Yay! I’m 40! Which is celebrated in low key style: yesterday i was to see 5.15, today i was awoken by wife and kids, tomorrow it’s dinner with friends, Saturday is day-off as my wife’s bro’s kid’s christening and Sunday it’s family gathering. But most of that is completely beside the point, because this is a write up about yesterday’s Five Fifteen gig. And some of it is true.
Not long ago, long haired internationally acclaimed rock and roll star Mika Järvinen got a telephone call in French. The person on the other side of the line wanted to know whether Five Fifteen would be available for a festival performance in what now is a week from now. Being the man he is, he of course said yes, then silently shook his head and proceeded to resurrect the band that had been on hiatus for the last few years. Most of the band members hadn’t played Five Fifteen for years and one guy in particular (on guitar) needed to stream his old performances from Spotify and YouTube to remind himself what he’d played back then, and how.
Yesterday night, Helsinki rock club On The Rocks was testing ground for Five Fifteen, freshly pulled from naphthalene. I talked with Mika before the show. He complained that he had “a good old-fashioned flu” and his back was sore. He was drinking something hot and didn’t sound like he was quite in shape for rock and roll.
Boy that changed.
Half an hour later, no less than eight musicians entered the fairly timid On the Rocks stage. The night had begun with a stand up comedy show and Mika promised the comedy would continue. Suddenly he was in an excellent mood, throwing jokes and looking great.
The band opened with Alcohol (Intro) from the last album and continued with Call the Doctor from (one of) the first. The night was a mix between the Alcohol record and stuff from all the back catalogue. It sounded very fat and very rock and roll. It was much appreciated. Extra kudos to the stuntman keyboardist and the drumming that i hadn’t appreciated enough before. It had sounded rather unspectacular on CD, compared to this!
In fact, i’ve always thunk there are two Five Fifteens, one on record and another on stage. The Five Fifteen on record sounds near-clinically sharp with well defined notes while the one on stage swings like a moose on a train and will not be stop. Sure things go a little wrong at times (like a guitar chord a step down or “hey, how do the lyrics start?” during the intro of the last song) but that just didn’t matter at all. It was full ahead, both on the more rocking tracks, the proggier tunes and the softer bits.
I for one welcome Five Fifteen to the stage. You were sorely missed and it’s good to see you back.
