Turbonegro, Mayhem, Kung Fu Girls, Raga Rockers, Lama, Ida Maria, The Disciplines, Lindstrøm, Rumble In Rhodos, Lars Horntveth w/KORK, Elephant9, Radio9 @ Øya Festival. Oslo, Norway, August 5-9th 2008.
The Øya Festival has, beyond doubt, proven itself as Norway’s leading festival this year. With headlining acts Sonic Youth begging to return, My Bloody Valentine displaying a shoegazing noise-dream beyond expectations at the peak “You Made Me Realize”, Turbonegro performing Apocalypse Dudes in its entirety, and Mayhem conducting a self-induced caesarean, producing a fish-headed baby child, disappointments were few and breaks between must-see-concerts fewer.
The concert schedule was glittering with the Norwegian stars of underground, jazz and hitlists, making place for both glimpses of Norwegian punk rock history (Kung Fu Girls and Raga Rockers), and promising acts such as Rumble In Rhodos, Lukestar, Silje Nes and Lama, the latter - a beautiful concoction of jazz, electronica and rock, in accordance with self-proclaimed heroes Björk, Kaada, Motorpsycho and Mogwai.
On the main stage early Wednesday evening, enter so-called Norwegian pop queen Ida Maria. Is she though? Indisputably, she has an ear for great, catchy pop-melodies, and with her coarse voice she knows how to carry them. Her live appearances is crowd pleasingly vivid and oh so wild, and ok, she’s not that bad. But she’s really not that great either. With a first album receiving mixed critics and a couple radio hits, this girl has got a lot to prove and possibly a bit of growing up to do on her path forwards. Because despite those ear candy melodies, the band as a whole just isn’t enough to keep me interested for more than half the concert, where she had to see herself beaten by the second half of Kung Fu Girls’ show. Not that Kung Fu Girls isn’t water under the bridge, bringing anything new to the rock ‘n’ roll table, but there is a history, a story to tell, and a genuineness that Ida Maria crawling about on stage just isn’t enough to make up for.
While we’re on the agenda of disclosing slightly overrated Norwegian acts, can we please establish, once and for all, that The Disciplines really, honestly and brutally suck. No, having been the frontman of The Posies does not make you a rock star; running around in the audience does not make you charismatic; an A-listed single does not make your songs good; and, no, no, no, however much one loves or hates the city, Oslo is not a word that lyrically or musically qualifies to being sung in English. I’m sorry. Your songs are dull, your guitarist should stick to GuitarHero where his skills are appreciated, and your audience, however surprisingly large and ecstatic a crowd, will forget you soon enough and go back to their Big Bang albums.
Now, that’s my filth and my fury. Who then, were great? Previously mentioned Turbonegro provided an excellent show of denim stardom, finishing their ten year anniversary of Apocalypse Dudes with a really rather cool Sufragette City. Kudos. Yes, Mayhem… Enjoyed by myself, Thurston, Kim and Lee amongst others, and possibly summed up best by our friends at Pitchfork as “awesome, technically impressive, and pretty much unlistenable”. Mmm, black metal…
Lindstrøm gave us dancing, dancing, dancing. I guess he is, personally, Norway’s best dancefloor these days, and despite the outdoors, despite being the final show of a day that would wear out the best of our olympic athletes (but then again, athletes don’t get the assistance of… beer …during their marathons) he made a lot of people tap more than their toes.
Rumble In Rhodos drew quite the crowd early Friday, and played a good, tight show, however they do suffer from a set consisting of very similar songs. Adding singer Thomas Bratlie’s continuously high pitch melodies, I found my mind wandering from my secure hiding place, under a tree, sheltered from the rain. However, the excellent soundtrack for your early festival-day dozing off was provided by one Lars Horntveth w/KORK (The Norwegian Broadcasting Channel’s Orchestra) the morning after… Perfectly soothing, perfectly soundtracky, balsam for tired festival ears.
And, note to self: watch Elephant9 in its entirety once. The couple of songs I heard sounded like they were worth it. And confusingly enough, Radio9 were also definately worth the time spent at Blå Wednesday night.
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