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Provinssirock 2013 - 6/14/2013 - *** - Seinäjoki

This year Provinssi had a surprisingly good roster, with something to watch at almost all times. The weather was the downside, as it rained pretty heavily both on Friday and Sunday. Also, at this festival was the grand launch of a new Finnish herbal liquor called Valhalla. It was no Battery/Jägermeister slushie from two years ago, but it was served from a special, refined-looking bar and sold by appropriately Valkyrie-themed damsels.

Friday 14th

Von Herzen Brothers (Mainland Stage): The first act I caught a glimpse of, and I was surprised by their rather heavy song. All the stuff I’ve heard from them so far has been boring and mellow radio rock, and sure enough, the second song was again something incredibly bland, so I moved on.
2/5

Hexvessel (Rumba Stage): Hexvessel on the other hand, was a perfect start for the festival. Trippy and moody, the almost Finnish (the vocalist/main man is British) band played a varied and nuanced show, with songs ranging from Sabbath-esque doom to lighter pieces filled with ethereal beauty. Some horns plus bells and other percussions added further variety to their sound. One of the best gigs of the festival straight from the get-go.
5/5

PMMP (Mainland Stage): PMMP decided to call it quits after leading the Finnish rock scene for ten years. This is their final tour and they did give it their all. A lot of people dancing and enjoying themselves, pyros and ballads, all-in-all a pretty comprehensive show. At least to someone who’s only heard them occasionally on accident.
4/5

Bad Religion (Island Stage): Even if Bad religion looks more corporate than punk, they still know how to put on a good punk rock show. These old timers were for the first time in Provinssirock in -95, at least according to Graffin. I was content with standing some way back and enjoying the show, that is until the following speak: “Yeah, I remember when I still participated at gigs, when I was younger. This next song is dedicated to all the people in the beer area and those just standing around, this is Fuck You!” Needless to say, I walked straight into the pit and stayed there until the end of the set. I can’t remember when felt so alive! Highlights of the set were the title track from their new album, True North, You and Punk Rock Song.
5/5

Kvelertak (Island Stage): One wouldn’t think that a band singing in Norwegian and blending blast beats and other black metal elements to their rock would get anything remotely resembling a mainstream following, but that’s pretty much what Kvelertak have managed. Having three guitarists also leaves some room to just have a few guys wrecking the stage and cheering the crowd on. The vocalist did seem to have a pretty destroyed voice for some reason, though. An ok show, but I left early to get some sweet sweet sleep.
3½/5

Saturday 15th
Gasellit (YleX-Stage): The first act I managed to see on Saturday made me really wish I’d just slept for half an hour longer. These guys were so pathetic with their crap “hiphop” (I don’t know what to call three guys sorta slurring their “lyrics” almost in time with the horrid flat beat), they really made me wonder if their entire point was to suck so that the next artist would look better. Not even the rap-oriented crowd seemed to care for these losers..
0/5

Notkea Rotta 3-pack (YleX-Stage): What followed on the same stage was a good example of how to do hiphop well. With a lot better beats, witty lyrics and actual charisma, Notkea Rotta blew the competition away. There was also some live guitar and a more rock vocal style too at times, which added some nice variation.
3½/5

Eevil Stöö (YleX-Stage): Next up was a guy in a balaclava doing Memphis rap with heavily added vocal effects while reading the lyrics from a folder. And the joke is that the guy isn’t very good at rapping. Yeah, I didn’t get it either..
2-/5

Popeda (Mainland Stage): It was nigh impossible to completely avoid hearing some bits of their songs, but I really did try my best.
0/5

Antero Lindgren (Rumba Stage): A bit of an odd man out, this guy played very touching (I assume) folk rock and had a really good voice. Not really my thing, but at least it wasn’t Popeda.
3-/5

Children of Bodom (Mainland Stage): What better way to enjoy a Bodom gig than from an adjustable beach chair right next to the stage, courtesy of the Sisu candy booth, even the sun came out to check the band out. It was clear that at least Alexi and Warman were completely wasted, and most speaks turned into hilarious friendly banter between the two. None of this showed during the songs, which were performed nigh-perfectly, like only world-class pros know how. In addition to the new single Halo of Blood, which is one if not the heaviest song they’ve done so far, they played a lot of old songs, so it did slightly feel like a return to form after a couple of less-than-great albums.
4½/5

Witchcraft (Island Stage): Stonerish rock from Sweden, Witchcraft partially did their speaks in Swedish, which seemed slightly out of place. Otherwise they had nothing out of the ordinary to spark my interest, so I moved on.
2½/5

K-X-P (Rumba Stage): This weird act stood out with their sorta industrial/electro rock. Sounding at times like Leevi & the Leavings and at times like Kraftwerk, I think this band needs some further attention before I can say anything very definite. But they were entertaining, and that’s the main thing.
4-/5

Danzig (Mainland Stage): This year marks 25 years of Danzig. I haven’t really familiarized myself with the ex-Misfits frontman’s solo material, so I was positively surprised with the Zakk Wylde-styled riffs and groove. Danzig himself was pretty wasted and mostly slurred or shouted a lot of his vocals. If it weren’t for Blue Tears and his awesome singing I would’ve formed a pretty negative image if this gig, but boy can the man sing if he so chooses! The definite highlight of the gig was the fact that they had Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, the Misfits guitarist, with them and they played all their greatest songs to an adoring audience. Doyle is so ripped he has to be seen to be believed, the guy is almost 50 and he looks like he’s the goddamn Hulk or something! This is the closest one can nowadays get to the original Misfits, and it was glorious!
4½/5

Alesso (YleX-Stage): The only act I managed to see from the electro stage. The screens and lights looked beautiful in the darkening evening and the smokes used to underline the drops did the trick. The music in itself wasn’t really anything special, just ordinary mainstream electro.
3-/5

The Sounds (Mainland Stage): The Sounds have a certain appeal, but they seemed to have it switched off for this show. Maja just smoked on stage and somehow didn’t seem to give a fuck, so I moved on.
3-/5

Sokea piste (Rumba Stage): Some proper hc punk fit my mood perfectly and I really enjoyed their nice riffs and good vocals. A good addition to all the other great punk gigs I saw this weekend.
4-/5

Stone (Island Stage): Annoyingly Stone played at the same time as four Finnish punk bands, so some prioritizing was needed. One of the last gigs of their final comeback tour, they kicked things off with the legendary Get Stoned. The vocals sounded the best I’ve heard them and I have to be amazed at how fired up Roope Latvala still was, considering he was wasted already during Bodom’s set.
4/5

Terveet Kädet (Rumba Stage): Finland’s first hc punk band, the old ones still had energy and rage in them. Their songs were a bit too straight-forward for my taste, but the gig was well spent in the pit. An energetic ending to the only rain-free day of the festival.
3½/5

Sunday 16th

Ismo Alanko (Mainland Stage): Ismo Alanko is pretty much the godfather of Finnish rock, having done a long and varied career in music. I’ve written in my notes for this gig CHARISMA in all caps, and that pretty much sums it up. He’s just so present on stage and takes the crowd so incredibly well. The set was pretty smooth and groovy, with some trombone and other instruments adding a nice touch. They had a ugly as fuck backdrop which caught my eye. This with the fact they only used about half of the stage made the show look a bit funny, but I’m assuming that this was so they could better interact and play off each other.
4+/5

Rytmihäiriö (Rumba Stage): The Rumba tent was completely full with enthusiastic people and Rytmihäiriö played a strong set with a lot of brand new songs. With sidedrops adorning the spurgugrammi (wino pentagram) and bottles of their trademark Gambina (cheapeast booze favored by hobos and other professionals) lining the stage, the visuals fit the band really well. A good show, but not the best I’ve seen from these guys.
4-/5

Nicole (Rumba Stage): This band gets me really nostalgic, since I listened to their 2007 album Sivu syyttömistä a LOT. Their heavy riffs are reminiscent of Meshuggah, and the distortion was nice and hefty. After a break, they played infront of a home audience, being from Seinäjoki nowadays. They are also releasing a new album and played some material from it, including the groovy Uneen kahlitut. A highly enjoyable gig.
4+/5

Pertti Kurikan nimipäivät (Island Stage): This punk band consists of people with various handicaps who met at a home for handicapped. Their songs are both about taking a stand in a society which doesn’t give a fuck about special needs people but also about random everyday subjects and enjoying life as one chooses. They are just so incredibly punk and true that it’s really hard NOT to like them. They also had the biggest audience on the Island stage and played one of the best gigs of the festival. It really is heart-warming to see that sometimes it is enough to do your own thing and not care what other people say, no matter the challenges.
5/5

Turbonegro (YleX-Stage): Turbonegro are a big name and they have quite the fanatical following with their prominent fan club Turbojugend. I’ve just never really understood why. Now, having seen them live, I understand even worse. They do play ok rock, but that’s about it for me.
3/5

Down (Island Stage): This was the first time I’ve seen Phil Anselmo and he does have a very special stage presence. The band hadn’t slept last night and Anselmo’s speak tended to be kinda confusing and he tended to ramble, but it took nothing away from the show. “This ain’t no Mötley Crue gig, you don’t have to cheer after ecverything I say”. The music grooved and the sound was crushing, just as it should be. In a way Down was more the main act of Provinssi instead of In Flames. This was further supported by the appearance of Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät during the ending act of the show. Sadly I missed this part, but I was told they managed together a confusing but entertaining show.
4½/5

In Flames (Mainland Stage): It of course started raining properly in time for the closing act. This did bring the audience’s mood down. Having seen In Flames many times I somehow felt sopmething was missing, maybe it’s all the touring from which they’re now going to take a break from to compose their new album. Anders did take a stand against the festival’s rules of no crowd surfing, egging people on to just do what they wanted, but no one was really in the mood. They did manage a pretty big circle pit, which did improve the overall mood. A good, but not great closing to a very good Provinssirock.
4/5

Report a cura di Markus Karppinen