About 11 years have passed since the last time we saw CALLISTO perform live – when they were promoting what remains their last full-length to date, “Secret Youth.” It has been so long that we barely remembered the band exists, despite they have actually been playing a handful of shows in the meantime, 4 and 8 years ago, respectively, so it was really interesting to see this show being announced on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the release of “Noir.”
As the record that introduced us to this band, we couldn’t miss the opportunity for a trip down memory lane and witness once again these songs being played live. Clearly quite a few people were of the same opinion because the venue was quite full by the time the band finally started: with a few minutes of delay – and no warm-up acts – the curtains of the Savoy theater opened up to reveal the nine band members, of course a little bit aged, as all of us in the crowd.
The show delivered precisely on what it promised, with the album being played in full, along with the visuals on screen complementing the show, and a well-coordinated use of stage lights that helped to enhance the overall experience. The band let the music do the talking for the roughly 1-hour duration of the show (and the record), with only the applause of the fans breaking the flow between one song and another. As a minor note, while it’s nice that people are allowed to drink even inside the theater during the show, sitting with the constant smell of cheap wine around you was not really ideal, but we could live with it for the sake of the music.
When the last notes of the final song faded into the hall, and the curtains closed down again, the whole band came out in front for a traditional bow, getting yet another round of applause while part of the fans were smartly beginning to rush towards the cloakroom before getting stuck in a horrible queue.
It was really nice to see CALLISTO being still alive and kicking, and it evoked a lot of memories from our early years living in Finland. Even nicer was the fact that not only were there no other bands tonight, but the whole gig was done around 20:15, leaving the entire Friday night still ahead of us. Would be great to see these guys being able to perform a bit more often, but in the meantime we take this experience and the memories that came with it, and leave the venue pretty satisfied as is.
CALLISTO
