Once again I found myself travelling from Stavanger to Bergen to see the local tribiute band Dark side of the wall. I have lost count on how many times I've done that. In previous years they have been performing in smaller venues. This year - they took it to the next level! They were playing in a venue called Grieghallen, with a seating capacity for over 1600 people! I have no idea what the capacity of the previsous venues are, but nothing near this one!
Dark side of the wall impressed again by using this venue, not for only one concert. But two concerts! In a row! Yes, indeed! Two concerts in one night (I went to the last one). Like that isn't impressive enough, they had brought along some guests to perform as well.
The band:
Helge Nyheim - drums and vocal
Kai Taule - bass
Bjarte Aasmul - guitar
Dag Øivind Rebnord - keyboard
Special guests:
Ian Ritchie - sax
Helge Haugland - drums, guitar etc
Tine Taule - background vocal
Sharon Gaynor - backround vocal
It was almost unreal to enter this huge venue to see these guys. I've gotten used to small venues where it's crowded and where I am almost on the stage with the band. This evening I had a guest ticket from the band, designated seat and it was all so mindblowing. And that was even before the band got on stage! I knew I was in for something great!
Kids brought on stage during "Another brick in the wall, pt.II"
Setlist:
Set the controls for the heart of the sun
In the flesh
The thin ice
Another brick in the wall, pt.I
The happiest days of our lives
Another brick in the wall, pt.II
Animals medley - Sheep and Dogs
Breathe
Time
Breathe reprise
The Fletcher memorial home
Shine on you crazy diamond
Have a cigar
Young lust
Mother
Money
Us and them
The great gig in the sky
Comfortably numb
The show must go on
Run like hell
Hey you
Wish you were here
The lights were dimmed, the band got on stage and you coud feel the anticipation in the venue. All quiet, just waiting to see what the opening numbers would be.
When you have Roger Waters sax player in the band, you open with a song that he could join in on. And so they did. "Set the controls for the heart of the sun" was a magical way to start off the concert!
From that moment on I was sat staring on the stage, admiring what was going on and really just enjoying myself. The band kept on impressing me all the way through the show. No breaks, straight forward and great songs after great songs. It looked like the band had great fun on stage! And I bet they really did enjoy themselves. Lot's of smiles and the atmosphere was amazing.
The setlist contained songs from "Dark side of the moon", "The Wall", "Animals", "Wish you were here" and one song from "A saucerful of secrets" and "The final cut". A great variety. My favourites from this evening was "Sheep/Dogs" medley, "The Fletcher memorial home", "Mother" and "Run like hell". I would have loved to see them perform "Sheep" in it's entirety. It is a great song that is easily forgotten. "The Fletcher memorial home" is a fantastic song from the album "The final cut", and is also a song that is rarely performed live. A great surprise when Dark side of the wall plays it.
"Mother" was beautifully performed as always. Tine Taule sang the chorus and it was absolutely beautiful! Gave me goosebumps. "Run like hell" is a wonderful song that always makes it a bit hard to sit still in my seat! It has so much energy and you can't help it if your body can't sit still. Near the end of the song there was a few lads marching towards the stage with drums. They got on the stage and lined up with the bass player on one end and the guitar player on the other end. And then the drumming began while the song went on. Those drums are very special for Bergen. Let's call it drum brigade.And the goosebumps was back!
I've been to quite a few concerts @ Grieghallen. It is a beautiful venue but I always feel the audience isn't loud enough! I know some people enjoy sitting still in their seats, applauding when expected and just enjoy the show. But I was hoping it would be a bit more cheering! Maybe it's just me. I want people to sing a long so I'm not the only one they hear.
The last song of the evening was "Wish you were here". The band had the lyrics up and encouraged the audience to sing a long! This was a fantastic moment! We got a few warm-up rounds and in the end the audience were to sing all alone! And then the band joined in. That moment gave me goosebumps!! A perfect way to end a fantastic show.
"Awesome show" - Adelheid Links (sister)
