Monday 25 April 2011

Ulver at Rockefeller

Saturday before easter, I went and saw Ulver at Rockefeller in Oslo. I expected a lot. And, surely, they delivered. Surprisingly (?) they played exclusively from «Wars of the Roses». I think this playing whole albums is a trend these days ... Not that I complain.

The reason I haven't written about the concert before is that I was very happy with it. So happy, I had to let it sink for a while before I wrote about it. I didn't want it to be too fresh. Now it has sunk a bit, I still think it was an awesome concert. For a band that shunned away from doing live shows, Ulver does very well. Not that they can brag about being extrovert. On stage, as on «tape», they are a inward looking band. It is obvious they are doing this for the love of the music and the art. Though, as they have admitted, it pays the bill ...

The standard VJ show played on the big screen on the wall behind them, was surprisingly clean. Though beautiful. I especially fell in love with the bleeding barn (don't remember the song, which is not bad seeing as they played 7 songs ...) and the hugely calming waves during «Islands».

The set ended with the short story «Stone Angels». It is quite interesting how a short story accompanied by a 15 minute long melody can mesmerize a live audience. I am impressed. The whole concert was a triumph for introvert music played live. They seemed a bit lighter; the darkness found in Ulver's earlier works, though not gone, was not that obvious anymore. Still, they are not a happy-go-lucky sort of band. And thank you very much for that.



Tåkeland
In the rays of the sun, I am longing for the darkness.

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