The annual Provinssirock-festival held in Seinäjoki (slightly
north from the middle of Finland) is one of the biggest and arguably best festivals
of the Finnish summertime. Spanning over three days in June (from the 15th to the 17th this year) on several stages of various
sizes, the festival offers a lot for a very wide range of fans, from basic pop
to much more experimental flavours. Metal fans hold the festival in high regard
as well, not just because last year they hosted the one-and-possible-only-ever
-time that Strapping Young Lad ripped Finland a new one with
an explosive show. This year the heavy n’ rocking sides of things were very
well represented. Purists, please refrain yourselves from blowing a gasket if
some lighter bands and artists are mentioned in the proceedings.
Friday 15.6.
My arrival to the festival grounds on the beautiful, green-n’-flowing
water-landscape-galore of Törnävänsaari was slightly delayed
and upon entering with a flow of people, I was greeted by the heavy sonic thrusts
of Chimaira. I didn’t know this American troop very well,
despite much hype from a couple of modern metal-digging friends of mine. The
few songs I had heard from them beforehand left a very “meeeh, it’s
OK”-impression. The gig I witnessed only intensified that assumption.
The band played tightly and jumped along energetically with their chugging riffery
and forceful lyrics, but as a 60 minutes+ set the whole thing felt bland. I
was slightly surprised myself how bananas the crowd was going for them. This
reaction was asserted as after the show many viewers testified very vocally
how awesome the show was to them. Well, to each his/her own. From bands that
I think can be placed into similar areas genre-/sound-wise, Machine
Head for example would wipe the floors with this mythical beast any
day, hung over or not.
The first artist to really blow my mind was definitely the American-Irish Flogging
Molly. Not since AC/DC have I experienced a band that
is quite great on studio albums and absolutely, mind-blowingly awesome on the
live stage. The energy this ninepiece was just maddening as the entire field
started jumping and moving like in a huge barndance. The guitars crunched well
together as the violin widdled on top. As songs flowed from Seven Deadly
Sins to Drunken Lullabies, long “worms” of people
started to circle the crowd reaching tens of meters in length. As an experience,
definitely one the biggest surprises and overall, best gigs I’ve ever
seen.
Saturday 16.6.
Saturday began with a smooth, appropriately rough slice of some of the best
rock that Finland has to offer. The Von Hertzen Brothers mix
up a priggish, atmospheric punch of power rock that could maybe be described
as slightly Pink Floydish, ethereal moments combined with hefty
doses of Cream-like drive, only played by five guys. Their
jams can be driven into absolutely magical heights, but they are also very good
with the simplistic pop tune.
Swallow The Sun churned out an oppressing vortex of heaviness
with their quite entertaining brand of doom metal, which unfortunately was understandably
out of place in the middle of a sunny summer day with the temperature reaching
above +20 degrees celcius.
Many of my old school rock -acquaintances had hyped up Patti Smith and her band
as some serious bannerholders of the old guard of rock – you know, the
type that should still have a sense of rebellion and danger without the stinging
sense of commercialization in their craft. Her band was playing tight indeed,
and the music flowed with power and conviction. Her latest album was full of
covers, so it made sense that the group played everything from Lou Reed to Nirvana
with commendably reworked arrangements. And dammit, they played Because
The Night, which is co-written by the almighty Bruce Springsteen, which
is nice.
I must say, the hyping from my elder friends was not for naught. Smith still
looked like a prophet of nature and let that be heard too. When she finished
the set by preaching about the importance of trees and clean air, while proceeding
to rip the strings off of her guitar with her teeth and bare hands, I had to
admit that it was rock n’ roll to a degree where my cynicism was left
at the gates. She commanded respect and the thousands in attendance responded
kindly.
On the Island-stage the atmosphere took another kind turn to an extreme as
Hatebreed took the stage and beat the ever-loving crap out
of their instruments. The metallic hardcore was an ideal form of entertainment
for the pit-dwellers as Jamie Jasta hoarsed out his throat and commandeered
the audience with impressive conviction. I must say, I wasn’t expecting
much out of this group but live, Hatebreed was pretty damn
strong. Despite the applauds given, I must however say that over an hour of
the band’s visceral brand of hardcore can get quite numbing if you’re
not exactly in the right mood for some violence.
Seeing Velvet Revolver on the main stage marked one huge experience
for me. When I was 14 years old and saw the music video for Guns n’
Roses’ November Rain, I was absolutely floored upon seeing
Slash play. The whole look of the guy with the classic top hat and leather jacket
was beyond cool and he played like a god – above anything, well, after Eddie
Van Halen. So seeing him live on stage seven years later was a massive nostalgia
moment for me. Sure enough, he looked just the same as on the desert in that legendary
video (at least the parts that were visible under the hair) and played brilliantly.
Too bad Velvet Revolver has never sparked me in a way that I
should expect given the guys playing. Mostly the fault lies in the singer, Scott
Weiland. I’ve never cared for his voice or his ex-band Stone Temple
Pilots for that matter. It’s a shame that I find a bit more of
them in VR’s sound than I find any Guns.
I mean, can you honestly call a gig great when the best tunes are pseudo-covers,
namely Mr.Brownstone and It’s So Easy from Appetite
For Destruction?
The band has its own moments, sure. Let It Roll from their new album,
Libertad was nicely rocking with some groovy riffage. In the hit ballad Fall
To Pieces Slash gets to pull off those classic, über-melodic licks
on his Les Paul that recall many fond memories of training on the guitar in
my parents’ garage. The hard rocking Sucker Train Blues was still
awesome, but for some reason most of the bands up-tempo numbers leave me flat.
It’s mind-boggling, because I’ve heard how good these guys can get
when playing just the right tunes. And if we want to get nit-picky here, I do
not for the life of me understand what kind of an obsession Weiland had with
a megaphone while singing. It was a cool effect the first time he used it, but
jeebus krist, he used it multiple times, sometimes for entire verses –
annoying. Well, at least I got to see Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum together
on stage, which was cool. So was the top hat.