Powerless Trio @ Savoy
7.2.2018, Savoy Teatteri Helsinki, Finland
It must have been some wicked kind of humour to call a band “Powerless Trio” – a band that unites three of be best Metal voices in the country (in alphabetical order): Marco Hietala, Ari Koivunen and JP Leppäluoto. Therefore it is no surprise to finde a Savoy Theater in Helsinki close to a sold-out situation, even on a Wednesday.
And it’s not just a recording they sing to, they bring their own instruments – Ari on drums, Marco handling a neat Bass / Guitar combination and JP switches between acoustic and electric guitars. Just like a real rock concert should be. Still, why in a Theater then? Well, maybe you have noticed that quite a lot of Metal front people love comedy, and this show provides more than a selection of classic Rock and Metal cover songs, there’s a lot of spontaneous stand-up comedy in between. They provide some anecdotes from their musician lives, philosophical discourse, sarcastic comments – and also very personal stories. In case you didn’t like any of them before, you definitely love them after this show. Especially when realizing that – unlike comedy professionals – nothing they talk about is planned or rehearsed, therefore it might happen that also a colleague on stage loses it for a moment … Very entertaining for everybody, just look at those grinning faces and antics in the interactive gallery below …
… or click on a pic and check it out on Flickr photos: Klaudia Weber
And in order to avoid Karaoke feeling, the Trio also provides their own arrangements, for example for their awesome opener “I See Fire” from the Hobbit soundtrack..
However, it seems that the unusual theater atmosphere has its effect on audience and band likewise. The latter requires 2-3 songs to adjust and relax, and the crowd needs a few encouragements to get rocking along towards the end of part one, and also an invitation to do so in part two. The song selection surely leaves nothing to wish for – voices in harmony, plenty of room for soli and improvisation, and despite focus on Rock and Metal classics there are a few surprises as well; songs by Eagle Eye Cherry, FooFighters or a medley. Megadeth’s “Symphony of Destruction” turns out a huge audience fave, just like “Wish you were here” by Pink Floyd. Only the demand “soittakaa Paranoid” (play Paranoid!) – in case I heard that right – was not paid attention to…
Summing up, a very entertaining evening with excellent musicians and likeable human beings, you could listen for several hours longer – and an event you can take the whole family to attend. Therefore don’t miss the next Powerless Trio show, even when it takes place in the corner of a local Pizza place …