Words and videos: Andrea Naess

Holiday Forever is the translated name of the Norwegian indie pop/rock 4-piece Evig Ferie. They describe their music as ‘wave-based’, and that goes well with their surf rock, hang-loose mentality that the band from Mjøsa, Norway is so known for.

The 4-piece has come all the way to Stavanger on the stormy west coast of Norway, to Checkpoint Charlie, a venue well known to the locals. A 50-year-old man who kindly gives us navigation on the way tells us that he grew up watching gigs there in the 80s. The venue is a perfect choice for Evig Ferie, it is filled with quirky interior details, IPAs flowing on tap, people embellishing themselves with trendy second hand treasures from Fretex, with Tame Impala on the speakers. As we gather to the stage, the band enters around 30 mins late, but that doesn’t matter. We are just there to have a good time, not think about boring stuff like being on time, right? We’re on holiday.

And that’s exactly the topic frontman Mikkel Sunde opens the night with when he nonchalantly enters the stage and asks: are you ready for a holiday? They live up to their name. 

Apart from Mikkel on guitar and vocal, there is Jacob Elveli on guitar, Jonas Hansebråten on bass and Kenneth Andersen on drums. They describe themselves as brothers that shouldn’t be brothers, with the somewhat older Kenneth being the funny uncle. Their music has since its birth already made a name for themselves in various surf and skate films. Stavanger is a surf town and they are right at home with this crowd.

The first thing we notice is that all the band members have their own microphone, joking and making fun of each other constantly even before they start playing, which is quite unique and establishes a carefree atmosphere. Further emphasizing the light-hearted and playful vibe they are all about.

Opener ‘Snakker vi to samme språk’ (Are we speaking the same language) stands out as one of the favourites this evening. The crisp breezy, carefree keyboard with the punchy 80s drums instantly creates a dreamy and nostalgic mood that feels just right. 

Surfing onward with ‘En dag om gangen’ (one day at the time) we get a bigger dose of that sweet holiday feeling, a punchy banger with the mellow vocals, synths and guitar flowing on top of a heavy rhythm, bashed out by the funny uncle. 

‘Tenkte ikke klart’ (Wasn’t thinking clearly) is soft and introspective, almost melancholic, but in a smooth and comfortable way. It’s peaceful and transitions smoothly into surfy, anthem like and wavy way. It’s making you feel like everything is okay as long as the song keeps playing. With occasional psychedelic noises making you question your sobriety it is a true escape to a better, much cooler place than everyday life, especially the Norwegian winter that lurks outside the venue walls. 

‘I wanna stagedive with you’ marks a shift in the whole evening, from chilled out surfy songs convincing you you’re on holiday, it opens up the night to become more wild and chaotic. The band stops the show and plays a basic rhythm, singing the words “I wanna stagedive with you”  over and over again. As it turns out, the drummer’s young son is in the audience and is invited to the stage to (you guessed it) stagedive! When the manic repetitions have reached a climax and the teenager is ready, the stagedive happens, and everyone carries him around. After that the band starts playing faster and more rocked out songs and the crowd starts losing it in a way that can only be described as ecstatic and liberating. Everyone dances, makes silly faces, and jumps around as the bands inter-song conversations makes less and less sense and everyone just wants to have fun basically. The band members start openly dissing each other playfully between songs and the crowd lives its own life as the bar staff rushes beer up to the performing musicians, clearly having won the night and made a small holiday for everyone present.

Instead of typical mosh pits where the point is to let out anger, Evig Ferie’s version of it feels more innocent and just pure euphoric. Mikkel has previously compared their music to a golden retriever: naive, playful, and dumb. That is a good description. And this wonderful naiveness shines through in their stage presence and fills the cold December night with warmth, happiness and we leave the venue with a new optimism to life.  Evig Ferie isn’t just a band, it’s a lifestyle.