LIVE REPORT: Hilia, Helena Haaparanta, & Emmy June
Semifinal, Helsinki; April 23rd, 2024
Helsinki Indie Live Underground
Now, by this point you should know that if I see Helena Haaparanta or Emmy June playing somewhere, I will try my darnedest to summon the required energy to go check them out, providing I have a car to get to the show and all that good stuff. That meant that yesterday, April 23rd, 2024, pulled me out of my warm house after it had snowed 10+cm overnight (ugh, thankfully I knew better than to change my tires before May) in order to see not one, but both of them at Playhouse Bar, with the added bonus of someone new: Hilia. It seemed like a recipe for a great evening!
Playhouse Bar is currently my favorite venue in Helsinki, since it has comfortable couches, crazy psychedelic lights, and a small capacity of around a hundred or so guests, which means that I’ve been coming to shows there as often as possible this year, and I’ll be back again in the first weekend of May for Helsinki Psych Fest! But my favorite thing about that bar/venue is that I feel like I have a lot of potential to see great acts in a comfortable setting there, without my distaste for big crowds putting me off. If there was one issue with the venue this time, it was that the guy who is usually there doing sound left before the artists started, meaning that the mix was pretty unfortunately messy, through no fault of the artists.
The event started with Hilia, who was the aforementioned new face for me this time and as per usual, I didn’t look into her or her music at all before the show so that I’d be able to let the live music speak for itself. She was performing a solo show on this occasion, supported by a backing track, and I was immediately interested in the powerful, emotional feel to her singing. She also had some speedier parts in the first song, which were almost rapping—surprising but fun. She’s got a robust sound and I like the way she plays with notes, in a similar but not as aggressive manner as Hank Williams does it in “Lovesick Blues” (incidentally, I would love to hear her cover that or at least sing it at karaoke). She was a very pleasant stage front as well, chatting and telling stories about the songs. I only caught a few names, but she played some singles like “Julma,” “Tytar,” and one of my favorites of the night, “Valkoinen lilja,” which is apparently a funeral song (though upbeat). The last thing of note was that she sings with her hands (in the sense of people talking with their hands), so she was very expressive. I will certainly have to listen to more of her music!
(Also, sorry for forgetting to take a photo, I put everything else on Instagram).
Next up was Helena Haaparanta, who I just absolutely adore, but haven’t had the chance to see live very often, and I’ve sadly missed some of the more recent shows due to lack of vehicle/energy. This was a solo show, so she had to accompany herself… sadly, this was suboptimal, as her midi device was behaving somewhat like a petulant child. It would be lovely to see her with a full band, so she can focus fully on singing, because she’s such a brilliant vocalist. Fortunately, she’s also 100% charisma too regardless of setbacks, reminding me of some troubadour shows from Ilja Jalkanen back in the day, talking cheekily to the crowd and laughing amiably when things don’t go quite as planned. I was also very thrilled by her song selection—firstly, I got to hear “Miks mä oon vieläkin näin” for the first time live. Then, there was a resurgence of “Cucoon,” which is an awesome English-language track, and she told a brilliant but deeply strange story about a bird called the vasarapää kana [hammerhead chicken] that is born from volcanic ash… I have no proof per the interwebs that such a thing exists but it made for a very interesting story and an awesome song! And naturally, she also played my other two favorite singles, “Kaikki taivaan linnut” and the new “Harmaahaikara” [all the birds in the sky; blue heron], which is ever wonderful, as the former is too magnificent for words and the latter is epic and haunting. Now… how can I ensure that she has more, bigger, and better shows in the future? …Because I was wondering how many instruments I can learn and how fast to make this possible! More Helena, please!
Last, but in no way least, was Emmy June. I’ve had a somewhat accursed time trying to see her shows, having only had the chance to see her in small events that don’t really do her songs the justice they deserve. Before the shows, I bumped into Jere Saajoranta from Gingervine and was surprised to hear that he likes a lot of the same indie music that I do (apparently I go to all the shows he can’t make it to). He, however, has had more chances to hear Emmy live, apparently, and assured me that I was in for a treat now that I was seeing her with her band for the first time. Well, he was certainly right. Her debut album, “The Spring,” is a fantastic release, but hearing her sing the songs alone or with light accompaniment is nothing like hearing the songs with the full band! The sound was so much more textured and nuanced, and I think I recognized her guitarist from Helmi Ada’s band at the beginning of the month, so I already knew he was a stylish player!
I was further impressed by how I felt like putting down my phone and not taking notes, just because I was enjoying myself so thoroughly. The music had a bit more of a general psych-flavor to it, not that it was weird or trippy, but rather that there were a lot more evident influences from jazz and blues with the backing band. Her set included a few favorites like “Every Time I Want Back,” “Mad at You,” “We’re Not Meant to Be,” and a song that I heard her play after writing it the day before the first show of hers that I saw, called “La Di Da.” There was also a lovely piano intro to “Fear” and the crowd was enthusiastic enough to call them back for an encore after “Save Yourself,” though I don’t know what the song was called.
All-in-all this was yet another wonderful evening of indie music magic. I highly recommend any of these artists if you happen to see them performing—it’ll be worth your while!
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