Demonic! The Residents Live In Oslo! is a live three disc CD and DVD set by The Residents, recorded in Oslo on their Demons Dance Alone tour on February 27th 2003. It was released August 4th 2012 via the group's Ralphlet Outlet Bandcamp page, and quickly sold out; a second printing (without the DVD) followed in October.
This was The Residents' first performance in Norway since 1989. The group would next perform there in 2008, and then revisit The Rockefeller itself in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
History[]
This Oslo performance of The Residents' Demons Dance Alone live show, based on their 2002 concept album of the same name, was filmed for live broadcast on Norse Radio and Television on February 27th 2003.
Vocalist Molly Harvey was suffering from a cold during the show.
Release[]
The recording was released as part of a three disc set, containing a film of the concert, as well as two discs featuring the expanded audio version of the performance. It was sold through the Ralphlet Bandcamp page beginning August 4th 2012. It quickly sold out, and a second pressing, not including the DVD, followed on October 3rd.
The total length of the second release is 1:42:12, the same length of time between the first plane hitting and the last tower falling on September 11th 2001.
Track listing[]
Disc 1 (59:21)[]
- King Kong (Steinway)
- Demons Dance Alone (Instrumental)
- Thundering Skies
- Betty's Body
- Mickey Macaroni
- Wolverines
- Wonderful 1
- Caring
- Weather Man
- My Brother Paul
- Car Thief
- Wonderful 2
- Baja
- Plains To Mexico
- Golden Goat (Residents/Snakefinger)
- Shoe Salesman (Residents/Renaldo & The Loaf)
Disc 2 (42:37)[]
- Beekeeper
- Honey Bear
- Ghost Child
- Vampire
- Wonderful 3
- Neediness
- Demons Dance Alone
DVD (53:32)[]
- Betty's Body
- Micky Macaroni
- Wolverines
- The Shoe Salesman
- The Beekeeper's Daughter
- Honey Bear
- Mr. Wonderful
- Neediness
- Ghost Child
- Shoe Salesman (Audience Angle By Jeff Bond)
- Demons Dance Alone (Promo)
- Demons Dance Alone (ADS)
Journal entry by Molly Harvey[]
Throughout the Demons Dance Alone tour singer Molly Harvey kept a journal. The following is her entry from the day of this performance:
Got off the bus around 7 am, all of us stumbling single file and bleary-eyed over icy sidewalks, suitcases in tow, disoriented and much colder than we were last night in Holland. The cold I was catching back in San Francisco has come on full force, and I try to avoid hitting my friends’ feet as I spit yellow loogie after loogie onto the clean streets of Oslo.
We arrive at our hotel, which is immense and very swanky. Breakfast is being served, so after going to our rooms to change out of sweaty slept-in clothes, we converge on the buffet, which features a lovely assortment of cereals, eggs, pickled things, meats, and fresh fish. There is some sausage that is black in color which we later found out was horse. I didn’t get around to eating that.
We haven’t even done our “official” first show yet and I am already exhausted. It feels as if we’ve been on the road for weeks. I take a small walk with X and even though we have been very careful to stay close to the hotel, we both have horrible senses of direction and get lost anyway.
For such a rich country, Norway (Oslo at least) doesn’t spend much on its store mannequins. We passed a few expensive dressy lady shops, and the mannequins all had on these rug-like old lady wigs. Maybe the Norwegians don’t think having mannequins with nice hair is a priority. I can’t understand it myself, but that’s what makes the world go round, I guess. While we were out we also saw a Cadillac brand tanning bed. Sometimes I have fantasies of spending my entire tour paycheck on some weird and useless item. It would make me feel richer, I think, to own some large and useless expensive thing like a Cadillac tanning bed. I could casually tell people “I picked that up in Oslo”.
There are some hours to kill before we go to the venue. I spend them between the sheets of my soft cozy Norwegian bed and watch BBC soap operas, blowing my nose and sneezing and trying to tell myself that it’s just allergies.
The show happens late tonight…10 or so. There’s lots of time to kill, and we sit around the venue eating more yummy snacks and waiting for soundcheck. This is an important show, it is being broadcast all over Norwegian television and I don’t think the Residents have ever played here before, so people are curious and very excited. The place is sold out, or very nearly so. I am in a strange and somber mood and instead of feeling inspired by my nervousness, I feel dejected by it, as if I already know I will not do a good job tonight.
LATER
…And I have what I feel to be the worst show I’ve ever had. From the beginning, things were a disaster for me… I couldn’t hear myself for 90% of the show’s duration, and I knew I was singing off-key but by the time I hear myself the words had already come out. The audience was l a r g e and enthusiastic and ready to party. I think they had a good time and would’ve no matter what. I just felt awkward and lame.
During “Golden Goat” the demon and I are playing chase, and I slip and fall and land on the back of my head. It didn’t really hurt. It more shocked me, but I was really upset by the end of the show and just wanted to be out of there.
There was a small gathering backstage after the show and I packed up as quickly as I could, feeling embarrassed by my lackluster performance, and bummed that it was being recorded! The guys in Turbonegro came to the show and were backstage for a little party. I packed up and then walked back to the hotel with some of the other kids.
We have to get up around 5 am to make it to the airport in plenty of time to go to our next destination. I can’t go right to sleep even though I will get about only 3 hours. So I am going to watch this awesome Australian soap opera where everyone seems good-hearted but keeps getting into trouble with the law.
Credits[]
- Produced By: The Cryptic Corporation
- Performed & Written By: The Residents
- Guests: P. Benney, N. Cook, T. Dammit, C. Fabrizio, E. Feldman & M. Harvey
- Recording Produced By Harald Are Lund
- Recording Engineer: Arne Kr. Dypvik
- Remix Engineer: Oysteinn Halvorsen
- Sound Engineer: Ger Arts
- Image Processing: Poreknow Graphics
- Compiled By: The Cryptic Corporation
