TONY CAREY – Bergen – Dyvekes Vinkjeller

The legendary Tony Carey (Planet P Project, Rainbow, etc.) paid Dyvekes Vinkjeller in Bergen a visit on a somewhat cloudy Wednesday night and performed an intimate show in front of 30-35 people. Granted, 30-35 people may not sound like a lot, but it felt awesome to be a part of something like that and to just sit there and absorb Tony’s melancholic and moving tunes in a dimly lit cellar filled with candles and old furniture. Come to think of it, I don’t think they could have fitted more than 40-45 people in there even if they wanted to. It was that small. One thing that sucked ass was that everywhere on the web it said that the show would start at 9 PM, but for some reason it started at 8 PM, which resulted in us missing the first 15 minutes. Anyway, when we walked in Tony launched into "Me and Bobby McGee", which sounded great. Songs such as "Hallelujah", "The Stranger", "A Boy Who Can’t Talk", and "Room With a View" were mesmerizing and emotionally charged with profound lyrics to them that left all of us there spellbound. Sad and intense songs that are somehow strangely uplifting as well. It’s funny how that works. Tony switched between the guitar and his keyboard depending on the song in question. "Saw a Satellite" and "Goodnight America" were some of the highlights of that evening along with "Matchgirl" and "A Letter From the Shelter". Tony’s rendition of "Texas Blues" rocked pretty hard and added some diversity to the whole thing. The audience enthusiastically applauded the hypnotic "Carry My Love" and the classics "Why Me", "A Fine Fine Day", "Blue Highway", "Looking at the Moon", and the wonderful "Bedtime Story". What a way to end the show!

Carey`s voice was strong and booming throughout the entire performance, and he told us some lovely and at times funny anecdotes and stories between the songs. Everything from good old Fats Domino to H.C. Andersen and further on to the Russians launching rockets with dogs in them into space. There was a lot of humor, sarcasm, irony and laughs that night, but the actual songs themselves and the things that they cover, lyrically speaking, are pretty fucking serious. They definitely leave an impression and something to reflect on. Apart from those noisy dicks in the back who kept talking while Tony performed, the show was memorable, entertaining, and great from start to finish. Catch one of his shows if you get the chance. You won’t regret it!