Spids Nøgenhat

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author BV date 09/11/13 venue Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DEN

Following what could probably be called something of a minor breakthrough with their long-awaited sophomore album, ”Kommer Med Fred”, Spids Nøgenhat announced a series of 3 concerts to mark this very special occasion. This, the third of these shows, was set to take place in Pumpehuset – a venue that is, in my humble opinion, perfectly suited for psychedelic visuals, musical freak-outs and near-ritualistic chanting of some of the Danish language’s most memorable lyrics. It was therefore with an immense feeling of excitement and eager anticipation that I entered Pumpehuset to witness the live spectacle that is Spids Nøgenhat.

All photos by Julie Weitmann Decome

Spids Nøgenhat

After a highly psychedelic DJ-set, Spids Nøgenhat entered the stage around 21:30. As frontman Uffe ’Guf’ Lorenzen near-chanted the words; “Vi er Spids Nøgenhat og vi kommer med fred!” (we are Spids Nøgenhat and we come in peace!), the concert kicked off with the opening track of their latest album, “Mere Lys”. The bombastic beginning immediately got the crowd going and as the enthralling visuals of Sebastian ‘Zeppo’ Bülow sprawled around on Pumpehuset’s walls, using just about everything as a canvas, it became abundantly clear that this wasn’t just a mere concert. This was a good, old-fashioned freak-out. More so, the introduction of an aged classic in the form of “Hobittens Flyvetur” unleashed a thunderous applause, followed by attempts to sing along to the track. Despite not quite reaching the exact tempo, nor performance of the lyrics, the sing-along attempts came off as distinctly flattering as they showed off Spids Nøgenhat’s recent mass appeal to a crowd consisting of the young and the old, the hipsters and the hippies.

As the band launched into one of their ‘signature tracks’, “Det Psykedeliske Tapet”, the crowd sang along to the lines; ’Har du set mit psykedeliske tapet? / har du set mit psykedeliske tapet? / Jeg lover dig / det er det smukkeste du nogensinde har set’ in an almost ritualistic, chanting kind of way. - Like a tribe awaiting the shaman’s every move through a performance that, at this point, was most of all shaping up to be more of a séance, than a concert per se. The signature echo-bubbles of Henrik ‘Hobitten’ Klitstrøm and the driving fuzz guitar of Morten ‘Aron’ Larsen distinguished themselves as perfect contrasts forming a yin to the yang, effectively creating a space somewhere between spaced out and strangely earthbound.

On one of those rare, almost superfluous, occasions when words were actually uttered in between songs, Lorenzen introduced the following song simply by stating; ‘Here’s another track from our new album’. As the opening guitar figure of “Spids Nøgenhat I Græsset” made its appearance, yet another occasion for sing-alongs seemed to rear its head. Strangely so, the following track, “Når Spindelvævene Blomstrer”, lulled the crowd into a near-perfect state of utterly mesmerized joy, astounded and confounded by the ever-evolving visuals and the sheer beauty of the track. The hauntingly simple organ figures and the slow, enthralling echo-bubbles stemming from the guitars were as captivating as they were simple and time flew by in one of those rare instances where time was not of the essence and the outside world couldn’t matter less. Once again, the shift between slow, beautiful songs and faster-paced ‘hits’ worked to a particularly successful extent, as the band’s single, “Lolland Falster”, generated massive response in the room, evoking frantic sing-alongs like Lolland, Lolland Falster! and an insane amount of arms in the air, signifying that Spids Nøgenhat aren’t just psychedelic craftsmen – they’re apparently also hit-makers.

As Spids Nøgenhat approached a crowd-favorite in the form of “Den Gennemsigtige Mand”, the air in Pumpehuset, at this point filled with a dense, unmistakably sweet-smelling smoke, seemed to be perfectly fitting for the slow, haunting epic that this track unfolds to become. As the catchy chorus ’Mand, kan du ikke se / at jeg kan se lige igennem dig / mand, kan du ikke se / at du er lige så gennemsigtig som mig? was being sung, the crowd chanted along with their hands raised, and at this point there was no doubt in my mind. – In all the time I’ve been a Spids Nøgenhat fan, they’ve probably never sounded better live.

With the last track before the encore, “Hvad Har Du Taget”, the vibe in the room was ecstatic and as Spids Nøgenhat launched into an extended jam over the basic riff of “Hvad Har Du Taget” taking the song past the double of its studio runtime, the crowd seemed just as ecstatic as the band – resulting in an abundance of frantic smiles, psychedelic dancing and bouncing around and a soundscape most of all reminiscent of a Danish version of Hawkwind. – In other words, a truly mind-blowing experience that I can only imagine would have been even better, had I actually indulged myself in something more than plain old beer.

Coming back for a round of encores, Spids Nøgenhat slowly launched into “Fred”, the all-acoustic closing drone of their recent album “Kommer Med Fred”. The mantra-like nature of the lyric ”Kommer med fred / kommer med fred / kommer med fred / alle skal med” made for an easy sing-along supplemented by wave after wave of peace signs in the air, topping off the unmistakable hippie/freak/stoner vibe of the evening whilst the track slowly evolved beyond its acoustic confines to transform into a slow, heavy and fuzzy drone. Following a captivating cover version of Røde Mor’s “Lil’ Johnny’s Mund”, the band launched into a track that, even though it isn’t a Spids Nøgenhat song per se, seems to have manifested itself as a key element of their live shows - namely “Ud På Landet”, a hymn written about the countryside which appropriately ended their first set of encores with the chanting of the closing lyric ”Er vi de sidste her på jorden?”.

Some five minutes went by whilst the crowd, including myself, loudly chanted the closing lyric and as the band reappeared for their final encore of the evening, Lorenzen remarked with a smirking grin; “These are the rules; If you keep singing after the song we just played, this is what you get. In other words, you had it coming…” – Following this bold statement, the band launched into a track that is as legendary as it is obscure: “Udkoksning I Tre Satser” by the near-ancient Danish band called Cinderella. This veritable plethora of freak-outs and psychedelic guitar solos was forcefully underlined by the steady and powerful bass grooves of Anders ‘Moody Guru’ Skjødt and the sublime drumming of Anders ‘Fuzz Daddy’ Grøn. This venture into ancient, yet not entirely forgotten psychedelia, was a treat like nothing else to the large number of psych aficionados in the room and served the purpose of creating a powerful ending to one of the most memorable gigs I have experienced in recent years. – Both in my time as a reviewer, but also as a concert-goer in general. As the 120 minute-long gig came to a powerful ending, a select few of the crowd members continued the chanting in the hope of yet another encore – however I, for one, walked out into the brisk November night on my own, fully satisfied and reassured of the fact that Spids Nøgenhat is something quite unique to experience live.

10

Setlist:

  • 1. Mere Lys
  • 2. Lever Vi Nu?
  • 3. Hobittens Flyvetur
  • 4. Giv Slip
  • 5. Det Psykedeliske Tapet
  • 6. Spids Nøgenhat I Græsset
  • 7. Når Spindelvævene Blomstrer (Tømrerclaus cover)
  • 8. Lolland Falster
  • 9. Den Gennemsigtige Mand (Hyldemor cover)
  • 10. Jorden Kalder
  • 11. Vand, Brød og Te
  • 12. Hvad Har Du Taget?

--Encore--

  • 13. Fred
  • 14. Lil’ Johnny’s Mund (Røde Mor cover)
  • 15. Ud På Landet (Aron cover)
  • 16. Udkoksning I Tre Satser (Cinderella cover)

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