Live report: Randy + Johndoe @ IAT! Clubnight #4, Debaser, Malmö 12/14/07
Frequent readers of It's A Trap! already know that Johndoe are favourites of both Avi and me. The album "Dødvinkel" was one of the best albums released in 2006 and the band delivered on stage as well. Singer Jonas Skybakmoen won't let any language barrier stand in the way of his songs. Their take of singing in Norwegian lifts the songs to higher dimensions, and that's being said from me as a Swede. I have a hard time embracing non-Swedish or non-English speaking music. I envy those who can. In this case however, I absolutely adore the music combined with their lyrics that reek of self-inflicted pain and reflections of an every day situation, it's like poetry really. The indie-/punk rock of this Trondheim-based quartet is similar to The Clash and MABD and even though the focus is on the melodies and not so much on the guitar riffs anymore, it's hard to not mention Randy on the list of influences. The dub sound of "Pyromantikk" and the punk rock in "Konflikt" gave the show the diversity that live shows need. But nonetheless, it's the songs from the latest release that blow me away, especially "Kjøtere". The ferocity of Johndoe live is breathtaking. We who attended are blessed.
Well, even with the risk of being slightly challenged here, Randy was top notch! It is no secret that I rank them as one of the best bands in Sweden and even when they're quite unfocused in their performance, they still kick most bands asses any day. Fredrik, Johan B, Stefan and Johan G are a tight combo and it shows. Seeing that this was a gig outside of any current tour, they still managed to put on an awesome show. Not only are they flawless performers, the songs in the setlist are of such high quality that they would make Jello Biafra or Glenn Danzig (Misfits era) envious. 'Cause one of the trademarks of this band is that they have always stolen with class and, making the music into something their own, something Randy-ish. Focusing on the four most recent records of their back catalogue, they know how to play their cards to the crowd and the crowd swallowed every bit. Hook, line and sinker. The only song not featured on those records was the Lita Ford cover "Kiss me deadly" (from the "The rest is silence" album) with which they closed the gig. And that right there is what makes this band so great; crowd-pleasing, uncompromising AND with great taste in music, all at the same time. The next time I see them (for the 22nd time) I hope they will play "Humanalogism" or "You are what you fight for". I know it's a utopia, but it would be awesome.
Text by Jonas Appelqvist
Pics by Sofia Qvarnström