Live Review: THE HELLACOPTERS at Bergenfest, Bergen Norway (2023)

Thanks to the wonderful people from the Bergenfest organization, our city was visited by the legendary Swedish rockers The Hellacopters. If we trust the website Setlist.fm, this is the first performance of The Hellacopters in the second-largest city in Norway since 2003 when they performed at Hulen club. Prior to that, they played at the end of the previous century, in 1999 to be precise, at the legendary Garage Bergen, which unfortunately (and shamefully) no longer exists today.

It’s almost summer, and the festival season has officially begun, both worldwide and in one of the rainiest cities on the planet – Bergen. Quite literally. This summer, which is not yet officially recognized on the calendar, has reached temperatures of up to 25 degrees Celsius these days, which is magnificent for local standards. Not only have people rushed to the streets to sunbathe, but the more daring ones have even gone swimming in the icy waters of North Atlantic, Additionally, a good number of music fans have decided to spend their time at concerts as well.

The festival season was confidently opened by Iron Maiden, just a week ago in the same venue, and now it’s time for Bergenfest itself. We’ll talk about the festival itself some other time, I promise! Now, let’s focus on the main subject of this article, the second day of the festival and the performance of The Hellacopters.

For me personally, there were many “firsts” on this June 15th, 2023. Despite living in Bergen for many years, this was my first time stepping foot at Bergenfest. It was also my first time as a journalist on an assignment, and I can finally add the first time seeing The Hellacopters perform to that list as well.

According to the festival schedule, the band was supposed to perform at 7:30 PM. Almost exactly on time, with a minute precision, to the sound of a helicopter-like ellipse (I’m not sure of the exact model, but I know for sure that it’s unique in the world), Dregen, Nicke Andersson, Robert Eriksson, Anders Lindström, and Dolf DeBorst step onto the stage, each taking their positions in front of the area called Plenen, which was filled with the audience in just a few minutes before the show, thanks to the clever positioning of the two main stages. With the introductory beats of the opening guitar chords gradually replacing the sound of the ellipse from the speakers, the band starts off their set with the mighty riff of “Hopeless Case of a Kid In Denial.” A well-known hit as an opener and sharp guitars cutting through the sound more fiercely than the afforementioned helicopter’s ellipse made a grandiouse opening to the concert, no doubt! Dregen immediately starts flirting with the audience on his side of the stage, in his well-known style, while Nicke, as the true leader, holds all the strings in his hands in the middle of the stage, somewhat seriously, but in his unique style. Dolf, Robert, and Anders hold the course in the background firmly. The machine is revving up and shows no intention of stopping any time soon. This is proven by the seamless transition from the opening song to the next one, “Crimson Ballroom,” without a pause. After that, the band greets the Bergen audience, serving as an introduction to the next track, “Carry Me Home.”

This hurricane-like start of the concert, as is the case with the legends of garage-scandi-rock music, doesn’t intend to stop because the first song from their latest album this evening, “Positively Not Knowing,” follows the opening trio of songs. Despite being unfamiliar to most of the audience, it is embraced thanks to its vibe and the explosiveness of the guys on stage. Leading the pack in this regard is the guitarist with his lowered 335 Custom made Gibson, better known as Dregen. He holds the stage performance in the palm of his hand and genuinely has a wild time on stage with his bandmates and the audience as well. This is the man who, along with Nicke, founded The Hellacopters and previously also started the famous sleazy-punk-rock quartet Backyard Babies.

After this song, another riff-driven hurricane, “You Are Nothin’,” from the now-distant album “Payin’ the Dues” from 1997, follows. Then comes the first real “shock”, for the uninitiated, and a complete change of vibe with “So Sorry I Could Die” from their latest album. It’s a song perfect for some dark and smoky bar, completely in some kind of a moody dark-jazz style. Something that may not seem fitting for a band like The Hellacopters… But you know what? It fits incredibly well! And not just in smoky bars but also on the grand stage of Bergenfest, illuminated by Nordic sun. Nicke Andersson masterfully performs the aforementioned song, in his raspy vocal flavor, and the piano parts by Anders Lindström come to the forefront in this song as well.

The first third of the concert concludes more than successfully, and this is the moment when the machine shifts into fifth gear again because next up is the lucid “Toys and Flavors,” followed by an extended garage rock jam from their first album titled “TAB.” On this one, somewhere in the middle, Dregen tries out all his pedal potentiometers while alternating cool sounding crispy solos with Nicke. It’s a fantastic introduction to what’s to come, and that is one of The Hellacopters’ ultimate hits, “The Devil Stole the Beat From the Lord,” when the audience immediately starts to move around with more energy. After that, the band presents another song from their latest album to the Bergen crowd, “Try Me Tonight,” one with the irresistible melody which proves to be an excellent choice for live performances.

A short break for a freshening up, or a smoke – pause for Dregen, is also the moment when bassist Dolf DeBorst, who is actually from New Zealand, introduced himself to the crowd. A cool guy who fits in perfectly with The Hellacopters crew. Visually he is the exact opposite of the leading duo (Nicke and Dregen), which gives the band more balanced picture in terms of visuals and stage performance. All of that served as a lead-in for Nicke to announce the next song, “Rainy Days Revisited.” But this time, NO! There is no rain in Bergen, as far as all of us here are concerned. It doesn’t have to rain ever again, if you ask me! Take that, rain! Rainy days are not revisited this June 2023! After that, the band launches into their latest big hit from the last yearr’s album, “Eyes of Oblivion,” with opening riff which is actually a dual-twin lick performed by Nicke and Dregen. The audience went wild on this song. Absolute madness ensues, and it’s more than evident that the band noticed it from the stage. The next two songs, “Soulseller” and the famous “By the Grace of God,” flew like a tornado accompanied by ovations, hands raised high, and moshing in the center, that the guy in front security row of the stage unsuccessfully tried to calm down. I just don’t understand why he even tried. Let people enjoy this explosive rock ‘n’ roll performance the way they want!

That’s it! Oh, wait, but it’s not. Just an encore, a guitar change, and a slight refreshment. For the encore, the band delivers a barrage of fire from automatic helicopter machine guns in the following order: “Reap the Hurricane” (an awesome sleazy-rock track from their latest release), “I Am in the Band,” and for the grand finale, the indestructible “Gotta Get Some Action,” which they ended with the same high-raised hand salute as the beginning of the concert. The full circle was completed in a high-energy and highly professional manner by the band.

All in all, it was about an hour and fifteen minutes of fierce, high-quality, and serious rock performance. The kind of performance you could only expect from top-notch masters like Dregen, Nicke, and the crew. Fierce, explosive, dirty, raw, precise, memorable, skillful, and irresistibly charming. That’s how you could briefly describe The Hellacopters’ performance at this year’s Bergenfest. Anyone who found themselves inside the walls of the medieval Bergen fortress on that hot June day, intentionally or not, had the opportunity to listen to a true rock ‘n’ roll lecture delivered by Swedish rock icons. The lesson was given. Those who wanted to enjoy and learn had the chance to witness it from true masters. It was also a fantastic prelude to the later performance by the legend Iggy Pop. Bergenfest did a great job when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll at the festival, but we’ll talk about that another time. As for me, since this is my first concert review, I can only say that I am ecstatic that the subject of the article were The Hellacopters and one of my all-time favorite guitarists, Dregen! To mark this event even more perfect for myself, I got the guitar pick that Dregen threw directly at me as a souvenir! Couldn’t have been any better could it! Thank you The Hellacopters for this fantasting rock ‘n’ roll evening!

Setlist – (the order may not be completely accurate; I am still waiting for confirmation)