El Kukkaisrock forma parte de un acontecimiento mucho más grande, el ‘Tampereen Kukkaisviikot‘, o ‘La semana de las flores de Tampere’. Este año era el 30 Aniversario y ¡se notaba!.
Fueron nueve días de diversión y fiesta que incluían un montón de eventos como La Parada de las Flores, el Flower Jazz, un escenario al aire libre, teatro y mucho más, aunque quizás lo más destacado fue el ‘Dinner in the Sky’, que ofrecía a los visitantes la oportunidad de cenar o beber algo en una mesa que transportada a 50 metros del suelo. También tuvieron lugar otros pequeños acontecimientos como sorteos para conseguir meriendas o cenas en los locales cercanos, un «Pop-up Market» y hasta una noria. Todo organizado por Tampere Tutuksi Ry, producido por Funmedia Oy y la colaboración de Radio SUN.
Pero nosotros estábamos allí por otro motivo, el festival de rock gratuito que tuvo lugar el pasado 27 de Julio. Un cartel que incluía seis bandas.
Alrededor de las 2 de la tarde saltaban Rockwalli al escenario. La joven formación – sus integrantes tienen unos 18 años – hicieron sonar muy bien su ‘manserock’ «término por el que se identifican algunas agrupaciones rockeras de Tampere», con ritmos energéticos y pegadizos. De ellos se ha dicho que siguen los pasos de los veteranos Popeda, y si tengo que dar mi opinión, disfruté mucho con el show. Dada su corta edad, los chicos supieron ganarse al público con una buena ejecución. No estuvo nada mal para comenzar.
Tras ellos le llegó el turno a Dashbone, con la única cantante femenina en el festival y un impactante estilo punk. Toda una sorpresa estupenda y pegadiza. Fumble fueron los siguientes, y lamentablemente fue horrible. Había escuchado hablar de ellos, y la verdad es que esperaba con ganas el concierto, pero siento decir que me decepcionaron bastante. No eran ni tan entregados ni tan interesantes como esperaba, aunque cabe decir que parte de la culpa pudiera tener que ver con el día tan caluroso que hacía. Tras su actuación pudimos observar como todas las bandas se reunieron con el anfitrión para tomar una copa en el ‘Dinner in the Sky’. Fue realmente divertido verles a todos atados en sus asientos, y luego contemplar como se levantaban para brindar. Un rato después aterrizaban de forma segura.
«Con Santa Cruz la audiencia estaba emocionada, saltando, chillando y agitando la cabeza»
A esa hora las actuaciones comenzaron a retrasarse y algunos se preguntaban cual sería el problema. Quizá desde la organización se calculó mal el tiempo necesario para preparar y reemplazar los instrumentos que usaba cada grupo. También hubo algunos problemas eléctricos con los monitores y micrófonos. No obstante esto no impidió que el espectáculo continuara. Por desgracia los inconvenientes provocaron que las tres últimas bandas actuaran un poco más tarde y con más prisa, algo que fue una lástima, pero como el festival se celebraba en la zona del marcado había que respetar las ordenanzas.
Después de la espera Baton Rogue Morgue se hicieron con el escenario. El grupo, formado en el 2005, es conocido por su buena presencia y cojonudos shows en directo… con esta fama no podían dejar a nadie frío. Fue la primera dosis de sex-appeal, y la primera descarga impactante. El público se mostró entusiasmado, y disfrutó enormemente del show. Los quintos en conquistar el escenario fueron Santa Cruz, que con su hard rock adrenalítico le plantaron fuego a las flores. La audiencia estaba emocionada, saltando, chillando y agitando la cabeza. La gente estaba tan loca que tuve serias dificultades para conseguir hacer alguna foto.
El último grupo – y el más esperado – eran los glamsters Reckless Love. Los finlandeses formados por Pepe, Olliver y Jalle, a los que más tarde se les unió Hessu, acaban de sacar su tercer álbum, ‘Spirit‘. Tan pronto como el grupo salió todo el mundo comenzó a gritar, rugir, cantar y algunos incluso a llorar. No defraudaron. Sacudieron la noche con energía, y demostraron porqué eran los más deseados. El público abarrotó toda la plaza del mercado, desde el escenario hasta la carretera a nuestras espaldas.
Todo el evento fue un festival de rock bien hecho, y en el que estoy segura que los asistentes quedaron satisfechos a pesar de las altas temperaturas. Personalmente creo que todos los grupos estuvieron bien, mostrando y probando que la escena finlandesa está tan viva como sus festivales.
ENGLISH VERSION
The Kukkaisrock is a part of a bigger event: ‘Tampereen Kukkaisviikot‘ (The Flower weeks of Tampere). It was the 30th Anniversary and showed it!
There was nine days of party and fun that including a lots of smaller events, like the flower parade, flower Jazz, a open Stage, a theatre, and many more, although maybe the most stricking was Dinner in the Sky – which offers its visitors an opportunity to dine or have drinks round the airlifted table that reaches, 50 meters above the ground at its best. You could see smaller things going on as well: at least there was like three snack or dine opportunities offered by various kiosks and nearby restaurants, also a “Pop-up –market» and a big wheel.All this organized by Tampere Tutuksi ry, produced by Funmedia Oy, and working together with Radio SUN.
But we were there for another reason, the free rock festival that was happening that day (27th of July)! A rock festival that included six bands.
Around at 2pm, the first band, Rockwalli, jumped to the stage! The young band, around 18 years, played good “Manserock”, with energy and catchy beats. It has been said they follow in the footsteps of Popeda, Finnish best known Manserockers. If I must say my opinion, I’m not quite sure about that, but I did enjoy their show. Given their young age, the boys knew how to play and engage their audience. Not a bad start.
After they come Dashbone, the only female singer included in the festival. The punkish of Tiia only blew you away! It was a positive, catchy surprise. Fumble were the next ones and… They were terrible! I had heard of them before, and was waiting to hear them play but.. I’m sorry to say I was rather disappointed in them. It wasn’t as energetic and engaging as I thought it would be. But the blame might have been on the really hot day and straight sunlight to the stage. After Fumble the audience had a nice surprise, when all of the bands playing that night were called out to join the host for a drink at the Dinner in the Sky. It was indeed fun to follow them get strapped in their chairs one by one, and then when all were there, get lifted up to toast for the evening. After a while they landed safely, and got their feet back on the ground again.
At this point the performances were starting later than supposed to. Some people were wondering what was wrong. Perhaps the organizers did not notice how much time the bands needed to get their instruments and microphones set before the shows, and how much would they have needed time to get them off the stage after it. It felt like no one had thought of how complex some of the instruments are to build and check – like the drums. Also there were minor electrical issues with the monitors and microphones. But that did not stop the show. It just made the three last bands be a little late, and in more hurry. From my point of view that was a pity. But as Flower Rock is held on a market-area, the law is that it needs to be over at certain time. So there was no other way for the last three bands than to squeeze their sets, and be fast with sound checks.
After this first break, Baton Rogue Morgue steal the stage! BRM was formed in 2005, and is known from their killer live shows and excellent stage presence and… with this fame, they not left nobody cold. It was the first real dose of sex-appeal, and raw lightning. The audience was really enthusiastic and absolutely enjoyed the show. No one seemed bored and everyone seemed to had fun! The venue was burning while they were playing that afternoon. The fifth band to conquer the stage was Santa Cruz. This evening Santa Cruz kicked their show on with fire. The audience was thrilled, jumping, screaming and waving their hair. The people was so crazy that I had serious difficulties to get some pictures. It was a blast!
The last band, and the most waited of them all, was Reckless Love. The band, formed by Pepe, Olliver and Jalle, and joined later by Hessu, just released their third album, titled as Spirit. The Kukkaisrock audience had really waited for this band will hit the stage. As soon as the band started, the crowd was screaming and roaring, singing along, and some even breaking to tears. Reckless Love did not let their fans down. They rocked the night away with full energy and totally showed why they were the most wanted band that evening. The crowd filled up the whole market area, from the stage to the main road behind, so tight I could not get round the stage.
All in all, the entire event was a well done rock fest, where I’m sure, everyone enjoyed, despite the burning hotness of the sun. But at least it wasn’t raining! Personally, I think that the set of performers was very good, and they showed and proved that there is some excellent rock musicians here in Finland, as like some rock fests.
