All posts by Hallgeir

Concert Review, Live

Tommy Tokyo live at Smio April 5 2014 Photo Special

Tommy Tokyo Vea 2014-6

Tommy Tokyo (Tommy Lorange Ottosen) with backing from Lise Voldsdal and Gøran Grini gave us a sacred evening last night in Veavågen. It was his second of two shows at Smio and the reports from the first night were very positive, “magic” was the words that kept coming up. Could he re-create the magic this Saturday night? He could, and he did. It was magic.

TT Smio Vea bw 2014-1

Tommy Tokyo has, on his last solo album (We blister and we bleed), written songs about more personal issues than on his first proper solo album (And the Horse Came Riderless…) The first album dealt with global issues and is in many ways a protest album. It seems like Tokyo is on a journey from sonic soundscapes with his band Starving For My Gravy to global themed songs on his first solo album to the close at home and more personal themed songs on his last record.

The concert was concentrated around his last two records but we also got three re-arranged songs from his album with Starving for my gravy, Smear your smiles back on.

Tommy Tokyo Vea 2014-1

It’s an exiting journey and he also gave us a taste of where he might be heading next. He sang two songs in Norwegian, two very naked and intense songs. An album in Norwegian would be very nice and the two songs, Jenta (The Girl) and Bli som ny (Becoming new or be as new) were, for me, two of the highlights of the concert.

The concert was intimate, sometimes almost “gospel like” and it felt very special to be a part of the event. We were about 70 lucky people having a wonderful evening at Smio in Vea, Norway.

So, a big thank you to the people at Smio who set up these small and wonderful events!

– Hallgeir

PS: If you use the pictures please include a link to Johannasvisions. They were taken on my trusted compact, Nikon Coolpix A.
Continue reading Tommy Tokyo live at Smio April 5 2014 Photo Special →

Live, Motorpsycho, Photo

Motorpsycho live in Haugesund April 4 2014 Photo Special

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motorpsycho haugesund 2014-18

Last night was maybe the best Motorpsycho concerts I have ever seen, but come to think of it, I always say that after a Motorpsycho gig. What a band, always interesting, always different and superb all the time!

This is not a review as such, other than to tell you it was incredibly good!  We just wanted to share some photos with you guys.

And seriously, you have to see them if you can. They are spaced out and groovy one minute, drowning us in “guitar walls” the next before they venture into intricate jazzy improvisations. Every concert is a magical trip, it sounds like a cliché but when describing Motorpsycho it is about the only thing close to a fitting explanation.

I loved the acoustic set! Hell, I loved the entire show!

Enjoy the pictures, if you use them please include a link to Johannasvisions.

All pictures taken with a Nikon Coolpix A compact, I’m not too worried about the technical aspects of photography. I want to catch a mood. So put on their last album, look at the photos and sink into the wonderful world of Motorpsycho.

– Hallgeir

motorpsycho haugesund 2014-1

ACOUSTIC

  • Blueberry Daydream
  • Stay Young
  • Sideway Spiral 1
  • Waiting For The One

ELECTRIC

  • Cloudwalker
  • No Evil
  • Hey, Jane
  • On A Plate
  • Starmelt / Lovelight
  • The Magic And The Wonder (A Love Theme)
  • Hell pt. 1-7
  • Upstairs and Downstairs
  • Cornucopia (…Or Satan, Uh… Something)
  • Serpentine
  • All Is Loneliness
  • Plan #1

ENCORE

  • Kvæstor
  • The Promise
  • Hyena
  • Entropy

motorpsycho haugesund 2014-17

Continue reading Motorpsycho live in Haugesund April 4 2014 Photo Special →

Playlist

Johannasvisions playlist for March 2014

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playlist_march_2014-1

We started a new series last month were we presented some of the songs we’ve played during the months that had passed. This is our playlist for March 2014.

Here is our first playlist for January and February 2014
playlist-1_and_2_2014

The War on Drugs is definitely what we’ve been playing most in March. The New album is incredibly good!

The War on Drugs – Full Performance (Live on KEXP) setlist:
An Ocean In Between The Waves
Eyes to the Wind
Red Eyes
Suffering

In My Soul is a still unreleased song from 2014 upcoming album from Spain (not yet on Spotify).
This was shot at Circolo Magnolia, Milano, on the 20th of November 2013:

Noah Gundersen – First Defeat (Live 03-09-2014, Nashville):

We have compiled a Spotify list of our favorite tracks from March 2014:

– Hallgeir

Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan albums, Great albums

Today: The Bootleg Series Vol 6 Live 1964 Concert at Philharmonic Hall was released in 2004

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bootleg 6

The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall is a complete recording of Bob Dylan’s October 31, 1964 “Halloween” show at New York’s Philharmonic Hall. It was released 30 March in 2004.

Although some collectors of  Dylan bootlegs was aware of this material for years, this cleaned-up authorized version is a superb technical feat from Columbia. Its focus is on the 23-year-old Bob Dylan both as a folksinger in the making and the mind-expanding artist later exploring new horizons offered by acid, free verse and electricity.

The set list was dominated by Dylan’s protest songs, including “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” and “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”. Joan Baez, a major supporter of Dylan’s in his early career, duets with Dylan on three songs, as well as singing another alone (“Silver Dagger”). However, Dylan performed these songs along early versions of three songs from the soon-to-be-recorded Bringing It All Back Home. New compositions like “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” and “Mr. Tambourine Man” showed Dylan moving in a new direction, becoming more immersed in evocative, stream-of-consciousness lyrics and moving away from social, topical songwriting. Even as he was moving in this new direction, Dylan was still portrayed as a symbol of the civil rights and anti-war movements, and the Halloween concert of 1964 caught Dylan in transition.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on April 17, 2004 at number 28. It spent 4 weeks on the chart. It also reached number 33 in the U.K.

The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall on Spotify:

Thom Jurek (Allmusic):
“…the sound is spectacular, wonderfully warm and immediate, and the transfer is extremely clean with wonderful dynamics. Secondly, the package is deluxe. In addition to a fine essay by Princeton historian and author Sean Wilentz (he made the gig when he was 13), there are a truckload of killer photos from the show and the period, along with complete discographical information that puts the bootleg packages to shame. For those interested in the acoustic Bob Dylan, this concert is like the grail; his voice is in impeccable shape, and his delivery is revelatory. For those interested in the transition from acoustic to electric, this show is the seam, and for those who are die-hard fans, this is another welcome item in the official catalog.”

A must have for all Dylan fans!

– Hallgeir

Elvis Presley, Music Calendar, The Best Songs

Today: Elvis Presley recorded Always on my Mind in 1972 42 years ago

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Always on my Mind is seldom considered among the best of Elvis’ 70’s output, but if you ask me it’s at the top of the list. The recording sessions was great, it included Burnin Love and For the good times. I almost cry when I listen to it, it embodies everything, everything I love about Elvis, heartbreak, slow ballads, empathy and true feelings. What a voice!

Peter Guralnick writes in his book Careless Love:

The trouble was, he (Elvis) wasn’t interested in cutting a hit record. “He was trying to get something out of his system.”

…

On the second night Felton finally got his way, but he was under no illusion that Elvis was doing it for any other reason than to indulge his producer. With encouragement from Joe Esposito and Jerry Schilling, and with Charlie pounding away on acoustic guitar, they got a good, energetic version of “Burning love”, the song Felton had brought to the session, but it was tossed off in six quick takes, in almost throwaway style, and everyone could see that Elvis’ heart wasn’t really in it. They kept working till four in the morning but got only one more song that night and two the following night, including “Always on my mind”…

Continue reading Today: Elvis Presley recorded Always on my Mind in 1972 42 years ago →