Korpiklaani

Tonight Korpiklaani came to Brisbane.

They played at The Zoo, which is in Ann Street Fortitude Valley. The typical assortment of metal music fans were there. I saw plenty of black t-shirts, piercings and tattoos. I was surprised by how many people had Korpiklaani gear before the show. They are obviously more well known than I expected.

We were late getting in. By the time my phone was scanned for my ticket the first band was on. They were Gorefield and consisted of a lead guitar, bass guitar and drums. They were okay. There music was nothing special but I was not expecting a lot. When they were done they cleared the stage for the next act - Lagerstein.

This was special for me. The guy who used to be the lead singer (Dale Williams) used to work with me. He is quite character. I liked him. Some time back Lagerstein had a CD launch at the Hifi bar. I really wanted to go but I had other commitments that night. Many of our fellow employees went and a good time was had by all. I listened to some of their music. They play pirate metal - that is songs inspired by sailing and piracy and the drinking of rum and so on, set to heavy metal music. This was my chance to see what I missed albeit without Dale at the front.

They took a long time to set up. I don't know if that is because they had a lot of equipment or too many props. There are six or seven of them in the band. The sound check seemed to take a long time. I noticed one chap preparing an electric violin. Eventually they were ready, and after a few "Ahoy"s away they went. Now I noticed the lead singers vocal were soft. I could hear most of the other vocals but not his, so either the equipment was stuffed or the sound levels were mucked up. They were having a good time on stage and much of the crowd was getting into it. After about five songs they stopped. There was no wrap-up or thanks for coming. They just stopped at the end of the song. Okay then. As best as I can figure, they took too long to get started and that cut into their set time. If I see them again I hope they will be better organised.

Eventually Korpiklaani hit the stage. They got a great reception. The crowd totally loved them. It's no secret that I was interested mostly in two members: Tuomas Rounakari on the violin and Sami Perttula on the accordion. Tuomas looked like he could have been the fifth member of ABBA with his  all-white outfit, straight blonde hair, moustache and beard. I thought Sami's crest was shorn and shaven but he had this long rat-tail thing going on and a little chin beard. He had his guns out - now either he works out, or it's carrying around and playing the accordion that does it. And it was a newer style of accordion. The one I used to play had a piano-style keyboard for the right hand. This is a new funky one with buttons instead. One of the guitarists reminded me of an old Greek priest with his big grey beard. In fact, he looked like Fil who owns the Paladar Fumior (Cuban cigar and excellent coffee place in South Brisbane) when he grows his beard. Either that or Rasputin fled to Finland instead of dying and it was one of his ancestors. Who knows. The lead singer was great. He was quite the larrikin and his showmanship was first class. In that way he reminded me of Chris Jericho - one of my favourite wrestlers who is also the frontman of Fozzy.

They belted out song after song and the crowd loved every one of them. My first Korpiklaani song was Metsamies and it was the third one they played. They also played, eventually, one of their most popular tracks - Vodka. It was great to see them interact with the crowd. The line-up kept shifting around on stage so the fans were able to get a good look at each of them. Tuomas was fantastic. He kept a good posture the whole time, even with the chaos of the band and the fans around him. And he played beautifully. He's also a pretty good polka dancer :) He had one solo but I could not see much of that because he was sitting down and there were too many taller people in front of me. But he played beautifully. I really want to play like that one day. It looked like so much fun and it sounded awesome. As good as I look in a suit - and trust me, I look good - I would be just as happy to play up on stage with a folk metal band. My options in Brisbane are probably pretty limited but I would settle for playing tunes like that for my own pleasure.

The whole show wrapped up by 11pm, which was good because I had to get two buses back to the car at West End and drive home. And I was smiling all the way home. At the start of the night I decided I would be happy with a fun night out. It was all that and more. Hopefully they will come back soon and I can take other people along. Not Mrs Sage. She would laugh. She thinks the concept of violin + accordion + metal is hilarious. You might too, but I can tell you first hand that it works.