Raindrops are falling as the day goes down behind the Laulurinne-hill Friday-night. The people gathered to Sulo-club know exactly what they have come here for: the Finnish embassadors of rock metal are awaited to come and give the Ilosaari-crowds something to remember.
At last the familiar intro-tune is turned on and the long wait is rewarded. The encounter between Viikate and the festival-audience is warm and unpretentious. The band and the listeners immediately find a common language. The frontman Kaarle is feeling the vibe, approving it with a quaint smile: “Boy, you can never be disappointed with Joensuu!”. The gig is like a meeting of an old couple: they both know what they want and with no hesitations they create that special something.
The tunes for this symbiosis are mostly drawn from the album Petäjäverejät and other well-established songs such as Kerran ja Aaveissa vainko oot mun. Towards the end the ambiance reaches its perfection with favourites such as Viina, terva ja hauta ja Kuu kaakon yllä. As the outro-hymn is playing, the band bids the Ilosaari-crowd farewell with a humble thank you and a bow. After this fierce rock-parade it suits more than well to be led deeper into the darkening night by the South-Karelian metalheads Stam1na.
Teksti: Kaisa Kauppinen
Käännös: Maria Kalinainen
Kuva: Markus Korpi-Hallila
