[Heeplist] Review of Uriah Heep in Oslo, July 15

[Knut Svendsen]

I was very excited when Uriah Heep scheduled the show at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway, that took place last Saturday night. They played a festival in Brønnøysund in Northern Norway the night before, and they were playing the Ukraine the following night solidifying Heep´s reputation as the hardest working band in rock and roll.

Rockefeller is a rock club that takes about 1300+ people when full, and it looked fairly sold-out. We went an hour early to an unofficial before-party to have a drink. Doors opened at 8pm and we got in line 10 minutes before as it began to get crowded. 

The guys in front of us showed us pics of Bernie and Mick. Apparently, they had been outside a few minutes previous to greet fans but we missed it. Once inside, we found the bar for another couple of rounds as we had an hour to kill.

Heep was supposed to go on stage at 9.30, but at 9.16 the lights went out and a low hum filled the room. Out comes Mick and the band kicking it with a compact and ferocious version of Gypsy. They went almost straight into Look at Yourself; no small talk as the band is racing towards what I believe is a 11pm curfew on music downtown Oslo.

Then Shadows of Grief. First time I heard them play it live. It really rocked, and Russell proved his worth behind the drums as he drove the band forward with pace and power. The in to a familiar version of Sunrise - as we know it with this line-up - before the first new classic: The Law. 

I would have believed that many in the audience had not heard this song before, but the crowd rocked to this song. Then the song I was waiting for: Magician´s Birthday. Mick stuck to the main structure of the solo, but extended it to what seemed like a 6-7 minute long duel with Russell. Smoking´stuff.

Then a breather with One Minute before (another) ferocious number, Between two Worlds. A lot harder than the recorded version. Then came July Morning with a bass solo by Mr Rimmer reminiscent of the late Trevor Bolder. His frets lit up as he played this song, very cool.

Then Mick brought the acoustic guitar. I wonder what they are gonna play now (probably the effect of the brew) before they went in to a swinging version of Lady in Black, of course. The audience really took it all out singing along with the band.

Encore: What else than some Easy Livin´. 

It all came to a close too early, more Heep, more Heep. But a good time was had by all. We had a final drink in the bar before venturing out in the Oslo night hoping that it won´t be too long before we see the band again.

Knut