Despite the sonorous aspects, there was no difficulty in enjoying the concert and the extraordinary timeless quality of the music, writes critic Arttu Seppänen.
| Updated
Pepe & Saimaa's 10th anniversary concert at Musiikkitalo on Saturday 24.2. Vantaa's entertainment orchestra and Vaskivuori high school's alumni choir, conducted by Tommi Suutarinen.
All wines don't get better with age, but Pepe Willberg there is no wine.
Willberg's and Matti Mikkolan the joint album of the Saimaa band he led already sounded like a classic when it came out ten years ago. Than Pepe & Saimaan the music would have always existed, it was just channeled into a recording. Willberg's voice had acquired an extraordinary depth.
The music hall is not designed with rock and amplified sound in mind. Heard it on Saturday night as well.
The party concert opened In a short moment sounded gray instead of full. The drums clattered hollowly and Willberg's vocals into the wireless mike were sonically out of sync with the orchestration. The mic had like karaoke settings and it also sounded like it was rotating somewhat. It seemed that the technique and mixing had not been planned to the last detail.
Already at the beginning of the gig, I had to accept that it's useless to dream about a perfect audio image today.
Music played a leading role in Saturday's concert.
From the tonal list despite the circumstances, there was no difficulty in enjoying the gig and the exceptional timeless quality of the music. As a disc Pepe & Saimaa has primarily been music dominated by strong arrangements and it has been received as such. For example Timo Kiiskinen the texts written on the disc have received less attention. Mikkola also recognized this at the Musiikkitalo concert, and Kiiskinen, who was present, received a standing ovation from the audience.
Saimaa's hippie excursion has always included musical play. Let's play is thus a fine synthesis of the collaboration between Willberg and Saimaa, where we suddenly move to the side of German-inspired krautrock. The Kraut part was one of the highlights of the concert.
Let's play-text is also one of Kiiskinen's best from this album. The relationship to play between a child and a parent is turned on its head in the song and, through a simple image, expresses the constant vulnerability throughout life.
Ten years ago, Willberg and Saimaa's first gig at Ruisrock with a choir and a big orchestra was a crazy act. The beach platform was filled with the luxury of the old days, as if it could also be used for the wet sea and as food for the seagulls. I still get chills from that gig. Then I thought that it would be great to hear this in a well-acousticized space.
Now, ten years later, I don't know which side the grass was better on. In festival conditions, it's easier to forgive things related to mixing and sound than in a concert hall, where you put an imaginary monocle on your eyes and your ears to mörököll settings.
Fortunately, the sound was improved by the time the highlight of the concert and the end of the album came Garlands of life. The swells at the end were messianically wonderful.
For Willberg, the song is like the singer's testament: “I have traveled around singing the sad songs of this country,” he sang again. The framework of the current Pepe narrative consists of the early Pepe & Paradise and the Saimaa record, although I think skipping the disco Pepe of the late 1970s is pure snobbery. 77-year-old Willberg is a typical singer and music worker of the old union. Clear by law, during his career he has done everything that has been asked at any time.
As a band, Saimaa was its relaxed self. Mikkola, who led the evening, talked briefly but in a folky way. The two did not engage in any more sentimental memories. Music played the main role.
Pepe & Saimaa is a five-star multi-faceted masterpiece as a record, which forcefully sets almost impossible expectations for the concert. I still believe that a better balance could have been achieved.
The album's 10th anniversary concert was reportedly also the last of the collaboration. At the end of the rock performance, the audience received a standing ovation the size of the Musiikkitalo and a symphony orchestra, which above all showed appreciation for the megalomaniac project.
Correction 26.2. 10:10 a.m.: The story incorrectly stated that the Vaskivuori high school choir performed at the concert. The Vaskivuori high school alumni choir performed at the concert.
77-year-old Pepe Willberg is a typical singer of the old union.
#Concert #review #Pepe #Willberg #Saimaa39s #concert #Musiikkitalo #impossible #task
