Concert review | JVG’s sold-out gig at the Olympic Stadium was a feel-good show in which the visitors played a big role

JVG Vuodet ollu tuulisii concert at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on Saturday 12 August.

“Whereby now we have enough for an ice rink, when we can’t even fill Tavastia.”

That’s what the rap duo JVG said Ville Galle In the Emma Gala interview in February 2015, when they were asked about the big gigs. The other half of the duo laughed next to them Jarre Brand. The favorite band of the large audiences had warmed up at this point Cheeks at the Olympic Stadium, but no arena or stadium concerts bearing their own name had been organized yet.

However, this changed in 2016, when JVG Back to the Future -tour landed twice at the Helsinki Arena. And now, on a warm and slowly fading summer evening, JVG finally “rocked the stadium” like Cheek.

Yet on the morning of the gig, it was unclear whether the concert would sell out or not. Some doubted, others did not.

Flow festival, Aura Fest and by The Weeknd Tallinn’s performance will surely tear many potential concert-goers in their direction. However, it happened that the sold-out sign was slapped on the door and at least Fullsteam Agency’s arrived at the stadium publication including 38,102 people.

An audience of almost 40,000 people got to enjoy the famous lätkärap and At the wedding – about the large-scale home party organized by JVG, who made a breakthrough with the song. They featured some sort of guest star, from newcomers to industry veterans.

“Let’s have fun together today, won’t we”, Galle shouted in the opening song Frisbee towards the end. And it was fun there.

The nostalgia-starved long-time JVG fans of the Olympic Stadium were served Black gold songs from the album, such as Wow, Raiders and Faja. For example, the ears of those who like more mainstream songs were blessed On eternal holiday, With popcorn and Only life from the program would you go – cover, which also brought with it the most touching moment of the evening about halfway through the two-hour concert.

The Faija song after Galle starts to tell about his own muse faija, already deceased Pave from Maijaswhich he got to know Only life in the fourth season of the program.

“Speaking of Faija, I’ve also had one Musa Faija, which I now want to take a moment for here at the stadium, because it once rocked this same champion”, says Galle and continues:

“The day came when Pave said that Jare and Galis it’s your turn to continue this. I hope the whole crowd sings this song today, because Pave can hear it somewhere over there. I miss you dude.”

In a moving tribute to Maijanen’s 1999 Olympic Stadium Champions– performance was projected on giant screens and it merged into the performance so well that it felt as if the singer was actually physically present. The audience visible in the video and the live audience were like one big singing mass of pearls and middle benches.

Maijanen was part of the Mestarit line-up, which in addition to him included Clear, Hector and Pepe Willberg. The group in question was the first domestic group to have their own concert at the Olympic Stadium. So there was also some magical energy closing the circle in the moment.

JVG is not directly known for his brilliant musical gifts or bright singing voices, and the performance at the Olympic Stadium was no exception to the rule.

However, it doesn’t matter, because with their songs they are able to convey a good mood to their audience and create a happy atmosphere that everyone can enjoy, from a baby who loves pop music to a lad who gets excited about party rap.

The evening would have been nothing without the large crowd of visitors who carried the show from start to finish. The most delightful and surprising moments were experienced in those moments when the spotlight was not only on Galle and Brand but also on other artists.

As a scratcher entertained the audience Kran Turismo with the chorus, Pete Parkkonen sang the title song of the concert with devotion, Where are you from? brought to the stage Gracias, Paper T’s, Juno, Särren mixed Gazelles– band. Sini Sabotage and Ellinora again, they did their part to ensure that women could also fit in the otherwise male-dominated performer guard.

And what would a big concert be without a funny wild card, which was the hit this time Kake Randelin and his 1982 song It must be a long daywhose chorus is also based on JVG’s last year’s hit Professional man.

History too was made.

Twenty minutes before the end of the show, the stage was filled with blue light and the multi-talent known from the band The Crash was sitting at the piano dragged to the middle of it Teemu Brunila. Despite the numerous choruses he has sung for JVG, he has not been credited with the songs or seen performing with the duo before, so the moment was special.

Is this right? starts the three-song JVG-Brunila rejoicing, followed by Glowing and Getting more specific. Brunila is vocally the best dish of the evening with her recognizable voice.

Evening as it progressed, the crowding of people has also increased its volume. Three critical letters echo in the air as two humble and good-natured friends look at the sea of ​​light created by the wristbands distributed to the public and wipe their faces in disbelief.

And where else could the gig end but where it all started?

At the wedding kicks off without a legendary “There’s only one sheriff in this town, and it’s me” -sentence, which however does not dampen the mood, on the contrary. The song ends a two-hour hit with a lot of singing and little talking.

“We love you, thank you”, Galle and Brand shout with satisfaction and leave the stage only to return moments later to thank and bow to their audience.

The length of the gig had previously been announced as 2.5 hours, so people were in awe, to put it mildly. Moni was dumbfounded waiting for the encore, which never came.

There was also no pre-planned announcement about a gig break or ending the career, so JVG’s energetic and fun, if somewhat lacking without the presence of visitors, gigs will certainly be enjoyed in the future as well.