Sometimes it's hard to get the Swedish crowd. Normally KB is half full when it's time for Metal. This night the place was like a jar of sardines, or even making the same appear airy. The place was completely sold out and people were waiting outside to get a chance to see some of the show if someone eventually gave up early. No one did though because the intensity was immense the whole set through. Opening for AIRBOURNE was San Francisco based TAKING DAWN, unfortunately I missed them since I had some issues with the photo pass and had to make a run for my camera. But they didn't do much of an impact on my friends, the ones who actually remembered them so, I probably didn't miss much. If they make it back to Sweden I'll absolutely give them a fair chance to impress me.

The thing though, I have a little hard to understand why a band like AIRBOURNE creates such a buzz, AC/DC did this thing thirty years ago so there's absolutely nothing new about it. Sure, AC/DC styled Rock'N'Roll is very nice party music and since AIRBOURNE sounds the same they too qualifies for the same genre. And damn, there was one hell of a party at KB, the beer was flooding and sweat dripping from the ceiling. I don't think I've ever seen such craziness at an event the size of this, perhaps my first visit to the Thrash Assault Festival when there were a 500 people moshpit breaks it. At KB it was a 750 people pure pressure Rock 'N' Roll attitude. There was one attempt to start a moshpit though but since it was impossible to move, weather you wanted or not that got damped very quickly. It's hard when it's that crowded, it can be sort of a gruff attitude but luckily rockers are very gentle people. But even despite that the wallop was in the air. People were also crowd surfing and got rebuked by the security. Crowd surfing is not allowed at KB. Luckily nothing serious happened and all in all it was a very nice night. AIRBOURNE sure manages to keep the high energy straight through the whole concert. They were running like crazy all over the stage, none of them were standing still for even a tenth of a second. Hysteric energy doesn't necessarily mean a great performance but I have to admit that AIRBOURNE is one hell of a live band. They managed to connect with the crowd, managed to boost everyone to the max. The interaction with the audience was amazing, they got the first waving and singing along only seen at major arenas.

It's true; AIRBOURNE is one hell of a live band. They probably kick AC/DC's ass when it comes to the stage presence, energy and attitude nowadays. And yes, party Rock 'N' Roll on a Saturday night is nice, especially when it have some catchy melodies and chorus lines that stick like superglue. Who can resist singing a long to "Blonde Bad And Beautiful" or "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" after a few beers? And then, that AIRBOURNE is extremely tight and fun to watch doesn't really make it worse. I probably need to admit too that I start to understand why KB was sold out this evening.

AIRBOURNE setlist:
"Raise The Flag"

"Hellfire"

"Chewin' The Fat"

"Diamond In The Rough"

"Blonde, Bad And Beautiful"

"Get Busy Living"

"Girls In Black"

"What's Eatin' You"

"Born To Kill"

"Cheap Wine And Cheap Women"

"Heartbreaker"

"No Way But The Hard Way"

"Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast"

Encore:
"Runnin' Wild"

"Stand Up For Rock'N'Roll"

(photos by "Blonde, Bad And Beautiful" Erika)