Pure rock ’n’ roll for live music hunger – Kvelertak and Blood Command at Lutakko

Author Aleksi Parkkonen - 17.3.2022

Restrictions are finally over, and it’s legal to enjoy live music again. After three months hiatus it was almost unbelievable to witness two Norwegian bands playing at Lutakko in Jyväskylä. After re-scheduling their shows two times the mighty punk ’n’ roll band Kvelertak finally took the stage in Finland with the support of Blood Command. Both bands played intensive gigs.

Have you ever gone to a club to see bands whose music you haven’t listened to before? I have done it several times, and it has usually been worth it. Before Sunday evening I haven’t had a listen to Blood Command so I was happily surprised to hear (and see) how the band sounded and looked like. The band was dressed up in Adidas, which is quite an unusual look for a rock band.

But no judging just by the look of the band. Blood Command was formed in 2008 but on this tour the band played their first shows with their current line-up. The band’s vocalist, Nikki Brumen, told the audience that she joined the band during the pandemic, but because of all the restrictions they haven’t had a chance to play together before the shows. Keeping that in mind they performed very well together, and had a good show. Brumen used hear voice very widely, and the songs played were from few soft rock songs to aggressive punk rock songs. Even if the audience wasn’t all that active I saw many smiles and few headbangings in the crowd.

When Kvelertak began to play the audience started to exist so to say, and the crowd wasn’t the only one full of excitement but also the band. Vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen shared with the audience how he has been missing ferries and the Finnish audience: 700 days had gone without playing in Finland, and the band was taking back all the time lost. Show was really intense, energetic, and fun to listen to. All the six members were delivering extremely aggressive enjoyment, and it was easy to see real joy from their faces.

Kvelertak played a show that included songs from their early years like songs from ”Splid”. One moment there was a total blast on stage, and on another Nikolaisen was dancing while the rest of the band played smooth instrumental parts. It didn’t really matter what the band played because the audience just loved it. The show lasted for about 70 minutes but it felt more like half an hour. I could have easily listened to for another 70 minutes.

It felt almost unbelievable to see and listen to Norwegian bands playing at Lutakko in my hometown. Because of the current situation where the world is now it almost felt criminal to go and enjoy decent rock ’n’ roll. It was the first Kvelertak’s show to me but hopefully not the last. Fortunately we’re running towards the summer so there will be more live shows in the near future.