26-03-2008 Kaizers Orchestra

supports: Geoff Berner; Venue: Tavastia, Helsinki (Finland)
By: Elvira Visser

I went to this concert with, in my mind that this could possibly turn out to be a boring night. Why go see something that seems boring to you? A friend of a Norwegian friend of mine suggested to go see this band whenever I had got the change because to him they were the best live band. So in a way I wanted to see them, especially if they are as amazing live as I had been told. Right before I went to the gig I listened to some songs and, although okay, it sounded quite boring. So for them the chance to prove me wrong.

So I had planned to miss out on the support act, the American “Geoff Berner” He plays some singer songwriter songs on his accordion mixed with humour. But I was right on time to see him entering the stage. In the beginning I decided this was boring, but kept listening in the back with a beer in my hand. He seemed very good on his own to say the right things to the audience and got them laughing and singing along. Little bit comedian style on stage, making fun of himself and others, bit political. It was good though that it was not too long and it was quite dark which made it a bit more intimate.

When Geoff had left the stage and when the lights had gone out and the intro had started the murmur faded and there was silence, well, okay, you could only hear the intro. The first three songs were finished so soon and I was standing there a little lost. Okay this was not what I had expected. A great light show, some good rock and guys that are hitting empty oil barrels, leaving a great sound. And this was only the start.

This was great, a real party. Kaizers Orchestra has been around since 2000 and in 2003 their popularity brought them to Roskilde(Denmark) festival and Lowlands (The Netherlands) with some performances that people would will remember.

Janove Ottesen (singer) sings in a Norwegian dialect. What they play varies per song, from some good rock to more gipsy style with accordions to the more Eastern European hoempa-pa. This combined with the entertaining skills of these men and especially singer Janove assure you to have a good evening. You should put your dance shoes on because it is very hard to stand still and not move. This results in dragging people on stage to dance with them and some Finnish people going crazy on stage, while the band keeps playing, smiling and watching the fans dance before them. The singer was asking if the crowd could speak some Norwegian. A quick reply came as there were some Norwegian fans around. But the Finnish were not that good and it was not enough for “Geir ‘Hellraizer’ Kaizer” (guitar) who climbed on the barrel in front of him and started playing on top of it. Later Janove jumped into the crowd and started singing surrounded by the audience. Janove had hit the stairs at the side of the room to the balcony and sungs half way during the stairs, while he was watching out over the people. Then slowly made his way back to the stage.

It was a crazy night with the band answering questions from the crowd, introducing the best whistler from Norway, when Øyvind started the whistling intro of “Senor Flamingos Adieu”.

This tour supports their fourth released album “Maskineri” (February 2008) and shows their unique blend of different styles and a show that does not bore you for one moment.