiness. I’m not sure what I had expected, but that was definitely NOT it. *lol*

Anyway, half a beer and a couple of round trips through the concert place later I had actually found some people I knew, and it started to feel a bit like “old times”. Even though I was totally aware that those old times are in the past, and they won’t come back. But at least, there was a little flare-up of how things used to be. =:-)

And of course, we started to speculate what would happen: Would they start with the Russian Dance? (Common consensus: yes, they really really should!) Which song would they start with? (Full agreement: Dine gamle dager) What would they play? (Common concern: mainly Violeta songs probably …)

((Side note: I just had to look up if it’s spelled Violeta or Violetta. It’s been a while … *lol*))

Right on time at 9 PM, the lights went out and … beware, from here there be spoilers, so don’t read on if you want to be surprised!

No Russian Dance. Instead, we got an intro that reminded me of the DGDEN trailer, with just some sounds, including a helicopter … wait, they aren’t gonna down from the ceiling, are they?! No, they weren’t. Helge came out first, theatrically put on some white gloves, sat down on the pump organ and started with … Ompa til du dør! =:-D

Yay, a perfect start, and completely unexpected! And to be honest, I didn’t get the reference at all until we discussed it a couple of days later. Ompa was the last song they played at Siste Dans, and the first one they came back with. There couldn’t have been a better choice!

I won’t go into the full concert now, just some thoughts. First of all, it REALLY felt like “old times”. So I guess the “dine gamle dager er nå” slogan they have now fits a lot better than the one they had around Siste Dans – “tid kan endre alt”. Because it didn’t feel like any time had passed! It felt like they’d been on stage just yesterday and picked up exactly where they left off.

Of course, the first concert was a little (very little) bit “stiff” and rehearsed. It was clear they had planned everything out in detail, and they did exactly what they had planned. The second show was similar, maybe a little more relaxed. But it wasn’t until the next week that they really loosened up – which I can understand 100%, and the first concerts weren’t bad because of it. They just had to warm up a little to get EVEN better!

Interestingly, there were quite a few wrong notes in the first shows though, which I hadn’t expected. Normally I would think those creep in when the band starts loosening up and maybe concentrating a bit less … but no, that actually got better show by show as well. =:-) Not that it was a problem anyway, it’s not like they were playing badly, and I prefer to have humans on stage rather than robots. =;-)

The setlist was great, with a good mixture of old stuff and Violeta songs. The full Gypsy Finale! =:-D Okay, I don’t really understand why they put Dr. Mowinckel in the middle of it … I mean, I love Dr. Mowinckel, but why not before or after the Gypsy Finale?

At the first show, they played Delikatessen, which was an absolute surprise. They later replaced that with Siste Dans (ok, nice song, but not Delikatessen) and even later with Prosessen (YAY!). Otherwise, no big surprises in my eyes. I’m not the biggest fan of Kvite russer (mainly because it’s really really long and kills your voice …), but the way they’re doing it this time with getting someone up on stage is kinda cute. A bit of a down-time for me at all concerts was the block of Støv & sand (Kaizers’ “Malin” *lol*) and I ett med verden – toilet break, anyone? =;-) And then of course there was Kaleidoskophimmel right before the encore break, which didn’t work at all. People just don’t know the song yet, and … well, it’s a Janove solo song anyway. They played it at the first shows, and people went to get a beer or started talking, and then they took it out of the set. Which is totally fine for me. =;-)

The barrels were of course back, and used for the old songs as usual. Not quite sure why they are now spitting smoke, that’s kinda distracting (and messes up barrel fotos!), but hey – Kaizers up on barrels is what counts! In the intermezzo part in Begravelsespolka, they now get up on the barrels instead of Janove and Helge tap-dancing – not sure why, but it works. What does absolutely NOT work though is the ending of Begravelsespolka where they keep repeating the “bli” over and over again (as usual) but stop before the “bli” in a different key – what the hell?! This is like ending a scale without the last tone, you just DON’T DO THIS!!!1

What else? Oh yeah, there was the scarf stunt at the first two concerts. Everybody had been handed a scarf at the entrance, and then during I ett med verden and later again during Kaleidoskophimmel everyone was supposed to lift them up. Overall, nice idea, and I’m sure it looked good as well, and it reminded me of the “Don’t ever split or quit” sign in Switzerland. =;-) I simply didn’t like the football feel of it all …

The audience was absolutely awesome overall. Pretty much everyone (at least in the front) was singing along with every single song, which isn’t really how it “used to be”. But of course, if it’s that difficult to get tickets, there is a bit of a selection on the audience and the amount of “let’s get drunk and talk through the concert, so I can tell my colleagues tomorrow that I was at a Kaizers concert” people is seriously reduced. Or, actually, I don’t think there were any of those people! Which also meant there were very few drunk people fighting their way to the front (some at the end of the concert maybe, but overall, not too bad).

What amazed me at several of the concerts was the amount of young kids (ok, I’m old by now, so with “kids” I mean like 18-25 =;-) ) that were really really into it. I mean, what other band can play a ballad (Hjerteknuser) and have a bunch of 18-year-old guys get really ecstatic about it?!

And of course, Die Polizei as conclusion to the shows, with the audience singing along and on their own for a really long time after the band went off stage … <3

So overall: Well, that was unexpected. =;-) I did expect to enjoy the concerts, because every time I’ve seen Kaizers after a bit of a break, I didn’t REALLY miss them in between, but once I’ve seen them again I knew what had been missing after all. However, I hadn’t expected the concerts to just feel like before. I’m older, they are older, the audience overall … should have been older but wasn’t really =;-), there’s a lot of things that have happened in the last ten years. But Kaizers live haven’t changed and are still absolutely amazing. =:-D

Looking forward to Oslo, Trondheim and then a bunch of concerts in Europe now!

29+30.11.2019 Skambankt (Tou Scene, Stavanger)

Sunday, December 1st, 2019

Well … the Trondheim concert was definitely too much fun. So I had to take a short trip down to Stavanger after all – even though I had decided to skip the concerts there this time, too much hassle, too expensive, too many other things to do.

But nah, no excuses – who knows when we’ll see Skambankt unplugged again? Said and done, two days down in Stavanger, three concerts within these two days, and hell yeah, it was worth it!

The two concerts at night (Friday and Saturday) were quite similar. OK, except for the fact that on Saturday, I had a group of talkers right behind (and for one song, right in front of) me … Argh, can people just shut up? It just isn’t fair that two people talking can ruin the concert for 15 or so people around them … Or as Terje pointed out, “there’s only two songs left, and if you can’t make it through those without talking, there’s a bar outside as well …”

On stage, there was quite a lot happening throughout the concert. Camilla Rosenlund, who also warmed up before Skambankt, joined for Slukk meg (for eg brenner) – which worked really nicely as a duet (even though it still isn’t quite as awesome as the fast and punky version =;-) ) – and Vår bør (with three voices throughout the whole song, perfect for smoking … you know *g*). After that, it was time for some brass on stage, to join in on Horisonten brenner, For en evighet, and Levende legende. They had added For en evighet just for the concerts in Stavanger, and it got better and better every night. And since the role of the brass players in the other two songs was mostly “hold long notes”, this was a great addition, since they got to add some big band style. Or maybe Dandy Warhols style? =;-) Either way, great fun!

Since they had guests on stage, Skambankt had to rearrange their setlist quite a bit. And that showed – especially at my first concert on Friday. =;-) There was a lot of “oh wait, now I need the harmonica, and now the rattle thingy, and oh no, now the setlist fell down and I don’t know what is next”. But in a very cute way, of course. *g*

The setlist for both nights was the same – no encores (or maybe more “no break before the encores”):

  1. Gribben
  2. Fritt fall
  3. Balladen om deg
  4. O dessverre
  5. Sånne som deg
  6. I dette huset
  7. Når eg sover
  8. Slukk meg (for eg brenner)
  9. Vår bør
  10. Horisonten brenner
  11. For en evighet
  12. Levende legende
  13. Kommer snart hjem
  14. Skumring
  15. Født på ny

View this post on Instagram

I love this band – plugged or unplugged. #skambankt

A post shared by Konzertjunkie (@konzertjunkie_) on

For the kids’ concert, they dropped a few of the songs, of course. They were really nervous about that concert – would the kids actually make it through the full show? Or would it get too much, and the kids would start whining and chatting and running around? No need to worry at all, it turned out: the kids were awesome! The concert had the most attentive and least chatty audience by far, yay! And the kids really enjoyed it as well. I mean, what could you not like if the band sings about “a big great house”, about firefighting, and about their job, where they get lots of candy and soda and chips backstage? =;-) But Skambankt also warned the kids that they might be a bit surprised at their next Skambankt concert, which will probably be quite different from this one … *g*

All in all, the kids’ concert was quite special (of course, since it was in the middle of the day, no alcohol involved, and the first concert for so many excited kids). The setlist:

  1. Gribben
  2. Balladen om deg
  3. Sånne som deg
  4. I dette huset
  5. Slukk meg (for eg brenner)
  6. Vår bør
  7. Horisonten brenner
  8. For en evighet
  9. Kommer snart hjem
  10. Skumring
  11. Født på ny

So an awesome weekend! Thanks so much to Skambankt for three great concerts – and I guess now it’s time to dust off the electric guitars for the next round of shows? =:-D

08.06.2019 Skambankt (supporting Bon Jovi) (Viking Stadion, Stavanger)

Sunday, June 9th, 2019

The first band I ever was a fan of was Bon Jovi. That was loooong ago, and I haven’t kept up with them at all the last 25 years or so … (gosh, I’m old!). Still, when Skambankt announced they would be supporting Bon Jovi at their concert in Stavanger, there was not a doubt in my mind what I would be doing that weekend!

As a concert junkie, getting a ticket wasn’t a problem, but just for the record: I hate Golden Circles. The people who get there first should be the ones who get to stand in the front, and not the people who pay the most – which might even be the people who got their tickets last, because those hilariously expensive tickets were the last ones left … Anyways, I got to the arena in time to secure my spot in the front row of the non-Golden-Circle area, which was pretty much in the middle of the area. Thus far enough away that if Skambankt had put body-doubles on stage, I wouldn’t have noticed. *grmbl*

Add to that the fact that when Skambankt played, a lot of the Golden Circle audience hadn’t arrived yet, and there was therefore a huge gap in the audience, which totally killed the atmosphere. I mean, nothing compared to Longfield & Super Skeleton, who were the first band out – nobody cared for their show, and there was hardly anybody there yet. Such a pity! =:-( At least for Skambankt, it had filled up quite a bit, and before the show I saw quite a few Skambankt shirts and heard a lot of talk about them, so people actually wanted to see Skambankt. Still, there weren’t enough fans there to create a real buzz in the stadium while Skambankt were on stage – but as Skambankt themselves said on stage: It cannot be that easy – they have to do some work to deserve the favor of the audience!

Even though the easiest way to create a buzz in the stadium was to simply … ask for it. =;-) Which definitely worked, it sounded impressive, and Skambankt seemed to love it! What was awesome to see was how well they managed to fill the huge stage. Their setup was a lot smaller than Bon Jovi’s, of course, but they spread out to the sides whenever possible, and they used the catwalk into the audience quite a bit. Not always successfully – during Stormkast #1, both Terje and Panzer went to the front, just to simultaneously realize they wouldn’t make it back to their positions in time and start running back … which resulted in a musical mess, so after a quick band meeting on stage, they decided to start the song over. *lol*

View this post on Instagram

Stormkast #1 & #2 #skambankt

A post shared by Konzertjunkie (@konzertjunkie_) on

The weather report for the evening was bad – it was supposed to rain basically all night. However, it held up until Skambankt came on, and it wasn’t until O Dessverre and “after sunshine comes the rain” that it started raining … They didn’t take the blame though, because come on, let’s get real here, “you’re all gonna be soaking wet by the end of the night anyway, so let’s just not give a damn about it”.

For the final song, Kommer snart hjem, they got some help on stage – Longfield’s guitar player (I think) and a saxophone solo (by a guy I could have sworn played a concert in Sandnes earlier that day – but hey, I was too far from the stage to really be able to tell, and I guess I’ll never know …).

The full setlist:

  1. Dynasti
  2. Skambankt
  3. Voodoo
  4. Mantra
  5. Horisonten brenner
  6. Vår bør
  7. O dessverre
  8. For en evighet
  9. Malin
  10. Balladen om deg
  11. Stormkast #1
  12. Kommer snart hjem

Definitely a fun experience to see Skambankt on such a huge stage! It could have been even better if the audience had been more into them, but well – I guess you can’t ask for that if you’re only the support band.

Half an hour later, it was time for Bon Jovi. And I was suddenly 25 years younger and surprised about how much of my brain capacity is apparently blocked by Bon Jovi lyrics … *uhem* Great fun, even though the singing especially on the old songs was quite sloppy at times. But still: two and a half hours down memory lane! And all in all, an amazing night. =:-)

17.11.2018 Skambankt (Folken, Stavanger)

Sunday, November 18th, 2018

The next day, the next concert … this time at Folken! The expectations were high, because of course, the audience would be just as enthusiastic as at Checkpoint Charlie, but there would be a much better view even when keeping a bit to the side and staying out of the wildest part of the audience. All set for a perfect concert!

And that’s exactly what we got! A great concert, not as intimate as the Checkpoint gig, but with an audience that was just as much into it. Or maybe even more, judging by all the “Skambankt” chants between the songs. And if anybody still wonders why I would see the same band two days in the row, that’s exactly why – the concerts can be totally different because of the setting, but still both be perfect!

This time there were some cameras around, because Skambankt decided to do a music video for I dette huset (Disclaimer: them deciding to film does not mean that the music video will ever happen, let’s just wait and see and not ask about it every other week =;-p). And while they were filming the whole show to get enough material, the most important part was of course when they played I dette huset. Which started with Terje forgetting the lyrics … *ouch* You could tell he was really annoyed about this, and everyone felt bad for him – so when he apologized afterwards, there were “en gang til” chants right away. It was obvious Skambankt were a bit torn between wanting to give it another try and continuing the concert, but since we were asking for it … we got another version! =:-D Which apparently also had some kind of mix-up in the lyrics, but don’t ask me, *I* certainly don’t know the lyrics. *gg*

The setlist was almost the same as at Checkpoint, with an additional Mantra thrown into the main set. For encores, they asked the audience – which resulted in an unignorable request for Malin again … what is this, Stavanger? Are you kidding?! Seriously?

Either way, after suffering through Malin once again, Skambankt made up for everything by playing … KKK! =:-o YAY! I would have never expected that, unless they had actually practiced it beforehand … and honestly, that’s how it sounded at first! So all props for that, that was perfect … altså, I mean, until they got to the third verse and had no clue how it went. So no, they hadn’t practiced the song beforehand, which makes it even more amazing that they played it. THANK YOU! ♥

And as a final conclusion, the choice was between Min Eliksir and Slukk meg, and thank you Stavanger, everyone voted right and we got Slukk meg. Hey, I’ll take Malin any day if I get KKK and Slukk meg afterwards … =:-D

(And before anyone asks why I go see them so many times if I hate their songs so much – there are exactly two Skambankt songs that I don’t like: Malin and Min Eliksir. =;-) )

The setlist:

  1. Anonyme hatere
  2. Skambankt
  3. Dynasti
  4. Voodoo
  5. Levende legende
  6. Mantra
  7. Horisonten brenner
  8. Tanker som mareritt
  9. I dette huset
  10. I dette huset
  11. Desertør
  12. Balladen om deg
  13. O dessverre
  14. Me sa nei
  15. Stormkast #1
    ———
  16. Vår bør
  17. Malin
  18. KKK
  19. Slukk meg (for eg brenner)

Oh, and the last song after they were done and while they were saying bye to the audience, was of course “Je t’aime”. Why not? And I can only answer: “Nous aussi”!

16.11.2018 Skambankt (Checkpoint Charlie, Stavanger)

Sunday, November 18th, 2018

The last time Skambankt played at Checkpoint Charlie in Stavanger was 12 years ago. That was my 5th Skambankt concert, and my first trip to Norway where I actually dared to speak any Norwegian.

I’d love to say that when I heard they would be playing at Checkpoint Charlie again, I did not hesitate but got my plane ticket to Stavanger right away. That would be a lie though … because of course, I already had my plane ticket to Stavanger to see them at Folken the next night. And of course I had expected a second show to be added, so I was all set already! It was an awesome surprise though that the first show would be in a tiny club. ♥

Checkpoint Charlie was just like I remembered it – tiny, crammed with people, and with a tiny stage in one corner that could hardly fit the support band Kåte Klør (who also played the next night and did a great job as warm-up band!). OK, that was partly due to Skambankt’s stuff occupying most of the stage, but still – Checkpoint is the definition of an intimate setting. =;-)

The audience was wild from the first second, and it didn’t make any difference if Skambankt played new stuff or old, everyone was into it. The setlist was pretty much the same as it has been all year though, without surprises. That was a bit of a pity, as I had really hoped they would do something special – like play old songs at Checkpoint and new ones at Folken, or a “rarities” setlist at Checkpoint and the normal one at Folken. But no complaints here, that concert was so much fun! =:-)

Both Levende Legende and I dette huset are “really about something completely different, but they totally fit Checkpoint Charlie, so let’s dedicate them to Checkpoint”. “Balladen om deg” is the very first power ballad they ever did, two years ago – seems it’s a fact by now that Søvnløs never happened. *lol*

After the last song, Skambankt skipped the “going off stage” part (not that they would have made it backstage through the audience anyway), and it was obvious they weren’t done for the night. “You want some more? Still more? Sure, we’ll continue!”

Don’t ask me why Stavanger loves Malin though … That wish was pretty much unisono, so of course they had to play it. Luckily the girl next to me was SO into the song that this actually made it fun – and I mean that really positively, there’s nothing nicer than seeing people totally in love with “their” song. Even if it’s a shitty song. *uhem*

Two more encores, Vår bør and Mantra, and as conclusion a little stage diving (which did not seem like the best idea considering that the ceiling was about 20 cm over people’s heads =:-o ), and that was it. And everyone was drenched in sweat and HAPPY! =:-D

The setlist:

  1. Anonyme hatere
  2. Skambankt
  3. Dynasti
  4. Voodoo
  5. Levende legende
  6. Horisonten brenner
  7. Tanker som mareritt
  8. I dette huset
  9. Desertør
  10. Balladen om deg
  11. O dessverre
  12. Me sa nei
  13. Stormkast #1
    ———
  14. Malin
  15. Vår bør
  16. Mantra

18.10.2014 Skambankt (Folken, Stavanger)

Sunday, October 19th, 2014

To right away answer yesterday’s question if Skambankt could top the concert once more: Hell yeah!

Although I have to say I’m not sure Skambankt had so much to do with this … they played another awesome concert, but it felt even better because of the audience. A sold-out Folken, filled with fans! The atmosphere was awesome, and at least in the front, everybody was moving. As always, I was standing at the side (I’m just too old for the middle *g*), and even there, people were dancing and jumping, hands in the air. But in a very nice way, and everyone was enjoying the concert. Way less mobiles than yesterday, no elbows in the side, no angry or bored faces. But lots of fans that knew every song, were singing along and were focussed on the concert. I loved it!! =:-D

The setlist differed a bit from the last few concerts. Slukk meg was back (yay!!), but both Desertør and Panzersjokk were gone (boooh!). And the order was changed a bit – probably to move Me sa nei and the guest performance by Anders further out in the set. And that worked even better than yesterday! Anders had adopted the Skambankt dress code, he played the verses all alone, and he did so well that Panzer turned up his amp in the middle of the song, before Terje started the Wall of Death. =;-) And Anders already picked up how to be a rockstar. He didn’t flinch when he was drowned in beer, and before he went off stage, he threw his plek into the audience.

But he wasn’t the only “rockstar to be”. There was a boy in the front, sitting on the railing, celebrating every song (and posing for every camera *g*). Before Skambankt played Alarm, they took him up on stage, introduced him to the audience, and had him count in – which he managed perfectly. And how to get back? Well, really easy. Backliner Kjetil picked him up and threw him back into the audience. Yes, THREW. Of course the audience caught him and carried him on their hands; it did look a bit scary though. At least it must have been for his dad who was stuck in the front row. =;-)

There was quite a bit of talk again, much more than in Trondheim, but not much that I remember. In the beginning, Terje pointed out that it would be “jævlig lenge” until they would do a real tour again (nooooo!). Then, before Bak låste dører, he explained that this song was for their old drummer. “He’s not with us anymore …” Shocked faces in the audience. “Uuh, I mean he’s alive! He’s just not with us on stage …”

Obviously, Skambankt didn’t want the concert to end and dragged it out before the last song Stormkast, but still we got only two encores … *pff* Anonyme hatere with lots of middle fingers, and then Min eliksir, where everyone was supposed to get moving once more. Well, if only there was a way to move to that song … *sigh*

Still, it was an awesome ending to an even better concert. It’s cool to see how Skambankt manage to top their concerts again and again … This was amazing. So let’s hope they break their promise to not tour again any time soon!

The setlist:

  • Kald kald natt
  • Skambankt
  • O dessverre
  • Dynasti
  • Slukk meg for eg brenner
  • Som en sirene
  • Voodoo
  • Bak låste dører
  • Vår bør
  • Me sa nei
  • Malin
  • Alarm
  • Mantra
  • Stormkast #1
    ——–
  • Anonyme hatere
  • Min eliksir

17.10.2014 Skambankt (Folken, Stavanger)

Saturday, October 18th, 2014

It’s definitely awesome to be able to walk to concerts – and even to concerts of Norwegian bands! But … you didn’t really expect me to stop traveling to concerts now, or did you? =;-)

Two Skambankt concerts on one weekend, Friday and Saturday, in Stavanger, with decent hotel prices and affordable flights – what else could you possibly want? Said and done and booked. Finally time for another concert weekend!

As expected, the Friday concert wasn’t sold out. It was added as extra concert after the Saturday concert had been sold out, and such shows tend to be a bit calmer than the “real” concerts. Still, the audience was so much into the show right away! No comparison to Trondheim … singing, dancing, shouting from the second song (Kald kald natt as opener was also received well, but there’s not much the audience can “do” there). So it was clear right from the beginning that this would be a great show with an awesome atmosphere, and that’s just how it turned out!

However, I was really amused by some people in the audience, I gotta admit. That girl in front of me who had obviously been dragged along by her boyfriend – and who spent at least three full songs taking selfies!! One after the other … *argh* Or the girl who suddenly turned up next to me during Voodoo, dancing real hippie-ish and calmly – I mean, she obviously had a lot of fun and I love to see people getting so captured by a concert that they are fully lost in the music and forget everything around them … but when she continued dancing that way during the beginning of Alarm, I couldn’t stop myself from grinning and shaking my head. =;-)

A big thumbs-up to the security that did NOT stop people from having fun this time, like they did the last few times in Trondheim … And a big WTF?!? to all those people who pushed their way to the front just to complain to the security about the big bad guys that were in the crowd dancing and having fun. *rolleyes* Guys, you are at a rock concert. If you don’t like getting pushed, move over to the side, it’s that easy …

But back to the concert. There was much more talk than in Trondheim, but I’m not sure how much I remember …

An awesome thing was of course when Skambankt took the guy who won the guitar competition up on stage so he could play with them on Me sa nei. Okay, maybe Terje should have introduced him as Anders and not as Magnus, but well … alle har me gjort vår del av feil, ikke sant? =;-) Anders played really well, he even got to do the solo in the end, and he managed the “rock” part as well. Awesome! Skambankt definitely picked the right winner there.

Just like they picked the right girl to come up on stage and count in during Alarm! She looked a bit confused in the beginning and didn’t seem to know why she suddenly ended up on stage, but she did a good job and had fun on stage during the remainder of the song.

Terje was glad to talk some English on stage because of some Germans that had traveled to Stavanger for the concerts – “det er ikke ofte me får snakke engelsk på scenen!” Hans-Egil was in “top form” today – “uh, which of course doesn’t mean that you, Tollak or Børge, are not in top form, just that …. uh …” *lol* At some point in time, Terje pointed out the kids on the balcony and stated that now it’s their turn to make music – confused faces in the audience, short cheering and then doubtful looks on the balcony … “Uuh. Are you wondering what I wanted to say here? Actually, I am as well …” *g* But then he did explain that those were the kids from Anders’ school. And finally we got to choose the last song of the encores: either Min eliksir or Panzersjokk. “And if you don’t know either of them, go for the cooler name. So do you want Min eliksir or PANZERSJOKK!!!?” The audience voted wrong, but Skambankt decided right and played Panzersjokk anyway. *yay*

A really fun concert – let’s see if they can top it tomorrow!

The setlist:

  • Kald kald natt
  • Skambankt
  • O dessverre
  • Me sa nei
  • Dynasti
  • Desertør
  • Bak låste dører
  • Voodoo
  • Alarm
  • Vår bør
  • Som en sirene
  • Malin
  • Mantra
  • Stormkast #1
    ——–
  • Anonyme hatere
  • Panzersjokk

14.09.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (DNB-Arena, Stavanger)

Saturday, September 14th, 2013

September 14th, the very last “Siste Dans” concert in Stavanger – my 172nd concert and the only one without a real concert report. But a report really isn’t necessary, as the concert is/was streamed live on the internet. And I want to just enjoy the concert without having to take notes and think about what is worth mentioning in the report. However, I’ll append the setlist below after the concert of course – at least if someone writes it down. =;-)

There’s no doubt at all that the last concert will be terrific. Just like we know for sure that in the end, we’ll all be crying our eyes out, arm in arm. And that’s how it must be. You should quit while you’re ahead – even if it hurts.

Thank you so much, dear Kaizers, for ten years filled with fabulous music, awesome concerts and lots of experiences, adventures, and friendships that were all due to you guys. Thanks to everyone who was part of it and who I got to know; no matter if just very briefly here and there at a concert or by mail or again and again for years. Thank you for the amazing friendships that came about – they will persist, for sure!

I wrote down my conclusion and thank you in Stavanger Aftenblad already. I’ll try to translate the article as well within the next weeks. But first, it’s time for the last one.

We knew it right from the beginning: “Some day all of this will be over …” Of course I’d hope that this day was still in the far future. But it’s not. So we’ll cry together tonight and say good bye, before we start looking forward to the new projects that are coming. And – even though it might be years away – to a reunion concert.

We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when – but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day!

Thanks to Greg for the setlist!

1. Aldri Vodka Violeta
2. Siste Dans
3. Bøn Fra Helvete
4. Tusen Dråper Regn
5. En For Orgelet, En For Meg
6. Diamant Til Kull
7. Støv og Sand
8. I ett Med Verden
9. Tokyo Ice Til Clementine
10. Kontroll På Kontinentet
11. Evig Pint
12. KGB
13. Dr. Mowinckel
14. Bris
15. Bak et Hallelujah
16. Salt og Pepper
17. Drøm Videre, Violeta
18. Forloveren
19. Mr. Kaizer (Hans Constanze og Meg)
20. Svarte Katter og Flosshatter
21. Dieter Meyers Inst.
22. Hjerteknuser

23. Begravelsespolka
24. Resistansen
25. 170

26. Maestro
27. Die Polizei
28. Ompa Til Du Dør

13.09.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (DNB-Arena, Stavanger)

Saturday, September 14th, 2013

I guess I’ll just skip the introductory sentence today – “now it was time for the second-to-last concert” just sounds way too depressing …

But we got another amazing show! I heard differing opinions, but I thought the show was even better than the one on Thursday. The setlist was maybe a tiny little bit weaker, but then I thought the atmosphere was better. And I was in a much better mood. =:-)

It seems like the crew is starting to have their “final concert” fun now – the concert actually started with a (play) fight at the side of the stage while the band played Aldri vodka. The next songs were as usual, no surprises there. In the introduction in Forloveren, Janove got the audience to do “czk czk” again, like he did on the last European tour. Followed up with: “That sounds a bit like jazz! Let’s not do too much of it …” And Omen was actually playing on the “organ, keyboard, piano, and toilet paper” today – ’cause he was busy cleaning his helmet during the introduction.

For some reason that I didn’t catch, Killmaster invited us all backstage after the show – or actually into “his backstage”. And he gave us his number so we could call him to get in. =;-)

In Kontroll på kontinentet, we got a crew jury verdict again – but this time, the White Russian went for the “10” right away instead for the “OK”. So consequently, “the guy with the 6.2” was fired …

They get lots of song wished, from fans and friends and family – yes, even aunts and uncles! But the best wish they got was for a demo version, specifically, of an Evig Pint song – yep, we got Salt & Pepper again, yippie! =:-) And in the middle of the song, the Jackal pointed out: “And remember, this is just a demo!”

Kaizers actually discussed on stage whether the concert was better than yesterday’s, and the conclusion was that it was – because Hellraizer had bought some deodorant today …

Next it was time for the song that can only be started by jumping off a barrel. So I had my phone out already to write Hjerte… – but no! Wrong! Whut?! That’s not Hjerteknuser, but De Involverte! Also a song I love, because they played it so much early in their career … awesome. And quite surprising after that misleading introduction. *g*

Then there was some talk about what a nostalgic person the Jackal is – but then, everything that’s happening now will be in the past 10 minutes from now, so that’s nostalgia in the making! And next, only the Jackal and “han med barten” (“he with the beard”) would sing a song for us … well, these two and 5000 others, of course. =;-) Because the song was Kvite russer, and everyone was singing along.

The Jackal wondered if we all knew each other at the concert – well, almost, I would say … it’s the Kaizerfamily after all! And then “han med barten” started playing again. Jackal: “Oh gosh, that sounds sad! The guy with the beard is in a bad mood again …”

After Dieter Meyers, the Jackal thanked the crew and the support bands. And also us in the audience: “Thank you for allowing us to play for you for 15 years. And for becoming more and more! We started with 11 people in the audience at Cementen, and now it’s 5000 here. And we’re still 6 people in the band …”

Then it was actually time for Hjerteknuser – the song that can only start when a crystal glass breaks on the floor. And again, half of the splinters went into the aisle. Well, it might be a nice effect to start the song like that, but it’s definitely a dangerous thing to do …

Lots of activity in the aisle before the encores started (while the audience was singing White Stripes?!). They brought in another barrel (in the aisle), half of the crew was there, and the photographers gathered again – huh?! Turned out that the Jackal sang the whole first part of the song (before the tap dancing part) in the audience! Moving from the stage to the FOH. Okay, of course it was quite hard to see from the floor, but it was a nice little extra – and probably the time of their lives for those people who stood in the center of the action. =:-)

Then during the tap dance part, the Jackal suddenly got out of step – which really surprised me ’cause I hadn’t seen that happen before. A second later I realized though how that came about: parts of the crew were in the aisle, dancing along. *rofl*

Resistansen was as awesome as always; the Jackal maybe dragged it out a bit more than at the last concerts. First, the audience was showing the band how to do it, and then we got the Kaizers vs. floor vs. stands again. But actually slowing down in the end this time, not speeding up.

During Maestro, the Jackal changed the lyrics into “Sving din hammer – Stavanger!” and proclaimed: “Let’s go for the kill, boys!” Guess we were easy prey …

Ompa after Die Polizei worked a bit better for me tonight, because the Jackal had the audience sing all alone until the chorus. That was quite awesome! And after they were done, the Jackal first presented all of the band members to the audience separately before the others had to basically drag him to the front to also get a little bit of attention from the audience. =;-) Which he seemed to like quite good – so then he didn’t want to leave the stage. But Killmaster solved that problem quickly by grabbing him and just carrying him off. *g*

As I wrote in the beginning – I loved the show, and I thought it was even better than the one on Thursday. So let’s see what we’ll get at the final show … =:-/

The setlist:

  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Siste dans
  • Bøn fra helvete
  • Tusen dråper regn
  • En for orgelet, en for meg
  • Forloveren
  • Knekker deg til sist
  • Delikatessen
  • Blitzregn Baby
  • Tokyo Ice til Clementine
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Evig pint
  • KGB
  • Djevelens orkester
  • Salt og pepper
  • Drøm videre, Violeta
  • De involverte
  • Min kvite russer
  • Svarte katter & flosshatter
  • Dieter Meyers Inst.
  • Hjerteknuser
    ————
  • Begravelsespolka
  • Resistansen
  • 170
    ————
  • Maestro
  • Die Polizei
  • Ompa til du dør

12.09.2013 Kaizers Orchestra (DNB-Arena, Stavanger)

Friday, September 13th, 2013

First one of the last set of concerts … I was in a slightly weird mood, so this report might sound a bit strange, sorry for that. The concert was splendid, the setlist was amazing, but the ending with first Die Polizei and then Ompa til du dør just doesn’t work for me. It’s way too emotional, I can’t enjoy Ompa, and so I just felt terrible afterwards – which isn’t necessarily the best way to end a concert. =:-(

Still, this was just awesome. We got Salt & Pepper! A song I’ve longed for for years … and now they finally played it again, while I was there, and we were standing in the front and went crazy. So yes, we did have an awesome time at the concert … and it’ll be really hard for Kaizers to top this one!

There wasn’t really a lot of talking. The first that I noted down was that during the introduction in Forloveren, Helge was introduced as “on the piano, organ, accordion, and peanuts”. *gg* And there was a lot of confetti during the song again – seems we really started a trend in London! =;-)

Then the Jackal announced that today, everything goes. Hits, album songs, B sides – so we got Medisin & Psykiatri, Kavaler, and Tokyo Ice. Yay! Just awesome, and it’s been a while since I heard anything from Våre Demoner live. The atmosphere was just awesome – even though it was obvious that some people in the audience had never heard these songs before. =;-)

After Philemon Arthur & the Dung, thus the 15th (!) song, the Jackal asked if we were satisfied with the opening of the concert. *rofl* Oh yes, definitely! Especially since he then continued to explain that the next song had been requested by a whole lot of people, especially someone who sent in a mail some months ago (no, that wasn’t me, by the way *g*) – and then we got Salt & Pepper. And that’s basically where this report could end, because after that, it couldn’t get any better anymore for me … =:-D

I still liked their remark that the next day, they would not play the same songs again (except for Salt & Pepper again, maybe?? *g*). “No, tomorrow we’ll play all cover songs!” *rofl* And then we got a tiny bit Metallica. =;-)

Another nice surprise in the setlist was Den andre er meg – including Ragnhild on vocals. Svarte katter was impressive as always; Omen played a bit with this soap bubbles again, and after it was over, he thanked the crowd. Or actually, he sat at his organ, not moving, while the Jackal translated what he was saying. *gg*

Then the Jackal got his acoustic guitar and started explaining what usually happens when the singer brings out his acoustic guitar – the intro always sounds the same. But then he wouldn’t know how to continue, because it’s just not his style.

Before Hjerteknuser, the Jackal asked for a crystal glass. Someone in the crew, please? Magnus? Fritz? Stein Cato? Of course he got one, thanked Stein Cato =;-), and took a sip of the wine – “Damn, that’s good!” So then he was explaining a bit about … uh, don’t remember. *g* Always interrupted by a sip and “damn, that’s good!” Until Hellraizer walked up to him and wanted to try the wine as well – and obviously it WAS good, because he didn’t give back the glass until he had finished the wine. =;-) Jackal: “Argh, those guitar players! In my next band, I won’t have guitar players!” And then the talking continued, while Hellraizer and Killmaster started a discussion in the background. The Jackal asked what this was about – “oh, nothing really. We just decided that in our next band, we won’t have a singer!”

Then we got some talk about Bryne vs. Viking, even though they had been told by the management to NOT do that, but well … you gotta take some booohs as well once in a while. =;-)

Finally, we got some really intense encores – started by Omen standing at the microphone stand and breathing into the mike, but not saying anything (and the Jackal wasn’t on stage yet to translate *g*), and then Hellraizer actually breaking the crowbar during 170.

And then, as final conclusion, another beautiful version of Die Polizei followed by Ompa til du dør. As mentioned above, it doesn’t work for me because I cannot enjoy Ompa after Die Polizei, but still – and awesome show.

The full setlist:

  • Aldri vodka, Violeta
  • Siste dans
  • Bøn fra helvete
  • Tusen dråper regn
  • En for orgelet, en for meg
  • Forloveren
  • Medisin & psykiatri
  • Kavaler
  • Enden av november
  • Tokyo Ice til Clementine
  • Kontroll på kontinentet
  • Evig pint
  • Støv og sand
  • KGB
  • Philemon Arthur & the Dung
  • Salt og pepper
  • Drøm videre, Violeta
  • Den andre er meg
  • Svarte katter & flosshatter
  • Dieter Meyers Inst.
  • Hjerteknuser
    ————
  • Begravelsespolka
  • Resistansen
  • 170
    ————
  • Maestro
  • Die Polizei
  • Ompa til du dør