When groove and rock embrace: Sami Yaffa live at Tavastia, Helsinki 26.05

The legendary bassist and singer brought his solo tour to the capital with a show full of rock, attitude and fun.

When Sami Yaffa released his first solo album last year after four decades playing with amazing lineups in different bands, no one was afraid of something bad coming from him, and definitely “The Innermost Journey To Your Outermost Mind” is a great album, but who would be the skillful pieces to play those songs live by his side?

Recruiting Linde (Flat Earth, Daniel Lioneye) and Burton (Daniel Lioneye), now former members of the iconic HIM, and the incredible Janne Haavisto (J. Karjalainen) to be his partner in the groove section playing drums, the lineup couldn’t be more appropriate for this mission.

Playing the latest release in its entirety, the new album sounds even better in its live version. Linde didn’t record the guitars, neither Burton the keys, so there’s room for improvisation to make these songs have their own signature.

Janne is a unique drummer, following the flow and showing to the new audience what he has been doing since early ’80s with a lot of creativity, technique and joy behind his drum set.

Sami is more than comfortable being a frontman. His bass sounds groovy, tight and classic as ever. Wearing an exclusive Tavastia suit, Yaffa had more than the backstage colors of the venue covering his body, but also the joy and passion for music from his huge experience.

It was clearly visible the quartet smiling at each other, playing and genuinely enjoying themselves.

Songs like “Armageddon Together”, “Cancel the End of the World” and “Last Ride” are some of the best tracks Sami has recorded in his career and their live versions are real proof that the man is like wine.

Linde’s solos are quite different from the Love Metal years, bringing a new side to his skills as a talented guitarist, improvising and embracing the groove of Sami and Janne while Burton enjoys the spotlight with his tremendous prog moves, making the rest of the crew feels relaxed with his synths and classic style through all the setlist.

The crowd was overjoyed, with some people dancing and others hypnotized enjoying such a great performance. What a pleasure to witness Sami performing live and sharing great music with us. The encore had some hits from the past, like “Temptation to Exist”, “Lost in the City” and “Olen Kaunis”.

Sami and the gang will be playing a few summer festivals, so if you get the chance, go see the mix of groove, rock n’ roll and fun made by amazing musicians.

You can watch our video report about the show below: