Well my babies, it’s almost 11:00 PM and sun is shining so that can mean only one thing..that’s right! We are in Norway.
It was a long and adventurous travel day for me–truly a planes, trains and automobiles kind of way. I left at 11:00 am EST for the train station, (Shout out to retired U.S Navy Seaman Donald who helped pass the time with good conversation–rock on!) I then took the 3 hour trip into Penn Station NYC, then a few quick transfers to the Long Island Rail Road and the AirTrain and voila! I camped out at JFK. There were various Twisted spottings throughout the airport all afternoon with band and crew arriving and departing on different flights.
A big thumbs down to a particular air carrier who has now imposed weight restrictions on carry-on baggage–your total combined carry-on’s can’t be over 20 lbs or you have to check ’em…or pay for the pounds. You know, I’d just like to point out here, as I shared with the ticket agent, if we’re going to get so uptight over weight presumably because of the effect of the baggage on the aircraft, then shouldn’t the 350-lb man traveling next to me be allowed less carry=on weight than my 130 lb skinny butt?
I digress. My apologies….checking luggage is a real nail biter for me.
As I sat at the gate, A.J. gave me a sneak peak listen to some music of his–some damn good stuff, too. If you took some of your favorite bands and mixed them into a new sound…well, you’ll have to wait and get a listen yourself.
Perhaps I’m still a wee cranky from the 11 hours of flight in an airplane that had the legroom of a Miata. All of the crew and band have now arrived safely with all of their luggage and guitars in tow. Props to Ronnie for providing an informative and interesting ride to the hotel–we passed by a local IKEA and I suddenly had an intense craving for meatballs with lingonberry sauce.
One of my favorite parts of traveling with the crew is the gracious opportunity they allow me to accompany them on the pre-show walk-thru. We were given a ride over there by Katerina Dahl, a local artist who played us some of her original music–a very talented young woman in addition to giving us a warm and wonderful welcome. The people have Norway have been very friendly and helpful, yet it feels strangely laid back and relaxed for a city with this many people.
We arrived this evening to the rear of the club–From the outside, the building is typical Scandinavian design, the brick-red stucco and 90-degree angles. Inside, I felt transformed into another era. The event was moved indoors to a historic local rock club–it’s a mid-size club that reminds of the barn in Thessaloniki except much, much cooler inside. The primary room of the club is round–that’s right–round! In fact, the ample audience seating is stadium style (which means every fan will get a great view) and wraps almost 270 degrees around the arena. The tromp l’oeil ceiling is painted like a circus tent, alternating gold and brick-red–with patinaed gilded columns around the top perimeter–it looks like a cross between Barnun & Bailey and Camelot’s Court. In the middle of the stage is a built-in wooden platform that can actually rotate 360 degrees.
It’s affiliated with the local college students–there are 30,000 college kids in Trondheim–and the club is surrounded by dormitories of those who decorate, perform and work in the club. It originated during World War II when it was built by the Germans, and has hosted music, theatre and other entertainment ever since–including AC/DC, Motorhead, The Sex Pistols and thousands more This club smells of rock history–I mean it–every paint scratch on the wall from thousands of load-ins, every piece of wood missing from the floor–you get a vibe that can only be described as the essence of band’s past.
Or it’s the ghost.
Yes. Did I mention there’s a ghost? Well, apparently when the club was being built by German soldiers, one fell from the rigging and landed square in the center of the stage and died. And according to the local manager, the quite lovely and charming Vivien, the ghost of the soldier does occasionally stir up some mischief. (I’m hoping to get more stories on this!)
The crew went straight to work doing all of the exciting behind the scenes work that they do tirelessly so that we can enjoy beautifully balanced sound and perfect lighting–it’s late right now (about 11:30 pm) and some of the crew are still on site. So again I must remind folks to always say thanks to the road crew–they do an amazing job.
And with that, I must bid you all a good night…. or a “god natt” as they say here…
until tomorrow my babies
