LIVE REPORT: Altamullan Road

Hyvinkääsali, Hyvinkää; January 26th, 2024

We all know by now that, in a very special corner of the internet, there has been a lot of love and support for Altamullan Road. A few of the people from this sweet and kindhearted little internet space have come together from all over the earth—Canada/Finland, Ukraine, America, Denmark, France—all in love and support for this band, with road trips to Kitee and journeys to Finland… all filled to the brim with admiration for Johanna Kurkela and Johanna Iivanainen. After seeing the first show of the tour a few days prior on January 26th, 2024, some of this cluster of fans came to Hyvinkääsali in Hyvinkää to see the second show on the tour.

Check out the interview we did with Johanna & Johanna before the show!

Having already seen the show once, I must say that I was no less excited to see the show a second time. I cannot recall the last time I saw two shows from the same tour… perhaps when Machinae Supremacy promised to play “Hubnester Rising” in Jyväskylä for us if we came, since they didn’t play it in Turku… which incidentally was also one of my last road trips to see a show. The Altamullan Road tour has invoked the same wild joy in me that I’ve gotten from other road trips and the show in Kitee was so magnificent, that I was glad to have the opportunity to see it again… I spent the first show gathering my jaw off the floor, after all.

Now, the first thing that I want to mention that I didn’t mention from the last show nearly enough was how truly breathtaking the lighting has been. Yes, I did mention it, but I haven’t seen such magnificent lighting in forever, all on a music hall stage. I understand that it’s been done by Space Zoo Oy, so a big shout-out to them for such an amazing kick to the visuals, really adding a lot of magic into this already magical tour. They really did the show justice.

As for the show itself, what can I say that I haven’t already? It’s really impossible, as far as I’m concerned, to not fall completely in love with the way these two women both sing and interact with one another. There’s such tender, sweet warmth between them, which then extends to their family members on stage, and beyond that into the crowd. Beyond that, the live arrangements of these shows do not sound like carbon clones of the studio albums. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always deeply impressed when a band can sound the exact same live as they do on an album, but as someone who’s seeking more unique experiences, this tour was a breath of fresh air, as each of the album tracks had a special new life because of the accompaniment: Timo Kurkela on backing vocals and guitar (and percussion?), Mikko Iivanainen on guitar and percussion, Johanna Kurkela on violin, and Johanna Iivanainen on keyboards. The shows are decorated with two- and three-voice harmonies, while there are moments that stop everything just to keep the Johannas in the spotlight, like in “When it’s Time.”

Now that I’ve had the chance to see the show once, I (and by I, let’s face it, I mean mostly Kathy) had figured out every single cover and had checked them out beforehand. “Jacob’s Dream,” interestingly enough, is a haunting true story about two little boys following their father into the woods in the Appalachias, only to get lost and die beneath a birch tree; a man named Jacob saw their location in a dream three nights in a row and thus the parents were acquitted of any potential murder charges they might have accrued when they were mourning the loss of their children. I can completely see why they chose this track, though damn… it’s a heartbreaking song and made me fully tear up. They also managed to considerably improve upon Twilight’s theme song, “Thousand Years,” which got me into a place of deep existential thinking, about knowing someone throughout lifetimes.

I’ve also had several existential moments to “Mama Werewolf,” one of the more interesting song choices. The song can be taken very literally to be about a werewolf, but the soul of the song is essentially a parent asking their child to hold them accountable. It’s in direct conflict of the “do as I say, not as I do” boomer phrase and it brings me so much joy to hear songs like this, especially when covered by two of the most beautiful voices in Finland. The Eddie Vedder cover, “Society,” was a surprise for me but lyrically, again, everything makes sense. Neither of the Johannas seem like the type who want to spend a lot of time online and amongst the masses… I, too, think that society is a crazy breed and hope that it can exist without too much of me in it, so attending these shows is both an experience in live music wonders, as much as it is self-affirmations for being someone who prefers to be alone or among friends, but not in big crowds or among the masses. I also love Johanna Iivanainen’s “Mustarastas laulaa,” which sounds so great as sung by both of them and Johanna Kurkela’s little violin trills were the icing on the cake.

Some special moments throughout the night included the overwhelming warm beauty of Johanna Iivanainen’s voice during “Fields of Gold”; the truly singing guitars from Mikko Iivanainen in “Interstellar Friends”; a moment in “Underwater” when Johanna Iivanainen was silhouetted in black with only flecks of golden light showing her form; literally any time anyone was on the cajón; the unexpected depth and power that comes from Johanna Kurkela’s rare deeper notes; any time Johanna Kurkela brought out the violin; the pure magic of “Dawn” (which I am convinced belongs in the final scene of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie); the two special inclusions of “Go Slowly Now” and “Ainiaan,” which are from non-touring releases; and the astounding sound of Johanna Kurkela singing a part originally done by Tony Kakko in “Go Slowly Now.” It brought me back to Anneke van Giersbergen doing Mikael Åkerfeldt’s (Opeth) part in Ayreon’s live “The Theater Equation,” which was surprisingly perfect. I found myself particularly chuffed because my brain got confused by Johanna Kurkela originally singing on “A Lifetime of Adventure,” so this inclusion is extra special in that sense—she was only on backing vocals in this original.

A lot of bands and performers in this day and age focus heavily on the whole band. We often forget that a single voice alone can be something magnificent and magical. When you strip down all the tech and sound and still have perfection in sound, you know you’re doing something right. Combining two (or three) incredible voices with guitars, keys, violin, and some other tidbits creates a beautiful simplicity that is just as powerful as anything you’d get from a big stadium show. I highly recommend checking out this Altamullan Road tour, which is still ongoing until early March!