SuhinatorsFri 13 Jul – Ilosaarirock
This year's Ilosaari was my first in about 5 years. I mostly went because I found out that Calexico, Porcupine Tree, and The Cinematic Orchestra would be playing there. The ticket price was pretty steep with the Friday club ticket, but I can totally say it was damn well worth it!
FRIDAY
On Friday we came to the area while Stella was playing. It was a nice little Finnish band, didn't arouse my interest. The next act we saw was Ismo Alanko Teholla, which was great! Ismo's songs worked really well trimmed down to just the basics, him on the guitar and piano (and of course singing), and Teho Majamäki playing all kinds of percussion stuff. They played an Ismo hits galore, ending with a great singalong, Kanoottilaulu.
Ismo Alanko Teholla
The next bigger artist was CMX. I've seen them once before, and boy, has A.W. Yrjänä gotten even fatter and uglier than before or what?! They played a really fast and energetic set, not my favourites. Although I really liked how they played
Taivaan lapset, it rocked a lot mre than on CD.
Apulanta closed the rock evening nicely. The tent was packed, everybody sang together, bounced, and were enjoying themselves. They also played a hit parade, but I would have liked to hearReunalla as well. Ah well, you cannot have everything...
So, Friday was a perfect start for a rockin' weekend! The only problem was that the taxi queue was hellishly long (ab. 200 people!), and we had to walk ab. 5 km to get to bed...
SATURDAY
So, Saturday came and the weather was nice. No sign of the rain that was forecast. We arrived late, only just in time to see Maj Karma. The act was great, mr. Ylppö was all over the place. I didn't get into the set that much, which probably had to do with the fact that we were about a hundred meters from the stage. All in all, the bands on the main stage were a bit of a disappointment to me. I liked the gigs on the smaller stages a lot better...
Next we saw Husky Rescue, a melodic Finnish band, then Ville Leinonen, whose Finnish "schlager" songs were much fun. Then we went to chill out to the beach, where Suhinators played a nice reggaey set.
After a short break came the main attraction of the festival (for me), Calexico. It was their first time in Finland, and I got to see it! Yay! I had already bought a t-shirt earlier that day:
so I was good to go. Luckily not many Ilosaari goers knew about Calexico beforehand, so we got to the front row by being there a half an hour early. The set was everything that I'd hoped for it to be. I recognized only few of the songs from the start, because they played all the songs very differently from the album versions. I liked their on-stage charisma a lot and they seemed to liked playing for us much as well. All in all, I think that both the band and the listeners got a really nice experience out of it...
Calexico
After Calexico had left (they did not come for an encore, damn the festivals and their tight schedules!), We went to see
PMMP on the main stage. I think that they are more of a girls' band, even though I like their music on cd... :)
Next up was Porcupine Tree. I had high hopes for the gig, since I like their stuff. But when the set started, I never quite got into it. I think that I'm not big enough a fan yet, since everybody else seemed to enjoy the show a lot. It might also have been tiredness creeping in... They did have a nice video show, nevertheless.
The evening ended with the major attraction of the festival, HIM. I have never cared for them that much, but we stayed for the show. And I really am glad that we stayed, since after Ville Valo had left the stage (he was very laconic during the whole set), a magnificent set of fireworks was displayed! The light show went on for about 15 minutes.
SUNDAY
On Sunday we came to the area much earlier, since we wanted to see Emma Salokoski Ensemble. I had only heard a couple of their songs, but had heard so much good about Emma, that we decided to wake up early to see her. And it was well worth it! The music was great, jazzy, bossa-novish sort of thing, and her singing was awesome. I don't think that I have ever heard anyone sing so well... Their show was the best of the festival for me, alongside Calexico... She also has a great stage charisma, and her band (which includes, among others, Tuomo) was also great. After Ilosaarirock I went to buy her CD, which was also good, but not as good as her performance on Sunday. I guess she has gotten better during these couple of years... :)
Emma Salokoski, Tuomo Prättälä on the left
Next up was Lännen-Jukka on the main stage. Lännen-Jukka is actually J. Karjalainen, who plays in the style of old Finnish-American folk. It was interesting. :)
Sunday turned out to be a jazz-day for us, because next we went to see Dalindéo, a small Finnish bossa nova jazz band on stage 3. They played well, and were nice to hear. Then was Viikate's turn on the main stage. I like their kind of heavy rock with steel string guitars. They also had a nice rock thing going on through the whole set.
Then, while we went once again to chill out on the beach and listen to Fat Beat Sound System, it started to rain. Well, it had to happen sometime... Luckily no good acts were coming, so we tried to stay warm while listening half-heartedly to the punk of Disco Ensemble. The rain stopped nicely in time for Maria Gasolina on the beach stage. They also play a nice summery reggae. I'd like to see them again, they really seemed to have a nice time on the stage...
Our Ilosaarirock ended with the perfect band: The Cinematic Orchestra. We just chilled on the ground in the large tent listening to their groove. They were the last band on that stage, so they even played an encore even though they had already played about 10 minutes overtime... :) I really liked how they seemed to wrap things up for the whole festival.
The Cinematic Orchestra, thanking Ilosaarirock
All in all, the whole weekend was totally worth it! I got to see Calexico and The Cinematic Orchestra play for the first time in Finland, and totally fell in love with Emma Salokoski's performance. I didn't even miss not getting to see Metallica, who played on Sunday evening in Helsinki... :)
This year's Ilosaari was my first in about 5 years. I mostly went because I found out that Calexico, Porcupine Tree, and The Cinematic Orchestra would be playing there. The ticket price was pretty steep with the Friday club ticket, but I can totally say it was damn well worth it!
FRIDAY
On Friday we came to the area while Stella was playing. It was a nice little Finnish band, didn't arouse my interest. The next act we saw was Ismo Alanko Teholla, which was great! Ismo's songs worked really well trimmed down to just the basics, him on the guitar and piano (and of course singing), and Teho Majamäki playing all kinds of percussion stuff. They played an Ismo hits galore, ending with a great singalong, Kanoottilaulu.
Ismo Alanko Teholla
The next bigger artist was CMX. I've seen them once before, and boy, has A.W. Yrjänä gotten even fatter and uglier than before or what?! They played a really fast and energetic set, not my favourites. Although I really liked how they played
Taivaan lapset, it rocked a lot mre than on CD.Apulanta closed the rock evening nicely. The tent was packed, everybody sang together, bounced, and were enjoying themselves. They also played a hit parade, but I would have liked to hear
Reunalla as well. Ah well, you cannot have everything...So, Friday was a perfect start for a rockin' weekend! The only problem was that the taxi queue was hellishly long (ab. 200 people!), and we had to walk ab. 5 km to get to bed...
SATURDAY
So, Saturday came and the weather was nice. No sign of the rain that was forecast. We arrived late, only just in time to see Maj Karma. The act was great, mr. Ylppö was all over the place. I didn't get into the set that much, which probably had to do with the fact that we were about a hundred meters from the stage. All in all, the bands on the main stage were a bit of a disappointment to me. I liked the gigs on the smaller stages a lot better...
Next we saw Husky Rescue, a melodic Finnish band, then Ville Leinonen, whose Finnish "schlager" songs were much fun. Then we went to chill out to the beach, where Suhinators played a nice reggaey set.
After a short break came the main attraction of the festival (for me), Calexico. It was their first time in Finland, and I got to see it! Yay! I had already bought a t-shirt earlier that day:
so I was good to go. Luckily not many Ilosaari goers knew about Calexico beforehand, so we got to the front row by being there a half an hour early. The set was everything that I'd hoped for it to be. I recognized only few of the songs from the start, because they played all the songs very differently from the album versions. I liked their on-stage charisma a lot and they seemed to liked playing for us much as well. All in all, I think that both the band and the listeners got a really nice experience out of it...
Calexico
After Calexico had left (they did not come for an encore, damn the festivals and their tight schedules!), We went to see
PMMP on the main stage. I think that they are more of a girls' band, even though I like their music on cd... :)
Next up was Porcupine Tree. I had high hopes for the gig, since I like their stuff. But when the set started, I never quite got into it. I think that I'm not big enough a fan yet, since everybody else seemed to enjoy the show a lot. It might also have been tiredness creeping in... They did have a nice video show, nevertheless.
The evening ended with the major attraction of the festival, HIM. I have never cared for them that much, but we stayed for the show. And I really am glad that we stayed, since after Ville Valo had left the stage (he was very laconic during the whole set), a magnificent set of fireworks was displayed! The light show went on for about 15 minutes.
SUNDAY
On Sunday we came to the area much earlier, since we wanted to see Emma Salokoski Ensemble. I had only heard a couple of their songs, but had heard so much good about Emma, that we decided to wake up early to see her. And it was well worth it! The music was great, jazzy, bossa-novish sort of thing, and her singing was awesome. I don't think that I have ever heard anyone sing so well... Their show was the best of the festival for me, alongside Calexico... She also has a great stage charisma, and her band (which includes, among others, Tuomo) was also great. After Ilosaarirock I went to buy her CD, which was also good, but not as good as her performance on Sunday. I guess she has gotten better during these couple of years... :)
Emma Salokoski, Tuomo Prättälä on the left
Next up was Lännen-Jukka on the main stage. Lännen-Jukka is actually J. Karjalainen, who plays in the style of old Finnish-American folk. It was interesting. :)
Sunday turned out to be a jazz-day for us, because next we went to see Dalindéo, a small Finnish bossa nova jazz band on stage 3. They played well, and were nice to hear. Then was Viikate's turn on the main stage. I like their kind of heavy rock with steel string guitars. They also had a nice rock thing going on through the whole set.
Then, while we went once again to chill out on the beach and listen to Fat Beat Sound System, it started to rain. Well, it had to happen sometime... Luckily no good acts were coming, so we tried to stay warm while listening half-heartedly to the punk of Disco Ensemble. The rain stopped nicely in time for Maria Gasolina on the beach stage. They also play a nice summery reggae. I'd like to see them again, they really seemed to have a nice time on the stage...
Our Ilosaarirock ended with the perfect band: The Cinematic Orchestra. We just chilled on the ground in the large tent listening to their groove. They were the last band on that stage, so they even played an encore even though they had already played about 10 minutes overtime... :) I really liked how they seemed to wrap things up for the whole festival.
The Cinematic Orchestra, thanking Ilosaarirock
All in all, the whole weekend was totally worth it! I got to see Calexico and The Cinematic Orchestra play for the first time in Finland, and totally fell in love with Emma Salokoski's performance. I didn't even miss not getting to see Metallica, who played on Sunday evening in Helsinki... :)
