LITKU KLEMETTI’s progressive, sometimes a bit schlager-inspired, rock music appeared to me the first time a few years ago. The song “Progetyttö” on Spotify’s weekly discover playlist caught my attention, but the time wasn’t right for me back then, I wasn’t ready for LITKU’s music yet. Fast forward to this year. The band has proven me wrong ever since their latest album “Ding ding dong”. When I heard that the last record release party would be held at Kuudes Linja, I just knew I had to be part of it.
The band kept us waiting for an extra 20-30 minutes, but apparently it was due to the long queue of people waiting to get in. LITKU KLEMETTI started the show with two calmer and more peaceful songs, with the first one remaining unknown to me and the second one being “Tahdon luovuttaa”. At first, I was maybe hoping for a more energetic kickstart for the evening, but this actually worked really well in the end as it prepared us for the hit song “Juna Kainuuseen”. These first songs really let the audience just enjoy the songs and sway along with the music.
LITKU KLEMETTI kept warming us up for 6 songs, and after that, the intro tape “Varjoetydi” for the new album started playing. Litku was enthroned on the stage with the same sunglasses which she’s wearing on the album cover of “Ding ding dong”. After this theatrical interlude, it was time for “Kaikki peittyy kyyneliin”, the first single of the album and also the first song after the intro tape. As the band played through the album’s songs, it felt like the energy and intensity was gradually building up. I almost felt like going through enlightenment when I realized how the show evolved along with the setlist.
Litku has emphasized that she doesn’t have a band, they are a band. And what a band they are. As the music sometimes feels even playful, it’s easy to miss how talented the musicians in LITKU KLEMETTI are. I could get deep and analytical on how they’re mastering the progressive elements and highly variable song types, but let’s just summarize they’re really good at what they’re doing. I feel that especially the new songs are showcasing that. The chemistry between the band is just amazing, and it definitely shows.
We didn’t hear “Taika Tapahtuu” (Translation: Magic Happens) that night, but nevertheless some sort of magic certainly still happened. Litku told us earlier that she hasn’t stage dived in a while after dislocating her shoulder in one show, but during the last song of the actual setlist “Keijukaisvalssi” we saw the hands of the audience supporting her through the venue of Kuudes Linja. The experience felt warming and Litku herself seemed to enjoy the experience just as much, if not even more.
For the first encore song “Greg Lake” two lucky persons from the audience got to play maracas and tambourine with the band. As the bass player Juho stated, it looked just like a setup as the guys were actually wearing similar band shirts of LITKU KLEMETTI. Nevertheless, that night people were united to enjoy their music and I felt fortunate to be part of that. The band is in such a perfect shape right now, that I would highly recommend any fan to attend their show if possible.
Article and photos by Lassi Saarinen
Recent posts
[recent_post_carousel design=”design-1″]
