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Krapin Paja, Tuusula, Finland
20th June 2022
The 69 Eyes

THE 69 EYES started in 1989 as a Sleaze band in Helsinki and over the years developed their very own style the Goth’n’Roll. The band is also known as “The Helsinki Vampires” among their fans and came over to Germany for the first time in 1998. Things kicked off during the early 2000s when they went on tour with PARADISE LOST and won over more and more fans.

THE 69 EYES constantly toured during all these years not only in Europe but also in Australia, Japan, Russia in the USA establishing a big and very dedicated fan base. Celebrating the bands 30th anniversary in 2019 they released their new album ‘West End’ and went on a mostly sold out tour in Europe and the USA. The band recently signed with ATOMIC FIRE RECORDS and is going to release and EP in September and a full-length album early next year. www.69eyes.com / www.facebook.com/the69eyes

Music & Performance
It’s been a bit over three month ago, that I more or less skated on ice covered paths to Krapin Paja but tonight the sun was shining bright and sunglasses were mandatory “I wear my sunglasses at nigh…” Anybody? Krapin Paja had organized a series of concerts in their park and the bands they booked (e.g. APOCALYPTICA, VON HERTZEN BROTHERS, ANSSI KELA, POPEDA MICHAEL MONROE) made an amazing lineup. At the entrance to the park, staff welcomed the guests and showed them their seats, there were several bars around and food could be ordered as well. There were rows of comfy seats in the park, each coming with a numbered table, in front of the stage there was some free space, so people had the option to leave their seats and rock out.

My evening started with an unexpected encounter for a Goth’n’Roll show. APOCALYPTICA’s Mikko Siren showed me my seat and I think not every venue has one of Finland’s best drummers as a producer who is ready to show the media their seats. After I took my seat, I spotted a flashy car that bore a quite familiar number plate; it seemed that some rockers were here to attend the show of their fellow. Tonight promised to become an interesting one, for sure. THE 69 EYES had released two singles from their upcoming EP already and I was quite curios if they would be on the setlist tonight. The show started quite early for the bands standards and around 7 p.m. the band came on stage. The band? Well, one Helsinki Vampire was missing…

During the show, Jyrki explained, that Timo-Timo had caught Covid, but that nobody needed to worry, he was doing fine. I was glad, that the band had not decided to cancel the gig, but play the show without the rhythm guitar section. The band opened the show with one of the authors favourite opening songs, which is ‘Devils’, followed by a song that is always highly acclaimed by the fans and that usually has a spot on the setlist that is close to the encore. From a photographers point of view ‘Feel Berlin’ in the opening section is a great choice as the band’s performance is always a very dedicated one and the fans usually pick up the “Feel-Good-Energy” that comes with this song. ‘Cheyenna’ from the band’s latest album ‘West End’ continued the energetic opening of tonight’s show and afterwards Jyrki addressed the audience for coming to Tuusula tonight. ‘The Chair’ got us some classic Goth and then it was time for one of 2022s singles; ‘Drive’ is an energetic Rock track, that comes with a cool 80s summertime attitude and of course we saw an intense and energetic live performance of the song (the author is still curious to see Timo-Timo rocking out live on stage while being on guitar duties), it’s a perfect song for the summer festival season and the songs catchy opening Riff might make it a good opening track in the future.

‘Betty Blue’ and all time Goth classic ‘Sister of Charity’ gave us some time to breathe, before the audience had their hands up in the air while performing the chorus of ‘Never Say Die’. ‘Still Waters Run Deep’ from the bands album ‘Paris Kills' is a very melodic song, that is rarely to be found on the setlist and looking at the audience’s reaction one can say that it should be played live more often. ‘27 & Done’ brought us back to the bands album ‘West End’ and the time journey took us back to ‘Wasting The Dawn’. A short break later it was time for the song that was the opener ever since ‘West End’ was released, we are talking ‘Two Horns Up’ and of course many hands were up in the air. After ‘Dance D’Amour’ and classic ‘Brandon Lee’, THE 69 EYES left the stage under a big applause from the audience and demands for an encore became audible immediately.

A few moments later, THE 69 EYES presented their “Hired Gun”: Archie Cruz was stepping in for Timo-Timo during the encore tonight. Jussi69 hugged his former local band mate and made it back to his drums just in time for ‘Framed in Blood’. Archie Cruz had a totally different approach, opening the performance by jumping down from Jussi’s drum platform and turned his part of the instrumentation towards a flashy energetic one. The next song was ‘Gothic Girl’ a song that is almost mandatory on a 69 EYES setlist. Then it was time for the most important questions the band ever asked: “You wanna rock?”. Tuusula heard and saw a unique live version of ‘The Lost Boys’ tonight. It was hard to say, who wanted to rock more: the crowd in front of the stage or Archie Cruz on guitar duties. I can only repeat that I’m glad, that the band didn’t cancel the show and that I hope, that Timo-Timo gets well soon. It definitely was a show remember and I hope that THE 69 EYES will have ‘Drive’ on their setlist on the upcoming tour with MINISTRY and WEDNESDAY 13 in fall 2022.

Check out the bands website for upcoming live gigs and if you want to own a limited edition of ‘Drive’ check out ATOMIC FIRE’S web store https://www.atomicfire-records.com/product/48772/drive-notvd-special-edition-vinyl

Setlist
01. Devils
02. Feel Berlin
03. Cheyenna
04. The Chair
05. Drive
06. Betty Blue
07. Sister Of Charity
08. Never Say Die
09. Still Waters
10. 27 & Done
11. Wasting The Dawn
12. Two Horns Up
13. Dance D’Amour
14. Brandon Lee
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15. Framed In Blood
16. Gothic Girl
17. Lost Boys

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 9
Light:8
Sound: 8
Total: 8.8 / 10

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