With a career of almost 50 years, DAVE LINDHOLM has left an indelible mark on the Finnish music scene. Even though his latest record “Dave Lindholm esittää: Kynä & Kumppanit” was released just last year, the gigs during summer weren’t dedicated to his new material. Bar Loose as a venue still encouraged me to take part in this intimate event.
To be completely honest with you, I wasn’t even that familiar with Dave’s discography. I knew the classic songs such as “Pieni & hento ote” and “Puhelinlasku On Mun”, but I wouldn’t call myself a dedicated fan. I still respect his amazing career and especially his skills with songwriting and how he plays the guitar.
Even regarding DAVE LINDHOLM‘s reputation, I was happily surprised that the gig was sold out. During the show, it felt like the audience was focused and really tried to listen to what Dave was singing about, including me. He also introduced most of the songs with a little background story related to love or relationships, with a bit of humor which definitely worked for the audience.
“I wonder how many people around the world with different languages are right now telling someone, yeah yeah, I love you.” That’s how Dave introduced “Joo, joo, mä rakastan sua” (Yeah, yeah, I love you). Overall his setlist consisted of a quite good variety of material, including classic songs of his like “Tupakka, viina ja villit naiset” and “Puhelinlasku On Mun”, but also very surprising songs like a cover of M.A. NUMMINEN’s “Nuoret ja vanhat”.
As DAVE LINDHOLM is considered as one of the greatest slide guitarists in Finland, I was really happy to hear him play three blues songs to prove his skills. He played the cover songs of his American colleagues Robert Johnson and Arthur Crudup really well, but my favorite part of the evening might have been “Love Built a House”. That really rough atmosphere with the slide guitar characteristics of Dobro and the beautiful flute notes really managed to amaze me.
I guess that is what the whole evening really was about: DAVE LINDHOLM playing the guitar and letting the lyrics do their job. That very minimal setup felt just perfect. If I had to criticize something, it’s that he was maybe rushing through some of the must-play songs like “Annan Kitaran Laulaa Vaan”. But it still sounded good, so it really didn’t bother me all too much. It felt like the audience was enjoying those classic songs the most that night.
To sum it up, with the experience he has DAVE LINDHOLM definitely knows what he is doing. I think Bar Loose as a venue was a perfect choice for the gig. The show was very minimal, but the stories and feelings behind the songs were huge. Dave played for one hour, but I think everyone would’ve been ready for more. If you are even slightly interested in DAVE LINDHOLM’s music and have the chance of seeing him live, I’d say it’s worth taking the shot.
Article and photos by Lassi Saarinen
