Dark side of the wall live in Bergen - 20.11.14

Last thursday I had some days off work, so I decided to go home to my parents for a few days. I came to Bergen around 4.30pm. My father and sister picked me up at the airport, and then we drove to the city centre where we went out to eat dinner and have a few beers before the show. The show was starting at 9.00pm, and we were a bit earlyer then that, since my father and sister were a bit late the day before, and they didn't get very good seats. We god great seats with a great view of the stage. 

Today the band were going to play the entire album "Wish you were here" +  highlights. I was a bit stressed out since I heard that the band played fast and a bit stressful the day before. No one should ever stress themselves through "Wish you were here". It turned out that I had nothing to worry about! They played the album close to perfectly! They used the time that was suitable for this album, ant it looked like the band had great fun on stage.

"Shine on you crazy diamond (Parts I-V)" is a track that last for about 14 minutes, and it's a great opening to the album. There were a few tiny slips from the guitar player in the beginning, but he just kept on playing and then he nailed the rest of the concert. It's agood thing that the band can make small mistakes. Just think of David Gilmour - standing on the top of the wall in London 2011. He had a few mistakes, but it shows that everyone can makes mistakes. We're only human beings. 

They played on and on, and had some small animations and pictures on a small screen they had on stage. Beautiful pictures and great animation. At this point I was glad we had such good seats and were able to see the stage. The music is the most important, but it is - for me at leats- fun to look at the members in the band having fun, see how they are using their instuments etc. Since I play the bass on a hobby basis, I like to see how other bassists play the instrument, and maybe learn something as well.

The band did such a great job playing this album. When they played "Wish you were here" they got the audience to sing-a-long on the chorus. I love it when the band ask me and everyone else to sing. I would sing with them all the time, but I heard my share of "shut up" during different Pink Floyd related concerts. At some point, you just get sick of it. So I try to calm myself down, and that's why I love when the band wants us to sing along with them!

After "Wish you were here" they played "Shine on you crazy diamond (Parts VI-XI)". That turned out to be my favourite song on this concert. They played all the parts that you can hear on the album. That rarely happens when I go and see a PF cover band. I really enjoyed this part of the song. It's so powerful and there are so many instrumental treats. The band did such a great job!

When the band finished "Wish you were here", they played some songs from "The Wall" and some songs from "Dark side of the moon". The day before they played the entire "The Wall" album, so I was a bit surprised when they played so many songs from the album this day as well. I hadn't seen them the day before, so it was fine by me. My father and sister actually said that they enjoyed all the "The Wall" songs better this day then the day before. The band seemed a bit more relaxed and used the time better.

Everytime I hear songs from "The Wall" I get goosebumps, and expect to see Roger Waters entering the stage. It's  a side effect from all the Roger Waters shows I've seen. 

A fun thing about this cover band is that the drummer is also the lead vocal. That is something I'm not used to. So he is of course sitting behind his drums all the way. That's why I really liked it when they played "Nobody home". Then the drummer walked to the front of the stage and the song was played with few instruments. It was really good, and it was made even better when the guitar player were using the megaphone to echo some of the words from the song. He also ended with saying "Surprise surprise" in the end of the song. I was laughing so hard, cause I did not see that coming. Again, it looked like the band had great fun on the stage!

All in all, it was a good show, and I glad I went to Bergen and were able to see them live. It's been quite a while since I saw them the last time. Now I'll keeping my fingers crossed that they want to put up more gigs in the near future. And maybe they can play something from older albums as well. I love listening to songs from the older albums live. So I'll just keeps my fingers crossed.

Happy Pink Floyd fan

Dark side of the wall live in Bergen - 19.11.14

For this blog, I've asked my sister Adelheid to write a piece for me. There is a Pink Floyd cover band from Bergen - called "Dark side of the wall", and on wedensday they started a four-day concert. I wasn't able to come to Bergen before thursday, so I missed the first day. So I asked my sister to give the concert a review, and luckily for me, she said yes!

So here is a review from my sister Adelheid :)

It`s always exiting going to concerts where they`re playing Pink Floyd- music.

For hardcore- fans (like my sister.....), it doesen`t take much to totally ruin it.

We have to go in with an open mind, of course, because no one will ever match the originals.

I guess we are really spoiled after seing all those Roger Waters- shows during the last couple og years.

Anyway, there`s this band in Bergen called The Dark Side of The Wall. They are (surprise, surprise, surprise) playing Pink Floyd music.

Yesterday (wedensday) me and my father went to see a show.

They played the entire The Wall album, non- stop.

When entering that door both me and my dad had to leave Roger Waters outside, and enter with an open mind.

But then again, I think it`s easier for us than it is for Maria.

We found us some seats, but unfortunally we weren`t able to see much of the stage from where we sat.

But hey, it`s about the music, right?

The show started with a woman coming in, playing that flute- intro.

And then they exploded on the stage.

It`s always a pleasure entering The Wall, and this was no exeption. In The Flesh? was OK, but I got really hung up when the vocalist got some of the lyrics wrong.

But on The Thin Ice, he made it all good again.

This was a song really suitable for his voice.

Another Brick in The Wall part l and The Happiest Days of Our Lives was very good, but they really nailed it on Another Brick in The Wall part ll! I think I actually nodded my head on this part of the show, and for me that is the closest I ever am to dancing.

Mother was also a song they did really well, and the woman who played the flute now sang the role of the Mother.

My ears enjoyed it, especially when she got comfortable.

At first it was a little too soft, but when she first entered it was really good.

Goodbye Blue Sky was like The Thin Ice very suitable for the vocalist`s voice.

Soft and gentle.

The bassplayer and the guitarist made a beautiful choir to back him up.

Empty Spaces was OK, but I was a bit disappointed when the did not play What Shall We Do Now, since this is one of my favorites.

Well, they made it OK through Young Lust, but it`s a hard song to nail I guess, I weren`t even always impressed when seeing the real deal.

When I had yet to build a personal relationship to the The Wall album,

Young Lust were one of my favorites because it`s catchy.

But it`s not anymore. It`s still catchy, but I`ve discovered far better treats in there.

One of My Turns always kinda strikes me with surprise.

The beginning is quiet and gentle, and then it explodes.

I love the explotion!

Video from Youtube

The drums in this particular band deserves a fucking parade!

I have a thing for drums, and I love it when Pink Floyd mucicians aren`t afraid to hit it hard.

Dont`t Leave Me Now is my least favorite, until the guitar enters there in the end.

I get chills every time, and the guitarist yesterday did not disappoint at all.

Another Brick in The Wall is also one of my favorites!

When I hear Goodbye Cruel World, the only thing I can think of is Roger Waters himself standing behind the wall, singing out from a tiny window while waving like a queen.

Happy memory. The next songs; Hey You and Is There Anybody Out There, Nobody Home and Vera was OK.

Some tiny flaws here and there, but mostly good.

Some parts were even almost better than the original.

They add their own touch on some of it, and most of the time it`s working out great.

Me & my sister in Denmark

Bring The Boys Back Home was my favorite.

They absolutely nailed it!

Everyone on stage were singing (at least I think so, I couldn`t really see).

The woman did kind of a opera- voice, and it worked perfectly. Comfortably Numb was a bit boring to be honest.

This is the song always harvesting most of the applause from the crowd.

Maybe my standars to this one is too high.

It was nice and all, but lacked that little extra. The Show Must go On was very disappointing, it almost sounded like they didn`t want it there, like they were trying to squeeze it out, rushing through it like something was burning.

A shame, since I really ike this track.

The whole show kinda made it clear that they wanted to play it all as fast as possible.

The almost didn`t have time to catch their breaths between the tracks, and it was kinda stressful to listen to.

Many of the songs need their time to really work their magic,

but yesterday a lot of it just disappeared down in a hurry- crack in the floor.

And getting closer to the end of the show it seemed like they speeded up even more.

In The Flesh was OK. Run Like Hell,

like always, made my head nod again, but it was stressful.

I did not like Waiting For The Worms at all.

The megaphone- parts of the song were far to weak, and the whole song just weren`t very good.

I enjoyed The Trial, and it was a cool twist that the woman did parts of the song.

"My favourite song this evening" - Adelheid

But, when they at the end of the song screamed ´´Tear down the wall! Tear down the wall! Tear down the wall!``, I can`t help it thinking of the gigantic wall falling down on the stage where Roger himself were standing just a few seconds ago.

From where me and my dad sat I don`t even know if there was any kind of wall there.

All in all a good show, but I did not like the feeling that they just rushed through it as fast as humanly possible.

Pink Floyd music is art, and it`s supposed to really be enjoyed.

If I was asked to throw a dice, I`d give the whole thing a 5.  

Or any cover band ;)

A big thank you to my sister! Shine on!

The Endless River

"The endless river" was worth the wait. Since I heard that Pink Floyd were going to release a new album, I've been sceptical, and honestly; I didn't expect that much. I was somewhat annoyed that they had a new album coming out. The first one in 20 years. All Pink Floyd albums was already released when I started listening to this music, so I could focus on the good and old albums. I never thought there would be some new albums coming out. I was so scared that they had been taking another direction and turned themselves into something that doesen't fit the band name and the history.

My copy of "The endless river"

About a month ago, the first single was played on the radio. The song is called "Louder then words". I loved it straight away. And it was hard to imagine how the rest of the album would sound. "Louder then words" is the only song where they are singing. So all I was expecting was an instrumental album. I've heard a few snippets lately, but I didn't want to download or listen to the full album before it was released and I had my own copy in my hands.

Happy happy girl

Friday last week was the day. I was working all day, so I had my boyfriends go and buy it for me. I wanted to be sure to get a copy that day. Who know how long it would take for them to be sold out?! My boyfriend stopped by my workplace after buying the cd+blueray box. I wanted him to give it to me, so I could look at it and get more and more exited about finishing that day at work, so I could go straight home and listen to it.
So when I got home, I had a shower and a pizza, and then it was showtime! It didn't take many seconds before the first round of goosebumps came along.

"Pink Floyd"

"The Endless River"

"Louder Then Words"

written in runic letters

The second song reminded me about "Welcome to the machine" and "Shine on". It's always very comforting to hear that you can relate some of the new stuff with the old stuff. The guitar is standing out, and after hearing this song, I knew it would be hard to make this a bad album. It was so great, so early, and I could relax and just go on straight into the Pink Floyd world.

I kept on listening. I was floating on a pink candyfloss-like cloud for just over an hour. I enjoyed every piece of it. 18 truly wonderful songs (+ 3 bonus tracks). During those 18 songs, there was none of the songs that didn't overlap well, so it could actually just be one long song. I watched an interview with David Gilmour about the new album. They were talking about how rarely people sat down these days to listen through a whole album. People are clarely to buisy listening to songs that last for more then 3 minutes, and especially to listen through a whole album in ine go. David wanted people to listen through it all in one go. People did that before, so that was something he wanted to bring back with this new album. I couldn't agree more.

I rarely listen to only one song from an album. It's sometimes just one song I try listen to, but it don't take me long before I start listen to the whole album. It's oneof my favourite thing about Pink Floyd. The songs often last for quite a while and they are almost always overlapping. There is also often a 'theme'. When you start listening, it feels natural to listen to the next song. And the next song. And the next song.

It's been said that "The endless river" will be the last album from my all time favourite band. I think that's a good thing. Now the band have been using the last material from Richard Wright, and I find him quite essential to the bands music and sound. I'm just glad David and Nick found these maetrials from 1993/1994 and wanted to use it for the last album. It's so many feelings in this album, and it gives both Richard Wright and Syd Barrett a proper goodbye. It gives Pink Floyd a proper goodbye.

Syd Barrett

Richard Wright

The last months I haven't been myself. I've been stressed out a lot and I've been working more then my body can handle. So that have made me feel a bi down. Everything has been stressing me, and I have been a grumpy person who just want to go far far away, all by myself. Friday, last week, when I went to bed - I slept perfectly. Also my neck and back didn't hurt as much as it did earlier that day or that week. My headache was gone too! It just proves that I need this music. Sometimes it feels like medicine to my body. I woke up the day after I got the album with a big grin on my face, and I felt more optimistic then I have been feeling lately. When you can relate your pain to the music, it gets more powerful. I like to think that the music helped me a step on the way in the right direction.

This album is my medicine!!

Back to the album and the songs. I know what I write here today, might not be something every one of you can relate to. But I found myself some favourite songs. As I said earlier, the album could be one long song instead of 18 shortes ones.But my favourite part is side 3 and 4. They are all building up to the next one. So when side 4 starts, there are so many feelings built up that are about to burst into more awesomeness!

AWESOMENESS

I love the album. I really do. It's maybe a bit strange of me to say that this album might be my favourite Pink Floyd album after Roger Waters left. Both "A momentary lapse of reason" and "Division bell!" are great albums, but this one, the last one, sounds more like the good old Pink Floyd. I might be wrong about this, but for now, that's my opinion.

So shine on all you lovely Pink Floyd fans! I hope most of you agree with me: It's a great album, and it's a great way to end the Pink Floyds discography.

"Surfacing"

One of my favourites

"Louder then words"