11-04-2009 Matthau Mikojan

Supports: Blanko; Venue: Blue Pool, Forssa (Helsinki)
By: Nina Mende

Actually I only planned on having one show this weekend, but as usual: Plans change.
But I never expected to go out to the middle of nowhere for that.

So here we were, two hours drive away from Helsinki, in Forssa. In a little club called Blue Pool which is underneath Film Town, which is a video rental shop. The club was tiny, even tinier was the stage, but for being so far out there were quite some people. The bands playing tonight were Blanko and Matthau Mikojan.

First band playing was the Finnish band Blanko. Blanko is founded in 2006 and includes Pauli Hauta-aho (guitar & vocals), Jakke Saarinen (drums & backing vocals) and Marko Haataja (bass). The three guys put up a very lively performance with many great songs. The stage was a little to small so the singer used the rest of the club as well, walking around playing guitar and even jumping up to the bench next to me while playing. The audience was impressed but didn’t show it too much, yet they cheered after every song. Unfortunately Blanko didn’t play too long but I’m sure I’ll see them again; maybe on a bigger stage playing longer. I will definitely keep an eye on them now.

The next band was another trio, this time from Tampere: Matthau Mikojan. The club was a little more crowded now but people were still sitting and not moving around too much. But Matthau at least got them to clap along. Later on a couple girls danced in front of the stage as well. The band wasn’t too energetic today but still did a great show. They had a lot of eye contact with the fans and talked between the songs, but didn’t move around too much. Matthau left the stage for a short while during a song and walked around a bit. They played mostly old songs, but also a few newer ones.

This is what Blanko played:
Feel
Angel
Alone
Burn
Numb
Trust
Flyin’
You & I
Follow

This is what Matthau Mikojan played:
Elegantly Wasted
Ditch
Mania For Life
Too Fortunate
Hearsay Factory
April Song
Stiletto Heels
Times To Be Remembered
Shine A Night
Slow Down
Wise Men Don’t Cry
Gipsy Eye
Then She Cried

Links:
Blanko MySpace
Blanko Official
Matthau Mikojan MySpace
Matthau Mikojan Official