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| Magne Furuholmen Rocked Hanoi With Thanks to Fernanda Jacqueline Van Der Feer |
| The popstar Magne Furuholmen wanted to break with tradition and try his hand at being a street musician in Hanoi. It turned out to be a big success "We had only a little amplifier and played for the people on the street of Hanoi. For the pedestrians," Magne Furuholmen told VG. At the improvised sidewalk concert he had with him Martin Terefe on guitar and drummer, Frode Lanøy. The trio hadn't practiced together beforehand, the concert was not advertised, and only a handful who passed by knew that the vocalist also was a member of a-ha. Furuholmen thought that was really great. "I heard afterwards that there were some people who recognized me, but my point was to play for the people in Hanoi as an anonymous street musician," said Furuholmen, who turned 42 yesterday. And people flocked to the rather special concert, which was held last Thursday in Vietnam's capitol. There were conceivably around 1,000 people altogether who stopped by to listen. "Many of the mopedists turned their headlights toward the band - like stage lights. The police also dropped by, but we had all our papers in order, and they didn't stop us. The Norwegian state visit obviously opens some doors," Furuholmen maintained. Behind them like a stage set they had the national monument with the inscription, "Ready to Die for Vietnam." We wanted to break with tradition and do something new. Play without a stage set, and without sophisticated equipment. It was absolutely fantastic, and is one of the most enjoyable concert experiences I have ever had," claims Furuholmen. Accordingly to him, the arrangement was the first outdoor concert by western musicians ever to be held in Hanoi. "We wanted to meet the people in the city. And they seemed to have liked what we did," says Furuholmen. Together with four other Norwegian artists - Per Kleiva, Hans Petter Morland, Olav C. Jenssen and Mette Tronvoll - he makes up the Norwegian cultural delegation of Norway's state visit to Vietnam. In addition to taking part in an art workshop and instructing Vietnamese art students, Furuholmen has played four concerts. The last one he held for around 60 persons at an intimate Hanoi restaurant last night. Earlier in the day he also was visited by Queen Sonja at the workshop. The 42-year-old is one of the Queen's favorite artists, and in answer to a question from VG she described the multi-talented artist in the following way: "He has so many talents, and it is very interesting to see that he is developing so many sides of himself. The concert out on the street really sounds exciting." VG 02.11.2004 |
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| Last night on his own birthday Magne Furuholmen held a concert at a little restaurant in Hanoi for an audience of around 60. Photo: Mette Trinvoll |
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| Magne Furuholmen shows Queen Sonja works from his atelier. Photo: Mattis Sandblad |