And now for something completely different.

These words were once upon a time coined by Monty Python to introduce the larch tree, but they feel just as relevant, if not more, to introduce the Swedish band Diablo swing Orchestra.
These sharp-dressed youths play a mix of metal, avant-garde, jazz, carnival music and then some, so from the first second the stick-out-from-the-crowd factor was a certain from the first note. I mean, how often do you hear a trombone solo at a death/black metal festival? And how cool is it to do so? Yes, very.
Diablo Swing Orchestra kicked off the show with A Tap Dancer’s Dilemma, and even though I was sad that the only song with which I was acquainted came so early, it meant nothing in the bigger picture, where a big smile rose on my lips, and stayed on through the duration of the set.

“We are Diablo Swing Orchestra, and we’re here to entertain you for 34.5 minutes, no more no less”
- Daniel Håkansson (vocals/guitar)

Well, Håkansson may have been right with this very precise estimate, but you know the saying; ”Time flies when you’re having fun”, and I must admit that I completely lost track of it during this show.
The band was simply delivering such a high-quality performance that I instantly felt compelled to scribble down “best entertainers of the festival” in my notebook. What surprised me more than my own liking of this band, was that the general festival goers here seemed to feel the same; all around me there was a party going on, and loud clapping filled the air between every song. The surprise was only intensified as I considered the very out-there theme of the music, and the fact that Macabre, who had just played and was much more in line with what the festival is about, didn’t get anywhere near the same sort of attention, even though they played a killer concert as well.

On the upside of things (have I mentioned anything else up till now?), the band members were great at really living, and hence delivering, the music they played, and I thanked whichever deity which might be present for the for once incredibly sound that Diablo Swing Orchestra was given.
After the show was done, the band re-emerged on the stage for one extra bow, and to apologise for not having more time to play in.
Well, as much I would have loved to hear more, there is still not one bad thing I have to say about this, period.