15:43 A desert damper by a degree -- Aavikko

Aavikko ("desert") who plays disco-electronica began their set this time with faster songs than ever witnessed before. The going got so tough in the beginning, that the second keyboardist Tomi Kosonen was every now and then about to fall off the wagon. The reason was clearly visible, too. The man had gotten completely blastered before the gig. Rekkalava ("the Truck stage") was obviously too small for the band. Due to the unruly bass noise from the main stage only a fraction of the audience was able to get to a doable listening distance. Hopefully next year Rekkalava will have a bigger sound system. The ones who got right in front of the stage were having a blast, though. The keyboardist Pal Staufebiel and drummer Tomi Leppänen performed at their best. Especially Leppänen was rocking. Kosonen was stumbling every now and then and stammered into the microphone in between the songs. Towards the end the drummer stepped in and tried to take care of the announcing job, but Kosonen wouldn't take it and kept on babbling over him.

All things considered, on the whole the gig worked. The mass of an audience was dancing their legs off, especially to the hit songs Viitostie and Torpedo Boys, but the atmosphere on the stage was mildly uncomfortable. Kosonen himself had fun, but Staufebiel and Leppänen were obviously embarrased of their colleague's messing about.


Text: Markus Heikkilä
Pictures: Minna Pahkin
Translation: Jenni S.

Back