03-01-2009 Rokkers’ ball 2

Venue: Ravintola Waïski, Helsinki (Finland)
By: Sabine van Gameren

The second edition of Rokkersball at Ravintola Waïski in Helsinki (Finland) is a fact. In this edition five bands played on the dinnerboat.

The first band of the evening names Riiva and the made me think of the famous Dutch punk-fun-band Heideroosjes. They have a rebellious image, the music is fast, fun and although I have no idea what their story is about I might have a clue anyway, also because the Heideroosjes comparisation was there. Already after the first song the drums were molested, so it gave a small brake to wait for replacement.

Up next was Pro Widow. They also performed at the first edition of Rokkersball. I had a great time watching them again, they talked a lot to the audience, mostly about fish/fisu, which is a Finnish alcoholic drink. After a couple of songs they started drinking them, and repeated that till everything was gone. They invited people to dance during their songs as they would get a drink for that. A very entertaining band to watch, somehow their whole show made much more sense to me than what I have seen last year.

PSG is third. This band shows quite some energy on stage but it does not only stick to that. The noise brought in by their guitarists is overwhelming the boat. Quite some people gathered to see the band, most in quiet with a drink in the hand. The first time I saw PSG I was not that pleased about the music, I liked it better this time. Small stager, warmer atmosphere in the audience can do a lot to the whole.

God Given Ass was surely the band which attracted a lot of fanatic fans to Waïski. It’s raw, it’s rough, it’s rock n roll. The temperatures getting quite high, so for me time to watch the whole from a little distance, which is not that easy since there were many people. I liked the vocals in the band a lot, they brought some unique sound up there. Very interesting to see, Somehow I want to know how this band manages in a big venue, since they now brought some typical underground feeling with them.

The Jade was head lining the evening. The band had a tour through Germany this year but even though they came back to basics. For me third time in row to see The Jade playing around New Years Eve at Ravintola Waïski, so we can surely speak about a tradition now. They really made a party out of it and showed that here is the place where you can see them rocking out most. On the setlist were the old songs, known by the people who have seen them before and new songs. Of course a cover of the Pet Shop Boys could not stay out and yet again an evening of rock has passed on this dinner boat in the waters of Helsinki.

Photo’s by: sabinevangameren.com

Links:
Riiva MySpace
Pro Widow MySpace
PSG MySpace
God Given Ass MySpace
The Jade MySpace