THE POLYPHONIC SPREE
[10.12.04, Oslo, Norway]
A summary of the event posted on the Polyphonic Spree forum late December 2004.
I had been looking forward to seeing the Hidden Cameras this December. I don't often go to concerts, and it's a rare occasion that a band I actually like is performing here in Norway, near where I live.
I also found out that The Polyphonic Spree would be playing the same week. Again, fairly close to where I lived. What were the odds of that happening! Rarely attending any kind of concerts, and now I'd suddenly be attending two in one week. This definitely made my December!
Unfortunately, one thing led to another, and I missed the Hidden Cameras. I was grumpy and sad for the remainder of that day, but I found some comfort in the thought that "Well, at least I'll still get to see the Polyphonic Spree."
The tickets for the Polyphonic Spree concert were put out on sale only four days before the actual concert. I still hadn't gotten any clear answers on who wanted to go with me yet, so I stayed home the first day the tickets were out to make the necessary phone calls. Later, I read online that the tickets were sold out in 15 minutes.
So I had gone from two to one to zero concerts in just a few days, and my festive season mood had pretty much been done away with, as these were the only things I had to look forward to this December.
My mood slowly returned over the next few days though, when I found out that The Polyphonic Spree were holding an a capella mini-concert at a record store, situated at the Oslo City shopping mall in Oslo. So I was now back up to one concert, and looking forward to the event.
I managed to get two friends to come with me, both of which had never
heard anything by the band before (but it was a free event, after all).
We met up 45 minutes before it was set to start, and found out that no
one at the record store knew where it was going to be held, nor that it
was an a
capella concert (which I had read on the record store's website). One
employee thought it was going to be held in one of the more open areas
of the mall, which wasn't far from the record store.
Eventually, Tim DeLaughter showed up, and I must have been giggling like a school girl on the inside. He stood right behind me, and I kept turning and looking over my shoulder as he was being interviewed for a Norwegian TV show.
Eventually the rest of the band shows up, all lining up, and some crew
members as well, one of which I presume was a tour manager of sorts, and
several people with cameras and video cameras. Surprisingly many. I'm
usually one who gets easily lost in crowds, as I don't like to push my
way
forward, but still upset about the other two concerts and determined to
not miss this one in any way, I stood my ground proudly right at the front,
among the camera men.
I had brought my mp3 unit along as well, dangling from the neckstrap that it had come packaged with, as I thought it would be interesting to record it for personal use. I was a bit nervous though, as I wasn't sure whether or not it was legal to record their concert, even though I wouldn't be bootlegging it.
They eventually started performing -- but it wasn't a capella, as had been advertised, but acoustic. And I'm not sure if it could have been called a mini-concert either, as they only performed one song. Still, it was a lot of fun to watch and listen to! I had no idea what song it was, as I hadn't heard or bought their newest album just yet.
The crowd applauded, Tim DeLaughter told everyone to go and buy their
album, and everyone else looked a bit unsure as to what was going on.
One kid shouted halfheartedly, "We want more!" He wasn't standing
very far from where I was standing. The one I presumed was the tour managed
walked up to him and said "Hey kid, are you coming to the show tonight?"
The kid said no, and the
tour manager said he could get him a ticket. "Really? You can do
that?" I vaguely remember the kid saying (but I may be wrong), the
kid adding that he didn't have any money there, but that he'd go get some.
The tour manager said something about where he would be, either being
around or being in the tour bus.
I just listened in shock, wondering to myself if I should be rude enough to actually ask him for a ticket -- maybe even going on at a length at how my much I'd looked forward to seeing them, about the other concert, and how the highlights of the December month had been ruined for me -- but I didn't. I felt that it would be too rude, and I felt too awkward.
Then the band walked into the record store, walking around, and I followed them. Oddly enough, I hadn't seen a copy of the new Polyphonic Spree album out on the shelves anywhere, which I thought was very bad marketing on the record store's side. There were several posters all over the place, advertising for the mini-concert.
I saw a fellow philodophy student, surprisingly enough, getting one of the mini-concert posters signed by the band members, going around to ask them all. I considered doing the same, and I had actually asked earlier before the show for permission to grab one of the posters once the band had played. But I didn't have a pen, and I felt that it would be a bit awkward. And eventually, the band left.
Photograph © Aftenposten