Dance between chaos and formula in Nibe
After a first festival day where Skalskoven once again showed why Nibe Festival belongs among Denmark’s most atmospheric music events, it was time for the big names. The festival’s special blend of presence, community and strong Danish artists truly came to the fore when Benjamin Hav and Familien as well as The Minds of 99 brought Wednesday’s programme to a close with two very different but equally crowd pleasing concerts.
Benjamin Hav
Nothing at all about what Benjamin Hav does, says and raps is entirely normal. Many of the lyrics are pure nonsense, a mysterious blend of something that sounds like a first impulse and words and phrases that simply sound good together without necessarily making much sense.
What arguably “saves” Benjamin Hav is the music itself, the most irresistible, highly danceable, almost dance-forcing disco funk with strong punches in the bass and deep dives in the drums. It is absolutely impossible to stand still to the driving rhythms and the richly layered, catchy melodies, and over them Benjamin Hav gets away with the most bizarre lyrics that one would hardly want to attempt to interpret.
With the band Familien, Benjamin Hav has assembled a group of highly competent musicians who play with great energy and high spirits, with room for several rounds of intense synchronised dancing. The highlight is clearly a slightly lingering, almost affectionate version of one of the most frequently played radio hits, “Du ligner din mor”. Even the surroundings work well, simple, strongly painted surfaces that look good on the video projections on the back wall.
It is also clearly evident here that Benjamin Hav is very aware of how he presents himself. Fine, lively revisits of solid hits, and a single newer one, “Portugal”, which can only grow with every listen. Traditionally, Benjamin Hav ends by beating the life out of a bouquet before throwing the sad remains out to the audience. Apart from a single flower head, which he sniffs at and then puts in his mouth. And then farewell and thanks to the sound of “We Are Family” with Sister Sledge. Nothing about Benjamin Hav is entirely normal.
Minds på fast formel
Very few Danish bands have risen in popularity as quickly as Minds of 99, who even have dedicated crowds of fans who faithfully follow the musicians from concert to concert. That may seem surprising, because Minds of 99 certainly contain an element of something communal and sing-along friendly.
But over large parts of their concerts there is also something inward-looking and less welcoming. On the one hand, it is hard not to sing along to the band’s simplest and most pop-oriented songs. On the other hand, you are mostly left as an observer in front of a shop window when the musicians launch into yet another driving experiment, either hard-edged rock or highly electronic punk.
That sends the audience headlong from the fragile, heartfelt “Som fluer” straight into a rather forceful version of “Hurtige hænder”, and “Ung kniv” also gets a thorough treatment leading towards the ritual closing with “Alle skuffer over tid”. ‘It is nice to be back in Nibe. We have really been looking forward to it,’ says lead singer Niels Brandt, without sounding or looking as if he truly means it.
On the contrary, one might suspect that Minds of 99 have become stuck in a formula. In any case, new songs of the same sharp calibre as their well-known material will soon need to be released to maintain the strong interest of recent years.
Billede (c) Martin Damgård, Hverdagsvinkler.dk
