Velcra, Iiwanajulma, Misterer @ Nosturi
11.10.2019 Nosturi, Helsinki, Finland – PHOTO GALLERY HERE
This weekend required more than tossing a coin – yet I am not sure whether 3D chess might have helped to make a choice: Blow Up Festival (feat. e.g. Cirith Ungol and Benediction, which I would have enjoyed to watch too), Heavy Metal Heart Festival, concerts feat. The Wildhearts and Flesh Roxon, Uriah Heep … too bad there is nothing like emergency-instant-cloning (yet) … However, no doubt which event to attend on Friday, because such a legendary concert evening with extremely rare bands should not be missed. Especially when the venue is about to be closed forever. A sold-out show is proof that many music fans shared my opinion, despite the competition …
Misterer kick-started the event quite self-confidently with “I am a God” 🙂 It might sound strange to call it a lively show when the main focus on stage is this huge drum kit as the drummer is also the singer – hence literally the front man – and I am always impressed how someone can handle drumming and singing at the same time. Yet the string section keeps the action going on, and Mikko is not just a great versatile singer but also an entertaining MC. The program covering pretty much the complete “Ignoramus” debut album got the audience into the required cheerful Metal party mood.
When it was time for the legendary Iiwanajulma , Nosturi had almost reached its full capacity. No wonder, this band keeps their live shows rare and something special – and it’s also rare to see them on such a huge stage. And wow, what an energetic show – mainly because of the unleashed front man Ville.
In such a case it does not matter that you don’t understand all those Finnish lyrics – the intense delivery is fully captivating. Yet when in the very back, I had the impression that somewhere half through the audience was not 100% enthusiasm, as it was the case with Misterer. But the band picked up on that quickly and fired up the crowd again into a frenzy. Later I heard some fans complain that they had preferred to hear more of the brutal Iiwanajulma song material. For me the mix of aggression and calm moments was just right, I have nothing to complain about. Great show!
Maybe I should mention here that in a dim club light situation I really have difficulties to recognize people from a distance further than 20 cm (shortsighted and night-blind) – therefore in case I did not cheer every of my friends present, please don’t be upset. Maybe next time simply block my way and wave right in my face, then chances are better that I can actually see you – and as I noticed, several people know that already 🙂
Apropos recognizing people – yes, you are right when checking out the PHOTO GALLERY, you will see the very same faces in all three bands, as there is a fluent band member exchange going on …
Therefore the headliner Velcra features several well-known people too. Basically the band disbanded in 2008 already but they got together once more for this legendary Nosturi-Farewell-Gig. Admittedly, when this band was really big back then, I had somehow missed out on the fame… but watching this, I can perfectly understand why they became such a big thing in Finland. As soon as the first notes of an intro could be heard, the audience went nuts – and pretty much remained in that state throughout the show.
Industrial Metal / Melodic Rock and high quality vocals by Jessi Frey – imagine a mix of Guano Apes and The Gathering … You want to know how good the band is? The band is so good that even Finnish male Metalheads start dancing… great show, later a former member Teppo Hudson joined in and the band presented a song they have rarely played live: Can’t stop fighting.
I have to mention here that guitarist Timo Hänninen was the hardest working man of this evening, playing in all 3 bands – kudos! Well, the “thank you all” speech of the band, a farewell for the club that hosted the very first and most likely the very last Velcra gig, was a bit too long for my taste.
Still there is no doubt – this was one of those concerts that will still be talked about in years to come.
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