Concert Diary: March
eee gee, MØ and Brimheim <3
Hey friends, I hope you’re doing well. I have been working a lot recently but I’m trying to soak up the spring sun and all the new music as well. I want to tell you about the concerts I saw in March. I had a great concert month. I saw 3 Danish artists: eee gee, MØ and Brimheim. You are probably not familiar with their music unless you're Danish as well. They're all incredibly talented and I’m excited to tell you more about the concerts.
eee gee at Store Vega, Copenhagen. 9th March 2024:
One of my absolute favourite Danish indie darlings eee gee gave a mesmerising concert at Store Vega. Her music is dreamlike and soft indie pop which captures what it feels like to be alive and a little bit confused about love and life and everything in between. It’s my comfort music that I like to listen to when I feel overwhelmed, which is more or less a constant feeling for me. Her newest album SHE-REX, as well as her debut album Winning, are in my music rotation frequently.
One thing that I really appreciate about her shows is her aesthetically pleasing visuals. There was this sculpture at the centre of the stage which had flowers inside that she threw out into the audience. Everyone in her band was also colour-coordinated and they looked like they were going to some sort of alien gathering or a hippie music festival. At one point they even wore space suits. The visuals added to the dreamy vibe of the show as a whole which made it feel like an alternate universe.
The music was of course gorgeous as well. The band as well as Emma (eee gee) felt calm and grounded. The sound was perfect and they played a nice mix of songs from both of her records. The harmonies from her as well as her backup singers were so stunning that it brought me to tears, especially towards the end of the show when they sang You Don’t Have To Tell Me It’s Over and did you ever love someone.
Crying at concerts is something which I try not to be ashamed of. It’s one of the places where social norms don’t fully apply so it’s seen as okay to cry if the songs make you emotional. I’m a big fan of crying in public in general. It feels like a tiny rebellion to just let myself feel my emotions and not care what people think. I cry on public transport, sitting on park benches and anywhere else when I feel the need to.
There was another girl crying in the front row as well. After the concert, she reached out her hand and pulled me into a hug. We were both happy to not be the only one crying and it was such a sweet moment. I love that strangers at concerts never really feel like strangers. Crying to the same songs means we probably have a thing or two in common and it’s sweet that it’s possible to connect through music like that. Wherever she is I hope she is having a really nice day <3
No Mythologies To Follow by MØ (10th Anniversary) at Store Vega, Copenhagen. 16th March 2024:
I saw MØ’s 10-year anniversary show for her debut album No Mythologies To Follow on the 16th of March. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since 2014. That was the year I turned 13 when everyone was obsessed with The Hunger Games, tumblr and whatever was going on in middle school. The first time I saw MØ live was on the No Mythologies To Follow Tour at the Roskilde Festival in 2016, so not fully 10 years ago, but almost.
I also went to HAIM’s 10-year anniversary show for Days Are Gone in London last year. One of the really cool things about growing up is getting to go to these nostalgic events and actually remembering 10 years back. It’s like I can time-travel to when I was introduced to these albums that mean the world to me now. I saw HAIM in 2013 when I was twelve and it was a very formative experience. It’s something I love bragging about because it makes me sound like the coolest twelve-year-old ever.
MØ is a Danish artist whom you may know because she featured on the song Lean On with Major Lazer. It’s her biggest hit which I think that’s a shame because I much prefer her solo music. She makes what I like to call dark pop. Similar to Lorde, Caroline Polachek, Tove Lo and Halsey. Pop music that is characterised by heavy drums and darker themes, and is widely loved by all of the girls that thought they were “not like other girls” in the 2010’s. I am a big fan of the dark pop girlies and MØ is one of my favourites.
The concert was also a full experience rather than just a concert. Vega let her do a takeover of the whole building so it was like walking into a museum. One room was furnished like her studio in her childhood bedroom where she made the record. It was full of blankets and you could hear old recordings and demos of the songs and imagine them being written there. There were also music videos playing on the walls as well as a table where you could make photo collages, tumblr 2014 style.
I want to give a shoutout to Helena Gao who opened the show. She makes electronic pop and her set was full of energy and great choreography. Her stage presence was electric and you could feel that everyone in the room could tell she might make it big soon-ish.
The MØ show really felt like being transported back to 2014. She only played songs from No Mythologies To Follow, which was definitely intentional. I would have loved to hear some stuff from other albums as well but that’s not what this concert was for, and I like that she went all in on the concept. The music and the crowd were incredible and it was so fun to get to dance to all of the old songs that she doesn’t usually play anymore.
Release Party for RATKING by Brimheim. 21st of March 2024:
I had never been to an album release party before and this one and it was such a cool experience. It was organised by Brimheim in collaboration with Soundvenue, a Danish music magazine, at Copenhagen Distillery. Brimheim’s debut album can’t hate myself into a different shape is a project that means a lot to me so it was a no-brainer that I would be there to experience the release of RATKING.
The event was split up into an interview which lasted for around an hour, followed by a concert which was like half an hour. The interview was done by Malthe Hjort from Soundvenue and consisted of questions about the new album as well as snippets of the songs.
RATKING is, to Brimheim, about the dark sides of a relationship which seems good on the surface. It’s about all the insane decisions humans make when we are in love. The album captures a love that is obsessive and that the narrator clings onto even though it’s detrimental. This theme is explored in the lyrics as well as sonically. Songs often start out bright and then the listener finds out that something is wrong, for example in Snow Angels which starts out as a beautiful ballad but evolves into a distorted sound that sounds like an earthquake or maybe an alien invasion. You decide.
The title is inspired by a very disturbing image. A ratking is a phenomenon in which rats’ tails get stuck together and they have to live with being tied to each other. Which is interesting if we apply it to humans and their relationships. One thing that I really love about Brimheim’s music, that was also brought up in the interview, is that it manages to be pretty and gross simultaneously. If she wanted to, she could make “perfect” songs but they are distorted and made to sound more gritty and out of tune on purpose. This contrast gives the music so much more depth and I’m so fascinated by this whole project.
The concert portion of the event was also stunning. I’ve seen Brimheim in concerts many times. I think this was my sixth time seeing her live but I might be counting wrong. She’s got a new band since last time which was really exciting and they were great as expected. Her performance was captivating as always. She has the most stunning and unique voice. Hearing it live is something I think everyone should experience at least once in their life. Her concerts feel like a small cult gathering and I’m obsessed with the whole vibe. It was also so fun to hear the new songs live and know that I could go home and listen to them afterwards.
RATKING is the album I’ve been wanting to replay the most recently which says a lot in the midst of the new Beyoncé, Conan Gray, Adrienne Lenker and so many other exciting projects. I really want to do a deep-dive into all of them but I’m trying to take my time. Sometimes I need to cling onto one album and let it consume me for at least a few weeks until I start obsessing over the next one.
I’m seeing Brimheim again at SPOT Festival in May as well as at her headline show at Store Vega in November. I’m super excited to have this new album with me this year. There’s truly nothing like a new album from an artist you really admire <3
This weekend I’m going to see Fletcher in Copenhagen. I have a day off work and I’m planning to go thrifting to try and find an outfit for The Eras Tour. I have something in mind and I really hope that the thrift gods will be on my side because the concert is literally tomorrow in a month? That’s insane to think about.
Anyways, I hope you have a lovely day and that you check out the artists I talked about. I can confidently say that I don’t think you’ll regret it :)