Live Review: Gluecifer - Cologne 2019

Live Music Hall, Cologne, Germany
9th April 2019
Gluecifer - European Tour 2019 - Special guests: Ondt Blod

20 years ago, a wave of Scandinavian Rock bands swept across Europe - with GLUECIFER from Oslo, Norway at the top of their list. Until their breakup in 2005, GLUECIFER shaped a whole genre over five albums. In 2018 the band around front man Biff Malibu and Captain Poon appeared on stage again in their hometown Oslo for the first time in 13 years. The four concerts were sold out in the twinkling of an eye, and the audience gave them a grandiose reception back on stage. The reactions spoke for themselves, and some said the band sounded “better than ever”.


Ondt Blod

Opening the evening were ONDT BLOD, which is a Norwegian Hardcore Punk quintet from Kirkenes. They have formed in 2017 and have a recently released their second LP called ‘Natur’. https://www.facebook.com/ondtblodband / www.ondtblod.com

Music & Performance
Shortly before 8pm, the lights went low and a mystically sounding intro started resounding from the speakers. The members of ONDT BLOD went on stage and started to perform their version of Hardcore infused version of Punk. Singer Aslak Heika Hætta Bjørn got rid of his traditional Norwegian robe pretty soon, as it was already quite hot inside the venue.



Compared to earlier performances, ONDT BLOD have added electronic interludes to their songs, while maintaining a certain complexity in their rhythm patterns. Although the Norwegian lyrics clearly prevented anyone from understanding anything, more and more people chose to come inside and join the crowd watching the 30-minute set. Aslak and his crew did their best to entertain the crowd. However, there was no real connection between the band and the audience, and the crowd’s reaction stayed relatively mute throughout the gig.

Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 5
Sound: 6
Light: 5
Total: 5.5 / 10

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Gluecifer

In 1994 GLUECIFER started in Oslo, Norway. At that time, they were still a punk band, but they attracted attention with a few underground releases, so that after a short time they were signed on the Swedish label White Jazz (THE HELLACOPTERS). Excessive tours through Europe and the USA, hundreds of concerts, five albums and numerous other releases shaped GLUECIFER's 16-year history. With ‘Automatic Thrill’, the most commercially successful album was released in 2004 and marked the artistic highlight of the band. The following year, the band announced their dissolution with the promise never to return to a stage again. They couldn't keep this promise. Fortunately. Check out www.gluecifer.net or https://www.facebook.com/glueciferofficial.



Music & Performance
Shortly before 9pm, the speakers began blasting ‘Let the Good Times Roll’ from JD McPherson. After that the lights went out, and GLUECIFER drummer Danny Young opened up the set by picking up the rhythm of the opener ‘I got a war’, while the other band members joined him on stage. Last one to appear on stage was singer Biff Malibu, who looked like a quiz show host in his white dinner jacket. Once assembled on stage, the band put the pedal to the metal music wise, and the ensuing music sent the mosh pit into frenzy with beer cups flying through the air. A few of those landed also on stage, one even hit Biff’s microphone, but the band members took it like the pros they are, and the gig continued full throttle. The audience seemed to be more than happy for the band to return more than 14 years after their last gig in the same venue.



Songs like ‘Car Full of Stash’, ‘Here Come the Pigs’, or ‘Black Book Lodge’ still unfolded their impact on the crowd, which enjoyed the uncompromising Garage Rock’n’Roll music GLUECIFER played. The band even offered two encores, and the fans inside the sold-out Live Music Hall were seemingly very happy that GLUECIFER has followed THE HELLACOPTER’s example and has re-united as a band.

Setlist
01. I Got A War
02. Automatic Thrill
03. Take It
04. Go Away Man
05. A Call From the Other Side
06. Car Full of Stash
07. Reversed
08. Shotgun Seat
09. God's Chosen Dealer
10. Shaking So Bad
11. Losing End
12. Evil Matcher
13. Get the Horn
14. Brutus
15. Put Me on a Plate
16. Here Come the Pigs
17. Bossheaded
18. Desolate City
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19. The Year Of Manly Living
20. Black Book Lodge
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21. Easy Living
22. Rockthrone

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 8 / 10

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All Pictures by Markus Felix