LIVE REPORT: Pihka Is My Name
Playhouse Bar; March 27th, 2024
Helsinki Indie Live Underground
Ever since I saw Pihka Is My Name at the Lafka-klubi at Koko Teatteri last October, I’ve been waiting for the chance to see them at a more suitable venue, which has a bit more floor for dancing. Playhouse bar in Vallila is currently my favorite place to go see shows, because it’s a great size (hosting about a hundred or so people), it has a nice little burger joint next to it (Bites Burgers), and it’s less of a pain in the ass to reach for someone who has to come by car than any of the downtown venues. They also have a lot of good smaller-scale shows, like the monthly Love Potion Club and the recent SulfuriS show. You can imagine my delight then, when I saw that Pihka Is My Name were playing there on March 27th, 2024. While my back was unlikely to allow me to dance, at least I thought the bar’s projector would create an appropriate visual setting for them!
I’ve been a big fan of Pihka Is My Name since I was first introduced to them back in the Musicalypse days, and have remained so ever since. They were even guests on my Gathering of Geeks podcast last year! I really love the character of Pihka and their concept, as well as their morals… it doesn’t hurt that I like the music and visuals as well, so they’re really the whole package, especially now that I can include “awesome performers” on that list. I’d also only seen them live the one time before, so I was quite excited to see them again. This show acted as a rehearsal for their upcoming show at Lunta Ilosaaressa next month, but since I won’t be able to be there, I was very happy to get to come to this show!
The show was set for 21.00 and it’s good that I both asked first and came a bit early, because it seemed that their playtime was a bit later than initially stated, with the artists taking the stage at 21.15. As the ambient music started, I began to get excited, and then came… the bass. It was so deliciously loud! I was correct in my prediction that Playhouse was going to be a good venue for them, because they were able to have equalizers on the screen behind them, while the trippy psychedelic lighting from the venue worked wonderfully. They even had the fog machine going a bit, which was great.
I was also delighted right away (again) to just watch them. These two look like what I would call “arthouse dancers” and I mean that in the best sort of way, using their arms a lot, going full-drama… it’s so very different than what I’m used to, even outside of heavy metal, so I just love seeing them let loose and be themselves so completely, they’re just a joy to behold.
The setlist had a great selection of songs as well, not just strictly focusing on their new album, and even better, they play their shows at least partially like DJ sets, so many of the songs get mixed directly into one another without break. I’m always fascinated when artists do that, because again, it’s not something I have a lot of experience with and I think it’s fascinating (I was a big fan of Daniel Kim’s Pop Danthologies on YT back when he was allowed to make them for this same reason). I have to say that I haven’t seen such vibrant DJs behind the desk since Burning Holes in Time sadly passed away last year. Immediately recognizable in their set were “Station in Flames,” “Priority Class” (the new version with vocals!), “Valid Sync,” and “Reaching for the Out of Range.” I was particularly delighted to hear “Heartbeat of Machines,” which was a single that came out after their first album but wasn’t included in the EP that followed.
After a couple of tracks, they confessed to having forgotten their setlists backstage and took turns running back to get them, after which someone in the crowd started to ask for their version of “Ketamine,” which is a remix of a song from Princess Goes, with whom they recently toured. They were encouraged to be patient and sure enough, the duo did play it after “Between the Icicle and the Flame” and “Exponential Potential,” which is another great live track and they had really wild energy for it! I believe they even played something new in there, per the “Pulsing P” written on the setlist. They left the stage briefly but back for an encore to “It’s Not a Race,” which was from the 2022 “Dance Forbidden” EP.
Ultimately, I really just want more chances to see these guys performing! They’re so much fun to watch, I always have a big smile on my face, and if I were in any sort of physical condition to dance (which I was not), I would want to—and that says a lot for me! Hopefully you’re able to go check them out at Lunta Ilosaaressa next month and I, for one, hope to see them back at Playhouse again sometime soon!
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