LinnaBar, Helsinki – February 2nd 2024

Wow! I didn't expect to get so emotional about this gig! Not because it was Joel's last gig with us – he'd told me over a year ago he'd probably be off to do his own thing at some point – but because it was the return to the place we'd started recording Be More Boldly You almost four years ago. Man, what a ride it's been! We had to keep pushing the release of the album back and back and back again and again, so I'm guessing there was a lot of built up energy released last Saturday at LinnaBar. And although I was exhausted to the point of not being able to see straight, all of the stress and other baggage fell right off when we climbed that stage! I did manage to delight the guys with some very spontaneous lyric changes during a couple of songs, but that's almost part of our charm, right? Right?

Tim and Max from Show Station had again volunteered their time to create a really cool light show for this gig, the best they'd ever seen at their establishment I was told by the bar staff and the same apparently applied to the sound where we were lucky to be able to count on our long time friend Kiffe again. To top it all off though, we had Samu and Juho manning a couple of cameras so we were able to catch all of this fancy glory on video for future viewing pleasure! So yes, a concert film of this gig is also definitely coming your way in the not too distant future…!

We'd decided early on to only play songs from the new album because those songs felt more “us”. I mean, they are actually the first songs that everyone in the band has been working on equally, so I guess that's kind of a given. We only left off three songs from the album, but still several people came up afterwards telling us we should have kept playing longer. 10 songs and 45 minutes didn't satisfy them, although that's actually quite a long set for a small band like ours to play. Usually we're restricted to around 7 songs and 30 minutes of showtime.

But you know what, let me tell you something about this crowd, ‘cause I think this is crucial here. First off, we weren’t sure AT ALL anyone was going to turn up for this gig, because LinnaBar situated on the island sea fortress of Suomenlinna is a 15 minute ferry ride away from the mainland, the weather turned out to be several kinds of terrible and the bar itself – well, let's just say it's not the biggest of buildings and you kind of have to want to find it. But when we hit the stage the place was actually packed, like pretty much sold out if we'd charged tickets for the show! A completely unexpected (at least for me) turnout and a wonderfully jubilant atmosphere right from the moment we kicked into set opener Anthem for the Nerds.

At several occasions during the show I felt like something new was happening with our band, like we'd found a new focus, a new way of being – pardon the pun – more boldly us. Maybe it was the energy from the crowd, maybe it was the songs we were playing – probably a little bit of both – but it felt like we're a fresh band just starting out playing our first gig, although it must've been something like our 30th. Something just clicked for me on that stage. I'm convinced it was the start of something beautiful. Which is a strange thing to say about Joel's last gig with us, I know. But I'd like to think of it like he carried us to this certain stage in our career and now leaves us even more focused having to carry on without him. I can't quite explain it. But I guess you can't – or at least shouldn't attempt to – explain magic. Because magical is what this super busy and taxing night amongst friends and new acquaintances felt like!

We played:
Anthem for the Nerds
Stranglehold
Easy Come, Easy Go
The Ceiling
The Courage of a Worm
Icicles
Waiting for the Good Guys to Win Again
Soar
Just Like Balloons
Agents of the Change