Norway has always taken Mew very seriously and it’s still the only country (other than Denmark) where And the Glass Handed Kites was certified Gold. We already posted this highly positive Norwegian online review for No More Stories, but as the Danes played in Oslo (Øyafestivalen) yesterday, a bunch of interviews hit online. It’s reasonable to post separately about this majestic country that is Norway. If you understand the language, take a look at this interview from Side 2, this from Aftenbladet, this from ABC Nyheter, this from Musikknyheter, this from Dagsavisen and a video interview from VG Nett (there’s a drummer called Bo Madsen!?!).
For some reason, last night’s show for approximately 4500 people was not received very well from various Norwegian medias, look at the following links: Dagsavisen, VG Nett, Side 2, Dagbladet and NRK Lydverket. Maybe some locals could inform us what went wrong?
I, personally, thought the sound was perfect(new terrain – fucking fantastic). I do think that some (especially those standing way back) might have felt there was missing a certain connection between the band and the audience. But absolutely all my friends (which is quite many at this years Øya), even those who usually don’t even like Mew, loved it. The whole show; music, lights, visuals, impressed them. And walking out of the festival site, I heard a bunch of people mumbling that the concert was great.
this review explains what I thought was missing a bit. More new songs! :http://oslopuls.aftenposten.no/musikk/article246022.ece
Mew playing live is a weird thing for the Norwegian media, I’ve noticed.. They never get really satisfied. Sometimes, I wonder if they just want Jonas to speak a lot more during the concerts. Blah.
I was there, at the first row, and I have never seen Mew any better than that! Jonas was dancing(!!) around, the band played beautiful and all the songs blended perfectly together. The lightshow and the visual effects was also perfect. The media in Norway does not get Mew, they don’t understand them. The concert was amazing!!!
I stood in the middle at the first row too. It was utterly amazing, I can’t really grasp what the Norwegian announcers are complaining about. The crowd was waving and clapping with their hands and dancing throughout the whole concert. It was fantastic. Jonas, Bo, Silas, Bastian and Dr. Nick – they were all spectacular. Jonas was dancing (especially to the NMS songs), and Bo and Silas were really jamming through every beat. As this was my first time seeing Mew, the concert lived up to all my expectations.
Where I stood, the sound was awful and simply destroyed NT and IPP. And then he sound improved to tolerable, and suited the Kites section well, not to mention Repeaterbeater.It was not Mew at their best, I would say, but a decent gig.
I did get the impression that the energy was dissipating towards the end of the concert, that is something I have sensed during some of the less than good gigs, where the guys seem to be not really present. I think that some of the concert reviews punish them for this.