Kirstiecat | Blog

I’m the queen of lame jokes sometimes. I apologize. I get this lovely little personality trait from my dad. (He wouldn’t even try to deny it.)

Anyhow, against my better judgement, I decided to go out on Sunday night to the Empty Bottle to see four bands from Finland that I knew I may never have a chance to even see again. This plus the fact that all of their releases are somewhat rare made me choose seeing bands over sleep. I had a 7:30 am Monday morning meeting that I had to lead with some teachers and parents I was super nervous about (I just need more than four hours of sleep usually) but that turned out okay and I felt relieved…(I’d like to thank my official sponsor, Visine, for making this possible.) I guess my feeling is that, although it makes you suffer the entire next day as your bloody alarm goes off at six am…it’s worth it when you know it’s such an exceptional opportunity.

Before I get started on the four Finnish bands, I’ll say a word about Davenport, a Wisconsin band that opened up the night. They were very atmospheric and their sound filled the room. I would have liked for some visuals-perhaps some pictures or films against the dark background as I think that would have enhanced their set. They laid in the dark on the floor mainly….so it was sort of like being in a very loud and somewhat smoky isolation tank…with people all around you. Sort of defeats the point, doesn’t it?

(in order of lineup as in Lau Nau played last and was the headliner)

1. KUU PUU:

This was one woman playing with toys and making them sound like nature. She’d record the children’s toy to her liking then loop it back around so that you felt a bit like you were sitting in the forest with a group of twenty kids playing until their hearts delight. At one point, I heard crickets and at another point, the sound of a train in the distance.

2. TOMUTONTTU:

Much less to do with nature and brightness and more to do with darkness, this band set the tone by playing this mask of a zombie-ish head on a stick in front of the stage. Their songs mainly sounded like spooky echoes from the deep belly of a cave. Or maybe just a really loud steamboat passing through a lock.

3. ISLAJA:

Very soothing male/female couple playing and singing together at times. It was soothing and the melodies were often repetitive created from sometimes guitar and bass and at times intermittent samples of chimes and pedal effects. The sparser male vocals added when present. Hers ranged from at times breathy to very emotional and intense. Songs evolved in subtle ways at times. At one point, they miked a little toy bunny that played drums for them at the front of the stage.

4. LAU NAU:

Another male/female couple. Now, this is a compliment-he really looked like he was from the Shire and she could have easily passed for an elf. The female vocals were gentle and reassuring. It was an acoustic set that felt very intimate and engaging. The instruments that were used I’d never imagined. One looked like a bowl with little bells hanging off of it. One looked kind of like a piccolo that he played like a guitar. She played a spinning top toy that spun up and down a stick and looked like a beautiful enchanted silver whir in her hands. The male/female harmonizing was angelic.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2005 at 7:45 pm and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.