Sometimes you forget you’re not eighteen anymore, especially at festivals. We’ve almost recovered now after four days and nights filled with music, great weather and good people at Roskilde Festival, this year celebrating their 40. anniversary, and it’s time to look back. As usual Scandinavia was solidly represented on the five stages, and here’s what and who we remember seeing in between naps and the general debauchery that is part of any really good festival experience.

NOTE: All photos by kind permission of RockPhoto, the official festival photographers. See more and buy your favorites at RockPhoto.dk.

Sólstafir (ISL)
With the possible exception of Lemmy from Motörhead, Svavar Austmann was the coolest bass player at this year’s Roskilde Festival (and bear in mind that John Paul Jones and Paul Simonon played there too). The Sólstafir bassist is large, pale, Icelandic, ginger haired, sporting a Pippi Longstocking hairdo – and he plays really fast, really mean and really dark. I loved the crazy metallers’ last effort ‘Köld’, so my expectations was high before the concert, but Sólstafir delivered on every level. They are great on record, but mindmeltingly awesome live. Especially a ridiculously long version of the title track from ‘Köld’ made my Thursday. (TB)

John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen (NO)
Back in February I spoke highly of John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen’s debut album ‘For Sant Til Å Være Godt’, hailing the amazing, British influenced and delightfully imperfect delivered rock songs conveying a feeling of immediacy and absolute necessity. Live John Olav (who reminded me a bit of Familjen in stature and gesture) and the gang were just that; delightfully imperfect and absolutely immediate, pleasing me and not least the many Norwegians in the audience, who turned the concert in to a sing-a-long blowout from the get-go. (PK)

Meshuggah (SE)
Due to some technical difficulties it took a while before the concert with the Swedish death metal veterans kicked in. But when it did, it kicked our heads in. Meshuggah are masters of grueling riffs and technical wizardry, and while frontman Jens Kidman may not be the best vocalist of all time he has a great stage presence and I have a distinct idea that his aggression isn’t just an act. I’m sure he’s angry as hell all the time and pissed off even when he’s at the store buying milk. Or, goat’s blood or whatever he puts on his cereal. (TB)

Circle (SF)
The Finnish experimental metal band Circle is an acquired taste. At least live. They are weird and unpredictable, which certainly is an endearing quality and when they are at their best they sound like Judas Priest gone mental. Not least because Jussi Lehtisalo can sing the socks of Rob Halford if he wants to. Unfortunately he doesn’t want to that often and way to many songs in Roskilde ended up in pointless jams and unfocused… Well, noise really. That being said I will be following the Finns in the future. (TB)

Teddybears (SE)
I caught them at Siesta! Festival where they gave it up with an awesome show – and at Roskilde they did it again. Their bastard of rock riffs and aggression, electro beats, hip hop, disco and of course pop hooks (they are Swedish) plus almost whatever else you can think of has a built-in party generator (and the big bear heads don’t hurt either), and the only complaint I have is that they’d been placed at 2.30 in the afternoon and not after dark. (PK)

FM Belfast (ISL)
I told you here that FM Belfast’s concert would be one of the most fun gigs at this year’s Roskilde Festival. And I was right. Live their naïve electropop mix of 70s disco, 80s synthpop, a little early-day Brooklyn hip hop and 90s eurodance (with crowd pleasing covers of among others Rage Against The Machine and Technotronic) have much more oomph, dictating dancing, and it was one of those concerts, where the famed Roskilde audience and band connected completely, the first blindly obeying the latter’s orders and music in a joint effort to make this the greatest party. Which it was. As usual FM Belfast had plenty of friends joining them on stage, among them Borko who got increasingly naked as the concert progressed, their very own Bez (only with a cowbell), who danced on through the whole thing, and a girl with a baby (he/she is off to a good start on life). It was simply a very, very happy place and a true Roskilde moment. (PK)

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (DK)
Maybe you had to be Danish to really appreciate local 90s heroes Dizzy Mizz Lizzy’s return to Roskilde. Or, just be really into angst-ridden, yet awfully catchy grunge like they just doesn’t make it anymore. Dizzy only made two albums in their short lifetime, but their eponymous debut album is the best selling Danish rock album ever and the band has made enough great tracks to keep an audience ecstatic for 90 minutes plus. The great thing about the concert, however, was that even though the audience was ecstatic none were more happy than Tim Christensen, Søren Nielsen and Martin Nielsen, who looked like three little boys being let loose in an all-you-can-eat candy store. (TB)

Lindstrøm & Christabelle (NO)
Back in January italo ‘n space disco whiz Lindstrøm released the great ‘Real Life Is No Cool’ with singer Christabelle, an album rich on cool beats and sex. Live it worked wonderfully for the most part, Lindstrøm’s handling of his beats and the mechanics a particular highlight, but unfortunately Christabelle couldn’t leave the mic alone in the parts where her – otherwise solid – vocal services weren’t required. Which just ended up busting my groove. (PK)

The Kandidate (DK)
6’7” massively tattooed Jacob Bredahl is one of the greatest Danish metal frontmen ever. Watching him jump around like a crazed monkey, growling his head off and delivering clumsy non sequiturs between songs from their debut ‘Until We Are Outnumbered’ was reason enough to enjoy The Kandidate’s show. But not the only. Hardcore isn’t the most melodic of genres, but The Kandidate mixes in a bit of punk and some quite catchy riffs and blends complex song structures with a healthy dose of rock-out-with-your-cock-out-attitude. AND treated us to three new songs and a cool cover of Entombed’s ‘Out Of Hand’. (TB)

Kellermensch (DK)
I have been blabbering about Kellermensch since their debut album was released last year and recently their EP ‘Narcissus’, so it’s hard to come up with new ways to say that they are awesome. So, it’s time to be critical. You know what sucks? Staying awake and semi-sober until 3AM (okay so I napped between 1.45 and 2.45, but still) to watch one of your favourite bands – and then be served a concert that lasts just 43 minutes. Granted, those 43 minutes were totally ace, the band was super tight and still sounds like Tom Waits and Nick Cave fronting a metal band with added violins. But an extra half an hour of music wouldn’t have killed them. (TB)

Robyn (SE)
She played a legendary concert at Roskilde in 2008 and this year she was moved to the second biggest stage, Arena. Which (again) turned out to be too small for the Swedish sensation. A massive crowd stretching far beyond tent limits witnessed (for many in sound more than sight) yet another demonstration of pop greatness by the very energetic and highly charismatic singer and her two drummers/two keyboardists backing band. In one word: Awesome! (PK)

Miike Snow (SE)
Behind the moniker Miike Snow we find Swedish producer team Bloodshy & Avant and the American singer Andrew Wyatt, who released their eponymous debut last year. Backed by three others they delivered their cool electropop with precision, but unfortunately it was a concert that never really got going. (PK)

The Kissaway Trail (DK)
As said way above Roskilde Festival was again blessed with excellent weather and the sun made a perfect backdrop for Danish orchestral rockers The Kissaway Trail late Sunday afternoon. In March they released their brilliant sophomore effort ‘Sleep Mountain’ and live a general highlight is their impressive control, leaving room for every of the many details in their songs. (PK)

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