Enjoyable Live Night: Sundström & Grillijono

In the normally dull city of Vaasa in the dullest period of the year, yesterday evening was a musical blast. Two surprisingly great gigs from two bands in form, performing in two different inner-city venues. Stefan Sundström med band at Ritz and Grillijono K.O. at Leipätehdas.

Sundström, a Swedish veteran musician, mostly well-known as a gifted singer-songwriter and solo performer, but also a rocker with a strong punk DIY-attitude, perform on this short Finland tour with a great five-person-band, including bass legend Nicke Ström. Yesterday, Sundström and his solid tour band gave a fine, pulsating rock concert, ending, perhaps surprisingly, with a well-performed, driving cover-version of Fri Sprit och Taxi Hem (Free booze and taxi home). A rather short concert, around 1 h 20 mins, but with no fill-outs, just great fun. A warm and energetic performance. I would certainly enjoy  a live album with this band.

Sundström performed so early that there was also good time to catch Punk band Grillijono K.O. at another venue, doing a quite rare performance in home town Vaasa. 

Grillijono has only made one album thus far, but a very fine one, and yesterday they also performed a great sample from a coming album. I certainly await that album, it is on the shopping list when published. The new song also went down well with the audience. As did the older songs, a favorite being Fuck Me Up Before You Go-Go. Energetic, fun, tempo-driven music and a high-toned main vocalist brings Offspring to mind. Yesterday was the first gig I have seen with Grillijono K.O., that are known nationally, but less so in their own, conservative home town. They are the next generation Klamydia, for a long time and still the most famous band from Vaasa. Both are punk bands singing in Finnish. Watch Grillijono K.O.!

Great gig, yesterday, I can’t understand why they are not a festival band here. 

Vaasa Festival, take note!

So,

A great night out enjoyning two bands in great form, in two different venues. I felt truly energized afterwards. About 5-10 people enjoyed both concerts, genre-hopping and proving that good music is good music irrespective of genre. Period.

Looking forward to see gigs by Stefan Sundström band and Grillijono K.O. again, soon. 

Yesterday You Both Rocked! 

I like.

🎶👍

End of an Era - Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II

Today U.K. and the world took a final farewell of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and a constant in a turbulant and transforming world since the early 1950’s.

She has always been there, come rain or shine, for seven decades as Queen, and now she is gone. Having followed CNN and BBC from Queen Elizabeth’s death until now, her funeral day, it is evident that this has been the biggest news topic in the anglo-american world.

Queen Elizabeth leaves a strong legacy. She was the very long-serving head of the Commonwealth and is said to personally have met three million people during her long rein. She took her duties very seriously, but did not necessarily take herself seriously. She even surprised everybody participating in scenes with James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Paddington. So cool, so fun. 

Elizabeth has been such a highly loved monarch, which the masses of hundreds of thousands of mourning citizens is clear proof of. And 2000 guests participate in her funeral today including many heads of state, including presidents Niinistö, Biden and Macron, the monarchs of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Spain and Japan, and prime ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand. To name but a few. And about one million are expected on the London streets today to take a last farewell of the Queen.

A very beautiful and deeply touching burial ceremony.

The national anthem of U.K. is now, after 70 years, God Save The King.

An era is over. 

Rest in Peace, Queen Elizabeth II.

End of Cottage Season 2022

Alas, another Summer is already gone. 

Formally.

This weekend End of Cottage Season was celebrated here in western Finland and smaller parts of eastern Sweden.

Weather played its part too. Friday was probably the last warm day of the year, plus 23 or more, sunny and full summer. Saturday, the End of Summer season celebration night, started fine, but from mid-day it started raining and it just continued, slowly, all night. Sunday had ok weather but clearly chillier, around 17 degrees. The first day of Fall, just as Friday was the last full day of Summer. And in between the End of Cottage Season celebrations on Saturday.

Timing is everything.

We chilled, and had real good food, but no party this year. But of course music was part of the celebrations, as always.

Villaavslutningen är firad, sommaren 2022 officiellt avslutad, och det är klart att vemodet infinner sig med höstmörkret. Minns de finaste, varmaste sommardagarna och -nätterna, och se framåt, hösten har också sina vackra, stämningsfulla stunder.

Remember the best days of Summer 22, and enjoy the beginning of Fall season 22.

END OF COTTAGE SEASON 2022 Playlist

Express Yourself (Cd-s)/N.W.A. 

Pretty Vacant/Sex Pistols

Barn Av Vår Tid/Joakim Berg

Waiting For A Superman (Xfm Live Session)/The Flaming Lips

Where The Streets Have No Name/Can’t Take My Eyes Of You (Live in Mexico City)/Pet Shop Boys

Die Kleine Stadt/Udo Lindenberg

Jam Of The Year/The Symbol (Prince)

Stand By Me (Cd-s)/Oasis

Empathy/LBJ

Solregn (Live)/Dan Hylander & Orkester

Vielä On Kesää Jäljellä/Mamba

Chillaa Meiä Kanssa/Seremoniamestari

Wrongs Of Fall/Sad Rockets

Sex In The Summer/The Symbol (Prince)

Putoan/Kaemo

A New Life/Pet Shop Boys

Vrid Tiden Tillbaks/Noice

Drömmar Av Guld/Eva Dahlgren

Låtsasvärlden/Joakim Berg

M (Cd-s)/Kent

Venus In Fur (Acoustic edit 1965)/The Velvet Underground

When The Smoke Is Going Down/Scorpions

Get Up Offa That Thing (Live In Tokyo 1980)/James Brown

Bayern (Tipp-Kick Version)(Cd-s)/Die Toten Hosen

Ja Vill Inte Va (Som Alla Andra) (Demo 1979)/Noice 

Stay (Live 1979 No Nukes Concerts)/Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Go West (Live In Mexico City)/Pet Shop Boys

Höstvisa/Tomas Ledin

Drei Alben des Jahres

Jan Delay, Toten Hosen und Waving The Guns. Three albums (one box) of the year - thus far - are German.

Ja just det, tre av årets album är tyska.

Värda att kolla in. 

Worth checking out.

Jan Delay & Disko No. 1: Earth, Wind & Feiern - Live aus dem Hamburger Hafen

Årets partyplatta. Det svänger, öser, rockar, och blir stundtals känslosamt. Dansgolvspärlor och Disco för 2020-talet, hela vägen. Titeln är ingen slump, yes, tänk Earth, Wind & Fire, lite mera fest, och på tyska.

Alle tanzen!

The party record of the year, not least for the summer season. Magnificent disco and dance grooves for the 2020’s. The title is an homage to Earth, Wind & Fire, of course. It’s party time, in German. Alle tanzen!

Waving The Guns: Am Käfig Rutteln

Tung hiphop med härligt drive. Starka texter och ett beat som får varje ben i kroppen att röra sig. Känn rytmen!

Great drive and beat in this wonderful hip hop record, that makes every bone in the body move to the rhythm.

Die Toten Hosen: Alles Aus Liebe 40 (4LP)

The German Punk legends have made many albums over the 40 years, including many live albums. Here is a celebratory box set with old classics, a few brand new songs and some great new mixes of old classics. Plus a handsigned card by all members of the band. The music is great, Toten Hosen are 40 but the music is Now. This may be the box set of the year, at lest for the first half of the year. Sensibly priced too, at 60+ euro, it is well worth buying and not overpriced like unfortunately so many other box sets are. Great box, Toten Hosen!

Prisvärd box av punkikonerna Die Toten Hosen, 4 lp och signerat kort, och många fina spår med klassiker, några nya låtar och ett antal fräscha remixar av gamla klassiker. Ett tungt, högklassigt paket av de 40-årsjubilerande veteranerna. Bästa boxen hittills i år.

Did not include songs from these albums on Summer Vacation playlist because you should hear the full albums. Låtar från de här plattorna finns inte med på semester-playlisten, för de här albumen förtjänar att höras i sin helhet.

Viel Spass!

Summer Vacation - Playlist

The Finnish Summer is short. We are already past the brightest lightest summer nights of 2022 and nights are slowly getting duskier and soon darker.

But,

It is still full Summer, in the Vacation month of July, when most of Finland is enjoying the Summer. Today is sunny and warm, and we understand to appreciate that, because it won’t last.

Enjoy the Summer vacations and/or Summer days & nights, where ever you are.

Here is a Summer Vacation playlist, to chill to, dance to, just to be to, inspired by some new finds I did during my last journey, this time to Stuttgart and Frankfurt. 

Enjoy.

SUMMER VACATION PLAYLIST 2022

Time To Start/Blue Man Group

So We Won’t Forget/Khruangbin

Tag Am Meer/Die Fantastischen Vier

Tag Am Meer (Jaeger & Sampler Rmx)/Die Fantastischen Vier

My Love Is For U/Break SL

Sing Along/Blue Man Group

Kirchturmkandidaten/Jan Delay

Ich Weiss Was Was Du Nicht Weisst/Sportfreunde Stiller

You Got The Magic (7”)/John Fogerty

Antinazibund/Sportfreunde Stiller

Sad While Reggae/Placebo

Gold Gegen Blei/Von Brucken

Mach Dich Frei/Die Fantastischen Vier

Immerhin (fur die Tauben)/Von Brucken

Norden/Sportfreunde Stiller

Time To Start (Alternate German Version)/Blue Man Group

Relax (b island remix)/Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Can’t Stop The Music (Special Long Version)/Village People

Play It For The World/Carlos Malcolm

Too Hot/Coolio

Chicago/Clueso

Blue Blue Moon/The Boppers

Pohjanmaalla (Wanaja Live)/Klamydia

Living In The City/Hurray For The Riff Raff

Miss Decibel (Live Allsång 2022)/Medina

Visa Vid Vindens Ängar (CD-ep)/Håkan Hellström

Midsummer Sunday

During midsummer weekend 2022 weather is a Nordic summer at its best. Yesterday was another beautiful day.

Another midsummer weekend playlist. 

Enjoy Summertime!

MIDSUMMER SUNDAY 2022 PLAYLIST

Awake (2021 Mix)/Assemblage  23

Willkommen/Rozenstolz

Alles Gut (7”)/Jan Delay

Melody Of Love/Hot Chip

Slobo Day/Peter Green

Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City/Grady Tate

Love Is All/Liverpool

Uberdosis Fremdscham/Jan Delay

Es Tut Immer Noch Weh/Rosenstolz

Redan Idag/Raymond & Maria

Early In The Morning/Little Stalin Band

Never Let Me Down Again/The Penelopes

Personal Jesus (Live Singles Tour 86/98)/Depeche Mode

Turlich, Turlich (Live)/Jan Delay & Disko No. 1

Ich Falle Noch/Clueso

Jag Väntar Vid Min Mila (7”EP)/Hootenanny Singers

Palkkasoturi/Hector

All You Fascists Bound To  Lose/Ghetto 84

Wunder Geschehen (New Version)/Nena

Niemals Dran Gezweifelt/Udo Lindenberg

I’ll Be Missing You (CD-s)/Puff Daddy & The Family feat. Faith Evans & 112

Take On Me (Unplugged Live)/A-Ha

What A Wonderful World/The Flaming Lips

Kung Av Sand (Live)/Gyllene Tider

Walking In My Shoes (Live Singles Tour 86/98)/Depeche Mode

Sad White Reggae/Placebo

Mein Body Und Ich/Udo Lindenberg

Wordplay (Justus Köhne Remix)/Malou

Una Y Otra Vez/Sergeant Garcia

Feel (12” Club Mix, Test Pressing)/M

Go Now (7”, White label)/The Moody Blues

You Can’t Run Away/Udo Lindenberg mit Freundeskreis & Gentleman

See You (Live 1984)/Depeche Mode

Back In The City/The Wave Pictures

St. Pauli (Live)/Jan Delay & Disko No. 1

Over The Rainbow/Fläskkvartetten

Udopium (Live in Bremen - soon in Hamburg)

Den tyska nationalikonen Udo Lindenberg, 75, klarade corona-krisen och är som bäst ute på turne’ runt om i Tyskland. Inkommande vecka spelar han i hemstaden Hamburg, wish I was there, under pingsten stod Bremen på tur, fredag och lördag. Jag såg bägge spelningarna, fredag front  of stage, lördag på sittplats.

Två utmärkta konserter av en artist i god form, lite äldre än 2019, but still going strong. Det kan man däremot inte säga om personen som hade sittplatsen bredvid mig på lördagen. Han rörde inte en muskel under hela konserten och verkade mest längta hem. Hustrun, däremot, var ett Udo-fan.

På Udo var det full fart. Två konserter som i huvuddrag var lika, men med några små nyanser. Och ett publiktryck som var tyngre på lördagen. 

Höjdpunkter båda kvällarna var, föga överraskande, Das Leben och Reeperbahn, liksom anti-krigsblocket med Wozu sind Kriege da? och Wir siehen in die Frieden. Strålande. Stämningsfullt. 

Och snäppet vassare på lördag.

Det märktes att en del publik var äldre, och att några var gnälliga och kanske ovana med rockkonserter, personer som hellre borde ha stannat hemma. Den stillasittande på lördag verkade inte trivas särskilt bra, men störde ingen. En sur och otrevlig 65+ dam på fredagen, däremot, ansåg sig argsint ha rätt till minst 2 meters omkrets runt sig front of stage och buffade bort dem som kom för nära. Helt fel biljett för fel person, alltså. 

Bremen-publiken var inte en Hamburg-publik, förstås. Hemmaplan är alltid hemmaplan. Men det blev ändå riktigt bra drag bägge kvällarna och Udo & co levererade.

Det var väl inte samma enorma konsertupplevelse som 2019 i Hamburg, men två riktigt bra konserter, och bättre än väntat, 2022. Stentufft av Udo, nu 76. En del bandmedlemmar hade väl synbart åldrats lite under coronan, men det syntes inte i framträdandena. 

De filmiska inslagen på duken bakom bandet var delvis i bruk redan 2019, och till exempel konsertöppningen fungerar fortfarande utmärkt. 

Spellistan var långt en best of samling låtar, men så är ju turnetemat Udopium, efter samlingsboxen med samma namn. Med fanns också några nya, fina spår; från Udopium-boxen och ledmotivet till Udo-filmen. Mannen som gjorde tyskan till ett rockspråk gör fortfarande tyskspråkig rock som berör. Konserten kändes kort, fast den var en god bit över två timmar, ett utmärkt betyg. Favorit efter favorit radades upp på scenen och showen var ett uttryck för frisinnet i St. Pauli. Alla är välkomna, alla får plats.

Ändå finns här ett vemod, Udo är redan 76, och han gör stor turne efter en samlingsbox som sammanfattar hans långa karriär.

Hägrar slutet?

De nya spåren på Udopium visar att han fortfarande levererar nya, angelägna sånger. Och på scenen framförs också de nya sångerna i fina versioner. Udos texter, och musik, hans samhällsengagerade mellansnack, har relevans. Fortfarande. 

Kanske är det så att endel av fansen har åldrats mera under coronan än Udo. Två av dem i Bremen, i alla fall. 

Udo is still going strong.

Det tackar vi för. 🙏