Arvika festival 2004

The forests of Värmland were filled with people attending the annual Arvikafestivalen this weekend. One of the main attractions happened to be four old men from Germany, the legendary Kraftwerk. Florian Schneider brought a knitted hat and the radioactivity was there for you and me.

After three days of mayhem, it was a tranquil experience to see their show on the largest stage. Unlike the dozens of previous gigs on the festival, the audience stood absolutely still and absorbed every note in the subtle performance. I think that this was their first tour in Sweden since 1991.

Kraftwerk.

I heard that there were 17 000 visitors on the last day. Maybe that large number had something to do with the fact that the festival gave free admission to all over 50, which probably was well suited for Kraftwerk fans in particular. But since Kraftwerk alone costed the arrangers 3 million sek and they only sold a total of 11 520 tickets, it seems they were at a financial loss after all.

But there were certainly a lot of other stuff going on for three days. Skinny Puppy was the main event of the first day. Nivek Ogre appeared in a ragged bird-beak costume, like the evil sibling of the bird girl from Walking In My Shoes by Depeche Mode. They opened with I’mmortal, the first track from their new album, and it worked surprisingly well. There were also great songs from VIVI Sect VI, Rabies, The Process and more.

Douglas McCarthy from Nitzer Ebb is certainly not unknown in the electronic scene and a lot of people were squeezing into the Andromeda tent to see his new project Fixmer/McCarthy. This was their first gig in Sweden and it started fantastic with Join in the chant. But things took a weird turn as two people jumped onto the stage and stripped naked.

Lustans Lakejer did a good show, but their music is better suited for small dark clubs than a sunny afternoon at the largest stage.

Sun and mud at the camping area.

I also had a look at Broder Daniel, Faithless, Auf Der Maur, This fish needs a bike (the new project by Eddie Bengtsson), Wolfsheim, Sara Noxx, Iris (their first gig in Sweden), Keane, Spectralized, Weeping Willows, Meshuggah, My Dying Bride and more.

Now it’s time to catch up on sleep and eat something else than moose kebab.