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

[Richard Pascoe]

On 2017-07-18 11:21, Knut Svendsen wrote:
> 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.


Thanks Knut - seems like a good one...



> 
> 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
> 
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