Highlight of Bergenfest 2015 day 1 – PATTI SMITH

The dark poet & brilliant musician Patti Smith returned to Bergenfest after 3 years. Last concert on June 23, 2012 – was wonderful. Strong and vivid memories can sometimes be your enemy when trying to be present and open minded.  Stakes were high, my mind was boiling.. I knew the setlist would be the “Horses” (album) songs, a couple of old greats and “My Generation” (last on “Horses”) last. But how would she perform the “Horses” material, some of the songs rarely performed live ? Excited & nervous.. and a bit juiced up on smooth bourbon (mandatory).

• “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine” and we’re off. Gloria was delivered with great confidence by Patti & the band – rock solid performance.
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  “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine
  Meltin’ in a pot of thieves
  Wild card up my sleeve
  Thick heart of stone
  My sins my own
  They belong to me, mePeople say “beware!”
  But I don’t care
  The words are just
  Rules and regulations to me, me”
• Redondo Beach – a little awkward performance & and a small fuck up lyrics wise. OK.
• Birdland – a bit disappointed that she needed help with the lyrics (paper), but only for the first few verses (one has to understand that this song has rarely been played live, and it is in this context somewhat understandable, but still…. hmm). GOOD performance.
• Free Money. She seems more comfortable and delivers another solid performance.
• Kimberly & Break It Up.. rides on the same wave. We’re floating on a smooth high & words hits us, scares us but never knocks us down. Still standing & waiting for…
• Land .. YES This is it. Fuckin’ brilliant performance, even though my expectations were sky high. She fused Land & Gloria near the end.. and first baffled I soon embraced & loved it. YES.
  “The boy was in the hallway drinking a glass of tea
  From the other end of the hallway a rhythm was generating
  Another boy was sliding up the hallway
  He merged perfectly with the hallway,
  He merged perfectly, the mirror in the hallway
  The boy looked at johnny, johnny wanted to run,
  But the movie kept moving as planned
  The boy took johnny, he pushed him against the locker”
• Elegie – “This was written for Jimi Hendrix”, indeed it was. She namecheck’s other important people: starting with (off course) Ornette Coleman  (died today (yesterday – June 11, 2015 (aged 85)), all four Ramones, and some others before last one: Lou Reed. Then we’re rolling with a solid Elegie.
• Privilege (Set Me Free) – then we’re in the other section. Privilege was quite a surprise, but a nice surprise.
  “Give me something
  Give me something to give
  Oh God, give me something
  A reason to live”
• Because the Night – “This is for Fred Smith” (late husband and member of MC5). AND everybody surely loves this song (if not, LISTEN one more time!). Strong performance.
• People Have The Power – Nice version, all smiles, but lacking a bit punch I felt.
  And the people have the power
  To redeem the work of fools
  From the meek the graces shower
  It’s decreed the people rulePeople have the power
  People have the power ..
• AND in the end (this is the end, my friend..) My (fuckin’) Generation – Extraordinary, energizing, electrifying, empowering, enthralling (ENOUGH! with adjectives starting with E). Just fuckin’ fantastic. Best performance @ Bergenfest 2015 day1 .. by far.People try to put us d-down (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)
  Just because we get around (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)
  Well I don’t need that fuckin’ shit (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)
  Hope I die because of it (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)

And it was all good. I walked to my hotel room close by, emptied my head in a mind map.. and fell into a peaceful sleep.

-Egil

 

Style Icon, Disco Diva, Grace Jones goes by many names and she  is a fascinating artist, very visual and great to watch. But there is substance beneath the theatrical antics. She has always surrounded herself with innovators and good musicians. She still does. She gave a good show at Bergenfest. (Hallgeir)

I really looked forward to Matthew E. White, love his albums, played his music a lot lately. He did not disappoint! He and his band gave us a tight show, much more guitar oriented than the albums, different from the albums but refreshing. Great musicians having a ball. (Hallgeir)

The set list:

Vision
Big Love
Fruit Trees (here the band really kicked into gear)
White Light/White Heat (fantastic cover, highlight of the show)
Steady Pace
Feeling Good
Rock’n Roll is Cold

Good but not great, left me with a smile and hope to see them outside a festival setting soon.

It is not fair for me to say too much about Interpol, I’ve never really been into their music. I looked into the audience and saw plenty enthusiastic fans, but they did not convince me. (Hallgeir)

My third concert with First Aid Kit, they sound excactly the same as the first show I attended. They’re good but not terribly exciting. Nice enough, but nothing special.

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-Egil & Hallgeir