Tampere Beatles Happening 2014

I must be getting old because I considered for a second not going to Tampere Beatles Happening 2014. However, the second the first band of the Beatlemania show began to play I was so moved by hearing wonderfully melodic 60s music that I knew I had come to the right place. It was time to listen to some of the coolest Beatles and 60s tribute bands.

The first group were the Brothers from Germany. They performed Beatles numbers with both original and new arrangements with absolute skill and dedication. Their strength was in a balanced sound and the most beautiful vocal harmonies and a cappella. The Brothers also apparently have released original music. I think I may check it out.

Jay Goeppner was the most energetic performer of the evening. He was accompanied by the domestic Urban Crow who you might call the host band of the festival. Goeppner attracted most of the attention for being such a happy, brightly American who moves around a lot and shares good spirit to everyone. Focusing on John Lennon songs, Goeppner performed anything from early Beatles numbers to Lennon's most intensive solo material.

The most innovative performance was given by (perhaps the slightly unfortunately named) Russian Puttin' on the Beatles Style who played a really fast-paced set of three-accordion instrumental versions of Beatles songs accompanied by traditional rock band instruments. The virtuosity was amazing. It was easy to recognize the melodies, yet there was plenty of room for improvisation as well.

Then, there was a performance by the Overtures who were once again great but they played the exact same set as a few years ago. A long-standing Beatles and 60s tribute band, their performance is always really professional and they don't follow the original arrangements too strictly, but next time I would appreciate hearing different songs, and, generally speaking, maybe some more interesting choices than Light My Fire, You Really Got Me, and I'm a Believer.

The concluding act was Jiri Nikkinen The Beatles Tribute Band. Jiri Nikkinen is Finland's official Beatles fan and his set included some really interesting rarities. Jiri is such a classy guy.

The Beatles don't seem to attract young people like they used to, but there were indeed some people (like me) whose parents had barely been born when there was a band called the Beatles. The Beatles Happening is a real high-energy event, the most joyful and melodic festival in the whole country. You can't go wrong with that concept.

After five and a half happy (yet physically a bit painful...) hours of partying, it was time to pick up a free copy of a Beatles magazine and go home.

http://www.beatles.fi/briefly-in-english/

Teenage Fanclub Live – Larger Than Life

My musical relationship to Teenage Fanclub has been renewed. I feel like a whole new TFC fan – a lot more devoted one. More deeply charmed by the magic of the Bellshill Beach Boys than ever!

It is such an amazing thing to get Teenage Fanclub to Finland only a few weeks after the Posies paid a visit to this distant land. It is a real privilege... Besides, it never ceases to amaze me to actually see other people – lots of people – coming to see bands that I like really much. It is not all that common for me, you know... I have seen near-deserted clubs so many times. Although it is very difficult to be certain of it, experiences like witnessing one's favorite band with hundreds of other people might have some unexpected, positive effects on one's subconscious. I like to think that it does.

After traveling to Helsinki by train, arriving at Nosturi, and listening to Finnish warm-up act Delay Trees play a nice set, it was inevitable that I was going to see one of my all-time biggest favorites alive in front of me – for the first time.


Soon the gig started. There they were... Norman Blake, the most talkative guy, rhythm guitarist, a sort of lead character who was smiling sunnily almost all the time. Raymond McGinley, the absolutely sympathetic guy on the left who delighted the audience with his riffs and guitar solos. Gerry Love, the more serious-looking bass player, but still the sweetest-sounding guy of the entire band. Drummer Francis Macdonald, the current provider of the loveable TFC beats. Keyboardist/guitarist, multi-instrumentalist David McGowan. Together these guys made the Teenage Fanclub experience come alive.

It was amazing to see these people and what they look like while playing these songs. I have always thought that TFC has its very own special style that I respect deeply... Seeing TFC live felt almost like a pilgrimage, with the difference that the band came to Finland, instead of me going abroad to see the band.

The first song was Start Again. I was very impressed: only Norman and Gerry were singing but the sound was incredibly rich... Bang! The huge vocal talent of TFC suddenly became so clear to me that it was quite overwhelming. What an unforgettable moment! The current TFC line-up includes five guys, all of whom sing harmony vocals. Luckily most of the gig was very well mixed and the harmonies could be heard quite nicely.


Some of the most wonderful songs of the set were Sweet Days Waiting and When I Still Have Thee – both were songs from the new album (Shadows) and really fresh and new to me, who hadn't listened to them very much yet... I was also very charmed by I Need Direction, I Don't Want Control of You, It's All in My Mind, Verisimilitude, Don't Look Back, Sparky's Dream, and all the other classics! The gig was concluded with a great version of Everything Flows, as usual.

The warm atmosphere during the gig was, after all, just the beginning... During the next days after the gig I listened to a lot of TFC, mostly Songs from Northern Britain, and also other albums... I felt things I hadn't felt before this much: new, wonderful, warm feelings, as well as understanding. When I started listening to TFC years ago, I was generally quite new to pop/rock music.. or any kind of music. Since then I have introduced myself to many different types of music and therefore it is now much easier to see TFC in the context of power pop, or pop, rock, or any other music in general. Now I understand why some people regard TFC as the best pop band in the world. The people who don't appreciate TFC much... They just haven't been enlightened yet!

By the way... How I have missed listening to sweet power pop! I looked at my mp3 player and noticed there were practically only about ten power pop bands there. That is not much for a person like me, you know... Moments like this remind me of the fact that even though I don't wish to consider any specific music genres/styles better than others, I do like to amuse myself by placing sweet power pop above everything else. In a way I really think about power pop as my favorite music attribute. There is something very special about the combination of those features that tend to be present in the music called “power pop” by many people. Power pop often is sweet... I like sweet vocalists, most definitely I like sweet-sounding guys, who play sweet music with sweet sounds. I want more sweet guys into my life!

What a speech... Also, this might not really be the end of the subject ”TFC and me”. So, beware!

The Posies Live = Euphoria!

To see the Posies full-band gig again... To see a new Posies album was another thing that seemed unlikely to me mainly because it took quite a few years for it to be released. Well, obviously I hadn't been following the news too carefully because everyone else seemed to know about the album before me. So, the news came, the album was released and I went running to the record store. Blood/Candy is a superb album, definitely an improvement after the 2005 album Every Kind of Light. Soon it was time for a new Posies gig! I chose Turku due to the possibility of also seeing some friends there. The same day Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow even played an acoustic set in 8raita record store, which I of course went to see. It was magnificent – those gorgeous harmonies can be heard so much easier without all the other instruments.

The lasttime the Posies visited Finland was in autumn 2007, if I remember correctly, but Jon and Ken didn't bring their rhythm section with them that time. The first time I saw the entire nowadays version of the Posies was in November 2005. At that time I hadn't seen a lot of gigs (by any band) yet, and the Posies definitely gave me some real shock therapy! I still remember it as the craziest, wildest, loveliest, as well as loudest gig I have ever seen. Excellent work, guys! That is how I would summarize that show now.

This time Jon and Ken were a bit more calm... But they rocked and rolled nevertheless! Jon, Ken, Darius (Minwalla), and Matt (Harris) played a solid show presenting almost every possible Posies classic, including some excellent rarities, and most of the songs on the new album. As always, lots of incomplete cover versions were also played. This time the band seemed to get kicks out of The Who's material.. Gosh, they could play excellent the Who tribute gigs anytime!

I tend to enjoy Jon Auer's voice a bit more than Ken Stringfellow's but that composition always gets reversed in live situations. Ken's voice is better suited for hard-rocking live performances and his presence is more energetic. Jon Auer surely is charming as well and his angelic voice and intriguing stage personality could never go unnoticed. Together Jon and Ken are invincible.

Thank you so much guys and welcome back anytime!

Acoustic live in 8raita record store:

She's Coming Down Again!

So Caroline

The Posies at MySpace

The Posies website

Belated Gig ”Reviews” Part 3: Monsters of Pop

I don't like the word “indie” too much anymore.. You can place anything under that term and, worst of all, skip power pop completely! Monsters of Pop, organized for the fifth time in Tampere this year, is an “indie music festival” that presents even quite hard rocking artists these days. I think that is bit contradictory to the festival being called Monsters of Pop.. Anyway, this year's MoP had again some great performances to offer. Here are a few of the bands that played a gig.

Technique is a quite new band, I think, that performs dark, atmospheric, minimalistic, yet entertaining electronic pop music. The songs also tend to have a slow tempo.. It all makes a great combination. I always enjoy seeing this band.

Technique at MySpace

There were also some international guests at MoP this year, some of them from Sweden. Francis, a Swedish pop/rock band, performed fancy tunes at Telakka. It was a good performance from good musicians. I especially remember the soulfulness of vocalist.. whose name I wasn't able to find anywhere. Anyway, a soulful and energetic performance from a female-fronted Swedish pop band.

Francis at MySpace

The most memorable gig was Them Bird Things, a band that I now saw live for the second time. And what a great improvement it was. I read in an interview that vocalist Salla Day would have wanted to make the band's first album an acoustic-sounding one but it was made into more electric in order to give the audience an immediate hit album (Fly, Them Bird Things, Fly! 2009). This acoustic vision was then realised on the band's second album Wildlike Wonder, released earlier this year. So, the interesting part is, that the band had a lot more acoustic live sound during the first album gigs. Now that Them Bird Things have released a more acoustic album, the live sound was more electric nonetheless, and the band sounded better that way. And maybe they had gotten better playing together.

Luckily the gig was even mixed well enough so that you could hear vocalist Salla Day's amazingly distinctive voice over the other instruments. The song material is also a very, very strong asset for the band. The new album is a gorgeous Americana/pop album, check it out on Spotify, for instance. The album has received praising feedback which is really well-earned.

Them Bird Things at MySpace

Lastly, I will mention another Swedish band that was the last performer of Friday. The band, Bye Bye Bicycle, had had problems with getting to Tampere so they were forced to take the stage probably only minutes after arriving from Sweden. Despite all the trouble the band threw an excellently energetic gig and presented lots of catchy, danceable songs. That is the work of professionals!

Bye Bye Bicycle at MySpace

That was this year's MoP. In the future, I might give up my current boycotting habit and even go see all the performers. That way I would at least have better means of criticizing the things I consider to be wrong... Such as the excessive number of electronic music performers, very noisy rock on a pop festival and the total lack of power pop artists. I am still happy this festival exists, even though my most cherished memories from the festival tend to a few years old already. The things used to be better... Or maybe I have just grown more demanding when it comes to my indoor pop festivals.

Belated Gig ”Reviews” Part 2: Captain Cougar

And now... Something completely different. This gig took place already in the end of August but I still remember it like it was yesterday. So, I will share some thoughts concerning concert experiences as a whole.

On an August evening I went to Klubi see folk pop band Captain Cougar (as well as Jukka Ässä and Cry Bar) but I definitely have the most vivid memories of Captain Cougar's gig. What was it then? Perhaps the most well-planned concert I had ever seen. The core of every concert is of course music. Captain Cougar performed its latest, second album Of Dreams Long Gone in its entirety. And oh what a concert it was!

I have seen a few hundred gigs and very few of them included any kind of visual stimuli in addition to the band and the instruments. In the field of indie/underground/non-popular pop/rock bands there is rarely anything else on the stage than the band and the usual lights that the venue can offer. The ideal situation often is that there is no need for videos or anything else in the background – the music is so good and entertaining in its own right that extra props, video screens etc. are not needed. On the other hand, sometimes the music and the concert as a whole can greatly benefit from additional visual features. The most important thing is to think what the concert needs, what the band and the music have to say.

Captain Cougar had a good reason to decorate their concert with video screens. The band's latest album has a historical theme: it tells stories that mostly take place in the 1910s Finland. On the screens there were different old photographs and texts that looked like letters or poems.

However, the visuals didn't steal the show. That role belonged to the band and gorgeous lead vocalist Eva Louhivuori who I think must be one of the best and most expressive female singers in the whole country. I also loved to see many wonderful instruments being played: violin, horns, woodwinds, piano. Everything the band did on the stage showed deep respect towards the wonder of beautiful, touching music – music that matters and takes you to a whole different place. It is a good equivalent to reading a good historical novel but with less text and more audio temptation.

This world needs music like Captain Cougar. Music that is down-to-earth but utilizes effective nuances with style. Music that conveys real human emotions, organic instrumentation and stories that shouldn't be forgotten.

Captain Cougar at MySpace

Captain Cougar website

Belated Gig ”Reviews” Part 1: Stalingrad Cowgirls and Sweatmaster

There are several past gigs I would like to tell something about.. At least mention the bands, because I always love a good gig that encourages you to check out new music.

Well, well.. First of all, let's say that on September 23rd I discovered the best Finnish all-female powerpop band. They are called Stalingrad Cowgirls and probably like to label themselves primarily as a punk rock band. Well, they do look very punk.. Black leather, black hair, definitely not too girly! These women were also the best female rock'n roll players in this country I had seen live: a wonderfully energetic gig, melodic songs and loud guitars! Geez, there's nothing like a good-looking melodic punk/pop band with good songs that also can play really, really well.

Stalingrad Cowgirls come from Salla, a small town called Salla, north of the Arctic Circle. These northern girls – Enni Kivelä (vocals and guitar), Riina Kivelä (drums), Henna Vaarala (bass) - debuted in 2007 with Somewhere High. Kiss Your Heart Goodbye followed in 2010. I will check out these albums. They can be listened to on Spotify.

Stalingrad Cowgirls at MySpace

Stalingrad Cowgirls website

These cowgirls in black weren't the headlining act on that night, though. The stage was also taken by another hard rocking band, Sweatmaster, from Turku. Sweatmaster is said to be the most underrated rock band in Finland. That might very well be true, although this country surely is packed with other talented, unnoticed bands as well.

This time Sweatmaster came to Tampere to promote their new, fouth full-length album Dig out the Knife. So how was the gig? Sweatmaster kicked ass, and the musicians were just as surprised by the roaring applause as always.

Check out the video for one of my favorite Sweatmaster songs: Good Looks, Big Deal. It was released on the band's second album, Tom Tom Bullet (2005). Now that's rock'n roll!

Sweatmaster at MySpace

Sweatmaster website

All That Jazz

Finally, here comes my report from Pori Jazz festival. I don’t even remember how many times I’ve been at Pori Jazz. It’s become a tradition, and it surely is the best Finnish summer music festival I know.

Jazz started already before arriving at Pori. My dad introduced me to Chuck Mangione, a flugelhorn player whose song Feels So Good was quite a hit back in 1977. This wonderful, melodic piece of jazz is influenced by pop, r&b, and funk.

Chuck Mangione: Feels So Good (YouTube)
Another artist was The Crusaders, a group that has worked in the area of jazz-funk fusion. The band (originally called The Jazz Crusaders) made a long career releasing more that 30 albums. Their most successful song was Street Life from 1979.

The Crusaders & Randy Crawford: Street Life (YouTube)
The Crusaders at MySpace

Pori, an idyllic town on the west coast of Finland, has been known as Finland’s jazz town for decades. Pori Jazz festival has taken place every year since 1966, and based on the ticket sales it is the biggest festival in Finland and one of the biggest in Europe. Pori Jazz has always had international artists involved – artists such as James Brown, Sting, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie have performed at Pori Jazz.

The thing about jazz in general is, that even though jazz is considered to be one of the two forms of art music (the other being classical music/opera), it receives very little financial support from Finnish cultural funds. Savonlinna Opera Festival gets a lot of money, and smaller sums go to folk music festivals, for instance. It seems that jazz is expected to manage on its own, like pop, rock, and heavy metal. Well, looking at Pori Jazz list of performers, it’s clear that jazz does not manage on its own – it seems to require heavy support from soul, funk, r&b, and a range of other genres many of which actually have very little to do with jazz. Last year’s megastar in Pori was Santana. Sly & The Family Stone also paid a visit to Pori quite recently, and so did Ziggy “Bob’s son” Marley. A couple of years ago Pori Jazz even lured audience to Kirjurinluoto arena with hip hop – Jay-Z performed.

The sad truth is, all this results in thousands of people coming to Pori to listen to anything but jazz. That is probably not the original purpose of this festival, but it may be the only way to keep the Jazz alive – and alive it is, although you are not going to see jazz bands as main performers in Pori very often. Luckily, you can still hear a plenty of jazz at the festival, and you can even hear a plenty of jazz for free. Pori Jazz grants every year numerous free admission concerts to anyone who’s interested. During the festival, there are 2-4 free concerts every day. Those concerts include several international artists and the best of Finland’s jazz talent which means you don’t even have to pay to see virtuosity.

This year’s headlining artists were Erykah Badu, Duffy and The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Booker T. Jones was also one of the big names. When it comes to these artists, Pori Jazz is a great place to go camping because you can hear the main concerts quite well to Pormestarinluoto camping site. I only managed to hear one song from Duffy, but from Raphael Saadiq’s gig I heard many songs. Saadiq’s soul/r&b music sounded really good. It even made me want to check out his records. There was definitely a lot of Stevie Wonder in Saadiq’s material.

Raphael Saadiq at MySpace

Speaking of Stevie Wonder… Mr. Wonder seemed to be everywhere at Pori Jazz, even though he certainly wasn’t there personally. During the time I spent at the festival, I heard about five different acts perform Stevie Wonder’s music. Motown’s 50th anniversary had certainly something to do with this. Stevie is of course a musical genius in his own right. I’ve recently come to like his music very much, and I’m just getting started…

This year isn’t only a celebration of Motown’s 50th anniversary – it is also the year of swing legend Benny Goodman’s 100th birthday. American clarinet virtuoso Ken Peplowski performed with some talented musicians under the title “Ken Peplowski’s Benny Goodman Contennial Celebration”.

Ken Peplowski at All About Jazz

Another wonderful moment was seeing Tuuli Taul and Eyolf Dale, winners of Nömme Jazz contest, perform a set. Norwegian Dale played the piano and Estonian Taul took care of the vocals. Taul’s performance was delightful. She performed some cool scat singing, and it was really interesting to hear her sing many songs in Estonian – several of which she had translated herself. Estonian language sounds really peculiar to any Finn. You see, Estonian is the closest relative to Finnish language which causes some words to be exactly the same in both languages, but the overall impression of Estonian being somewhat strange...

Tuuli Taul at MySpaceEyolf Dale at MySpace

Dutch tenor saxophonist and flutist Andy Declerck played some really good modern jazz with Finnish guitarist Kari Antila. Together with an a-class rhythm section from Finland, these guys form a band Andy Declerck & Kari Antila Group. Virtuosity is an important part of any jazz experience. As you might guess, Declerck and Antila are some of the most well-respected musicians of their home countries.

Andy Declerck at MySpace
Andy Declerck homepage
Kari Antila at MySpace

For some reason, the Pori Jazz organization wanted to add some Finnish indie pop to the cavalcade this year. The idea sounds excellent, of course. Regina and TV OFF played a concert, although I didn't see it. When another Finnish pop band, Belle Who (previously unknown to me) played their set on Radio Nova stage, I recognized one song. I had heard it in the Finnish TV commercial for Grey’s Anatomy. The performance wasn’t bad but the music didn’t quite impress me. I read somewhere that Belle Who intends to be Finland’s Lily Allen. In my opinion, that can’t be very good… Well, I bet many people will like that stuff. Belle Who released a debut album earlier this year.

Belle Who at MySpace

One of the most memorable artists I saw on Radio Nova stage was Hazmat Modine, a group from New York. Their music wasn’t exactly jazz, although many of the traditional jazz instruments were in use. Hazmat Modine’s music was best described as ethno. There was a lot of blues influence, some oriental sounds and even reggae there. The most distinctive feature of Hazmat Modine was the masterful use of different harmonicas, including diatonic and chromatic harmonicas. There was also a tuba involved. Tuba is a fun instrument - it looks like it just landed from outer space…

Hazmat Modine at MySpace

Helsinki Pop Jazz Conservatory showed some of its coolest talents by presenting its Motown band, Par Avion. These young men, wearing Blues Brothers costumes and sunglasses, performed Motown’s greatest hits, other soul/pop classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s, including hits from the Blues Brothers movie. The guys (and one girl) put on a great show with a lot of fun. OMG, I wanna be in a band like that too!

I think I’ve pretty much been swept away by jazz now. I’m not saying I’m going to abandon my endless bubblegum, power pop and 70s semi-progressive hard rock listening activities… Still, I think I’ve realized something important about jazz, as well as soul and r&b, and the use of jazz, soul and r&b instruments in other genres. First of all, I want to learn more about this area. Also, there is a reason why there are many Charlie Parker and Phil Woods CDs on my desk, and a beginner’s DVD that introduces a certain woodwind instrument… It seems that I’m actually going to realize one of my musical dreams/ambitions – sooner than I ever expected, I might add. And that’s not even all. I can’t begin to guess what I’ll be doing a few years from now…

Wanna join an r&b band? Psychedelic rock band?

Tehosekoitin Back on Stage

This summer, one of the biggest names of Finnish 90s/2000s rock has been playing a six-gig series of reunion concerts, five years after the band broke up. Tehosekoitin returned for the first time in Helsinki on June 18th – I was there, of course. A few weeks later, I saw them again at Tammerfest. These gigs were my first and last time to see this awesome, legendary band live, and I wasn’t let down.

The two gigs were both good. The set lists were identical, I think, but there wasn’t after all a reason to alter them. The band played songs from all of their albums, except for the first, which was a bit disappointing. Still, I have to say that this band has a plenty of other good albums and songs as well.. But I would’ve loved to hear Syön sipsejä, or Ulkona.

There was some true rock’n roll fun going on the stage – and groovy dance moves! Otto sang really well and performed all his trademark maneuvers, including releasing his Marc Bolan-esque hair. That was a sight, I can tell… Otto didn’t seem to know what to say between songs during either of the gigs but he did talk, and so did the other guys. In my opinion, even thought it’s music, a gig, a band has to talk to the audience. If I were to find faults in the two gigs I witnessed, I would say I wasn’t completely pleased with the instrument solutions. I was expecting a more rocking sound but it was more keyboard-oriented and included only one electric guitar. However, the keys were really good so it didn’t matter that much. The gig at Tammerfest was a bit better soundwise. The band must have gotten their sound balanced by then.

You don’t often have the luxury of seeing your new favorite broken-up band live. I guess I got lucky - it was really cool. I wish other broken-up bands would do this as well.. Now there’s something more I’m going to blab about. As I was in the middle of this new craze a month or two ago, I of course had to find out some things about my favorites - the important being what these Tehosekoitin heroes have been doing since their old band disbanded. Levy-yhtiö’s forum revealed pretty much everything. Otto, in addition to releasing a poetry book, has been singing in a punk band called God Given Ass. I’m happy to know that Otto has continued with singing activities. He has surely made it to my gallery of favorite singers. Another thing Otto could do is sing on a solo album.

God Given Ass at MySpace

Checking out Tehosekoitin’s albums resulted in the band turning out to be more than just your average straightforward rock’n roll band - in many ways, actually. In addition to being energetic, Tehosekoitin is a true musical blender. Matti Mikkola’s knowledge led Tehosekoitin to record songs in a big variety of styles, everything from jazz to disco, punk to Motown-funk. After Tehosekoitin’s end, Mikkola founded a band called Saimaa.

Saimaa, named after Finland’s largest lake (a very national romantic name – although Mikkola’s Saimaa is not the only band with that name), might be the next big thing in Finland – at least in indie circles. Mikkola has convened a number of Finnish musicians to bring his latest vision to life. Some of the attributes that have been combined to Saimaa are symphonic/progressive rock, showtunes, and schlager. There are only a couple of samples of unfinished recordings at Saimaa’s MySpace but those clips sound really convincing. I’ve listened to them many times. The samples give evidence of big sounds and easy-going feel. Mikkola hasn’t lost his touch. On the contrary, he continues realizing his genius. I can’t wait hearing this music on a full-length album.

Saimaa at MySpace

Enchanted by Darkness, Once Again

Last weekend it was again time for Lumous Gothic Festival, Finland’s biggest festival that presents gothic and other types of dark music without incorporating any metal in its program. In my opinion, this is the most beautiful summer festival there is if you look at the people. The traditional historical black lace style is of course the most popular. One of the most popular styles nowadays is cybergoth – a style that utilizes futuristic outfits and huge collections of neon-colored hairpieces. However, there are practically no limitations to gothic style. Lumous doesn’t even try to be a meeting place only for goths. The festival organizers hope to reach different dark subcultures by offering a variety of performers – from industrial music and dark electronica to neo-folk.

The word lumous, according to my Finnish-English dictionary, means ‘enchantment’, ‘charm’, ‘bewitchment’, and ’spell’. I think there really is some kind of an enchantment at hand when it comes to gothic aesthetics. It’s the sublimity, the wildly adventurous, seductive punk-meets-graveyard dresscode.. And the thing with black eyeliner! I love it. I would probably put (lots of) it on everyday if I already didn’t look scary enough without any makeup..

Even though I still haven’t turned into the most eager gothic rock listener (there was a time when I listened to it quite a lot, though), I will definitely not miss a good nearby gothic festival or its performers. I attended Friday’s main concert at Klubi with a friend and friend’s friends. The performers were all interesting. The first one was called Grunt, a one-man Finnish band performing industrial noise –type of music. I’m not completely sure if it should be called music, since it really doesn’t sound like anything I would characterize as music. The experience was refreshing. For some reason, I always seem to like hearing stuff that doesn’t sound a bit like anything I tend to listen to… I can’t complain. The second act was Deviant UK, from The United Kingdom, a band that performed dark, electronic, and danceable music. It sounded good, excitingly dark, and occasionally the melodies were actually quite catchy. The gig was memorable not least thanks to their demonic-looking frontman who definitely had a plenty of charisma and energy.

The main attraction of the evening was Inkubus Sukkubus, the world’s most popular pagan rock band. The band’s music sounded to me like a mix of rock, dark pop melodies, and machine drum sounds. The band performed a nice set of songs from their 20-year-old career and some graphics presenting European pagan rituals and imagery. This band I will probably check out some time later.

The festival was again a big success. All of this year’s main concerts were sold out. I and my friend even managed to get to the national media… Ilta-Sanomat, one of Finland’s two main tabloid magazines captured us onto an internet video that dealt with the festival. Lumous is always a great experience for me – this year was the third time in a row.

Hypnotized by Ken

Today is the one week anniversary of my first The Disciplines gig. It’s definitely not very rewarding being a Finnish fan of numerous American power pop/pop/indie rock bands when you look at how often they play gigs in Finland. However, sometimes we Finns get pampered big time. Nowadays, Jon Auer or Ken Stringfellow or both, visit Finland almost every year. They seem to have quite many fans in this country – the biggest live audiences in the entire world, I’ve heard!

The latest turn in The Posies story was Ken Stringfellow starting a band called The Disciplines with Norwegian musicians who had played in a band called Briskeby. Well.. Norway, that’s geographically very near to Finland! Norwegian-American The Disciplines already played in Helsinki a couple of years ago, and now, in January 2009, it was time for a three-gig Finnish tour that also included shows in Turku and Tampere.

I really can’t complain. Seeing a power pop god like Ken Stringfellow perform in my hometown, 5 kilometres from my home is absolutely cool. Also, Stringfellow is the most enthusiastic and devoted live performer you could ever imagine. At Klubi his performance was filled with wild energy, quite sensual dance moves, and inventive activities that he used to make the audience participate. Ken ran singing around the venue while the audience got tangled in his very long microphone wire.. He encouraged everyone to jump up and down with him, and some people got a chance to sing a bit of lead vocals. Ken also hypnotized the entire audience. That was the most unusual gig moment ever but it surely was great fun! The encore was AC/DC’s Highway to Hell with Ken’s own made-up lyrics (“I’m going down to Tampere!”). It was an unforgettable gig. Feedback from other people who had witnessed the gig included stuff like “the best gig I’d ever seen”..

After the gig I got a chance to purchase Smoking Kills (2008), The Disciplines’ first album, from Stringfellow himself. It’s a good modern rock album – melodic like you could expect from Ken. And of course there are some power pop songs, too.

Extra points go to Finnish warm-up act Agent Kooper who come from Turku. Their 70s retro-rock sounded great. This was the 2,33th time I saw them, and it was definitely the best gig so far. They performed some new songs too. Those songs were quite epic!

The Disciplines at MySpace
Agent Kooper at MySpace

Piece of the Action

A week ago, I witnessed my first gig of the year, and I really can’t help telling everyone about this extremely cool band. The band comes from a small Finnish town called Nakkila, and they are probably the favourite band of every alternative rock fan in the country. If they are not, they should be. They are Penniless.

The gig.. Man! The energy, the loudness, the amazingly catchy songs, the vocal harmonies, and the rocking sounds.. It was a gig I’ll never forget. The gig and all its greatness immediately made me want to listen to more of this band’s music. I actually bought their latest album The Attraction (2007) already when it came out but I never seemed to get excited about it at that time – it wasn’t clearly a time for rock music. Now, I’ve been enjoying this album for a whole week, and it just keeps getting better.. The eight listening was arguably the best – 20th must be even better!

According to various sources, Penniless’ music can be compared to bands and artists like Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, Pixies, [early] Nada Surf, Bob Mould, Foo Fighters, and The Posies. I’d say the band also has something in common with other Finnish rock bands such as Sweatmaster and Hundred Million Martians. I’m not much of an expert because I haven’t even listened to Penniless’ entire catalogue yet, but I attend to.. The band used to be more punk-oriented in the past, I think, but nowadays their music is a nice combination of alternative rock and occasional power pop features. You won’t need to think too long to guess what the song Norman Blake is musically all about.

The Attraction is an utterly wonderful piece of rock music. I love every second of the album. Messenger was the first single, and it surely has some catchy riffs, among other good things. Opening track Action is also a killer, but Perfume is my personal favourite (check it out at MySpace). Tracks from #4 forward are all pure greatness: Police Dogs, Departures, Denial, Hitchhiker (“standing on the roadside!”). Cracks on the Road is the more peaceful spot of the album. In the end of the album you’ll find two more cool rock songs, Electric Blues and New Stuff. Then comes City Birds, a truly lovely song with emotion.. All in all, it’s a brilliant album. There’s energy, anger, other emotions, rock'n'roll attitude, melodic beauty, harmonies (interestingly some sections on the album sound like it’s Serj and Daron from SOAD harmonizing.. which isn’t necessarily the only thing that brings SOAD on mind), everything you need from a first class rock’n’roll experience. It’s got style!

Also, don’t forget to listen to Adam’s Apple Pie at MySpace! It’s the Posies.. No, wait, it’s Penniless after all…

Penniless at MySpace
Messenger Music Video
Adam's Apple Pie Music Video
Penniless Website (See Audio & Video section)

A Bit of Americana and a Touch of Post-Hardcore

The past weekend proved to be quite entertaining when it comes to live gigs, once again. The most wonderful experience was the live performance of Hi-Lo & In Between, a local Americana band. The band revived some very good feelings in the audience. One girl was even heard sigh “Ihana!” (“Lovely!”) as a response to the group’s tender, acoustic sound and melancholy. The sound of Hi-Lo & In Between was created with acoustic guitar, subtle drum work, double bass, violin, an occasional mandolin and Juha Timonen’s wistful vocals.

The group recently came up with a debut album called White Whale on Rocket Records. Get it if you like.. I already have one.

Hi-Lo & In Between at MySpace

A somewhat opposite end of music came to me on Saturday when I went to Vastavirta-klubi, a club that is known as the punk Mecca of Tampere. The evening’s most popular act was the Kauhava-based rock/emo/post-hardcore group Novembersoundsbetter. I found this band already last spring when I was confronted with my yearly “oh no, summer comes, the sun is shining (I thought it was supposed to be dark to the end of the world), what on earth is this??”-reaction. And as you can see, the band’s name seems to have something to do with AFI, although I’m anything but sure about if it’s intentional or not. Their music definitely has something to do with AFI.

I can’t help it. I like Novembersoundsbetter, and some other post-hardcore bands, too. I like the energy, the angst, and the interplay of normal and shrieking vocals. There are some nice melodies, too. The band released their debut album earlier this year. It’s called The Air Is Heavy with Forevers.

Novembersoundsbetter at MySpace

Tips from the Past

Lost in Music Festival was weeks ago but I want to mention some of the most interesting acts. Some of these were new to me at the moment of the live shows, and I plan to check out every one more carefully.

On Volcano impressed me once again with their amazing shoegaze-pop. It’s amazing how interesting their music is even though it’s based quite a lot on instrumental sections. No wonder the band actually started as an instrumental trio. As we know, they have a singer now, and melodies, harmonies and emotion. At the moment they are touring Russia and Baltic States. Once they get back I finally might be able to purchase their EP.

On Volcano at MySpace

Janne Laurila, one of the most talented singer-songwriters in the country, has started working on solo material – for the first time with Finnish lyrics. Laurila’s melancholy meets nicely with Finnish language, although his new direction requires some getting used to. I’ve seen him live so many times that it’s a bit strange to suddenly hear him sing in Finnish. His songs are great, of course, and the melancholic folk/country influences are present.

Janne Laurila at MySpace

Tapes, alias Jukka Salminen played a great set with his friend who played flute and guitar. Tapes songs are really good and there are a lot of influences from the 60s and 70s in them. Tapes just released his second album. I will check that out at some point, since his first album was already really good.

Tapes at MySpace

Antti Westman from the disco-rock group Brightboy has recently released an album of Finnish pop/rock classics under the name Westman. He also performed them live at Artturi. Westman has such an interesting and distinguishing singing voice, and these versions are well worth hearing. At least I liked them very much.

Westman at MySpace

Waterloo is definitely one the the most promising new powerpop bands in Finland. The band rose from the ashes of another pop group called The Dance, and it was a huge thrill to hear how excellent the band sounded even though it had only been together for half a year. Stylistically Waterloo sounded quite a lot like Teenage Fanclub, and they even had the most perfect harmonies present. I hope this band does some more gigs soon – a lot more gigs. Pop people will want to hear this beauty!

Waterloo at MySpace

The most big-sounding and emotional act of the four-day festival was Rödsögården. For a pop-rock band that good I was almost surprised I’d never heard of them before. It’s not like I follow every music media that carefully.. But Rödsögården played extremely well together, and they basically sounded like they could be the next U2. It was so beautiful.. I was in fact moved to tears. There was a whole lot of emotion and excellent, oh so excellent melodies. Gee, this band I won’t forget!

Rödsögården at MySpace

I never thought anything good would come out of the, in my opinion, very unpleasant Finnish girl duo PMMP, but it happened anyway. The members of My First Band also play in PMMP’s tour line-up, among other things. At Lost in Music Festival the group played a set of excellent power pop tunes. Their music included great melodies and cool synth sounds. A very memorable thing was also their lead singer, who was just about the most confident frontman I’d ever seen.

My First Band at MySpace

The final act of Friday’s huge 12-band cavalcade at Yo-talo was the international guest, Estonian The Sun. To me the band’s name was already intriguing, but the music was good too. It was hard-rocking rock, and it made me happy that there were also many nice melodies. The music reminded me a bit of Foo Fighters.

The Sun at MySpace

Kotoisat sävyt played a wonderful gig at Dog’s Home. Their style is a combination of blues, classic rock and influences from bands like The Who and Pink Floyd. Kotoisat sävyt released their debut album back in August.

Kotoisat sävyt at MySpace

Monsters of Pop Sept 6th - Day Three

I just love writing when you don’t have a deadline – except for the final deadline, your own actual death. However, here’s the final part of my MOP report.

Ville Särmä is known from the Finnish rock band Kevin. This time Särmä performed his new solo material under the name Ville Särmän illuusio. While Kevin’s latest album was psych-garage-oriented, Särmä’s new material is more folky and melancholic and features careful arrangements and progressive song structures. It was actually very melancholic music. Särmä channelled his inner melancholy through his music, and the result was beautiful and organic.

Then came that moment.. Suddenly I felt like I was at the IPO. It’s not like I know what it’s like to be at the IPO, but this was definitely the band that would have suited to that festival better than any other act of MOP ‘08. The stage was taken over by Forest & Crispian, a Swedish trio that performed very cool garage-influenced music that the band calls new wave barber shop rock. The guys had practised their three-part harmonies carefully, and there indeed was something quite new wavey in the group’s exciting melodies and lead singer/standup drummer Adam Hjertström’s excellent vocals. Band members chatted with the audience in a lovely way. It’s really important, in my opinion, that the performer talks to the audience between songs.

After F&C’s gig, I thought to myself: “We have a winner.” Those songs, that energy.. Wow! Forest & Crispian’s gig was my favourite performance of the entire festival.

Joose Keskitalo performed at MOP together with Risto Ylihärsilä two years ago. Now it was time for a Joose Keskitalo show with his band Kolmas maailmanpalo. Keskitalo’s songs sounded once again really good, although they did sound quite dark right after Forest & Crispian’s happy high-energy gig. The audience, however, seemed to be even more excited about Joose Keskitalo than it had been during F&C’s performance.

The final act of the day, occurring at Klubi, was Swedish Familjen who had recently toured with another Swedish band, Kent. Familjen comes from Skåne, Southern Sweden, where people speak a lovely, incomprehensible dialect. Johan T Karlsson sang in Skånska, and along with the cool electronic beats it really sounded easy-going. A female guest vocalist was also a really good addition to the set.

All in all, it was a good festival. It wasn’t perfect this time either, but the majority of shows were top-class. If I just could decide which bands play next year.. Seriously, the number of powerpop acts was for the third time in a row ZERO. Gee, what kind of a pop festival is that?

A not so bad one, really.
But I have to do something about the powerpop statistics of MOP. Until next year..

Mosters of Pop Website

Monsters of Pop Sept 5th - Day Two

Day two of MOP started with a rather unusual performance by Credit - a very new group formed by My Lovin Martian of I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper and Cute Pint of Pintandwefall. It was actually the duo’s first gig, and their first practise session had been held on Monday. Cute Pint and My Lovin Martian performed lots of good electropop songs, and I liked them all. My Lovin Martian is getting better and better at writing pop songs.

Le Corps Mince De Françoise was the next band. It was an all-girls band that performed energetic pop songs with electronic beats. It was basically good, but something about it bothered me.. It was those ultra cool beats that confused me. I believe those beats reminded me of the ones that are used in contemporary r&b – a type of music I spend considerable amounts of time trying to avoid at all costs. I couldn’t shake that uneasy feeling during the entire gig, but I’m willing to listen to this band again, see if my mind was just playing tricks on me.

If you look at the outer appearance of the members, Jesse is probably the unsexiest band you could imagine.. The guys wear denim with leather vests, sunglasses, and caps. Their music, however, is very interesting. It reminds me a lot of Aavikko, a electropop group that played live at last year’s MOP (what an amazing gig it was – I probably lost 2000 kcal during the performance…). Compared to Aavikko, Jesse is a lot more 80s-styled, and all their songs seem to be about cars, or driving fast in cars.. It’s probably the band’s unusual image that has gotten them a lot of attention, but their music is well worth checking out.

Then, it was once again time to move to Klubi. The second international guest of the festival took over the stage. The Deer Tracks played music that probably could be described as a form of post-rock. It surely sounded like Sigur Rós, though it was more electronic. The music was very beautiful and surely required some patience since the songs were sometimes quite long. The band had some reinforcements on the stage, including a trumpetist and a clarinetist. In addition, it was quite confusing how much lead singer and keyboard player David Lehnberg looked and sounded like AFI’s Davey Havok..

Regina played at MOP for the second time. In a bigger club environment the band’s sound was a lot different than what it was a year ago at Artturi. This time Regina also performed songs from their two albums, and new tunes. The songs sounded good and Iisa Pajula’s vocals were lovely, but the overall performance somehow felt.. slightly cold. Maybe the lights weren’t blinking as colourfully as I’d hoped for.. Or perhaps I just have a lot to learn about the nature of electronic pop. However, it was cool that their drummer had adopted a standup playing style..

The only non-electronic band of the entire day was the final act, Swedish First Floor Power that used to have Jenny Wilson as a member. The band seemed to enjoy performing their songs. However, honestly, I expected more from a critically acclaimed Swedish pop band. Their songs had potential but somehow they felt a bit faint. I also felt I’d heard a lot more interesting melodies before - that’s surely not a good thing to happen when you’re trying to find new favourite bands. Have I gotten myself used to so extremely catchy and complicated melodies that I now find it hard to appreciate a band that isn’t melodically so.. sparkling? I don’t know. Maybe someday I’ll find out.

When I hear music that doesn’t immediately sound good, I never blame it on the music. It is my fault, my flaw if I can’t see the beauty of some specific music. This way of thinking does get problematic in many ways sometimes, but I won’t discuss it now.

In the end, it’s art. Who can really say the final word about it being good or not?

Monsters of Pop Sept 4th - Day One

Ever since Monsters of Pop indie festival was launched back in 2006 I’ve attended every concert. Last year it was quite difficult to see all gigs from beginning to end because at some points there were two bands playing in different venues at the same time. This time it was much better. You could easily see all bands and the festival had been moved to Klubi and Telakka from Yo-talo and Artturi.

The obviously well-named indiepop band Goodnight Monsters started this year’s festival and played a set of great pop tunes, mostly from their new album Summer Challenge. I had never listened to this band before and I noticed I totally loved the stuff and the gorgeous hooks. This type of twee-ish music is exactly what you might assume I listen to all the time, but I really haven’t really gotten into the genre yet. I’ve checked out some material from twee groups but usually ended up thinking: “This stuff kinda lacks rock’n’roll riffs.. and it could use some additional power and intensity, too.” I guess I’ll learn to love twee music as I listen to it more – a lot more.

Kastor was the second band. They played quite original alternative rock (which made me wonder why they chose rock bands again to this festival when it’s supposed to be pop) and it was really good. I might check out the band later. I still remember vividly how serious Kastor members seemed to be about their music. They really put all their energy and skills to the performance. It was almost scaringly intense.

Kiki Pau ended the first part of day one. This band was probably the most confusing thing of the entire festival. It was catchy and wild alternative pop-rock with very groovy rhythms. The confusing thing was the band’s lead singer, he looked and sounded somehow familiar.. I felt like I watching and listening to Janne Laurila’s brother who had made a bit different choice about his musical career – a bit more groovy and aggressive choice.

At Klubi, the opening act of the evening was Last Calls, a group that played very peaceful and melancholic music with film music and country qualities. It wasn’t the most exciting gig I’d seen, but it was quite suitable after two very loud, high-energy gigs.

Then, it was time for the first international guest, Russian post-rock group Everything Is Made in China. Post-rock was one of this year’s new themes in Monsters of Pop, and EIMIC gave a nice introduction to the subject. Very sympathetic, curly-haired Fedorov Maksim sang and played guitar while Zotov Aleksey banged the drums and cool graphics illustrated the silver screen.

Risto was the last performer of the day one of MOP. Risto Ylihärsilä’s anti-melodic pop was once again a big success, and having seen two Risto gigs before, I have to say Mr. Ylihärsilä’s performances just keep getting more and more demonic.. Risto creates entertaining pop/rock songs out of dead serious topics, performs them manically (scaringly intensive gig of the day #2), and makes the audience dance - Diskopallo being the biggest hit, of course.

More blabber to come..