LIVE REPORT: Altamullan Road

Kiteesali, Kitee; January 20th, 2024

You may have caught, over in my personal musings, that I recently had a little road trip to Kitee to see Altamullan Road. Made up of Johanna Iivanainen and Johanna Kurkela, this duo was all set to go on tour after the release of their self-titled debut album, but unfortunately, the pandemic was far from cleared up enough to allow for that, so that 2020 album release tour sadly never happened. Well, a 3½-year delay is better than nothing and those of us who were hoping to see them before have finally had the opportunity to check them out on stage at long last! I was lucky to get someone’s spare ticket to the first sold-out show in Kitee on January 20th, though I also plan to be at the show on the 26th as well, hopefully, as I’ve arranged an Off the Record interview with them for that day!

First of all, it’s nice to attend shows with the best of fans… you know, folks who are just thrilled to be at a show. I wasn’t sure what to expect on stage regarding the “band,” so I was excited to see that this was a family affair, as the ladies were accompanied by Mikko Iivanainen and Timo Kurkela, Johanna Iivanainen’s husband and Johanna Kurkela’s brother respectively. There was a wash of anticipation as the Johannas took the stage and we noticed Johanna Kurkela give a sweet little wave to her biggest fan in the world sitting in the front row, which was very heartwarming.

Immediately, as they started with “Candle in the Dark,” I felt a flood of that same joy that I feel when I see indie bands nowadays. I make a point of not knowing those bands’ music beforehand, so I can let them surprise and impress me (and they always do). This was brilliant because I got to hear the full “Altamullan Road” album, but the show was long enough (with an intermission) that they fleshed it out hugely with a bunch of other fun songs that I was almost 100% not familiar with: devastating bluegrass “Jacob’s Dream,” “Fields of Gold,” “Thousand Years” from Twilight, “Society,” Johanna Iivanainen’s lovely “Mustaratsas laulaa,” “Neverending Story” from Stranger Things, “Mama Werewolf,” and “Hey Brother.” Among the rare treats and highlights that I did know were “Go Slowly Now” from “The Life and Times of Scrooge” by Tuomas Holopainen, originally sung by Tony Kakko, Michael Sembello’s “Maniac,” and “Ainiaan,” which is an alternate version of an Eye of Melian song, “Adrift in Eternity,” that Johanna Kurkela wrote lyrics to in Finnish.

Beyond the excellent selection of songs, the show’s production was magnificent. The sound quality in music halls is almost always great, but the lighting was equally spectacular—I was sitting in a place where Johanna Iivanainen was often standing right in front of a shifting spotlight beam, which had her lit up like a glorious saint… it was quite magical and I was sorry that I don’t do much photography. I also hadn’t actually known (I had assumed but not been sure) what other instruments these ladies play, so I was delighted to see that Johanna Iivanainen was often on the keyboards (and once on the cajón, which was otherwise played once or twice by her husband) and Johanna Kurkela was playing violin—I have heard tales of the 5-string violin, but in all of my 10+ years of playing violin back in Canada, I had never come across one, so that was a bit of a thrill for me! It was also cool to see how the songs were divided between them, allowing everyone a chance to show what they’re made of.

What was perhaps the most magical part of the show, however, was the warmth that was going around. The way the Johannas look at one another, the way Johanna Iivanainen creates a cozy atmosphere of a soft hearth and welcoming home around her, to the way Johanna Kurkela seems to be making eye contact with as many people in the crowd as she can… I just had a big stupid grin on my face for the whole show. Timo Kurkela was singing along in some of the songs as he played guitar, adding even more depth to the sound, while Mikko Iivanainen showed off some percussion skills on top of his wonderful guitar work.

Some of the main highlights of the set were “When it’s Time,” (a song that I adjacently associate with my late cub, so it always gets me in a tender place), “Go Slowly Now” and “Ainiaan” for being a rarities that I never dreamed I’d ever hear live, “They Should’ve Sent a Poet” for the absolutely cheeky energy the two ladies were giving off, and “What Was I Made For,” just because no one expected to hear a cover of the Billie Eilish song from the 2023 Barbie movie and the ensuing energy that exploded around me almost knocked me out of my seat. I was surprised that they chose the slower “Underwater” for an encore instead of “They Should’ve Sent a Poet,” but in the end, I’m just happy I got to hear the whole album! Truly, there was nothing to complain about from this live show. It was everything you could hope for, and more, plus—in the case of my friend Kathy—all of the songs she never dreamed they’d play! If that’s not the definition of a perfect show, I don’t know what is.

Hopefully we’ll be able to attend the show on the 26th and I’ll write a bit more and have some (better) photos to go with it!

Setlist

1. Candle in the Dark

2. Art of Losing

3. Hearts of Old

4. When it’s Time

5. Jacob’s Dream (Alison Krauss cover)

6. Fields of Gold (Eva Cassidy cover)

7. Thousand Years (Christina Perri cover)

8. Interstellar Friends

9. Society (Eddie Vedder cover)

10. Mustarastas Laulaa (Johanna Iivanainen song)

~intermission~

1. Dawn

2. Song of the Lark

3. Neverending Story (Limahl cover)

4. Mama Werewolf (Brandi Carlisle cover)

5. Go Slowly Now (Tuomas Holopainen song)

6. Ainiaan (Eye of Melian song)

7. The Merry Scallywag

8. Hey Brother (Avicii cover)

9. They Should’ve Sent a Poet

10. Maniac (Michael Sembello cover)

~encore~

1. Underwater

2. What Was I Made For (Billie Eilish cover)

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