By Per Ole Hagen, Rock At Night Oslo, Norway Correspondent and Artist Pictures Blog
Venue: Sukkerbiten, an outdoor arena by the waterfront in Oslo.
Turbonegro is one of Norway’s internationally best known bands. They started out in 1989 and have been active since then, except for three years between 1999 and 2002. They have also changed personnel during the years, going through several singers, drummers and guitarists. The one constant member all the time has been Happy Tom. On May 16th they played at Sukkerbiten in Oslo.
A concert with Turbonegro is a spectacular experience. Not only because of the band and their special dress and make up code, but also because of their fans, the Turbojugend. They are an international phenomenon, with chapters all over the world. Typical for a member of Turbojugend is the denim jacket with the name of their chapter on the back, plus a white sailor’s cap, the same kind that Happy Tom uses on stage.
Torbonegro’s music is hard, punkish, towards metal, with influences from bands like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest and KISS. The melodies are catchy with some great riffs. Their lyrics are mostly provocative, like “City of Satan”, “Blow Me (Like the Wind)” and “I Got Erection”, and it works like a charm. To see and hear the crowd sing a long on I Got Erection is something to experience. A Turbonegro show is over the top with lots of homo erotic references, and with singer Tony Sylvester as the master of ceremonies.
The concert at Sukkerbiten is the only Norwegian date this summer, but they do a handful of concerts in the USA, Canada and Europe, culminating with the Weltturbojugend-tage in Hamburg late July, where Turbojugend from all the different chapters gather for a Turbonegro festival. The event is sold out already, but there are still tickets for most of their other gigs this summer. If Turbonegro visit your town, go and see them with an open mind, and you will see a musically top notch band with a fun show.
Turbonegro are:
Duke of Nothing – vocals
Happy-Tom, bass
Knut “Euroboy” Schreiner, guitar
Rune “Rune Rebellion” Grønn, guitar
Tommy Manboy, drums
Crown Prince Haakon Marius, keyboard
The setlist from the Oslo concert:
Hot for Nietzsche, We’re a Norwegian Band (Grand Funk), You Give me Worms, All my friends are dead, Are you ready for some darkness?, City of Satan, Blow Me (Like The Wind), Dude Without a Face, I wanna Come, Special Education, Drenched In Blood (D.I.B), Sell your Body To the Night, Wasted Again, Fuck the World, Get it On, Pamparius, Don’t Say Motherfucker, Fuckerfucker. Intros: Song 2, Rebel Rebel, The Way it is, Jump, The Heat is On. Closing songs: Back To Dungaree High, I Got Erection.
Photo Gallery
Videos
Oslo, Norway-May 16, 2016
SoundCloud
Here is Turbonegro’s music on Spotify.
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I started out playing in a band in high school, and kept on for more than ten years. Educated as a musicologist, but have worked in several music related businesses for more than 30 years. Likes many kinds of music, rock, metal, jazz, singer songwriters, classical, country, Americana, etc., but not EDM
I live in Oslo, Norway and attend a lot of festivals every year, shooting for my own blog and RAN. I started out some 18 years ago, and have had several concert photo exhibitions in Norway, Poland, Switzerland and Litauen.
https://artistpicturesblog.com
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