Jane’s Addiction have been on a tour for some time now, celebrating 25 years since they released the ground breaking CD Nothing’s Shocking. The tour started in May, and they have played several venues in the USA, O2 in London before they played the Parken festival in Bodø, Norway and last night they played in Oslo.
In the 70s we had four big rock bands in Norway which stood out – Popol Ace (earlier Popol Vuh), Aunt Mary, Junipher Greene and Ruphus. Aunt Mary played harder prog rock, while Junipher Greene, Popol Ace and Ruphus played a mix of prog and sympho rock. All the bands stopped playing together in the late 70s, but all of them have had reunion concerts in later years. Yesterday night I saw the Aspaas Larsen band at the Olsen Bar in Oslo, with three of the original members of Ruphus.
The Pstereo festival 2014 is over, the sound has died and all the people in front of, on, and behind the stages have left. I have attended the festival every year since 2009, and this year was the overall best. Not necessarily the best artists, but the whole atmosphere, the setup and the attitude. Here are my best shots of the bands I saw at the festival. (Picture above: Ingrid Helene Håvik from Highasakite.)
St. Vincent, or Annie Clark, as is her real name, is an American artist who is difficult to fit into any traditional musical genre. Her music has elements of everything, and she molds it together to form a genuine and personal mix. Last night she played the Pstereo festival in Trondheim for an audience who shared the critiques’ excitement for her.
The Oya festival is over, and it is a whole year to next time. This year the festival was held in a new location, which proved successful for the audience and hopefully also for the artists. It worked just fine for us photographers too, with good conditions and possibilities for some good shots. Here are my personal favorites from the bands I photographed at the festival. (Picture above: Bryan Ferry’s drummer Cherisse Osei.)
Mayhem are Norway’s longest existing black metal band. It is also the band with the most controversy surrounding it. On Friday they celebrated their 30 year anniversary at the Oya festival with the stage full of carcasses and pigs’ heads and some good new and old school black metal. Here are pictures from the concert.
Bryan Ferry played the big stage at the Øya festival last night, and he is still the stylish guy, even at almost 69. His voice is the same, smooth and inviting, and the songs are good as always. Bryan Ferry is a pop history legend with his background from Roxy Music, and a big and happy crowd enjoyed his concert yesterday.
If you want to see only one of today’s soul artists, you should start with Janelle Monae. Yes, there are others, they sell buckets of records, but they don’t have the natural charm and musicality of Janelle Monae. And their stage shows are bigger, costlier and much more cynically predictable. Yesterday Janelle Monae scored a new victory at the Øya festival in Oslo.
The last time I saw Queens Of The Stone Age, or QOTSA for short, was at the Norwegian Wood festival in Oslo in 2008. That time Josh Homme was sick with food poisoning, but they still delivered a very good concert. Yesterday QOTSA headlined the opening day at the Øya festival in Oslo, and the band showed that they are still the kings of stoner rock.
When Gregg Allman had to cancel his concert at the Notodden Blues Festival this year, Delbert McClinton stepped in on short notice. The concert was held together with Royal Southern Brotherhood, and the concert at Brygga on Saturday, the big outdoor venue at Notodden, was an artistic success. The 4000 people in the audience certainly had a good time. (Picture above: Delbert McClinton and Heidi Solheim)
Artist Pictures Blog 