15-03-2016 Sivert Høyem

[schema type=”event” evtype=”Event” name=”15-03-2016 Sivert Høyem ” sdate=”2016-03-15″ street=”Paradiso Noord” city=”Amsterdam” country=”NL” ]
Sivert Høyem is on tour in Europe promoting his brand new album “Lioness”. This night they were in Amsterdam.

As an opening act the singer songwriter Jonas Alaska is along. A youngster that, at introduction, says he is all about dark songs. Well, in a way we would say, the stories being told are maybe a bit the drama of a youngster. Girlfriends, a fear of… swine flu. It seems all quite small or superficial if you compare to the depth that other songwriters can go with. Perhaps some more years of life experience will bring a bit more substantial into his lyrics. In about 30 minutes he plays these songs, instrumentally often a bit simplistic as well and it seems entertaining enough but halfway there are already plenty of people peeking at their watch, their phones or head for the bar. A polite applause is there, but Jonas may realize he has some steps to make in future.

Starting with the album’s title track the band quite fast gets the attention of their audience. Sivert himself walks onstage and the show is on. A long set was ahead of us and many songs of a diversity of albums were played. With him, he brought two guitarists. One standing out for the collection of remarkable guitars he brings and the pleasant and gentle sound he produces with them. Taking that well deserved audience-attention without claiming the spotlight, a gift that is not for everyone. The other one, named Christer Knutsen, has an interesting style of playing. He also plays some keys tonight.

Slower songs and the more intense songs are switched off during the set. A couple of Madrugada songs are played as well, which are true crowdpleasers. It is obvious that a lot of people are following Sivert for a long time already as each song gets taken in with dedication and the older favorites of his old band as well as songs like “Into The Sea” and “Moon Landing” which seem to lay dearly at many.

The diversity in the performance is interesting. Guitars are switched often and when Sivert is putting his guitars aside and focusses on the singing, there is a whole lot of dynamic to feel. In about two hours you see an imagine come alive of an artists who simply enjoys to perform. Giving the audience enough to enjoy making the evening worth it. A performance that sticks around long, with an ambiance that gives one the feeling you are spending the night with a childhood friend; comfortable, enjoyable and very much at ease.