Oslo Sentrum - And Then Some...

[JustaGirlieGirl2]

I promise, there really is a bit of a review buried in here, but it does end up more of a travel diary! So... beware! The usual caveats apply... Let me know via PM of errors, omissions, etc. Cheers!

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"That's right, it starts with an earthquake"
Yep, in addition to yet another personal crisis, we had a +5 earthquake before I left town. What is with the universe? I absolutely don't have time for either natural disasters or health crashes! There's a serious schedule to maintain!

Those who know me are aware of (and mostly understand) my passion for combining music and travel, and when this particular gig was announced, it became an irresistible urge - a compulsion to fulfill. It starts with the question: How can I do this? So looking at the options and figuring out obligations, Voila! What seemed impossible became possible. Unfortunately, I was unable to have the pleasure of my usual TNTravel compadre, as Wøø was professionally shanghaied.

It's not an insignificant effort to free myself from the midst of projects and with everything chaotic going on, it was impossible to adequately prepare. After having had all the nightmares of not being prepared for departure, the likes of which I typically do not have, I eventually tied up what seemed to be a thousand loose ends (including tracking down some vintage knick-knacks! Thanks for the tip Freakie!).

The nonstop transatlantic flight was perfect. And while this time my shoes did not warrant a code red alert at Schiphol, I still managed to get a little misdirected on the transfer process. You live, you learn, and you will sprint for the gate!


"They try to make me go to rehab and I say, no no no"
Having arrived in Oslo in the afternoon, I met up with my Portugeuse brother Nuno. Grabbed the train into the city, and with excellent help from my brother to manage my luggage, settled in to the hotel, and hit the streets of Oslo. We had the good fortune to meet up with a special friend, this big tattooed brummie who had just come from a full day of non-stop rehearsals and media commitments. Hey Mr. Mills! Luckily DD stopped by, as did Ronni. And yes, I will take this opportunity to correct any incorrect perception that Ronni was not sober during his television appearance(s), because he was absolutely sober when we saw him on his way to dinner so pay no attention to any libelous rubbish to the contrary.

Speaking of dinner, we somehow missed that event and went straight from aperitifs to the after-dinner drinks! Or well, at least I did and, well, suffice to say, not the best decision on my part. After having imbibed in more than my fair share of alcohol, I slurred my goodnights and somehow safely arrived to my hotel room where I may or may not have careened around like a hyperactive bumblebee! Regardless of the level of drunkenness (read: Alcohol Poisoning!), I'm still here, in mostly one piece, and thus, have lived to tell you this tale. ;-)


"Poison running through my veins"
Ugh! You know you've enjoyed life too much the night before when the following day, even water isn't a friendly refuge! This IS Norway, aren't you supposed to drink with wild abandon? Well, once is enough and that's fine... really! Got out and about early in the day for a bit and ran into the Captain of the King, TNT's bus driver. I happened to mislay my mobile phone (later found in a taxi) and was lucky to have the assistance of some very kind folks helping me to retrieve it... Ultimately I was reunited via help from afar... yep, the Emperor of Trondheim, my good pal Trond Øien, got in on the escapade!

We got out of the hotel early that evening as my pushy pushy friend kept saying "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up - you take too much time to get ready!" Umm... boys really just do not appreciate the time required for cosmetics and hair! My dear brother Nuno was not loving my shoes! They were completely non-practical skyscrapers, shiny silver, very party-party, and of course, my favorite Italian brand, Via Spiga.

What a surprise! Met another traveling fan, Yuu, who came all the way from Tokyo! How cool is that? I think he is also a forum friend (was that you, Yuu? :-) ) We met up with a TON of our family at a place called Mollers, not too far from the Sentrum. Gave hugs and hellos to many including Paalie & Elisabeth, Darlis, (Bajas was already at the venue), PeSt, Destiny, Electric Dancer, Shredder, ShaunDEF, Wegard and MonaLisa. My apologies to those who I missed! But as has already been written, I think there was a nice international representation. I also ran into Martin whom under the blissful fog of alcoholic haze, I had met the prior night! How my meager drinking skill must have impressed!

Finally at the venue, hello's to Bajas, Pålen, and Jann, and later Lars, and Magnus (who did some pretty cool pyrotechnics - except that last sparkle bomb was in danger of setting me on fire!). Met Tattooica and Rockgirl! Hey Girls!!! I got a somewhat treacherous front spot as my heels would occasionally slip through this metal mesh grid but, I came to see a concert not to worry about my shoes (but trust me, they were fabulous!)! Check out the photos of the stage set... TNTs very own Viking Ship, "Gyda", was resurrected for this event, and there was also a cool fortress/castle backdrop as well.

The Set List
(Courtesy of PeSt - Tusen takk min venn!)
The Big Band took the stage, accompanied at intervals by Dag Stokke on keyboards, and performed a few pieces to showcase their ensemble:
* Also Sprach
* American Trilogy
* Norwegian Dance
* Fanfare for the Common Man

The moment has finally arrived and, accompanied by backup singer Marianne Sveen, TNT takes their place front and center on the stage. YAY! Along with the Big Band, they played:
* Invisible Noise
* Substitute - I know I didn't hear this during the early summer shows I attended so this was really fun to hear live!
* Something Special

TNT, in their traditional format, played:
* Downhill Racer
* Caught Between the Tigers
* Guitar Solo - Duh… as always, YAY!!!

* End Theme - Ronni accompanied by the Big Band
* Sabre Dance - Diesel accompanied by the Big Band… Okay, now how many Diesel Dahl drum solos has anyone seen? This was a first for me, well a first that I remember so I had to call my MIA pal Wøø as history was made! (I know, me and that damn cell phone!)

Once again, the Big Band retreated and TNT played:
* As Far As The Eye Can See
* My Religion
* Intuition
* Everyone's a Star - During this song, what you wouldn't really hear but could see, is that at one point there was this totally mad scramble around Ronni's pedals, with plugs yanked and reset. It was a perfect break in the song where Victor and Diesel along with Dag held down that big backing sound and then, of course, at the correct moment, the guitar came roaring back in. In my best Beavis and Butthead, I just have to say "that was cool!"

With a brief interlude by the show's Master of Ceremonies, Alex Rosen, TNT along with the Big Band took the stage and played:
* June - Wow, this as everyone hypothesized, was completely fantastic with the Big Band arrangement and the solo (I think it was a clarinet lead) was so perfect. Just outstanding.
* 10,000 Lovers

For an encore, TNT with the Big Band played:
* Seven Seas - Alternate version. A few of you may have heard about this version of Seven Seas? It was not quite an acapella performance by Ronni of a hillbilly-style approach to the classic song.
* Seven Seas - Traditional version. The horns just kicked ass on this song.
* Harley Davidson - With a nice introduction by Ronni, the still-hyperactive Dag Ingebrigtsen rides onstage on a Harley to sing. Wielding my newly recovered cell phone, I was screaming into it to Wøø as Dag showed up... I mean, no matter how many times people have driven motorcycles on stage, I just absolutely did not expect that! What can you say about the charismatic Ingebrigtsen? He is a guy who can make the most of an entrance. And really, it was a nice way to close the show.

Umm, yes, I will cop to the fact that I am a very noisy fan possessing ear-splitting volume. :-) The poor Norwegian couple to my left: She was rather petite and appeared way more drunk than I had been the night before, but her partner was not as drunk and quite aware of the high pitched volume assaulting his ears from the noisy American neighbor. All I can say is "Don't be a hater... It's a concert, not a library!" :-)

Did I have a good/great/phenomenal/awesome/amazing time at the show? Umm, Duhhhh!!! ;-)

After the gig, we journeyed across treacherous unfinished roads in Oslo to get to a nachtspiel but seemed to keep traipsing from place to place. Thanks again to PeSt who kept an eye on me during our forays as well, my footwear is not at all practical for cobblestones let alone, construction zones! We finally settled in at a wonderfully loud and very crowded Rock-In which is a place with a lot of good memories for me (yes, even the insane Swede was a funny memory), and ultimately I ended meeting up with Nuno and a group at the hotel. I even made it to see the Oslo sunrise, and since I've never seen it dark in Oslo, that was a completely new thing! Special thanks to the wonderful and fabulous Christian and Stine for being generous and kind hosts.

"Now we're talking..."
Because well... that's about all we can manage! We're not actually doing anything much on Sunday except staying hotel-bound for most of the day. Being good little vampires, we stayed out all night and needed to rest all day! Off to a real dinner and then what a great surprise, a meeting with the great Hoba! Too little time for our visit but even still, always a great pleasure to hang out and chat with one of the finest Norwegians around (and keeper of numerous TNTtour memories and mementos)! The visit was cut short, as I had to hit the road too early the next day and wasn't yet packed... which problematic as it was, I proceeded to pack and repack no less than 3 times!


"What a long strange trip it's been..."
So many folks I did meet and so many I missed. To those of you I should have made the acquaintance of (or reacquaintance in some cases), please accept my apologies. We will connect another time!

The proverbial Terminator exit, y'all haven't seen the last of this noisy, walking calamity because, I'll be back. Much like shopping, visits to Norway seem to be a moral imperative! Again, Tusen takk to everyone I met from near and from far!

And I'd be remiss if I forgot to say, Happy 25th Anniversary to TNT!

(c) copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Use, republication, and/or redistribution without consent of the NFL and the author, is strictly prohibited.

[Paal]

As always .. great review Jagg !!!

[hawkiiz]

thats a funny read! hahaha

still bummed that i couldnt make it!!!
_________________
www.bbsociety.com

[PeSt]

Superb recollection of the events that took place. It was an absolute blast, and you remembered more names than I did ...

One day I will reveal to everyone just how loud-pitched you were on that evening...

Come back soon, and bring Woo... Heck, bring everyone...

PeSt

[Nuno]

cool review Jagg! thanks for posting

[LeFreak]

Awesome read. Glad you had a great time. We can at least live vicariously your experience.

[ESPO]

Nice job Jagg..you must have been a journalism major

[JustaGirlieGirl2]

Ahh shucks! Surely not my best writing but I'm glad that it is entertaining to some of you! There are a few other episodes that didn't make it in there... like the bit about the purloined luggage trolley... I would have rolled that sucker all the way to the hotel but there was all that road destruction that got in my way!

I really hope there is a special 25th anniversary package which would include the Sentrum show on DVD. That would be so cool!!!

PeSt, all I can say is that I think I am even worse at Football games... my volume has inspired people to MOVE out of their seats -- something to be quite proud of especially when they are supporting the incorrect team!!! hehehe. Oh... and of course, Wøø and I plan to return, and hopefully that will be in the summer when there are some concerts to attend... Oslo and Trondheim, be prepared!!!

Maybe I should be on my way to Hollywood to shop a sitcom based on my TNTravel adventures???

;-)

[Shredder]

Great stuff Jagg,

It was a fantastic time, thank you for making the time to write that.

Always good to meet up with you and all the TNT community.

Cheers

Neil

[Nina]

Sounds like u had yet another amazing trip to Norway my dear Jagg. LOVE ya .