The year was 2010 when I witnessed MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET for the first time at a sold-out show in Turku’s old TVO premises. That was also the last show of the band, at least for a while, because the urge to play live and make new music was too strong. Only a few years later, in 2015, I was on stage singing with the guys during “Sodoman ilmestys” in Helsinki at PRKL. Both those venues are long gone, but the memories remain vivid of a band that has been more or less a constant in the background of the last 10+ years, so there was no question when the last two shows of the band – now closing the coffin for good after 30 long years – were announced.
The Tampere gig at Yo-Talo was the best choice in terms of the schedule, and traveling to the venue brought all these memories with the band and the guys flashing in my mind. Once at the venue and after a short queue, I finally entered. I hadn’t been in Yo-Talo for a few years, as they had stopped arranging metal shows here for some time. The venue looked very much the same, with perhaps a few technical upgrades, and it was not yet so crowded as to make it difficult to sneak into position, waiting for the opening act.
There was still some time before KALLOMÄKI‘s show, so there was a bit of socializing while curiously looking at the decorations and drums placed on the stage. When the Riihimäki-based masked ensemble began performing, the hall was already quite full. Their take on Finnish folk metal, deeply rooted in the old traditions, makes them somewhat stand out from the more happy-go-lucky bands of the genre. It also adds more appeal with animal skulls, bones, animal skins, and all that you could think you would find inside the hut of a Nordic shaman.
Despite having released a new record, “Huunpurema,” just the same week as the gig, the band still played most of their set from their earlier discography. During the show, the stage got quite lively, making it even more cramped: a woman acting as a sacrificial vessel while creepy tree-like figures with long claws danced around her (these figures would recur during the show and fit with the themes of the band). The frontman Tero Kalliomäki played the electric jouhikko (bowed lyre) almost dancing around, and the rest of the band, with drums and other traditional—or less traditional—instruments, made for a rich and entertaining gig.
The mood was set for the main band, with the whole atmosphere becoming more emotional, thinking about this being the show before the very last one for MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET (which would have followed the next day in their hometown, Lahti). A couple of dedicated Turku fans even brought flowers to the vocalist and founding member Pete Lehtinen as a thank you for the music during all these years.
The show began with a song from the latest “era” of the band, “Peikonmieli” (from their 2017 record “Saatto”), and moved back in time by a decade with the following “Lucifer & Rosemary,” with the audience giving a very strong response as these melodies were played in front of them one last time (for those not going to Lahti the next day, that is). It was a no-nonsense performance, but it filtered here and there that the emotions were running quite strongly when the final curtain on this long chapter is now starting to close. “Suruntuoja,” “Lumikukka,” and “Veritanssi” kept going with this trip down memory lane and brought us to the heart of the gig. At that moment, for most of the people, there was just them and the band on stage, and that’s one of the best feelings of live music under any circumstance.
But time was running fast, and while Pete spent a few words of thanks to the audience, introduced the band, or the next song, most of the focus was rightfully just on the music itself and the feelings that it spurred. “Ikaros” and “Muistoa Kunnioittaen” (the latter from their last EP “Suruaika”) were meant to conclude the show, but it was obvious that the crowd wouldn’t have wanted to leave it at that. So, the band performed a double encore, ending with a more classic song from the early days: “Sodoman Ilmestys.”
This was a celebration of the life (and death) of MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET. Despite half of the band being formed by quite young members, and the lead guitarist Heikki (Piipari) himself has “only” been part of the latter half of this history, surely this weekend was felt quite strongly by them as well. As for the man behind it all, one can only imagine all the emotions flowing in his mind. So it was actually good to see how the guys were in a partying mood and treating this as a proper send-off, with the same spirit that they have shown over the years, and the traditional bottle of Jaloviina for the post-show bacchanalia. As we know, all things must end. It’s how you got there that tells whether it was worth the ride. Thanks, MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET.
KALLOMÄKI
MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET
Photos by Marco Manzi
