Heroes & Zeros vs. Harrys Gym @ Slottsfjell Festival
Tønsberg, Norway 17th July 2009
Heroes & Zeros vs. Harrys Gym @ Kongescenen
The band almost everybody was talking about after by:Larm ’09, Scandinavia’s biggest music conference, was Harrys Gym. Not only Norwegian media, the likes of Clash Magazine, Drowned In Sound and NME have all been dropping good words for them. Anne-Lise Frøkedal, vocalist of the band, has more than a handful of projects to take care of besides the Gym; she is also in I Was a King, writes film music and appears as guest singer on Heroes & Zeros’ latest album. Friendship and earlier co-operation between the two bands led to the idea to perform together, and the sunny Slottsfjell stage was ready for their first double feature.
Frøkedal is not only the busiest woman on the Norwegian rock scene right now, she’s probably also the coolest. With her guitar in cream and gold, three big rings on her right hand and dark sunglasses on her nose she definitely doesn’t look like the girl next door. The style of her companion Hans Jørgen Undelstvedt, vocalist in Heroes & Zeros, is no worse. The habitus of these two guitarists just oozes rock, but the thing that makes them both real rock stars is how their playing and singing complete each other’s performances perfectly. The duo gets a fantastic back up of two drum sets, bass and synthesizers — together this magnificent seven compose a unique, raw sound.
Lots of people had come to see how the collaboration of the two bands worked out, but most of them enjoyed a lazy, sunny afternoon sat down on the ground. The response would probably have been more exatic if the band had visited the same stage in darkness, with the possibility of adding that little extra by good lighting but, despite the slack audience, the members of the two bands are giving 100 % and then some. Moog and Korg -synths are being punished until they scream, the two drummers perform as a sublime duo and some songs are seemingly driving the bassist mental. When this dream team is playing Harrys Gym song “Top Of The Hill” I can’t help thinking about Blonde Redhead — the New York trio is often mentioned when talking about Harrys Gym, but I can’t imagine Frøkedal and her crew minding the comparison.
The energetic live version of Heroes and Zeros’ “A Strange Constellation” becomes my absolute favourite of the set – the match of these two bands must be made in heaven, they should ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after.
Photo: Mads Malme Maurstad
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