March 2019, a truly wonderful month...

First, there were our birthdays. I was lucky that my birthday was on a Saturday this year, so I could choose from numerous options where to celebrate my birthday. The decision was quickly made in favour of the "Klubb Död" event at "Nalen" in Sweden's capital Stockholm, with Then Comes Silence, TRAITRS, The Foreign Resort and The Flatfield. I didn't know any of the four bands beforehand. I just knew it was a post-punk event, listened to one song per band - and thought that the event was "good enough". No, seriously: Lately, I have read some LIVE reviews about promising bands. Promising musicians who aren't known yet and play in front of so few people that the concept of underground concerts is increasingly endangered. This is not good, not at all, and it's up to us music lovers to counteract this very development. Why not going to several smaller events and discover and support something new and fresh instead of visiting only one big spectacle of one of the same old major players per year? 

Well, in any case, the "Klubb Död" event turned out to be the perfect choice. A package consisting of four bands from four different countries (The Flatfield from Finland, The Foreign Resort from Denmark, TRAITRS from Canada and Then Comes Silence from Sweden), all bands were good - and I even fell in love that night, with the last performing band named "Then Comes Silence" from Sweden's capital Stockholm. I was not prepared for that! It was probably the best birthday present this year. As soon as they started their set with "There's A Sound", I was under their spell. 

Here are some audiovisual impressions of The Flatfield, The Foreign Resort and Then Comes Silence. Some snapshots of all four bands will be published on my additional blog "Sound Kitchen Archives" soon.

As if the "Klubb Död" event wasn't great enough already, March 2019 ended for us with another journey towards Stockholm: On 30th March 2019, Ville Valo & Agents played some Finnish schlager on Viking Line's cruiseferry "Viking Grace" somewhere on the Baltic Sea between Turku / Finland and Stockholm / Sweden. 

Further snapshots and audiovisual impressions of that event will be published here and on "Sound Kitchen Archives" soon... Stay tuned! 

The last concert before the turn of the year: The Heard & Jonathan Hultén in Stockholm

As mentioned a few days ago, two nights prior to New Year's Eve, we crossed the Baltic Sea and saw The Heard performing live at "Debaser Strand" in Sweden's capital Stockholm. Some snapshots of the show can be found on my additional blog "Sound Kitchen Archives" now: https://sound-kitchen-archives.blogspot.com/2019/01/photo-gallery-heard-live-in-stockholm.html. 

Unlike the other three gigs that we attended in 2018, The Heard had a support act, namely Jonathan Hultén (Tribulation). Here is an audiovisual impression of Jonathan Hultén performing "Nightly Sun"...

 

Without a doubt, 2018 was a rather quiet year in terms of concert visits, just like 2017 (Only four concert visits per year). The hope is that there will be more action in 2019, but then again: Quality over quantity. We simply have to wait and see what the year 2019 will bring in terms of Rock'n'Roll... 

 

Happy New Year 2019!

As usual, I'm a few days late, but: Happy New Year 2019, everyone! ♥ ♥ ♥ 

We spent New Year's Eve 2018 / 2019 for the first time ashore in Turku / Finland and had a lovely Japanese New Year with friends, including the traditional Japanese New Year decoration "Kagami mochi" [Japanese for: "mirror rice cake"]... 

Two nights prior to New Year's Eve, we crossed the Baltic Sea, though, and saw The Heard performing live at "Debaser Strand" in Sweden's capital Stockholm. The Heard is a relatively new project consisting of three-fourths of Crucified Barbara (Klara Force, Ida Evileye and Nicki Wicked), Deathstars bassist Jonas "Skinny Disco" Kangur and burlesque performer Pepper Potemkin. 

More about the show can be found on this very blog very soon... Stay tuned!