It’s been over a month since the annual Tromsø Open Air Festival, Bukta 2009, so I thought it’s about time to formulate some thoughts about it. This was my fourth year at the festival since they started up in 2004, and probably the coldest one yet. It wasn’t raining though, so that’s got to count for something. One can’t control the weather, but I am starting to think that the first weekend in July isn’t the best time to have a festival each year. Later in the month tends to be warmer and sunnier, even though Festival Weather is becoming a dreaded phenomena up here. This year’s headliners were Roky Erickson, Ray Davies (from The Kinks), The Wombats and the Kaiser Chiefs. Other big names included Eagles of Death Metal and Fu Manchu. I thought I’d give a quick roundup of the bands I got a chance to see.
TELEGRAFBUKTA (Main stage) - Thursday
17.00 BOB HUND (SE)
Although I can’t say the same for myself, this was the highlight for many of the people I spoke to at the festival. A highly energetic bunch of swedes led by a caped crusader that obviously drank way too much coffee back stage. Either that or he was trying to keep warm in the freezing summer air.
18.30 MOTORPSYCHO (NO)
This was a surreal experience. One of the most experienced rock band in Norway invited us to sit in on their hour-long jamming session. A steep contrast to the front man of the previous band, who engaged the audience with theatrics and energy, these rough, crazy-bearded guys let the music speak for itself. I speak for more than myself when I say we ended up in a trance-like state, somehow losing grip on the world around us while listening to Motorpsycho this afternoon in july. Perhaps it was the numbness of the cold climate, but I think it had more to do with the hypnotic, heavy rock that pumped out from the stage.
20.05 THE SADIES (CAN)
I don’t know quite how to describe The Sadies. These Canadians were supposed to play before Motorpsycho, but had to reschedule because of travel delays. They came right off the airplane and swooped us right off our feet. I knew nothing of The Sadies before the concert, and I have to say that this band was one of the big surprises for me this year. The crazy catchy, dance-inducing mix of up-beat alternative country and americana sprinkled with garage and surf rock put the warmth back in our bodies, and for a little while everything was alright. There’s a live record on Spotify, which is probably the closest to the real thing you’re going to get without seeing them in person.
21.40 KAISER CHIEFS (UK)
I vaguely remembered some of their hits like Ruby and I Predict a Riot, but I didn’t have any particular feelings about Kaiser Chiefs one way or the other before this concert, so I went there with an open mind. They certainly pleased the crowd with their hit parade, and all in all an enjoyable concert. They also seemed to enjoy themselves this far north.
PARADISBUKTA (small stage) – Thursday
18.00 THE CONSIDERATE LOVERS (NO)
I’ve Seen them before without getting too impressed, so I didn’t put effort into catching this concert.
19.30 EL CUERO (NO)
This concert was lost between the time spent socializing, taking a bathroom break and the buying of beer.
21.05 PETER PAN SPEEDROCK (NL)
Hard and heavy, this fast-paced band from the Netherlands introduced the Fjord of Death. Basically, people in the mosh-pit split up to each side of the stage and ran as fast as they could towards each other, creating a massive crunch. This was probably the most hard core performance this year.
TELEGRAFBUKTA (main stage) – Friday
17.00 DE LILLOS (NO)
A cozy hit-parade from Norwegian veterans De Lillos. It might have worked better had the weather been warmer, because De Lillos is the definitive Norwegian summer band.
18.30 MARK OLSON & GARY LOURIS [from The Jayhawks] (US)
Low-key and cozy experience from two country legends. They didn’t quite manage to get the crowd into it, and I think they might have had better luck if the weather had been on our side. This concert would have been ten times better while slouching in the grass on a warm, sunny afternoon.
19.50 TALIBAN AIRWAYS (NO)
Taliban Airways is a legendary local stoner band, and had to step in for Fu Manchu, who canceled their concert in the last minute. But who needs a band who thinks it’s cool to ditch a concert on the other side of the world a day before they are supposed to play? Their excuse was even better. Apparently, they wanted to head back into the studio. A douche move in my book. Anyway, Taliban Airways. They always deliver, and this time they were fucking fantastic. So who needs Fu Manchu?
21.20 THE WOMBATS (UK)
I’d only briefly heard a few of their hits through Spotify, but it was cool enough I suppose, even if they apparently are the hot new thing to like for indie-minded seventeen year-old girls. They kept the crowd warm, and definitely had the crowd in their hands. They made a good show of it, even though their back catalog of hits is still somewhat limited.
22.50 ROKY ERICKSON (US)
Roky Erickson’s story is somewhat fascinating. Many people will recognize his songs, but not many know the name behind them. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre with the 13th Floor Elevators, Erickson has had a difficult life. In the 1960s he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to a Houston psychiatric hospital, where he involuntarily received electroconvulsive therapy. Treatment that he never really recovered from.
Trouble with law enforcement and several stays in mental institutions followed, and in 1982, Erickson asserted that a Martian had inhabited his body. He later reported to friends that aliens were coming to Earth to harm him, and asked a Notary Public to witness an official declaration that he was himself an alien, hoping that this would convince the aliens to leave him alone. In an unmedicated state, Erickson began a years-long obsession with the mail, often spending hours poring over random junk mail, writing to solicitors and celebrities (dead or living). Erickson picked up mail from neighbors who had moved and taped it to the walls of his room.
Erickson never really recovered from the experiences in his early life, but in 2001 his younger brother Sumner Erickson received legal custody of Roky, and established a legal trust to aid his brother. As a result, Roky received some of the most effective medical and legal aid of his life, the latter useful in helping sort out the complicated tangle of contracts, which had reduced royalty payments to all but nothing for his recorded works. He also started taking medication to control his schizophrenia. In September of 2005 Roky Erickson performed his first full-length concert in over 20 years. Since then, Roky Erickson has gone through a remarkable recovery, and has in the recent years started to tour again. His concert at Bukta 2009 enabled the Tromsø audience to experience a living legend, and I think his performance introduced a lot of people to Roky Erickson’s impressive list of accomplishments. A documentary about Roky Erickson was released in 2005, and it’s called You’re Gonna Miss Me.
PARADISBUKTA (small stage) – Friday
18.00 THE REVOLT (NO)
This hardcore band from Harstad did not impress me at all. The vocalist was angry, disappointed in the crowd or just frustrated with their performance. This was probably the worst concert of this year’s festival.
19.20 MUCK & THE MIRES (US)
This relative unknown was a pleasant surprise. They play straight up rock with the following attitude, and gave us pretty good show.
20.45 SHAM 69 (UK)
Geriatric punkers are not really my thing, so I stayed at the back for this concert. I don’t think I missed much.
22.15 TOMMY TOKYO & STARVING FOR MY GRAVY (NO)
Tommy Tokyo and his band has probably been hyped to death in various newspapers and TV commercials this last year, but sometimes there is something to the hype. There is nothing quite like this band in Norway today, and they literally stuffed the rather limited area in front of the smaller stage they were booked on. If they ever come back, I certainly hope they will, I think it will be smarter to extend them both more room and time to unfold their peculiar brand of music.
TELEGRAFBUKTA (Main stage) – SATURDAY
12.55 BARE EGIL BAND (NO)
Egil Hegerberg is pretty famous for his alter ego Bare Egil Band (Only Egil Band), in where he humorously rambles on about politics, vandalism, shoes, unrequited love, marijuana, and stuff he makes up on the spot. This day was no different, and I had a blast. I didn’t catch the rest of the daytime program.
18.00 SENJAHOPEN (NO)
Senjahopen is one of those novelty bands the festival leadership booked for their own enjoyment. I certainly didn’t pay them much attention, but I guess they were amusing enough for those that did. Certainly no worse than Hellbillies, the band they replaced. Hellbillies’ vocalist fell off the stage the night before and broke both his wrists and a bunch of other bones, and was told not to play for weeks.
19.30 MONEYBROTHER (SE)
Moneybrother is the alter ego of Anders Wendin, and he had quite the ensamble of people with him on stage. I lost count after a while, but they had a trombonists, percussionist, trompetist, and several other musicians. I don’t really know where to place them, but Moneybrother’s live performances have frequently been hailed as near-legendary events. His voice resembles that of Strummer and Springsteen, and they play classic pop and soul and delivers a sort of rootsy rock with the passion of his past punk escapades. Wendin apparently enjoyed it so much that he declared from stage that he was going to cancel his flight home and spend his vacation in Tromsø.
21.05 EAGLES OF DEATH METAL (US)
This Josh Homme and Jesse Hughes cooperation project does, despite their name, not play Death Metal. Eagles of Death Metal is often characterized as a side dish for Josh Homme’s other, more famous band Queens of the Stone Age, which hails from the same music scene. They delivered a fast-paced and energetic performance, while trying to keep warm they also kept the audience’s temperature up, and Jesse Hughes is certainly charismatic enough to liven up the crowd. One of the best concerts of this year’s festival, and even though it’s hoping for a bit much, I’m hoping Hughes might convince Homme to come here one day with his band.
22.40 RAY DAVIES (UK)
We have a saying here in Norway; The old are the oldest. It basically means that old people kick ass, and that’s what old Ray did this night. It started in a bit of a slump, with Ray seemingly a bit frustrated that the crowd wasn’t as into it as he would have liked. But during his performance the crowd eased into it, and as the hits started rolling out, so did the mood. And when they started playing Sunny Afternoon it might as well have been one. A nice finish for a nice festival!
PARADISBUKTA (small stage) – Saturday
20.30 JOE PUG (US)
This relative unknown singer-songwriter is hailed as the next Dylan, and it was a pleasant concert. One man sitting on stage with his guitar; mellow, yet surprisingly powerful.
22.10 MAJOR PARKINSON (NO)
Major Parkinson was probably the band I had the biggest expectation for beforehand. Their debut album from 2008 was probably one of the better releases that year for me personally. They have been described as a mix between the musical experimentations of Mike Patton, Kaizers Orchestra and Tom Waits, and their eclectic and live performance deliver an unconventional and strange sound, coupled with sudden bursts of energy and a rather surreal experience. Their concert was the definite highlight of the festival on my part, and I hope they come back to Tromsø soon!
