The Perfect Birthday Gift part 2: A concert by Team Me!

In the category how to discover a band and fall in love with them the Norwegian 'Team Me' is probably one of the weirdest. In the fall of 2011 they played at Iceland Airwaves and were announced in the program as one of the biggest promises from Norway. As their artwork looked pretty seventies-daft I didn't really look further into them and forgot all about them until I was standing in line for NASA (one of the historic venues of Airwaves). I actually wanted to see Beach House but although I joined the line 1 hour before the gig I was still in line after the gig. Eventually I did get in and the band which was gonna start on stage was.. Team Me. I was cold, wanted to have a drink and listen to some music. As soon as they started playing they sort of hit the right button in my head. So much enthusiasm on stage, the 5-fold harmonic vocals and the highly contagious melodies. My scepticism was completely overruled and I've been following them around for the past few years. Utrecht, Amsterdam, Brussels, Trondheim, Oslo.. I was even planning on attending all their 2012 gigs in Holland. Unfortunately another trip to Iceland Airwaves made that impossible..

Team Me (NO) @ Paradiso, Amsterdam. February 23rd 2015.

After seeing them for the last time in Holland in october 2012 it was not until march 2014 when I first saw them live again.. in MONO in Oslo during by:Larm 2014. Probably one of their most intimate gigs in years. Not just the venue was (too) small but also the stage wasn't big enough for the band and their equipment. But attending a gig in between some of their biggest Norwegian fans was great.

The greatness returned when the band released their second album in september 2014 in Norway. As I didn't want to wait until it was gonna be released in The Netherlands/Europe months later I was very grateful to one of the Norwegian recordstores for having an (international) online store so my appetite for new Team Me-material could soon be satisfied.  A great album although it took some time to get really appreciate it fullest as I missed the live experience.

After touring Norway this spring their Blind As Night-tour finally brought 'Team Me' back to The Netherlands. To my surprise they sort of made it for me extra special as they were gonna play one of those gigs on my birthday! Not many people who can say they "booked" one of their favorite international bands for their birthday-party! ;-)

Team Me (NO) @ Bibelot, Dordrecht. February 22nd 2015.

However I couldn't resist, and naturally attended both gigs. The first one in Dordrecht was probably their best one to date in The Netherlands. Apart from one song with a bit too much white noise the sound was excellent and the performance exhilarating. The largest part of their setlist were from their latest album and what I had hoped for became reality: they were even more sparkling in a live performance! To top it off they closed their show with the beautiful, uplifting and most peculiar song(title) "With my hands covering both of my eyes I am to scared to take a look at you now". Marius climbing on Uno's back while singing/playing in front of the stage made it yet another historic night. On my birthday-night in Paradiso unfortunately they had to cut back on the amount of songs as they weren't the only band on stage that night. Apart from the fewer songs I really had the time of life up front near the stage. They were awesome and can't hardly wait seeing them live again! Tusen tusen takk Team Me for fantastisk kvelder!