Venue: InBox, Industrijska cona Rudnik, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Concert date: 08.02.2009
Attendance: 280
Ticket price: €32 in advance, €35 on the day of the show
Icy Finns, black roses and soap bubbles? Words without meaning. That is, until we tell you they all describe Monday’s show by Finland’s The Rasmus at the InBox club in Ljubljana. At the end of last September they released their seventh studio album, “Black Roses”, and at the start of this year they hit the road on a European promo tour. For the first time ever they stopped in our capital too, and as we found out over the course of the night, the guys are totally smitten with it. But a lot of questions hung in the air before the show, and the biggest one was probably this: considering that the band (and I’m exaggerating a bit) hasn’t been talked about much in recent years, would they win over and fire up the (rather narrow-minded) Slovenian crowd, or would the whole thing fall flat? The latter was definitely not the case, since Lauri Ylönen knows exactly how to tug at the heartstrings of the girls in the front rows. The crush right below the stage was made up mostly of girls aged 13 to 17, plus a few guys who broke up the monotony.
The Rasmus, who are known for not wanting a support act at their shows, kicked off their set surprisingly early. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet when the guys came bouncing onto the stage during the intro tape. And, as befits a frontman, Lauri came out last, of course. To open, the icy Finns served us the first single from their latest studio album, “Livin` in a World Without You”, and it was clear right away that with their charm and their music they can get under your skin without you even noticing. Still, it took a while before the crowd fully let go. “In My Life”, also released as a single, only confirmed what had just been said. In 2003 the guys put out the album “Dead Letters”, which made them known to a wider European audience thanks to the TV networks Viva TV and MTV. Their success has only kept growing since. They then crowned it with the record “Hide from the Sun”, released in September 2005, which includes “No Fear” among other songs. If anyone thought for a second that The Rasmus would take us through their entire discography right from the start, they were a little wrong. “Black Roses” and “Justify” are both on the latest album, which the tour is dedicated to. The initially somewhat reserved crowd had warmed up nicely by now, and it was time for one of their biggest hits, which surely includes “F-F-F-Falling” (“Into”, 2001). That same year it was released, it shot to the top of numerous Nordic charts. Lauri and company calmed the heated atmosphere with probably one of the mellowest tracks from all their albums. The comedown came with “Liquid” (“Hell of.a Tester”, 1998). The scene was spruced up by plenty of “little lights” (lit lighters, mobile phones) and soap bubbles that drifted down from the ceiling every now and then. Two more of the newest tracks followed, “Your Forgiveness” and “Ghost of Love”. During the chorus, the teenage girls below the stage sang along with Lauri and nearly drowned him out. He had clearly won them over completely with his chatter about the beauty of Ljubljana. The breakthrough album “Dead Letters” also holds “First Day of My Life” and “Not Like Other Girls”. Songs that burn bright, yet live in the shadows. “Immortal” (album “Hide from the Sun”) proves it too, even though most of the throats in the room were singing it. Most of the songs on “Into” are mellow, and “Chill” is no different. The crowd gently swayed to the rhythm of Lauri’s words. As the last two tracks from the newest studio album, the guys played “Live Forever” and “The Fight”. Judging by the reaction of the crowd, they’ve already caught on well with listeners and fans. The Rasmus are clearly like wine: the older, the better. The only one that could argue with those words was “In the Shadows”, which most people were waiting for the most. The best always comes last. After the original version of “Sail Away”, we also got some karaoke. Pia was the bravest to step up, surprising The Rasmus by asking for a guitar as well. Her take on the aforementioned song was very satisfying, and she got an extra dose of courage from Lauri on bass guitar and drummer Aki Hakala.
The guys wrapped up the night of surprises with “Guilty”. What did they do wrong, though? Maybe that they ensnared the girls with their charm? Or was this a positively executed show that overshadowed the slightly poor sound at times? All in all, The Rasmus shone in their true light. The Finnish cold melted away fast in the warmth of Ljubljana.
Photos: Mojca Perdih
Setlist
– intro tape 1. Livin` in a World Without You 2. In My Life 3. No Fear 4. The Black Roses 5. Justify 6. F-F-F-Falling 7. Liquid 8. Your Forgiveness 9. Ghost of Love 10. First Day of My Life 11. Not Like Other Girls 12. Immortal 13. Chill 14. Live Forever 15. Fight 16. In the Shadows 17. Sail Away —– encore —– 18. Guilty
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