Fredag 9.august
A storm may have been forecast when American musician Julie Christmas took to the stage at Oyafestivalen on Friday afternoon, but she herself is a force of nature with uncompromising artistry, and a crowd quickly gathered to witness her performance. She was backed by a band featuring guitarists Johannes Persson (Cult of Luna) and John LaMacchia (Candiria), bassist Andrew Schneider (Kenmode, Unsane), keyboardist Tom Tierney, and drummer Chris Enriquez (Spotlights), and the setlist included songs from across her career.
Christmas, named as such because she was born on Christmas Day, walked on stage wearing an intriguing Björk like headpiece with lights that changed colour, with similar lights over her dress. The helmet of lights provided visual performance art at this point, with Christmas speaking in a childlike yet disturbing manner, but the post-metal noise rock sound soon kicked in and Christmas’s bansheesque shrieks filled the Sirkus venue, as the chilling “Bones in the Water” was performed. This is a song by one of her previous bands, the post-metal supergroup Battle of Mice. Persson, with ribbons coloured like the Swedish flag tied over his biceps, delivered powerful guitar riffs, often from the top of amps he had climbed. His playing was intricate in places but the emotion was raw.
Christmas may be small in physical stature but her potent voice and vocal range and variety transforms her into a giant on stage. (Check out her recent performance at Hellfest to see for yourself.) An early highlight was the opening track “Not Enough” from her new album “Ridiculous And Full Of Blood”, released in June 2024, which strikes the perfect balance between chaotic and controlled, between feral and finesse. Other highlights included “The Lighthouse” during which Persson delivered growling backing vocals that Cult of Luna fans would relish, and the hypnotic and melodic “July 31st” from Christmas’s debut album “The Bad Wife”, which captivated the crowd with pure, raw emotion.
At the end of the concert, after “Silver Dollars”, Christmas jumped off the stage and into the photopit, and took the time to hug each and every member of the front row. From the expression on their joyous faces, it was as if Christmas had indeed arrived, and her stunning concert was a gift they would never forget. A contender for the best set of Øyafestivalen 2024. 5.5/6
Text and photography: Anne-Marie Forker
