I can’t believe I missed the death of Timothy West. He died, peacefully, aged 90 on November 12. How well I remember seeing him in Ibsen’s The Master Builder at Guilford in November 1999. He was a consummate actor. However, this post is not a homage to Mr West, as much as I enjoyed his skills. No, this post is about a concert I attended tonight in Nyköping.
My attendance was suggested at my surprise birthday party. KSP and Jonas said they were going to a concert by a band that sounded a lot like Guns & Roses. KSP said I should get a ticket and join them with Anna Boom Boom and her husband Peter (which may not be how his name is spelled, but that’s what it sounds like).
As it turns out, the band is nothing like Guns & Roses and, what KSP actually meant, but which my lack of Swedish did not appreciate, was that the band’s NAME was like Guns & Roses. The band was Armborst & Tulpaner which means Crossbows & Tulips in English. And, as I said, they sound nothing like Guns & Roses.
Actually, I realised this during the week. I listened to them on Spotify. If anything, they sounded more like a rocky folk band. Though, on their website, they do say “Some might call it bullshit…“
As it turned out, I am finding it difficult to define what their genre is. At times, they are very folky, at other times, they seem to wander into punk and there’s always an electric sound and feel. Add to that the fact that tonight’s concert included the Nyköping Philharmonic Orchestra and a poet, and you can probably understand my confusion.
Yes, there was a poet. A very funny and satirical poet. I only know that because, firstly, Jonas told me so, adding that it was difficult to translate and, secondly, because the only English words I understood were ‘orange’, ‘Donald’ and ‘Trump’.
Here he is in full flow.
Behind him, you can see a woman with a violin and a big grin on her face. The blue nose is an accident of lighting. She didn’t stop smiling throughout the whole concert. Afterwards, I mentioned her to Torbjörn, the bass player, who KSP works with, and he said she was the only professional musician in the orchestra, and she generally played with the Nyköping Symphony Orchestra.
But, back to the band. They formed in 1991 in Nyköping and were influenced by lots of bands I’ve never heard of, except for The Pogues. And, if I think about it, yes, they sounded a lot like The Pogues, without being Irish. I’d add to that the fact that the lead singer sounded a lot like Nick Cave and Ian Drury’s love child. I mean that in the nicest possible way.
Of their early concerts, they write that, “Although the set list only consisted of five songs, the band still managed to fill almost 45 minutes by playing all the songs three times.” These days, they have a lot more than five songs. In fact, they managed more than one encore.
Before the concert though, we had to dine at one of Sweden’s premiere restaurants. Anna Boom Boom had insisted that we all go to Max. Needless to say, I’ve never been to Max. Later, Mirinda asked me if it tasted like McDonald’s. I had to say I had no idea because I can’t remember what McDonald’s tastes like.
As far as burgers go, as I said to KSP, it’s been so long since I’ve had one that the Max burger I had tonight, was incomparable. If anything, though, it was very messy and enjoyable.
Mind you, there was a concerning moment when I lifted the top bun and put fries on the top of the bacon and Anna Boom Boom, in a state of shock, demanded to know what I was doing. When I said, all matter of fact., that you always put some fries on the top of your burger, she shook her head vigorously and looked quite pained.
Anyway, back at the concert, things started off as they meant to go on: energetic, humorous and greatly entertaining.
Mind you, not everyone was as enthused as I was.
Three rows in front of me, three people, sitting in the middle left. One of them before the first song ended. I felt very sorry for the poor lady in the aisle seat. She had mobility issues, insisting that the first two squeeze by her legs – she was quite small.
The third person was huge; he was over six foot and looked about two weeks off giving birth to twins. She struggled out of her seat and wobbled a bit as he passed her. She was like me but without the balancing attributes of a stick.
And, of course, everyone was very polite. It was only me who felt it was a bit much. Obviously, I have to work harder on my Swedish cultural norms.
All in all, I absolutely loved the concert. The band had such a great time; their energy at full blast. I can’t say the same for the woman who was sat next to me in the first half. She didn’t come back after the break. I don’t know why, though she spent a long time doing things non-camera related, on her phone, so maybe her cat sitter had left early.
After the show, KSP introduced me to Torbjörn, the bass player with whom she works. He, in turn, introduced me to his wife and daughter. His daughter spoke with a very clipped English accent, which I found slightly disconcerting given her natural Swedish beforehand.
Actually, Torbjörn asked me if I’d understood any of the songs. I honestly replied that I didn’t understand any of it. That’s when his daughter replied that when I learn Swedish, the songs will make a lot more sense and be more enjoyable. I can’t argue with that.
I completely enjoyed the show regardless. I’ll be on the lookout for their next gig. I even bought a t-shirt to wear.
