Europe Day 6

Oslo, Oslo, Oslo...

Sitting in the front seat of our tour van, piloted by our amazing tour manager, Mat, we're currently traveling as fast as we can (35mph) through the mountains of Southeast Norway. I spent a year in this country as a 10 year kid, and while I don't remember many specifics about that experience, that year certainly planted a seed of reverence for natural beauty that could only come from living in such a stunningly beautiful place. I'm happy to report that Norway is no less overwhelmingly gorgeous than it was when we first made our acquaintance 17 years ago. Somewhat less impressive (or perhaps more impressive, depending on how you look at it) is that the condition of the roads here hasn't changed much either in 17 years. Mostly a function of the sheer number and density of mountain ranges, it's more or less impossible to take a straight line through anything. Tunnels abound but switchbacked, windy, nausea-inducing curves seem to be the preferred course of navigation. We literally haven't gone above 50mph on a clear day traveling on a major road between two major cities! Then again, I suppose you could probably say the same thing about the stretch of I-5 between San Diego and Los Angeles…

Now…on to more touring rap musician-related subjects.

Ricky, the promoter for last night's event, met us in the lobby of the hotel at about 8pm. We all loaded into the van and he directed us through the downtown area and on to the club, a spot called the Living Room. Accessed through a back door, we had to load all our gear by way of descending a treacherous flight of stairs that placed us directly in the kitchen/coat-check area. Everyone survived the descent(thankfully…), and BK and I got to work setting up our equipment in anticipation of soundcheck. A small side note: Before any show, the tour manager/person in charge of making sure things run smoothly will call ahead and contact the club/promoter to advance the show and let them know exactly what sort of technical needs the tour package has. That way, when the artists show up to the venue, the club is fully prepared to handle the unique needs of each group. Another small side note: This never, ever, ever works out.

Oslo was a shining example of a club that was completely unprepared to deal with our relatively simple technical needs. Sure, they had a sound system fit for a small stadium crammed into a 300 capacity room, but they were totally unable to accommodate my instrument set-up, and the monitoring chain was a joke.

To his credit, the sound man was doing his best to work with us, and we ended up stacking all 4 of my instrument lines into one mono channel, pulling them almost completely out of the monitors (which meant, essentially, that I was totally unable to hear myself playing on stage), and hoping for the best. My vocal mic was delivering a low-level electric shock every time I touched it, and Grieves could barely hear himself speak over the roar of the house speakers. I expected a disaster of a show…a show which, coincidentally, was scheduled for doors at 9pm, with Grieves and I going on at 10. 9pm came and went. 10pm came and went…still no one in the club save for a few unconcerned staff members. Not good.

At 10 I gave up waiting, and ventured out into the Oslo night for a bit. The club was in the center of the town's theatre district, and many of the night's shows were just getting out when I walked outside, filling the streets with elegantly dressed folks, heading for drinks, hailing cabs, and wandering with some sense of purpose. What struck me was, simply enough, how happy people seemed. I suppose it's pretty easy to to enjoy your leisure time when your country has oil money oozing out of every pore, but there's a bit more at play here, I think…I walked down to the docks and peered into the Nobel Prize museum, which had glowing display of Obama-related goods.

Back to the club. 

When I walked back in at 11pm, the had literally just opened the doors to the public. Grieves and I didn't go until midnight. I was expecting disaster but, as so often happens when you expect the worst, we quickly found ourselves in the midst of the best show of the tour. The crowd was insane. Incredibly engaged, and so filled with energy. The responded amazingly well to the more interactive portions of the set. 

Ali went on after us, which worked out to be somewhere around 12:45, playing until 2. Show over? Nope. BK manned the turntables for the final hour of business, spinning records while Brother Ali MC'ed a monster of a dance party that finally wound down around 3 in the morning.

An incredible night…that left us all incredible tired and haggard.

Back to the hotel by 3:20. Quick stop at the lobby vending machine, where Brother Ali spent something along the lines of $12 on a small microwaveable bowl of Fish Ball soup…bed and sleep by 4. Woke up at 8:15. Delicious continental breakfast. Back in the van.

Stavanger tonight, where Ali is scheduled to rock an outdoor festival. In Norway. In the dead of winter! It's still unclear as to whether or not Grieves and I will get the chance to play, but either way it should prove to be a bit of an experience.  

More tomorrow...including a full account of our harrowing journey from Oslo to Stavanger. Yeesh!