Oslo Synthfestival 2003
Location
Oslo, Betong
Lineup
Welle:Erdball
Apoptygma Berzerk
Zensor
a.o.
Duration
30 minutes
Audience:
700
Setlist:
Nothing
Epikris
Intimat
Wither
Saliroman
Stasis
This years concert at OSF 2003 was our first live performance in Oslo since our support gig for Apoptygma Berzerk at Rockefeller one year ago. We'd been rather ambivalent to the whole thing in advance, knowing that we did not quite fit in according to the more purist synth fans. Traditionally, they have confessed to being troubled by the sound of guitars. But then again, who cares as long as the festival wants us there?
We thought a little while of adjusting our setlist to soften the guitar impact, but changed our minds in the last second. This much due to advice from Martin, who had the nerve to tell, some late hour the night before, when the rest of us wanted to give in to exhaustion. The reconciliating thought being that no matter what we do it will not sound ”synth” enough, so why bother? We picked freely from our aggressiva, and inserted Wither for a strategic pause before climax.
The soundcheck was a complete mess, and we got to play less than five minutes full set due to the headlining bands inability to settle for the right sound or decide where to keep their drums before showtime. Happily, it made little or no difference to our live performance, being blessed with a crew that handle these kinds of situations professionally, as well as keeping a relaxed manner towards a strung out band. But beeing a brand new band, first gig, no crew what so ever and maybe no live experience at all - This is the situation for some of the bands that get to play this festival. It's allready risky enough to play your first gig in front of 700 people : If you mess it up, your future audience might never show up, at least not in Oslo. Tempers were all over for a good while.
As we hit the stage approximately 11 pm, the crowd response was overwhelming. It's very satisfying to see so many people have a good time and even know the lyrics to our demos. Sound was great, level and crisp, and lights excellent as usual. Special thanks to Apoptygma Berzerks monitor technician who tweaked the stage a long way towards sonic heaven. Some technical difficulties came and went - at one point Patrick had three technicians trying to re-rig his outlets gracefully - with success. During Stasis, we were in control and knew it. Both guitars and ambience fell out in some parts, but we had no time to care. It was massive, dirty and pure fun. For those who kept shouting us back - we would've continued if we could, but this was a 30 minute contract.
We all felt relieved by the response from the audience. A lot of people had previously announced that we had little or nothing to do at this festival (as in 2001), and we proved them incorrect by sheer amount of writhing human mass. All tension aside, we mingled with the guests as best we could and let loose our smiles to the seemingly endless - or at least shameless - comments on a good show well done, which topped the evening off in the best possible way.
Easily the most succesfull Oslo Synthfestival this far - Backstage, kitchen and crowd. Special thanks to the crew though, for their show off in team spirit and technical excellence.