Author: Rok Klemše
Venue: VPK Mediapark, Ljubljana
Concert date: 24.10.2007
Attendance: 700
Ticket price: 25€
Not a whole lot of water has flowed under the bridge (well, there were a few minor floods in between…) since we got to admire Finnish beer-guzzling party animals Korpiklaani and Tägtgren’s Pain on our home stages. At this year’s Metalcamp, of course. Both bands’ sets there left a lovely memory, and this time we finally got the chance to experience them both at once, on a joint tour that also stopped at Ljubljana’s Cvetličarna.
The warm-up slot this time went to young Swedish melodic death metallers Zonaria. They probably had the toughest job of the night, since genre-wise they’re not much of a fit with either Pain or Korpiklaani. The guys were showing off their freshly released debut Infamy and the Breed, which turned out to sound quite a bit better live than on record. A band that’s not exactly well known on our turf didn’t get some huge reaction, but with an incredibly energetic set, delivered uncompromising and raw, they surely won themselves a few fans, and toward the end of their half-hour set the front row was already headbanging like mad. But when it came to headbanging, nobody could keep up with the guys on stage. Honestly, while shooting photos I was just waiting for one of these dudes’ heads to come flying off and land in the crowd. A one-of-a-kind concert souvenir, heh heh. Despite constantly addressing the crowd and egging it on, they didn’t manage to warm up the wider audience all that well, but a few diehards who spotted some Hypocrisy brutality in Zonaria enjoyed it anyway. So Zonaria didn’t exactly sail through with a crowd leaning toward a completely different genre; next time it would be better to see the Swedes alongside a more like-minded band.
The picture before Korpiklaani’s set was completely different. The space in front of the stage filled to the brim, and the happy little drinkers were getting more and more impatient. When Jonne, Matson, Hittavainen, Jarkko, Juho and Cane stepped on stage and started tuning their instruments, people went wild, beer flowed in streams, and there was no end to the dancing and revelry. Korpiklaani have become a domesticated bunch of critters on our stages, but it’s not hard to figure out why the guys love coming back so much and why we fans keep welcoming them with open arms and full mugs in them. A Korpiklaani show is a pure, primal, energetic party driven by bouncy, dynamic tunes that would get even the dead moving. Jonne is lively on stage right to the end and nails the vocals, with second guitarist Cane helping out, Juho and Hittavainen generously keep the folk stompers coming, and bassist Jukko was a bit more reserved this time, but with that constant cheeky grin he reminds me of Dave Murray every time. The atmosphere in the hall grew with every hit played; Korpiklaani easily get served the kind of mosh that many a champion of death or thrash metal can barely get, and with those humppa stompers VPK turns into a party around a bonfire in the middle of the woods, with generous amounts of vodka and beer. Korpiklaani have been putting out albums almost on an assembly line lately, but they still keep the quality high, as proven by the tracks from the new album, Tervaskanto and the beer-soaked Let’s Drink, and the crowd of course went nuts for hits like Cottages and Saunas, Tulikokko, the always killer beer anthem Happy Little Boozer, Wooden Pints, Beer Beer. Shame Korpiklaani played before Pain this time and so only got a good hour, but that hour is pure, adrenaline-fueled fun, whether you love them or hate them. Korpiklaani turn throats into drainpipes, and their music apparently carries subliminal messages, because while writing these words and listening to Korpiklaani I got a strange craving for a mug of cold beer…
Korpiklaani setlist:
1. Journey Man
2. Körpiklaani
3. Cottages and Saunas
4. Tervaskanto
5. Palovana
6. Tulikokko
7. Orbina
8. Pellonpekko
9. Veriset Äpärät
10. Happy Little Boozer
11. Juokse Sinä Humma
12. Wooden Pints
13. Hunting Song
14. Beer Beer
15. Let’s Drink
16. Il Lea Voibmi
After Korpiklaani said their goodbyes the hall emptied out quite a bit, since most people had simply come for Korpiklaani, but still, a good hour and a half of enjoyment with Pain, the band of the great Peter Tägtgren, followed. Pain first played here at this year’s Metalcamp and thrilled a fairly sizable crowd, and this time we got the Swedes in the more intimate atmosphere of Cvetličarna. Pain struck right at the very start with the big hit Same Old Song, and it was immediately clear the guys are in top form. The sound was dialed in perfectly, and the crew works very coherently and breathes as one, which is great to see considering Pain is Peter’s solo project with session musicians. Any talk of a boss is pointless here, Peter comes across as a member of the team, and as one of the best frontmen currently walking concert stages. Peter radiates incredible charisma, which you notice at the mere mention of the big name, and the guy keeps getting better as a vocalist, especially noticeable in the clean vocals, while it’s clear anyway that Peter’s growl is among the best in death metal. Pain didn’t get the same reaction as Korpiklaani, but the intensity of the night carried on regardless, and the crowd eagerly joined in on the choruses of hits like Same Old Song, Nailed to the Ground, Stay Away, Just Hate Me, On and On. As headliners, Pain also got to indulge themselves this time and put quite a few songs in the setlist that you don’t hear very often – Crashed, Suicide Machine, Injected Paradise and others. The show surely peaked in the encore, first with the punchy Dancing With the Dead, then the demolishing Bitch, and finally the moment when guitarist Michael stepped up to the mic with a mobile phone and a familiar melody trickled out of it, ti ti ti dum, ti ti dum… Shut Your Mouth! “Pero the Alien, Beam us up!”
Pain setlist:
1. Intro
2. Same Old Song
3. Crashed
4. Nailed to the Ground
5. Eleanor Rigby
6. Suicide Machine
7. Injected Paradise
8. Zombie Slam
9. Stay Away
10. On Your Knees (Again)
11. End of the Line
12. Walking on Glass
13. It’s Only Them
14. Just Hate Me
15. Clouds of Ectasy
16. On And On
Encore:
17. Dancing With the Dead
18. Bitch
19. Shut Your Mouth
Despite a seemingly total genre mismatch, Pain and Korpiklaani threw one of the hottest metal parties in recent memory at Cvetličarna, and we’ll surely welcome them back gladly next time (Korpiklaani certainly won’t skip our stages on their next tour for the new record).
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