BERGENFEST 2012 – Dag 2 –

Bergenfest is an eclectic festival organized since 1994 and taking place mostly at Bergenhus Festning. The party started under a nice weather and ended up under the rain, with less than half of the tickets sold. On an European scale this is a small festival, the type of festival any European city over 50 000 inhabitants could and would have organized, at least for the Bergenhus-gigs. For Norway, I guess it’s something big, and its combination of open air and club-concerts  make it somehow unique.

 

Friday 22/06

Charles Bradley grew up in Brooklyn. After seeing James Brown live in 1962, he started mimicking the The Godfather of Soul at home and at work. He could has well sing like him. The draft of his bandmates during the Vietnam war buried the band opportunities. After 20 years of playing in smocky bars around the country, he got noticed by Daptone Records when he was singing in a club after fixing the plumbery at the label’s office. Charles Bradley draws his inspirations from James Brown and Otis Redding. The choruses give an immediate a gospel, Sam & Dave approach to his Soul music. Bradley is having fun on stage, almost crawling on the floor after a few seconds. His much younger bandmates manage with ease to carry his vibe (and his funky sexy moves). A definitive must-see. 5/6

It’s now time for Bergen-based Ribozyme to play in a big venue (their biggest so far?), meaning in Peer Gynt Salen at Grieghallen. Despite the perfect sound, the band seemed distant at th e beginning of the concert (stress?). Both musical and scenic presence got better after a while, the musicians getting obviously more comfortable and confident. After that they manage to make their own concert to be, to me, the best one this Friday. It would have been even better with 2-3 extra songs, or a better start. As I discovered the band this very same day, I will definitly look into their discography and I am looking forward to the concert at Rock’n’Lol Festival in July. 5/6

Setlist:

Presenting the Problem

Downside Advantage

One Day Worthy

Lending a Fever

Rewatched

Caskets

March of Crime

Scapegoat Chronicles

Scale of Values

(Unknown: Marked "Ove The" on setlist)

Next band to play is for me hard to review, as when I saw Opeth in a club for the first time during the Ghost Reveries Tour, I almost fell asleep, and I got really bored. Last year during headlining at Hellfest 2011, I was also very disappointed and ended up watching Kyuss Lives! From a distance. Goes without saying i was very sceptical to see them in  a middle-sized, soulless venue. The awful sound (quickly fixed) at the beginning made me focus on something else than the soporific capacities of the band. But still, it came obvious again pretty quickly that Opeth is not a band I like to see live. However, jokes in Swedish was something new to me. Burden sounds almost to me like a Michael Jackson song, and the jazzy The Lines in my Hand is falling between the former and the heavier, much better Heir Apparent. Then, miraculously, looks like somebody woke up there on stage and I had my real first Opeth concert after three attempts. More energy, more presence, and simply better choice of setlist. If only they could play more old songs! Get Blackwater Park out og the cellar, and cut Åkerfeldt’s bullshit. And play White Cluster. Seriously. 4/6

Setlist:

The Devil’s Orchard

I Feel the Dark

Slither

Windowpane

Burden

The Lines in My Hand

Heir Apparent

The Grand Conjuration

Demon of the Fall

Deliverance