I was in Hillerød last night for Buddha's last concert of the current season and what a night it was. Niclas Knudsen had assembled a quartet including himself, to perform his Guitar Inferno album that he apparently recorded pretty much by himself "with lots of guitars".

Aside from Niclas who performed with a multitude of guitars (acoustic, electric - sometimes with a talk box but mostly without, and an unusual Hawaiian guitar that I can't remember what he called), he was supported by Mikkel Hess (drums), Fredrik Damsgaard (bass) and Jacob Christoffersen (keyboards).

They played two sets and at times I was taken back to the 70s and 80s with some great jazz/rock riffs and even a bit of Stones in one of the numbers (Gimme Shelter/Free Fall, well at least the opening riff) as well as some nice Spanish-like moments that wouldn't be amiss in a spaghetti western. I haven't seen performances using talkbox for many years (perhaps I should get out more?) and it took me back to when I was a thirteen year-old (1976!) hearing Frampton Comes Alive for the first time - great stuff!

The musical journey also took in India and lots around Denmark. All accomplished musicians with a great spirit between them, the packed Buddha's crowd revelled in their performance which neatly rounded off the Spring concerts in Hillerød. I enjoyed the concert so much I bought 3 copies of the Guitar Inferno CD, one each for my brother and sister in England, and one for me :-)

More to look forward to in Hillerød after the summer...and after the Copenhagen Jazz Festival!.

A selection of shots from the concert are archived here.

Niclas KnudsenNiclas Knudsen Guitar Inferno

Fredrik DamsgaardNiclas Knudsen Guitar Inferno

Mikkel HessNiclas Knudsen Guitar Inferno

Jacob ChristoffersenNiclas Knudsen Guitar Inferno

Jacob Christoffersen & Fredrik DamsgaardNiclas Knudsen Guitar Inferno