Sara Hammerzmith

So here it was, it was time for the first proper concert of the year. Surely, I was attending 70.000 Tons of Metal about a month ago, but that is more of a festival setting, don’t you think?

The day started a lot more chaotic than I intended it to. I had all the intentions to get up in good time (one could say, jetlag has been kicking my butt since I got home from the States) so at the early hour of 14 I woke up and started getting ready. Luckily for me, this was one of the gigs that were rather close to home.

After doing my thing, I got in the car and headed over to the city and the venue. Playing my usual little game on what parking spot I can occupy tonight and hope for the best, and entering the venue a little bit past the dooropenings. The doors opened at 19, and the support act, Electric Boys, were set to start at 19.45.

Now. Frimis is a beautiful venue, looking at it. A very luxurious interior without losing the charm of being a minor venue. I have enjoyed quite a few shows here in the past, Raubtier and Powerwolf to name a few. So it was rather exciting being back, and not to mention, a gig close to home. And before you know it, the clock hit 19.45 and the boys got on the stage.

Electric Boys

Electric Boys is one of those bands I have seen live a lot in my life yet never really listened a lot to. Surely, I have a few albums but that’s about it. They opened up the set very energetically with “Psychadelic Eyes” and swiftly moving into “Groovus Maximus”. Now, their show started rather early so the crowd wasn’t exactly huge, but they sure were feeling it.

“I’ve got a feeling” was next up, followed up “Electrified”. And there’s something that really… I don’t know how to word it, but there is something about Electric Boys that always gets to me. I think it is the way you kind of get immediately sent back in time. A lot of bands age, and I am not saying that in a bad way, but with this band? It is as if time just stopped. Both musically, visually and how they move on stage.

I am instantly transported back and I feel like I am in the “Almost Famous” movie when they rip off the last few songs which were “Mary is a Mystery Girl”, “Domestic Blitz”, “Angel in an Armoured Suit” and “All Lips ‘n Hips” and before you know it, you are sent straight back into reality and back in 2025 and you sort of question yourself of what just happened. The energy on stage suited the feeling of the era impeccably and I enjoyed it all. Thank you, Electric Boys!

No less than 45 minutes later, it was time for the headliner. H.E.A.T.

H.E.A.T

As per usual, “The Heat Is On” is blasted out of the speakers as the video intro is starting to roll, featuring a real nice photo of the band, which brings the thoughts back to the 80’s before giving us an old school computer loading and processing screen, which added to the whole theme of it.

Crash taking the lead, the band appears on stage one by one and they kick off the gig with “Disaster”, the first single of the upcoming album. A bit surprising to me, but nonetheless an amazing opener. They headed straight into “Emergency” which has always, since it was released anyway, been one of my absolute favorites.

By this time, the venue was packed and the energy was GOOD. I am talking like, REAL good. Not just from the band, but from the crowd as well. And it was about to get wilder, as “Dangerous Ground” was next song on the list, followed by crowd-pleaser “Hollywood”.

They continued down the path of “Force Majeure” with “Rise”, “Nationwide” and “Harder to Breathe” which… by the way – was a hella more amazing live than I could ever have imagine when hearing it on the album.

Next up however… I have no words. It was a grand surprise, “In and Out of Trouble”. This song.. I swear. Ever since “Address The Nation” was released some 13 years ago, this song has been my all time favorite. And it NEVER changed. No matter the amount of albums they’ve been putting out, no matter how many times I rediscover their earlier albums… This one remains the same. And while I cannot sit here and say I NEVER heard it live before because I cannot and am not bothered to check right now, getting your own personal favorite song like this.. It just changes something. It changes something in the chemistry in your brain, in your body. And it was.. absolutely amazing live.

If there’s anything H.E.A.T has and has been known for, it would be their stage presence and energy. I know there was some talk back when Grönwall left if it would change, but Kenny’s got the energy to fill… his own boots again, I guess? Either way, it was absolutely magical and the highlight of the entire evening for me.

“Beg Beg Beg” was next song on the list, which is yet another crowdpleaser, but I am not using this word in a derogatory way, if there is anything this band is good at – it is the anthems and the crowdpleasers. And for myself, I think that this is one of the many things that has made them survive for as long as they have.

While the rest of the band exists the stage, Crash remains and delivers an entertaining and great drumsolo which merges into the intro of “Back to the Rhythm”, the song I assumed would be the opening song, but this placement is even better. At this point, you could literally feel the room boiling, and it was about to get better since “Living on the Run” was next on the list.

Kenny stops the show at this point to tell us some news, which I think most of us were aware of at this point – but for those who were not – H.E.A.T is releasing a new album, and while they have already played “Disaster”, they were now about to treat us with another new song off the new album – “Bad Time for Love”.

And I LOVED it. If I wasn’t already excited for the album, I sure am now! Another.. dare I call it classic by now? How long has to pass in a bands lifespan for a song to be called a classic? I don’t know, so I guess I’ll just refer to it as such. Anywho, “1000 Miles” was the next song, and if you are unfamiliar with H.E.A.T., like my boyfriend for instance, you might be recognizing this song from their participation in Melody Grand Prix in 2009 with the same song.

After “1000 Miles”, Kenny has a sentimental speech about how to choose songs on the setlist, and how no matter what you do, no matter what town you go to, there will always be someone who wants this or that song. That every song is someone’s favorite, and wraps it up with him not really caring, because so does he and with that, they fire off “One By One”, which is another amazing song from “Force Majeure”.

At this point, sadly, unfortunately and miserably and all the other words with the same meaning – at this point we had reached the end of the show. I was expecting “A Shot at Redemption”… but much to my surprise, genuine surprise, “Tearing Down the Walls” was in fact the last song. And I do not hate it. Not in the slightest. On the contrary, it just makes so much sense? To wrap it up with that?

With that, the band paid their dues and walked off stage. I got really lucky with a crewmember who was incredibly generous and handed me not only a setlist but also a pick from Sky Davids. I do not know if I thanked him enough for that, but I sure hope he knows it.

This gig though… It was amazing. And it’s like, I always know ok? Like I know H.E.A.T delivers on a whole different level and play in a different league, but it is so incredibly interesting for me to see how… I don’t know. All I know is that I truly needed this. And H.E.A.T, thank you so incredibly much for this amazing evening. I hope to see you soon again.

// Sara

This entry was posted on March 1, 2025 at 7:46 am and is filed under Concerts, Uncategorized with tags electric boys, frimis, h.e.a.t. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.