The pains of a northern riot...

This is not a review. Just some thoughts on last nights concert at Lille Vega. A blurry picture might be added later today.

Champagne Riot were three men (2 male and 1 female to be exact) on stage and since no songs from the Paris and I EP were performed, I assume that Champagne Riot as a one-man project has been put in the grave. But then again, they only played 4 songs (all of them new to me), so a more extensive set might have included a few of the older ones. 4 songs were definitely on the short side, but probably the deal the trio was able to cut, as frontman Caspar handles the bass for the second opening act Northern Portrait as well. But the set was even more on the short shirt as the trio gave a fine performance and didn’t sound anything like a brand new constellation. Forthcoming single A Friend of a Friend of a Friend (or something like that) sounded promising (somewhat Pet Shop Boyish) and should hopefully be out come September/October, though information is sparse.

Northern Portrait was every bit as fabulous as I’d been told (and hoping) they’d be. Almost seems unreal that the band’s live debut took place less than 4 months ago, because the band played its way through the set of 10 songs like seasoned veterans. I had been looking forward to the concert for ages, and had convinced a couple of friends to join me at the concert, so it was quite a relief that they didn’t disappoint. Several tracks from the forthcoming debut album Criminal Art Lovers were included in the setlist and the two that didn’t know beforehand sounded perhaps even better as some of the songs from the two EP’s. Now if they could only finish the damn thing and get the album released!

The performance of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was pretty much like I thought it would be; a short and quite noisy set with hardly any variation, but still damn appealing. The noise and lack of variation sort of “killed” my compatriots, so I had to watch the second half of the Pains’ show on my own, though that didn’t make me enjoy it any less. The music aside I in particular enjoyed the band’s interaction with the fans and the chitchatting in between songs which really wasn’t something I had expected. Instead this left me with the impression that this is not only a band with great musical talents, but at the same time a friendly and utterly charming bunch of people. You can definitely count me in the next time they are visiting Denmark!
+ Champagne Riot - Scandinavian Warfare
+ Champagne Riot - Heroes of our Time
+ Northern Portrait - Crazy
+ Northern Portrait - I Give You Two Seconds To Entertain Me
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Everything With You
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday
+ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Kurt Cobain's Cardigan