First things first. This is my debut in the field of music reviewing. I spend enough time complaining about the quality of our reviews, that it is about time I put my money where my mouth is. I am here to see some of the artists that have shaped me musically and lyrically.
It will be the first time I have seen Nick Cave, with his stripped down and dirty Grinderman project, likewise, it will be my first meeting with My Bloody Valentine in the live arena. I will also be reacquainting myself with Sigur Ros, who made a huge impression on me when I first saw them seven years ago. I will also be passing comment on whatever else comes my way, and have a secondary mission to keep my eyes and ears out for the next A-ha.
WEDNESDAY
Apparently Norway has been experiencing something of a heat wave over the last couple of weeks. Everyone is sporting a healthy tan, and has clearly been making the most of their short summer months by hitting the beach/lake daily. And so it is with familiar disappointment that I arrive at the festival site, shrouded in mist and drizzle.
Øya festival is situated just outside the centre of Oslo. It is on the banks of a small lake. Behind the lake runs a motorway flyover and a port, all of which is overlooked by the impressive ultra modern Oslo Opera House. I visited Øya five years ago, and the weather was beautiful. My main recollection of it was how great it was to have a festival on a lake. Yet in the grey mist, the industrial nature of the site is highlighted. It’s funny how much the weather can colour your perceptions.
In order to console myself, I buy my first over priced beer of the festival and head over to catch MOGWAI, who are on surprisingly early. As they take to the stage it begins to rain properly. I have never been a fully paid up member of the Mogwai appreciation society. However, accompanied by the sound of rain diluting my beer, there’s something beautifully depressing about their huge, inevitable crescendos competing against the Norwegian elements.
In stark contrast to Mogwai, THE MAE SHI are a good times party band, full of screaming and youthful exuberance and dirty analogue synths. They’re the type of band you invite to play at your sweaty student basement party, but for me they don’t translate well onto the festival stage. Also, they seem to be having more fun than I am which rubs me up the wrong way!
Ida Maria and Lyke Li go head to head, in the battle of the Slightly Unhinged Scandinavian Songstresses, or SUSS for short. Now call me a traditionalist, but I prefer my SUSS to be ice cool twisted pop (see Bjork), and not basic guitar rock with a penchant for swearing and songs about getting naked. And so it is that LYKKE LI emerges victorious. She proves that less is more, with a slick set dark hearted, minimal pop songs. She also throws in a Vampire Weekend cover for added Indie credential.
GRINDERMAN headlines the first day of Øya on the main stage. Having played countless gigs with iLT, and knowing pretty much what goes on backstage before a show, live music has lost some of its magic for me. I no longer get goose bumps as the stage lights come up, and a band strides on stage, to hit its first triumphant chord.
So there is something unfamiliar about the build up to Grinderman’s set. I get there early to make sure I have a good spot near to the front, jostling for position amongst some of Oya’s older crowd contingent. This is something I haven’t done for years.
The band arrives on stage, suited and booted, and proceeds to rock twice as hard as bands half their age. Whilst the Grinderman material is far from my favourite within Cave’s sizable canon, it makes for a fantastic live show. Warren Ellis squeezes the most unlikely, guttural sounds out of his various violins and mandolins.
The new songs they play seem more fully formed than the first record, and take a stripped down approach to their sonic assault. They finish with an electric ‘No Pussy Blues’ and then an epic run through the Bad Seed’s classic ‘Tupelo’, for which Cave apologises for it not being a Grinderman song. I’m relieved that they’ve lived up to my expectations, or I may have been forced to turn my back on rock music forever!
READ PART TWO
PHOTO: CARMEL MCNAMARA
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