A festival that started back in 1999 with just a handful of bands and grew up to need 6 stages in 2010 where hundred of bands perform. And let’s not forget the Øyanatt every day after the festival and klubdaggen the day before, during which tons of other artists perform in plenty of clubs and bars all over Oslo. The festival is more or less a city event now, no longer just an area with stages, music and crowd. The main action happens in the Middelalderen park in Oslo, a place that hosts the ruins of a church from around 1200 and a nice little lake, adding a special charm to the event. But the organisers try to take good care of the historical place, trying to convince the people not to sit on them or vandalise them. Besides that, the whole festival is under the sign of color green, as it promotes a lot of ecological systems (electric cars, bikes that produce power, recycling devices) and it was actually a pleasant surprise to see how clean the place is at the beginning of the next day. Unfortunately it is also under the sign of rain for the first day, yet it got really excellent at the end despite the Wednesday with rain pouring down from the sky and making the area a really messy swamp at various places where people pass by the most. A thing I love about the festival though is that it addresses all ages and all music genres enthusiasts. You see on the playlist names from the darkest of black metal to African rhythm based music, to techno and electronic and to acoustic stuff. It brings a different color to it, compared to most other festivals I go to (considering they’re all metal) and it also allows people to bring their kids along, which make the whole atmosphere more friendly and happy when they run around with their huge ear protections and pretty little faces painted as all sorts of creatures.
About 5 on Wednesday PM when I initially wanted to leave from home, it was simply pouring down so I waited a bit more to decide upon the choice of clothes and shoes and all. When I got there, the French electronic melodic pop duo AIR started to perform on the Sjøsiden stage. I stayed for 2 songs just enough to take some photos, but I was not at all impressed by the effects pulled out through the various keyboards that both dudes played at. Nor by the robotic voice that one of them used to talk to the crowd. So I rushed to the smallest stage, Camp Indie, located in a small tent close to the exit. Considering the stage also hosts something like a record store where you can purchase vinyls and CDs, plus some couches by the walls, more than 30 people in there make it feel crowded.
I went to this small stage to watch Therese Aune as what I read as a description of her music sounded good. She played on the keyboards herself, but on the stage she was accompanied by other 4 people: a girl with a violin, one with a cello, a guy with accordion (who stepped on stage right from the middle of the audience) and a guy at ’drums’. Drums being a cymbal and a big snare drum, covered with some cloth on which various noise making objects were displayed, so the guy was hitting them for a multitude of cool effects. He even played the cymbal with a … ah, can’t remember the word for what one uses to play the violin with. And Therese with voice and keys, as I said, plus a very old style small piano at the end. The songs were very cozy and sweet, but the voice was mind blowing. I kept thinking about Regina Spektor for the whole concert as Therese’s voice seemed as powerful and flexible, and I believe this girl can have a big future if she keeps on with her music.
On the main stage, Enga, it was soon time for the highlight of the day, Iggy & The Stooges. He’s definitely one of the ugliest singers I ever saw and the fact that he plays without tshirt, showing each wrinkle on his body, makes it even worse. But it’s easy to get over it once he starts playing. His energy, considering his age, seemed limitless and he danced and ran along the stage all the time. And the dance moves are his trademark and one of a kind at times, especially when he shakes his butt. I am not so familiar with the Stooges’ songs though, but it was a nice surprise to see the crowd around me recognising them, screaming and singing along. At the 3rd song or so he asked people to come on stage and dance and some of those who did went really wild up there. I got lucky to film this
