Checking in from the 'D'

It's quite nice here in 635 D. The walls are white, the floor is carpeted and the furniture is green and made mostly out of metal, which makes it heavier than Ingars mom. I'm almost done arranging all my stuff, but I'm not sure what to do with my jackets, as there are no coat hangers near the front door, and the ones in my room fall off if I stress them with more than a t-shirt. We may have to collect a few items come tomorrow, if we find the time.

As I promised yesterday, I will list this summers best concerts. Sadly, last night saw me fall asleep minutes after the Bills-Colts game, so I guess we'll have to do the list now. In descending order:

1: Drive-by Truckers, Storås
I may be biased because they are my favorite band, but I thought this was a really great concert. They started off strong, and maintained the pace through-out the set, which due to this being at a festival, only lasted one hour. Patterson did an OK job of interacting with the crowd, but since they're not a well known band in Norway, only about a 1000 showed up. Still a great show to remember. Higlights: Zip City, Homefield Advantage, Dimes Down

2: Animal Alpha, Storås
Playing in the rain at festival in the middle of nowhere can cause artists to whine and complain. I haven't spent much time listening to AA until I saw this concert, and their energy blew me away. The lead singer took control of the audience and she seemed like she enjoyed herself on stage, despite a smaller crowd than DBT, and the aforementioned rain. This was one of those shows that makes you think "maybe I should buy their CD".

3: Deep Purple, Steinkjer
Steve Morse is in his mid-fifties and the youngest of the five that make up Deep Purple. Still, they manage to deliever heavy rock in its original package: cool bass play, hard-hitting drum play, epic guitaring and screaming vocals. The new material, particulary the songs from "Rapture of the Deep" can hold its own against classics like "Smoke on the Water" and "Fireball", and when Roger Glover does the bass-intro to "Black Night" you know you've gotten your moneys worth! Yours truly would have liked to hear both "Child in Time" and "Burn", but it was still a very good show, even without those two. Highlights: Perfect Strangers, Highway Star

4: Bruce Springsteen, Valle Hovin
The Boss entered the stage at 8pm and didn't leave until 11. A three hour Tour de Force by probably the biggest rock star alive, Springsteen manages to make a stadium rock show as intimate as your regular club concert. The E Street Band is holding up, and you feel like you are part of something special, when you are hanging with Bruce. Few (of 40,000) hardcore fans makes the concert seem like somewhat of a football game, with beer and small-talk, and Bruce had to struggle to get the crowd going on several occasions. Highlights: Atlantic City, Glory Days, The Rising

5: Iron Maiden, Lerkendal
I came to hear "Run to the Hills", and I got much more. The vocal of Bruce Dickinson really suites Iron Maidens music, and he is an excellent entertainer as well, knowing when to tell stories about Smith not catching any fish while they were there and when to jump up and down. This was actually a working gig for me, so I had to leave FOH around 10.15pm, just when "Run to the Hills" started. The rest of the show was observed from the backstage area, but it was still a great experience. Majestic sound and a great audience created the kind of atmosphere you would want at a show.

...and the worst concert I attended this summer:

WE, Steinkjer
This metal-band from Oslo played before Deep Purple, so I only caught their last 6 or 7 songs, but it felt like an eternity. The lead singer could not get the crowd going (they were there for Deep Purple anyway), when he spoke to the crowd he sounded like he played the oboe or some other classical instrument (nothing against the oboe, but this was supposed to be a rock show) and he tried to balance the microphone stand in his hand, making him look like a complete jerk. And you know you've come to the wrong show when we start comparing the skill of the musicians to that of those in Sex Pistols. Highlights: It ended, so that DP could enter stage.

This was kind of a long post, but I guess you deserved it, after me falling asleep last night. I have gotten myself a cellular now, so if you feel like you need my American number, let me know and I will share it with you. (For obvious reasons, I'm not posting it here.) I will go and put sheets on my bed now, I'll see you guys after my placement tests tomorrow. Good night!