Uzva & Alamaailman Vasarat - Helsinki, June 13

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I'm writing this almost a month after the gig, so if my description
sounds a little vague, it is because of that. I had been waiting for
this day a long time, as both are among my favorite modern prog bands. 

UZVA

Uzva started the gig, and what a treat it was! Their sound was
considerably heavier live; they almost sound like a chamber rock group
on their albums, but live it was like a different group altogether. I
don't remember what songs they played, but it's not important at all,
as their music is meant to be listened as a whole. 

Their live performance reminded me of Tasavallan Presidentti in many
ways - Lauri Kajander (rhythm guitar) actually looks exactly like young
Jukka Tolonen. Antti Lauronen (sax, flute) stole the show on many
occasions, he certainly added his own jazzy touch to the music. They
played some tracks from their upcoming album (should be released this
year), and it sounded quite interesting, although it's always difficult
to get a grip of the music, when hearing it for the first time. 

I won't go into detail describing their music, read the reviews, if
you're interested in the band. The only thing that slightly ruined the
atmosphere was the technical problems they had. Kajander's guitar
amplifier wasn't functioning the way it should, and they couldn't get
it to work during the gig, so his guitar sounded a bit strange. Other
than that, it was a fine gig. 

The leader of the group, Heikki Puska, is a very shy man, so it was
certainly one of the highlights of the night, when he had to talk to
the audience, while the rest of the group were trying to fix the
problems. 

Alamaailman Vasarat

When Alamaailman Vasarat entered the stage, it was quite a sight! Jarno
Sarkula looked like a missing ZZ-Top member, with his huge beard and
weird hat! Without underrestimating Uzva's performance at all,
Alamaailman Vasarat did stole the show. While Uzva were fairly calm on
stage, AV's amazing, theatrical performance is definitely something you
don't manage to see too often. I bet Trouserpress would've loved to see
this .

At one point, during a calm, more sinister moment, Sarkula (saxes,
clarinet etc.) and Erno Haukkala (trombone, tuba etc.) were sitting on
the ground, looking fairly gloomy, while the rest of the group were
playing. Then, suddenly they jumped up, picked up their instruments,
and started to attack your ears with all the possible cellos, saxes,
trombones etc. It was a great moment. Their humorous, theatrical show
would have given Genesis a run for their money, for sure! 

It goes without saying, that they're all brilliant musicians, but I was
still amazed by the two cellists. If possible, they sounded even
heavier live, which is quite an accomplishment! Most of the audience
were jumping and dancing everywhere ... It looked very strange, to say
the least, but just goes to show what an impact the band can have on
you! I don't remember the setlist very well, but I'm sure they played
at least Asuntovelka, Vasaraasialainen and Lentävä Mato.
Well, anyway, it was brilliant gig from start to finish, and I sure as
hell enjoyed it. I'm still feeling a bit dizzy when thinking about it!

If you ever get a chance to see either of the bands live, it's well worth it. 

Edited by Jimbo - July 08 2006 at 07:37