Support act: Green Lizard
Getting Green Lizard to support the Rasmus was a very good choice. I remembered this bouncy five-piece from a few years ago, when they had a few small hits and I went to a gig in 2001, so I was looking forward to seeing them on stage again. Actually, I was a little surprised when 013 announced that Green Lizard would be playing, it has been very quiet around this band the last couple of years. They were obviously happy to be on stage and their energy was catching on to us quickly. The setlist contained a lot of new material that they had only rehearsed a few times. The new songs are more rocky than their old ones and we were dancing and banging our heads frantically. The young girls around us must have thought we were mad, and they were amazed when I sang along to Autumn and Turn Around. The lead singer was curious about how many people already knew the band and asked us to raise our hands if we did. I think about a fifth of the crowd stuck their fingers up, not a bad result. Thanks for setting the mood guys, we enjoyed ourselves! official website
When the Rasmus crew was changing the equipment, the fangirls in front of us started to shout out to Dirk and Jari. Dirk ignored them, Jari was shaking his head, but had trouble hiding his grin. The girls had 'Pauli' written across their faces with a permanent marker, I bet their mums weren't very happy with that and we wonder if they still thought it was such a good idea when they couldn't get it off the next day. The stuff isn't called permanent for nothing ladies!
The Rasmus
013 is a very nice venue. It used to be a cinema so the floor is sloping and you have a good view from anywhere in the hall. There were about 2000 people inside. Mainly young girls, but the average age was higher than in Bristol and there were quite a few boys. The atmosphere tensed up when the lights went out and the tunes to 'Last Waltz' were heard. The guys came on and Lauri started off by shouting: "Are you feeling guilty tonight?!" before kicking into 'Guilty'. The sound was a bit off and he was constantly signalling to get it right, which it was halfway through the song. We still feel that 'Guilty' isn't the best track to open with. It doesn't rock enough. If they really want to make a big entrance, they should pick 'Back in the Picture' or 'Not Like the Other Girls'. The screaming and pushing wasn't too bad on our side of the stage, the fangirls obviously haven't discovered Pauli yet. The atmosphere was good, people were singing along and the boys were clearly having a good time. Lauri was bouncing around and Aki's limbs were flying everywhere.
The acoustic set was better than the one in Bristol. Same songs, different attitude. They were laughing a lot and encouraging the audience to sing along. Lauri made us work hard during 'The One I Love'. Later on Aki broke the drums, and while they were fixing it Lauri mumbled that everything seemed to break down. Eero started to play and sing what he called his 'happy tune'. He should become a bit more confidant about his voice, it's very good. Lauri joined him half way and told us it was actually a Finnish Christmas song. Very entertaining. Aki gave us a drumroll and Lauri happily shouted: "He's back!" and wanted to kick into the next song, but Eero stopped him to point his mic at a few girls in the front row who were singing 'happy birthday' to him. When they came back to do the encore, Eero stuck a huge fake rose between his teeth and held it there for a while. It's good to see him being so playful, all of them actually! Pauli broke into a huge grin occasionally and I found myself grinning back at him a few times. Sarah and I were wearing the same outfit as in Bristol and we were standing in the same spot. We wonder if Lauri recognized us. We had eye-contact with him a couple of times, but he didn't look very scared… We did some serious headbanging on 'Still Standing' and 'First Day of my Life', those songs are so much better live than on the album (which I actually think is rather boring)! Lauri's exit on Funeral Song was dramatic. He sang his part, and when the instrumental end started he said goodbye and walked off right away, leaving the fangirls astonished. Pauli, Aki and Eero finished the song and said goodbye to us, thanking the crowd for a great night. Aki handed out his drumsticks and seemed reluctant to leave. He kept waving at everyone and gave us thumbs up. We could have easily gone on for another half an hour and we think he could have as well. We had a brilliant time!
Verdict: Now that is what I expected a Rasmus gig to be like; energetic and powerful. They have certainly convinced me that they actually are a good live band with this performance.
Sarah and Imre
Click here to see pictures of this gig!
