Arriving at Tampere-Talo’s small auditorium approximately 15 minutes before the start of the show and hall is already pretty much filled. The stage is decorated with several lamp shades that look suspiciously much like Ikea ones. During the show those lamps are illuminated in different shades which nicely and subtlety add to the atmosphere. The show in Tampere sold out about a month before the show.

Right on time, at 19.00, the band arrives on stage. As the first set focuses more on the slower songs in their repertoire the band is seated for the first half of their gig. Early on singer Aki Tykki lets us know that they are going to sing about love a lot during the gig. He also talks about his participation a couple of years ago in the Finnish television show Vain elämää and in particular about his fellow contestant Arttu Wiskari.

Time absolutely flies by, and so before long it already time for the last two songs of the first set. ‘Pelastaja‘ which is a favourite of mine and was one of the first Finnish songs I’ve ever heard. and then ‘Tehdään jotain kaunista’ which turns the hall into a beautiful colourful ensemble.

The second half starts with only Aki and guitarist AH Haapasalo on stage, where they performed one of their Solo projects songs each.

A while later Aki explained to us that for this tour they decided to do something they hadn’t previously done and play a still unreleased song, ‘Annan sinun mennä‘. We were asked to please not film it thought, so that the band could still be the ones to upload it first.

The second half in general had a bit more energy and excitement to it. Now the band members actually moved around and interacted with each other. Guest member Janne Huttunen came to the front for a long saxophone solo and it was fun to get to see him play.

Another fun thing that they did was to play their hit ‘Ihmisenpyörä‘ in a funk version, that certainly brought a new spin on things.

The last song of the main set ‘Puhu äänellä jonka kuulen‘ clearly awoke a lot of emotions in the crowed, with some even being moved to tears. As beautiful as that song is I’m also thankful that the encores ‘Olette kauniita‘ and ‘Che Guevara‘ ended things on a happier note.

After the gig there was an offer for a small Meet&Greet, but by the time I got out of the hall the line was already so long that I decided to skip it. But I’m still happy they offered the opportunity, as a fan it’s always nice to exchange even just a few words with your favourite artists.