The Kingsland, New York, USA
16th May 2019
The 69 Eyes - “Back from the grave” US-Tour
After 10 years of absence, the Helsinki Vampires were back on the road in the US. The band has a new album coming (will be released in September) and already published a new song and a video, ‘27 & Done’. The Kingsland club opened in 2017 in Brooklyn. At the entrance we had to show our ticket, ID and go through a security check. Unfortunately they didn‘t offer a cloak-room service that led to many people sweating in their jackets or trying to store them in a corner of the packed venue. Still, everyone remained cheerfully, looking forward to the gig of the Helsinki Vampires.
Music & Performance
The show was sold out and the outlay of the venue was a big challenge for the crew. Since there was no “backstage” behind the stage, the audience had to clear a corridor and the crew had to carry all the stuff through the crowd and the bar. It was announced that the band would be on stage at 10 p.m. but due the challenging situation everything took a bit longer. The crew has my deepest respect for working so professionally and staying calm while pushing and rushing through the waiting crowd, where discussions of standing places started evaporating. The room was chock-a-block and it felt like a Finnish sauna, although the gig had not yet begun. While the crew was still building up the set, the crowd demanded louder and louder “69, 69, 69“.
By 10:30 p.m. a thing I never experienced before happened: the crowd had to divide again, to let the band pass through and enter the stage. Now everyone got ready to rock and the party started with ‘Devils’. This time THE 69 EYES literally set the room on fire with a firework of songs and announcements. The audience was a lot wilder and louder than the previous night in Amityville and THE 69 EYES rewarded that with a show that outreached everyone’s expectations. It was brutally hot in the standing area (some people gave up and went outdoors) and I really wonder how Jyrki can dance, jump and roam the stage and Jussi can perform those fireworks on his drums if you already feel grilled standing and rocking in the audience. Compared to the gig in Amityville the sound was more balanced and I prefer THE 69 EYES with their “pure sound“. Archie, Timo-Timo and Bazie showed their skills and nobody missed the synthesizers at all. A stellar performance! THE 69 EYES at their best! Just the five guys, their instruments and amplifiers!
There was one thing both gigs had in common, many in the audience hoped for songs from ‘Back in Blood’ and when Jyrki performed ‘Dead Girls Are Easy’ he could not have made them any happier. It seems that the US also prefers the pure Rock sound of THE 69 EYES. The band played all the epic songs like ‘Brandon Lee’, ‘Dance D‘Amour’ and ‘The Chair’. ‘Wasting the dawn’ was especially dedicated to Peter Steele tonight and many in the crowd cheered when Jyrki made the announcement. ‘Never Say Die’ got the audience rocking and once more I was surprised that people went wild when ‘Feel Berlin’ started. As a German visiting the USA, I was really impressed that the US-fans loved the song about the German capital, written and performed by a Band from Finland so much. The venue heated up constantly and ‘Brandon Lee’ closed the regular set.
Immediately the audience requested an encore and so ‘Framed in Blood’ marked the opening of the final fireworks. ‘Gothic Girl’ followed suit and some of the guys obviously lacked space enough for playing air-guitar, when Bazie treated us with a fantastic solo-part once more. A 69 EYES show without ‘Lost Boys’? Unthinkable for the fans, who demanded for the hymn of THE 69-EYES! The whole venue rocked, time flew by too fast and when the song ended, the band made their way through the cheering crowd. Following the band since the year 2000, I can say that it was one of the best performances I ever saw. The US-shows were unique and somehow reminded me a bit of the time, when they got started in Europe though they improved a lot since I saw them for the first time.
THE 69 EYES will start the festival season in Pilsen (Metalfest) with their new single ‘27 & Done’ from their new album. Tickets at: www.69eyes.com/tour
Setlist
01. Devils
02. Don’t Turn Your Back on Fear
03. Perfect Skin
04. Betty Blue
05. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
06. Christina Death
07. Dead Girls Are Easy
08. Wings & Hearts
09. Dance D‘Amour
10. Wasting the Dawn
11. Dolce Vita
12. The Chair
13. Never Say Die
14. Feel Berlin
15. Brandon Lee
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16. Framed in Blood
17. Gothic Girl
18. Lost Boys
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 9
Total: 9.5 / 10
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