Review first Bingo Crowd gig in Oslo since 2009, setting a hard standard by offering the audience gourmet food!
(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange, text and photo. Video by Pekka Stokke) The release of the ‘Manners’ album by Bingo Crowd was celebrated with a concert at the Parkteatret scene in Oslo, May 3rd, and what a treatment the audience got!
After entering the venue, chefs from the Michelin-starred restaurant Credo and Oslo Indre Matforedling started serving hors d’oeuvres of smoked salmon and beef tartar, followed by the band’s own creation: pork and lamb sausages. They completed the serving with a gourmet version of the traditional Norwegian potato dumpling, known by too many different names, depending on where in Norway you are – could be potetball, ball, klubb, kumle, komle, kompe or raspeball.
After eating, we got a three-song set by Hilma Nikolaisen, known from Serena-Maneesh and other bands, alone on stage with a guitar and a sampler, a very emotional performance.
Then Bingo Crowd opened with their unreleased cover version of Talk Talk’s ‘Ascension Day’, setting the tone for the rest of a mesmerizing gig. Not much action by the band on the stage, but the music paired with the hypnotizing visuals from Pekka Stokke made it an experience making us happy to be present.
Over several e-mails in the following weeks, the band’s vocalist Andreas Elvenes and Torgeir Lund from their record label sum up the experience.
Post-concert impressions and upcoming news
Side-Line: The concert, or rather the whole evening, hit the audience both in the gut and in the head – in several ways! Tell us about how you put together this event?
Andreas Elvenes: Kaja, our dear manager, is also a partner and friend of my girlfriend, Heidi, who runs both Credo restaurant and Vippa. She has been active for many years in areas completely different from music, but her approach, which can be outside the usual rules, has proven very effective and fruitful. She made a few phone calls, including to All Things Live, and they recommended Parkteatret after some listening sessions.
Magnus, who is Kaja’s boyfriend, runs Indre Oslo Matforedling and is also used to working with Heidi, and he produced the sausages together with the band.
Hilma is a friend of ours and has performed at both Vippa and Credo before. We were very happy when she said yes to being our special guest.
S-L: Almost a sold-out venue, and lots of Trondheim visitors present too in Oslo – how many attended?
AE: We don’t have exact numbers, but over 300 is likely. I met several people after the concert from different parts of the country, and some particularly happy ones had come on the bus from Trondheim that day.
S-L: The vinyl is a real beauty – and now I hear a rumour about a CD too?
AE: Torgeir probably has more updated info here, but yes, there will be a CD!
Torgeir Lund: The album is coming out on CD; we’ve primarily produced it for markets outside Norway. The LP and CD won’t be physically released in the UK/EU until the end of July, but we’ll likely sneak a few copies of the CD out here in Norway before that.
S-L: What’s next?
AE: Trondheim and Verkstedhallen on May 16th was the next concert after Oslo. Hilma joined us there too, along with Kirsti Huke.
Torgeir has more info on the release of the Talk Talk cover. We know it involves several delightful remixes, including from Van Rivers of Fever Ray, Andrew Fearn of Sleaford Mods etc.
TL: The ‘Ascension Day’ cover, which the guys have played live for over 10 years, is something we’re planning to release before the year is over as a classic remix 12″, featuring the band’s original version mixed by Alan Moulder, along with four or five remixes.
Enjoy the concert’s final song ‘Lightball System’, the track that first caught my attention 16-17 years ago:
Listen to the ‘Manners’ album via Spotify | Tidal | Deezer | Apple Music | YouTube Music | Amazon Music, or all the April releases in this playlist:
About Bingo Crowd (formerly known as BC)
The three members of Bingo Crowd – Andreas Elvenes, Svein Segtnan, and Eivind Brønstad – grew up in Snåsa, deep in the remote forests of Norway. In the late ’90s, what “rock” meant in Snåsa was straightforward: loud guitars and raw energy. That’s how the band began—originally as a guitar-driven power trio.
Based in Trondheim, they initially performed under the name Bitch Cassidy. Everything changed when guitarist Svein Segtnan discovered a piece of electronic music by Brian Eno. That moment sparked a shift. He began collecting analog synthesizers, and the band slowly evolved from rock roots into a darker, synth-infused sound.
They rebranded as BC and launched their own label, LUBE Records for digital releases, while Crispin Glover Records handled their physical releases. In November 2008, they released their debut album “Sinecure” – a brooding blend of synthrock and EBM that quickly earned them a cult following in Norway’s underground scene.
Today, the band goes by Bingo Crowd. Seventeen years after “Sinecure”, they’ve released the new album titled “Manners” April 28th 2025.
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