LIVE REPORT: Happoradio

ft. Kesämiehet
Tavastia; July 26th, 2024

My goodness, it’s been a long, long, long time since I’ve had the chance to see Happoradio live. I became quite enamored with the band back in 2009-2010 when I had first moved to Finland, and I can thank them for being the reason I know a lot of words in Finnish, having spent a lot of time translating songs from their earlier albums—particularly “Kaunis minä” and “Puolimieli,” as well the ones that came before. I’m sorry to say that I’ve only ever seen them live once, which was back in around 2012… I remember the event because I had been waiting outside the venue to buy my way in when someone came up and pressed a ticket into my hand and walked away before I could even say thank you. I’ve drifted away from their music by 2014, but ever since I’ve recently gotten into Merta (aka “heavy Happoradio”), I’ve had a resurgence of love for this old favorite Finnish act. Fortunately, they’ve been on a summer tour in 2024 that has mostly been at festivals but landed at Tavastia-klubi in Helsinki on July 26th, so I headed into town with a couple of pals to check it out.

Since we had guests over on this evening, I wasn’t able to get to town in time to see the opener, Ben Hurr, and for the same reason, we arrived only just in time for the first song, a cover of Los del Río’s “Macarena.” We were very fortunate, then, to find a nice spot on the balcony where we could see everything. I’m quite sure the most enthusiastic couple in the building were standing next to us, as they were dancing like maniacs (and to their credit, respectful maniacs, as they never ever bumped me) all night, which kept a pleasant grin on my face. Also worth noting that the show wasn’t sold out on Friday morning, but I’d be surprised if it hadn’t sold out by showtime because it was packed.

First of all, we had been a little confused about what exactly Happoradio & Kesämiehet was, but upon arrival we immediately discovered that the band was accompanied by a brass (and bongos/percussion?) band, who I can only assume are the Kesämiehet. This the most delightful surprise I could have hoped for, because throughout the show, they brought a little something new and a lot of something wonderful to the sound; I would have been perfectly happy to just hear the band, but I love a brass arrangement done right, and they did it right!

They had a pretty nice lighting setup and a lot of fog, and I was treated immediately to a couple of old nostalgic favorites, “Pelastaja” and “Hirsipuu.” Aki Tykki is clearly a seasoned front, as he was making a lot of cheeky jokes and changing lyrics here and there, at one point a bit later making a joke that they were about to play a song from “back when they thought they were a rock band.” He also joined in on guitars every now and then to add a little more texture.

There was a stretch of songs in the middle that I wasn’t familiar with, but I did really enjoy their setlist and again, the brass section and extra percussion really added extra dimensions to make the songs even more special. Of the unfamiliar songs, “Silta” stood out and stirred some emotion with its music and the words I could catch. After that came a few old fan favorites, “Pois Kalliosta”—which was their first big hit—, “Tavikset,” and “Puhu äänellä jonka kuulen,” at which point they took a break and allowed Kesämiehet a chance to do a little performance of their own.

Happoradio then returned and played their popular cover of the old Leevi and the Leavings song, “Unelmia ja toimistohommia,” which certainly got the crowd riled up again, and then wrapped up with “Ihmisenpyörä” and “Che Guevara,” making for a really great finale to a very fun show! They seem to be pretty aware of what their big hits were, as people seemed to generally be quite happy and were singing along the whole itme.

I’m pretty choosy with the shows I cover these days and I wasn’t sure if I should commit to this one when it was announced, but I’m extremely glad that I did, as were the people who came with me. There was good, danceable energy all night, Kesämiehet were absolutely fantastic, and the energy in the venue was better than what I’m used to. I don’t often feel the wonderful spirit of good live music anymore, but I genuinely had a blast at this show and the whole then went by in what felt like the blink of an eye. I’ll definitely have to keep an eye open for more shows from these guys in the future—I still need to catch up on how they sound on a more typical occasion!