Rival Sons is a four piece rock band from California, and if I had been short-sighted and with bad hearing, I would have thought they were Led Zeppelin when I saw them at Bergen Fest yesterday. When that is said, they are a great live band with their own personality. The audience in Bergen loved them, and that must be the most important thing.
The first time I saw Biffy Clyro, at the Hove Festival in 2010, I thought them to be good, but not sensational good. They had a charismatic stage show, lead by singer and guitarist Simon Neil. Yesterday night they closed the third day of Bergen Fest, and they ruled the stage. One of the best live concerts I have seen and heard this year. (Go to the end of the blogpost for the setlist.)
The first time I heard the Real Ones from Bergen some 15 years ago, I was amazed by their harmonies, and the general togetherness in their playing. This has been one of their trademarks, together with some really good songs. Yesterday night they played at Bergen Fest to a big and enthusiastic audience. (Picture above: David Vogt and Joergen Sandvik)
Nick Cave has managed to become more successful the older he gets. And he doesn’t really do much to maximize his success, with his morbid lyrics and sometimes quite unaccessible songs. But his show is always worth seeing, with high energy and great style. Tonight he played Bergen Fest, and tomorrow he plays Norwegian Wood in Oslo. They have something to look forward to in Oslo!
Steve Earle has had a long and sometimes bumpy career, but he has made more than twenty good CDs since his debut in 1986, and there is nothing that indicates that he will stop releasing new, good CDs in the future. Wednesday night he played a concert in Oslo and Thursday he played at Bergen Fest where I saw him.
Bergen fest is one of the best summer festivals in Norway. It is arranged June 12 to 15th at the outdoor venue Bergenhus festning. This year’s headliners are Mark Knopfler, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Biffy Clyro and Mew. The great thing about this festival, is that in adition to the headliners, they have a lot of very interesting acts in a diversity of styles. (Picture above: Nick Cave)
The thirteenth Working Class Hero festival happened this weekend, and it was an artistic success, with artists like Ida Jenshus, Morten Abel, Mercury Motors, Oslo Ess, Judy Collins, Valkyrien Allstars, The Felice Brothers and many other artists and bands. Too bad that the people of Drammen don’t understand how lucky they are to have people who spend a lot of time, energy and money to give them this happening every year. (Picture above: Oslo Ess)
Drammen is a town outside of Oslo, and they have made a great effort in using culture actively to make the town a better place to live and visit. One of the things they have done is to revive and old industry area to make – among other things – a very good concert hall, plus an adjoining hotel. Another thing is the festival Working Class Hero. This coming weekend it will be arranged for the 13th time. Here are some pictures of the artists from the 2009 and 2012 festival while we are waiting for this year’s festival to begin. (Picture above: Donkeyboy from 2009)
On May 28th is John Fogerty turns 68 and he also releases his new CD, Wrote A Song For Everyone, with 14 songs, 2 new ones. The CD is recorded with many of Fogerty’s musical friends. I saw his concert in March at the SXSW in Austin, and I was impressed.
Josh Homme is 40 years old today, May 17th. He is one of the leading musical artists on the newer hard rock and stoner rock scene, with present and former membership in bands like Kyuss, Eagles Of Death Metal, Queens Of The Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures. Here are some pictures of Josh Homme from different live concerts.
Artist Pictures Blog 