Lucinda WIlliams is one of the best songwriters in the Americana – country landscape for the last 20 years. She has won three Grammys and has been nominated for 12 more. Her commercial break through came as late as 1998 with Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. From that CD she has been up there as one of the leading female artists in the the landscape between country, rock and Americana.
The third day of by:Larm is over, and this was the night for the dark and extreme bands. I chose to stay most of the night at Rockefeller with Vithr, Nidingr, God Seed and Shining. The evening started at another venue with Razika. (Picture above: Gaahl from God Seed)
Junipher Greene was the first and also the leading Norwegian prog rock band in the late 60’s and the start of the 70’s. Their double LP Friendship was the first double album released by a Norwegian artist, and it is still considered the best Norwegian album of all times. The band disbanded some 30 years ago, but the last 4 years they have played some concerts together every year. Their first concert in 2013 was at Rockefeller in Oslo yesterday.
Audrey Horne is one of my favorite live bands. They are great musicians, they have a charismatic singer and they have good songs. The band’s latest CD, Youngblood, has got great reviews in the Norwegian newspapers, and that’s well deserved. Yesterday they played at Rockefeller in Oslo, at the same concert as Black Debbath.
A couple of weeks ago Black Debbath released their sixth CD, “Nå får det faen meg være rock! Akademisk stoner-rock!” (Now, God Dammit It Must Be Rock! Academic Stoner-Rock!). Last week they started their concert tour in Norway, and last night they played a sold out Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo.
One of Norway’s hardest working bands are El Caco. They are a trio, playing dark and heavy music somewhere between stoner rock straight rock and heavy rock. In January they released their 6th CD, Hatred, Love and Diagrams, and they have toured this album extensively this year. Yesterday night they played at Rockefeller in Oslo.
W.A.S.P. were some of the really bad bands in the 80s, with songs like Animal (Fuck Like a Beast), Helldorado, Chainsaw Charlie, Dirty Balls, plus live shows with blood and porn. They were banned in many countries, but now the scandals are gone, and Blackie Lawless has found God.
In 1967 the two Danish brothers Thomas and Anders Koppel started a band with jazz drummer Alex Riel, guitarist Jens Rugstedt, Flemming Ostermann and Annisette Hansen. They called the band The Savage Rose, and 45 years later Annisette is the only one left. But her voice is such an important part of the band that you never doubt which band you are listening to. Thursday night The Savage Rose played at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo.
Earlier this yar I attended a three-band gig at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo. The bands were Street Legal, Junipher Greene, and legendary Ken Hensley with his band Live Fire. It was a great night, and all the bands did a great job. Here are some of the pictures I took of Ken Hensley and Live Fire.
Kaizers Orchestra at Sentrum Scene.
Now you don’t have to go to New York, London or LA to be updatet on what’s hot and what’s not. Oslo and Atlanta have been declared by The Independent as the two main trend-setting cities. For Oslo, much of the honour goes to the showcase festival by:Larm. But there are other important contributors to Oslo’s new status that deserve to be mentioned.
Artist Pictures Blog 
