Archives for “Music” tag

This is a tiny little bar located in Grønland, very close to center. I like it best due its small size and the fact that at all the concerts I’ve been there, it almost felt like you’re part of the band since you get to sit so close to the small stage surrounded by red curtains.

It is not a bar where you will see big names in the music scene and I don’t think they have a specific genre they play. The bar is associated with the NISS school, the Norwegian institute for scene and studio. Hence, it’s most likely that the concerts are held by various projects of the students, but you never know when one of them is going to be big one day. I have seen some really talented musicians there. And the sound is good enough for such a small venue.

If you happen to be a musician yourself and look for a place to perform, check out their website because they are often looking for bands.

The concert tickets are usually much cheaper than in any other places and as far as I heard, the income for the tickets represent the band’s pay for the evening.

Opened recently (November 2011), the PopCenter (as a literal translation) aims at offering a history of the Norwegian musical scene, from its first recording until recent famous artists we maybe all have heard of. The history lesson is combined with a fun and interactive musical experience. Plus, various exhibitions would be held in the building and they are listed on their website.

The visit is a cursive one for the first part as you start walking the corridors whose walls are decorated with photo frames, each showing some information (in the form of motion pictures) about a certain year, period or event that has set a milestone at its own time. Due to the fact that they use videos instead of just photos, it almost manages to give a Harry Potter feeling. And in between the bunch of information you can admire all sort of old devices used back in the days to create, record or reproduce sounds and music.

Once the history lesson is done, the fun begins. You have two floors offering genuine musical experiences, with studio rooms in which you can record yourself singing or playing drums, a bunch of interactive boards with information on artists and musical locations, a dressing room where you can have photos taken and turn them into album covers. Plus funky seats for rest or a room where you can draw your favorite song.

It’s all a true and fun journey into the history of Norwegian music. With interesting items in the giftshop.

Since I’m in the country that provides the world with a significant number of extreme rock/metal bands, I should mention one of the popular places where the fans of such genres meet and listen to their favorite artists.

It has a central location, on one of the streets crossing the main tourist street (Karl Johann), right next to one of the subway exists from Strotinget. They often host a concert on the small stage inside – for their schedule check their myspace page. If you go there there on an evening with a concert, the entrance is no longer free. Although there haven’t been many concerts lately.

They have a pool table where you can have fun with your friends. I have seen both cases when the DJ takes requests and refuses them, so I am uncertain about the rule of the house. The bartenders have interesting outfits and metal looks sometimes and it happened that I ran into a musician from one of the local rock bands. Maybe the biggest challenge is to recognize them without makeup and the amount of spikes that they wear at their concerts. Nevertheless, I find it a friendly place where you can easily have a chat with anyone. If it’s too warm inside, they have a couple of tables outside for smokers and you can take the drink outside at any time, a rare thing in Oslo bars.

If you visit Oslo and happen to have some skates, a board or a bike with you, you might want to go and do some tricks at this skating park located right next to the Dyvekes bro bus station. It is one of the biggest in Oslo.

I personally don’t skate or anything, but I find it fascinating to look at the tricks that people manage to do there, at the graffiti artists that fill the walls all over the place or at the dancers under the bridge who take advantage of the tunes played by a DJ. It’s especially interesting to see how the graffitis change all the time and how they end up in a cool design from a bunch of initial stripes.

The stage under the bridge is known as GSF (Gamlebyen Sport og Fritidand). GSF occasionally hosts concerts in the evenings, mainly with underground music styles. I found this website with a few concerts scheduled, but I usually find out about them from the posters placed in the city. A really nice initiative from the municipality and certainly a special kind of entertainment for a lazy sunny day.

A place with a well established fame in the history of Oslo live music, Buckleys is located in the heart of the city, on the other side of Karl Joann street from the Parliament building.

It’s a quiet location to enjoy drinks outside on a summer day or evening, since it’s on a side street rather than surrounded by other crowded noisy places. But my main purpose when visiting the place was to attend some acoustic concerts and I must say that Buckleys is a perfect location for such performances.

A small stage in a corner, enough lights for a cozy atmosphere, good sound compared to the size of the pub and most of all tables that are one meter away from the stage, hence the intimacy level of the concert is enhanced. You should check their website for a list of events as you might be in for some sweet surprises.

The place can also be booked if you’re interested in performing yourself. During the summer there are outside concerts every Saturday from 4 PM. Buckleys works in close collaboration with Oslo bluesklubb, thus it offers the chance for young musicians to play their music on the pub’s stage through a program called ‘Rampelys’