Once again, the Friday Rock night hit Copenhagen’s main amusement park, Tivoli.
This time around, it was the much beloved folk hero Kim Larsen, together with his backing band, Kjukken, that were to grace the old stage. Even with the promise of heavy rain and thunder, people from all over had come out to be entertained, and pay respect to one of the oldest icons in Danish popular music.

“Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome.”
- Kim Larsen (vocals/guitar)

We thought we were in, not a good one, but acceptable time, but when we arrived at Tivoli, both of the large entrances had people lining up down the street, and when we got inside, the plain in front of the stage was already filled, and we got a position to the side of the stage. Not a big problem in itself, if it wasn’t for the fact that everyone were using umbrellas, and apparently not a single person got that they were blocking the view for everyone behind them. Or so I thought. I must say that I was thoroughly surprised and positive to see that as soon as the lights were lit on stage, almost all umbrellas were lowered, and we got a pretty good view from where we were standing, even though we were out to the side. Another plus that we were right next to one of the bars, so no further complaints from this reporter.
Kim Larsen was the first to enter, walking up to a chair in which he sat during the entire gig, hanging his cane from his microphone stand. Hey, he’s an old man by now, having rounded 70 years on this old Earth, and he’s still putting out music and filling stadiums all over the country, so all the more power to him. Also, he has the rest of the band to play around, so it’s not like there wasn’t anything happening.

As I said though, before derailing, Larsen was the first one on the stage, and he also performed the first song of the evening, Haveje, by himself. A nice, toned down version, which was over much to quick. It ended after the first chorus.
In the background the band was ready, and as soon as the last note rang out, they were ready to jump straight into Østre Gasværk. This set the tone for the evening, meaning that there was very little room for talking, and mostly we just got songs back to back. The few comments we did get were also well-used ones, which we have heard before – basically, there was no impromptu address to the crowd, or anything out of the ordinary.
And even so, everyone, present company included, enjoyed themselves. Why? Well, there is the fact that pretty much every song played, from the old Gasolin’ material to the brand new Moder Jord, are instant earworms. There is also the fact that even though Larsen was bound to a chair, he still delivers his heart and soul musically and in his singing. And again, the Kjukken boys livened up the show with their performances, where especially bassist Jesper Haugaard played around quite a bit, both with his electrical bass and his double bass. Karsten Skovgaard delivered excellent guitar work as usual, and since the last time we saw the band, they have replaced their drummer, now having Jens Langhorn behind the skins, and added an extra guitarist to the team, Jørn Jeppesen. Both of the latter were good at what they did, but still a bit anonymous in their performance.

“Today it is in to be global, and being local is looked down upon. It’s all the same to me, because we all walk the same small Earth.”
- Larsen (vocals/guitar)

The audience wasn’t anonymous however, and sang and danced from song one.
It wasn’t a wild event, and I’m rather certain that the weather, although not nearly as bad as advertised, helped keep things calm, but you weren’t doubting the fact that people were enjoying themselves. My favourite moment was definitely when large amounts of people raised their phones in the air (and no, this is not something I usually condone) with their flashlights on for the slow This Is My Life.
Even though I mentioned earlier that this was a locked down, non-improvised performance, there was still fun moments between band and audience, the break in Køb Bananer being a perfect example. The song was interrupted by the band after the first solo, and when a few seconds of silence had gone by, and we were beginning to wonder what was going on, Larsen asked if we really wanted to hear the rest. Not surprisingly, a loud “yes” rang out, and so the song carried on.
When the beloved classic Midt Om Natten came on, the weather decided it didn’t want to hold it in anymore (about two seconds after Lunah made a comment about how lucky we were with the weather), and huge drops of rain began falling. Up came the umbrellas again, forcing us to fight for a view of the stage. We found one, but honestly, umbrellas should be outlawed at concerts – and using an umbrella while already completely clad in a raincoat, that’s just silly and redundant!

Even with this last minute complication, Kim Larsen & Kjukken safely sailed the show ashore, and even though our feet were cold and wet, we carried a warm, new memory with us home.
The old icon still got it.

Setlist:

Haveje
Østre Gasværk
Tik Tik
De Smukke Unge Mennesker
Mig Og Molly
Sød Symfoni
Hvis Din Far Gir Dig Lov
Jutlandia
Længes Hjem (Gasolin’ cover)
Pianomand
Sammen & Hver For Sig
Fru Sauterne
Pilli Villi (Gasolin’ cover)
Hva’ Gør Vi Nu, Lille Du? (Gasolin’ cover)
Moder Jord
Køb Bananer
This Is My Life (Gasolin’ cover)
Tarzan Mama Mia
Rabalderstræde (Gasolin’ cover)
Midt Om Natten
Det Bedste Til Mig Og Mine Venner (Gasolin’ cover)
Langebro (Gasolin’ cover)