Categories
Concerts Music

Review Metallica concert. Tallinn 18/04/2010

Many people were as excited to see the opening bands, Gojira and Fear Factory, as for seeing Metallica itself. The legendary American metal band had given their last concert in Tallinn 4 years ago in front of a massive audience of 90.000 souls, but this time, it was going to be something different, in a close stadium, Saku Areena, with the 360 degrees stage in the middle.

Metallica Tallinn

And actually, although the set list they played 4 years ago was amazing, I enjoyed this concert more. The stage gives the chance of much more proximity with the band, and you always have a member walking around in front of you. Honestly, I am not much into Gojira and Fear Factory, so although obviously part of the audience was very pleased, and other part felt like their style was quite different from Metallica, I dedicated myself to the healthy sport of sipping a cold glass of beer.

I have to say also that I have not paid much attention to their latest album Death Magnetic, so although it is a great comeback for the band, and made the audience vibrate at the beginning with tracks like That Was Just Your Life or The End of The Line, for me, the really exciting moments were when they played classic tunes like Harvester of Sorrow, Fade to Black, Sad but True, One or Master of Puppets. Unfortunately, opposite to their gig in Riga, they did not play For Whom the Bells Toll, but this was compensated with The Unforgiven, a very special song for me, because it was basically the one that introduced me to Metallica when I was a teenager.

James Hetfield was especially talkative with the audience, and the all the band in general seemed to be happier on stage than in previous occasions, probably a result of the success they have achieved with Death Magnetic. The lightning and special effects all through the concert were matching perfectly, not going over the top, but just helping to create an unique atmosphere, and even the sound quality was better than expected.

Antonio at Metallica concert

As it was to be expected, the band left the stage after Enter Sandman for a great encore with the cover from Misfits Last Caress, Whiplash and the ending Seek & Destroy. At the end, hundreds of guitar picks thrown to the audience (I got 2 of them luckily for my personal collection), and even Lars Ulrich stayed a bit longer talking to the audience and reading a poster some fans have written for him.

In general, the band sounded powerful and left a good taste to the fans. For some moments, I would even say that at the start of a couple of songs they were even a bit sloppy, but that was actually not a minus, but a feeling that you were listening to a more authentic band that enjoys facing the fans. Maybe they do not create masterpieces like in their first period, but certainly, no one can´t deny that Metallica can still give a hell of a live show!

METALLICA SET LIST TALLINN APRIL 2010

1. That Was Just Your Life
2. The End Of The Line
3. Harvester Of Sorrow
4. Ride The Lightning
5. Fade To Black
6. Broken, Beat And Scarred
7. Cyanide
8. Sad But True
9. The Unforgiven
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman

Encore:

16. Last Caress (Misfits cover)
17. Whiplash
18. Seek & Destroy

Categories
Cinema DVD

Good

The Nazi Germany has been the topic for thousands of movies during the recent years. Although usually depicted as evil, sometimes we have assisted to the more human side of German Nazis (if not, just look again at Oskar Schindler in The Schindler´s List).

Good is a movie just made to shape the talent of Viggo Mortensen. He fits perfectly a role of a person who can be intelligent, sensitive, but also tough if needed. One of the biggest questions that the humankind ask themselves when the concentration camps were discovered were “How this could happen?”. The movie tries to dig deeper in how good citizens can end up corrupted or assimilated to an evil system, but all in all, Good left me a bittersweet taste after I finished watching it.

Good

It is true that Mortensen´s work is once more flawless, but his relation with his Jewish best friend Maurice is portrayed sometimes in a too sloppy way. I basically enjoyed more the moments when Viggo tries to deal both with his shrinking marriage and her new love for a young student who turns to betray his confidence.

The final is certainly visually shocking, but you are not going to presence anything unique that you have not seen before in other movies or TV series dealing with the holocaust. I had the feeling that the movie was in the end too short, and the characters had to be sketched in a bit of a rush. Not a bad movie if you like Mortensen, but it will not enter the top list of films that deal with the Nazi German.

Rating 3/5

The best: The band playing classical music in the concentration camp in the final scene.

The worst: I had the feeling the movie would have needed an extra half an hour for exploding all the potential it had.

The detail: Mark Strong plays a secondary role as Bouhler.

Good Trailer

Categories
Cinema DVD

Brüno

Sacha Baron Cohen made a little revolution in the comedy genre with the exhilarating Borat. Who has not tried to imitate with their friends at some point Borat´s accent and expressions in the last years?

The “on your face” spontaneous and transgress sense of humor of Cohen goes even farther here in the portray of a gay Austrian reporter who is not afraid to confront anybody in the pursue of his dreams and gay happiness.

Brüno

The product, nevertheless, is not as “fresh” as in Borat. Although changing the characters, the formula has too many repetitions, and the spectator is not caught in disbelief so easily, even when Cohen tries really hard. For many “alpha males”, this must be a difficult movie to watch, but certainly, if you watch it with an open minded, and you know the kind of humor that Cohen displays, it will provide you with a few good laughs. If you belong to a conservative family, maybe better skip this one.

Although some moments are obviously scripted, like the encounters with Harrison Ford or the dominatrix in the swinger party, I think that the funniest parts is when you observe the reactions of the normal citizens to Cohen’s behavior, just if they get shocked, or they try to act like everything is cool.

I had watched some short videos of Cohen portraying the same character in Youtube, and I must admit that many of them were funnier than most parts of the movie. All in all, if you like the kind of humor that breaks all the rules about nudity, indecent behavior or male to male tongue kisses, this one will entertain you!

Rating 3/5

The best: The final “fight” in the UFC cage in front of an American redskin audience.

The worst: The formula copied in essence from Borat starts to be a bit rusty. Cohen needs to reinvent himself one more time.

The detail: Cohen was “kindly” escorted by security after breaking into a fashion show in Milan.

Brüno vs Skinheads Video

Categories
Cinema DVD

Shrink

I cannot deny that Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors in Hollywood. Same than people like Bill Murray, he is able to play his roles without losing a little part of his own recognizable identity.

The role of the depressed shrink Henry Carter, unable to deal with a normal life without smoking joints after the suicide of his wife, seemed to be made to fit him like a glove. Spacey seems to find himself at home playing those kind of roles that walk in the think line between madness, naiveté and geniality, like in K-Pack or Usual Suspects.

Shrink

Maybe Shrink does not have special effects or great sex scenes with high voltage to attract the audience, but its deceitful simplicity is its strongest weapon. It narrates things in a way that we all can feel identified, even not being Hollywood celebrities. To Spacey superb acting, it helps the excellent array of secondary characters with the always delightful presence of Safron Burrows or the ferocity of Dallas Howards as an aggressive Hollywood agent (it can remind you the Jeremy Piven of the TV series Entourage). Howards really steals the show in the movie, being his appearances always accompanied by his Bluetooth headset some of the best moments of the film.

Shrink is a movie that will gain you slowly but steadily. A delightful collection of stories with credible characters, and with the always flawless intervention of Kevin Spacey. A nomination for him for the Oscars could have perfectly been well deserved here.

Rating 4/5

The best: Dallas Howards confessing to have slept with the girl of one of his clients, expecting to be punched. And Robin Williams final interaction with the young wannabe actress.

The worst: Maybe not the best movie to watch if you have recently lost a beloved one.

The detail: Robin Williams makes a short but interesting appearance as a veteran actor who cannot decide if remaining faithful or enjoying the pleasures of flesh.

Shrink Trailer

Categories
Cinema DVD

Nothing but the Truth

Kate Beckinsale i sable to show in this movie that she can be more than a pretty face in a bit super production (like Pearl Harbor, for example…) in this interesting drama that deals with honesty, freedom of speech and principles that go even beyond the law.

Based on true events, Beckinsale is an example to follow for all those who still believe that media has to dig into the dirty truth of the governments, and puts a question in our heads: “would you go that far, sacrificing your life for what you believe is fair?”.

Nothing but the truth

Together with her, Matt Dillon makes a pretty decent appearance as the Patton Dubois, you cannot less than hating him in the end, and Alan Alda shows a touch of class every time he steals the scenes with his elegant speeches and looks.

A movie that keeps you in a total state of empathy with the main character, and does not lack of a final interesting twist to put the cherry on top of the cake. For all of you interesting in journalism, work ethics and the American government policy vs freedom of speech, this is a must see!

Rating 4/5

The best: When Rachel gets interviewed while staying in jail by the TV reporter.

The worst: the movie has not got the promotion that it would deserve.

The detail: Based on true events suffered by New York Times writer Judith Mille who served almost 3 months in jail.

Nothing but the Truth Trailer

Categories
Features Interviews Music

Interview with Daniel of Hadouken

Hadouken is a band that probably will appear in many magazine covers in the future. They combine talent, energy and a fresh style that makes you jump on your feet even without noticing it. Compared by many with well established bands like Chemical Brothers or Prodigy, which is undoubtedly a good sign, their guitar player Daniel “Pilau” Rice attended kindly our questions just after the release of their follow up album For the Masses.

First of all, thanks for your time answering our questions! If you are so kind, please explain a bit more in detail how were the beginnings of the band in Leeds, and how did you all end up playing together in Hadouken.

James, Alice and I all went to Leeds Uni, though James and Alice had already met at Art College. James is background is in UK garage and other British dance music genres, once he came up to Leeds though he also got into a lot more guitar based indie and rock bands and started writing tunes that drew influence from both styles. The band came together pretty easily as James got his girlfriend Alice on board to play synths and I invited my younger brother to take up drumming duties who in turn asked his friend Chris to place Bass.

Hadouken

Hadouken is a word well known for gamers around the world, being a movement in Street Fighter. Were you the kind of teenagers that spend all their money and hours at the arcade saloons trying to defeat Mr. Bison? What are your favorite videogames that you are playing lately?

Yeah we were all big into gaming as children. Since being the band we haven’t had as much chance to play as we would like but we do have a Playstation 3 on our tour bus so we play a lot of Fifa on there and we have Xbox’s at home which are used mostly for Call of Duty and Assassins Creed at the moment.

You have just recently released your follow up album “For the Masses”. What can the listener expect from it, if you have to resume the spirit of the album? In what ways is similar or different to your debut one?

We like to think this album is a big step forward from our debut release. It has a darker and aggressive tone and it is hopefully a lot more sophisticated musically. We’ve learnt a lot from the last three years of touring and we’ve grown up and changed as people so it’s naturally that the album is different to the one we made three years ago.

Why did you decide to record it in Holland?

We recorded in Holland because that’s where Noisia, who produced the album, have their studio. Noisia remixed a couple of our tracks on the first album and we really liked what they did so they seemed like the obvious choice to get involved in the new album. They are phenomenally talented guys and so we were really pleased when they agreed to work on the whole album.

During the last months, you can read and hear always comparisons of Hadouken with bands like Prodigy or Chemical Brothers. Do you consider this good (being compared to these huge successful bands) or do comparisons annoy you?

We’re obviously big fans of those bands and they influence our music in a big way, we’ve got a long way to go before we’ve achieved anything like what they have.

How did it come the idea of creating your own record company, Suface Noise Records, even before Hadouken would have any album released? Did you have clear you did not want to depend on any other company?

The Leeds music scene that surrounded us at that time was very DIY based with lots of small record labels and bands looking after stuff for themselves so it seemed like the natural thing to do really; we saw plenty of other people doing and thought there was no reason why we couldn’t do the same. We really like having the freedom to do whatever we want and be fully in control of the music we release and how we come across to our fans.

“The new album has a darker and aggressive tone and it is hopefully a lot more sophisticated musically”

What is your opinion about the music business nowadays, and the large amount of illegal downloads of music?

The music industry is obviously in a rough way and old fashioned record deals with big record labels no longer work for the vast majority of bands. If you are a massive pop act and sell millions of records you can get by but most bands need to find a new way of doing things. The illegal downloading is a shame but at the end of the day there is nothing that can be done to stop it so as a band you just have to be pleased that people are listening to your music and hope that they financially support the band in some other way, by coming to a gig or by buying a t-shirt for example, as without some sort of income no band could afford to record or go on tour.

Your music finds a great way of finding audience using new technologies and websites like for example YouTube, where your videos get a lot of visitors. Is it easier nowadays for new bands to find their own place, even without a big company backing them up? Are you assiduous users of social networks like Facebook, etc?

Yeah we use social networks a lot; it’s something that comes naturally to us because of our age. I think the vast majority of people who know our music discovered us through word of mouth online, by people sending links to our Myspace or to our videos. It is definitely great for bands that this is an option and they don’t have to rely on a record label to put expensive adverts on TV or big billboards up for people to discover their music.

Being James and Alice a couple out of stage, and you and Nick brothers, does this change anything in your work and everyday life? Do you have a special bond with more things to share being part of the same band, or does it turn hard sometimes to separate the band and private life offstage?

I think having a couple and also two brothers in the band is actually advantage as because we all know each other so well anything that needs to be said in a rehearsal room or in a meeting can be said and there isn’t any awkwardness.

What are your hobbies or other activities when you do not dedicate time to the band?

James is really into art & design, Alice is a big film fan and I’m really into video editing, but I think outside this band we still probably spend most of our time on music, we all have various other projects under way which we spend time on when off duty with Hadouken

Hadouken

Is there any particular band you would specially like to tour with?

I think we’d really like to tour supporting Pendulum, we’ve done some festivals with them and they’re an amazing live act and we can learn a lot from watching them. I think we have a lot of shared fans so it could work out really well

Being videogame fans, and with those catchy tunes, it seems that some of your songs could fit very well in a videogame soundtrack. Any project of working with the videogame industry in the near future?

Yes we’re in talks with various companies about using our tracks on their games and also potentially performing at gaming events. We always see people putting up videos on Youtube of them playing games like Call of Duty with our tracks playing in the background so people obviously think they make good soundtracks to big killing sprees.

What are the plans for Hadouken for the rest of 2010?

We’ve got our first few summer festivals coming up in the next few weeks which we’re really looking forward to. After festival season is over we might go back out touring on our own or we may just get on with the third album as the first few songs are already being demoed at the moment.

Anything you want to add for the readers?

Thanks for reading & if you don’t know us check out our new album For The Masses!

For more info, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/EA-Trax/6280105731?ref=ts

http://www.hadouken.co.uk/

HADOUKEN TURN THE LIGHTS OUT VIDEO

Categories
Antonio's blog Blogs

The awful Estonian customer service and an angry Spaniard

I have experienced it myself many times while living in Estonia (and sadly, also in Finland), and you can read the same opinion if you visit most of the expats blogs around: Estonian customer service sucks big time.

Usually, I could let it go. I would say that ok, it comes with the country, with the past history attached to Soviet Union where people did not need to be kind to the customers, with the coldness of the Estonian people… But what the fuck! This time I am going to write something about it, because everything has a limit.

Yesterday, after assisting to a wonderful housewarming party held by an American and an English friend, I visited with some of the people a bar in Tartu called Illegaard (that happens to be owned also by another Englishman). This bar is actually a wonderful place, nice to sit and talk, with a fuzzball (I am addicted to the game) table and different events through the week. I have to say clearly that this entry does not go against the bar per se, but against the attitude of some Estonian people when giving customer service.

The point is that I went close to the desk where the waitresses were serving, and I was not even going to order any drink, but just some coins to play fuzzball later. I saw some people waiting on the right side of the desk, and an empty space on the left, so I did what a normal human being would do in most of the bars in the world, to stand waiting for my turn in the empty space.

I noticed after a few minutes that the other people were served before me. I shut up my mouth and waited patiently. I know how the philosophy of the waiters and waitresses is in these countries, if they believe you arrived later, they will ignore you until they consider that it is your turn, totally different from Spain where everybody waves to them in a packed venue to catch their attention and get a drink (it is the jungle law there). But once again, I accept I am not in Spain, and that the people on the right could have preference, so I keep on waiting.

Bad Customer Service

I keep on waiting and waiting, but started to realize that I was never served after 15 minutes and new people coming were served before me. One of these new people was a friend of mine. I just commented that it seemed the waitresses did not want to serve me, and one of them, because believe me, in this country you will always find a smart ass, told me that there was a queue. I did not insult her or insult anybody, but I am Spaniard and sorry, we discuss things when we do not consider them fair. I said that I did not see anywhere written to wait in the queue, and even though, I waited patiently for long minutes. Was that a kind of punishment that I should wait 1 hour for breaking the “rules” and not waiting on the other side of the desk?

The answer of the waitress was that I should relax or go out of the bar. Yeah… she threatened me to be kicked out of the bar, ladies and gentlemen! I was not wasted, not insulting, not creating trouble, but because I opened my mouth and said that it was not the way things should be done, I became a “persona non grata”… I suppose that if you are a Latino person, you could understand my pain. We come from a culture where we TALK and gesticulate to make our point. In Estonia, that seems to be the land of the smart ass people, because everybody seemed to know better than you about everything, you can die of frustration while they talk to you in a cold tone like if you would be a little child who has behaved bad for opening the mouth and telling your view on things…

I have experienced awful customer service when buying a bus ticket in a R-Kioski, when they returned very late my lost suitcase after a flight and they phoned me in a tone that seemed like it would almost be my fault to have it lost, when waiting for a meal to arrive in a restaurant for hours… but everything has a limit. I have news for you, Estonian people who attend clients with an angry face like if you would be sucking a lemon, you are in European Union nowadays, and foreign people expect more of a human behaviour from you. And if you do not like it, go and quit your job. You can always go to a farm to masturbate animals, that surely will be much more grateful clients.

My dear waitress, I honestly do not care about your low or high wages, the drunkards who disturb you every night, if you split up with your boyfriend or girlfriend the previous night or if you did not pass an exam. As a youngster, I did a lot of shitty jobs myself to pay my studies where I had to deal with customers face to face, and a smile and politeness were the rule nr. 1. Maybe the sentence “The client is always right” does not apply in Estonia, but it happens to be true in most of the other European countries. I happen to be an editor of a small online magazine who writes here just part time as a hobby, but I could perfectly have been the editor of Lonely Planet looking for the coolest places in Tartu, and after you fucked up my mood that night, my dear waitress, your establishment would have lost hundreds of potential customers. Would your boss be happy about it?

Categories
Interviews Music

Interview with ELMAYONESA

Usually, in a small country like Estonia is, the music you listen to around is the one created by native artists, or the big international and well known super stars. However, there is a new artist that has gained the sympathy of the Estonian audience with charisma and good doses of humor. His name is ELMAYONESA, and his song Liigutage Peput could perfectly be the official “Estonian summer song”, if we would be lucky enough to enjoy a proper summer… FREE! Magazine contacted this interesting Argentinean musician and artist, located in Barcelona, to get to know more about him and the story behind one of the most refreshing “Estonian” songs of the year!

Thanks for answering our questions! Please, tell us a bit more about your connection with Estonia. Have you ever lived there? What is your opinion about the country?

I have never lived in Estonia, but I went there to play after creating Liigutage Peput in December 2009. I loved the country! Being Argentinean in Estonia is a total success!; getting tones of attention by so many beautiful women, you can imagine! Maybe the only negative thing I do not like is the weather, I am not used to cold weather.

ELMAYONESA

Can you explain us more in detail who is ELMAYONESA, and your reasons to start creating music? What other hobbies do you have?

ELMAYONESA is an artist! I play music since I was 13. I started playing drums in heavy metal bands, and now I also produce electronic music. Music is not only my hobby but my passion and my job; I founded my own record label a couple of years ago and I work on it every day. Obviously, being Argentinean, another of my passions is football, I also play it.

How the idea for creating Liigutage Peput come up? Did you know anything about Estonian language beforehand?

The project behind ELMAYONESA was always not only mixing different music styles, but also different languages; LIIGUTAGE PEPUT was born like any other song made by ELMAYONESA; I had been learning Estonian for a while, and I thought it was the right time to create a song using that language.

Mixing reggae, Spanish and Estonian language is something totally different to what you can usually listen to in Estonian musical scene. Do you know of anybody who has made anything similar? Have the Estonian media shown you a lot of attention?

What ELMAYONESA proposes is something totally innovative in the way of mixing Latino rhythms, electronic music and different languages, always keeping it fun. I personally thing that you can feel more and more in modern music that there are no frontiers, no limits of style or language, this is how the world is nowadays; ELMAYONESA is a perfect example, an Argentinean boy whose family is Italian-German, who lives now in Spain and who creates music in Estonian.

One cannot notice in the song your love for the Estonian women. Have you had personal experiences with them, like girlfriends of any love affair?

Yes, of course I have had experiences with Estonian girls. I love the women from Estonia! I think they are some of the most beautiful in the whole world.

ELMAYONESA

The videos are shot in Barcelona. So do you live there permanently?

Yes, I have lived in Barcelona for 3 years. Most of the videos where shot there, except of the official one for Liigutage Peput, that was shot in Canary Islands. Everybody can watch it at http://www.myspace.com/elmaonesa

Are the girls appearing in the video Spanish or Estonian?

The girls appearing there are my best Estonian friends.

Will ELMAYONESA create in the future more songs in Estonian?

Yes, I am nowadays preparing a new hit that will be released on summer, and some more songs.

If you would have to choose one, what Estonian woman would you like to see moving her “pepu” while dancing your songs?

I would love to see Kerli doing it. She is very beautiful, and her music is great.

Is there anything you want to add for our readers?

I send warm greetings to all the Estonian people, I hope they listen to my music and get ready, because in July and August I will be in Estonia on tour introducing my new hits!

Suur aitäh!

ELMAYONESA: LIIGUTAGE PEPUT VIDEO

Categories
Books Features

Solar by Ian McEwan

Solar is one of the strongest releases that you will find in the bookshops this year. Written by the acclaimed British author Ian McEwan, The fiction novel is, against what you would expect when looking at the cover, not so much as sci-fi book as a witty and clever description of the weakness and flakes of the human nature.

Certainly, there is some scientific talk around, but the story turns mainly around 8 years of the private life, thoughts, affairs and fortunes and misfortunes of Michael Beard, a Nobel prizewinning who is not going thought his brightest moment.

Ian McEwan

The main character is depicted raw, very far from the usual hero we could expect in other books. Sometimes you can feel some sort of affection towards him, but in general, his greediness and selfishness put him out of any empathy with the reader. However, the plot is masterly conducted, and you always have the feeling to read one more page to get to know if in the end Beard will have salvation, or punishment for his non-honorable actions.

But all in all, I was a bit disappointed when reading the final pages of the book. McEwan had made a great effort to create the appropriate climate that would lead to the ecstasies that every reader awaits when the final of a book gets closer. But the open end leaves you kind of indifferent when finishing the final page, maybe matching the personality of the main character himself: a man that at some point was touched by the hand of geniality but who ended up taking a wrong turn.

Solar is worthy a try, if not for other reasons, for the clever writing that McEwan shows one more time. But for a book that will be displayed in a position of honor in every bookshop window of the western world, I was expecting it to leave me with a little bit farther feeling of satisfaction…

Categories
Cinema DVD

The Cove

Awarded with the Oscar to the best documentary, this is undoubtedly a visually shocking piece of work by director Louie Psihoyos and his fellow activists.

Many people can attack the documentary of being too American, too hypocrite, too high-budget, and too many other things, but The Cove is undoubtedly one of the best documentaries of the last decade. It won´t leave you indifferent.

Edited in a very clever way, turning the story all around the figure of Ric O`Barry, the famous dolphin trainer who took command of the famous “Flipper” and later reconverted in a hardcore activist pro-dolphins, and his fight against the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji (Japan), it shows to the watcher a very different face of Japan. For a country that it is usually identified with efficiency, respect to traditions, martial arts, new technologies and sushi, it is in a way “refreshing” to contemplate also its darker side.

The Cove

The images are sometimes beautiful and sometimes brutal, being the crew supported by the latest and most sophisticated technologies. The peak of the movie is undoubtedly the last 10 minutes where you can finally contemplate in horror what happens in Taiji and its infamous cove.

You will love and you will hate this documentary if you are an animal lover, because it shows that in the end, there is no more cruel animal that the human being himself. Luckily, there are also people who will risk everything they have to denounce to those who want to hear.

Rating 4/5

The best: the scenes when the Japanese fishermen and the Japanese police threaten the crew.

The worst: the final slaughter scene is not recommended for sensitive stomachs.

The detail: After the final credits, you can still assist to one funny scene of the documentary.

The Cove Trailer

Categories
Antonio's blog Blogs Outside Finland Travel

Visiting Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania

Taking advantage of the long Easter weekend (yes, miracle, Friday was a national holiday in Estonia. Not that you have many chances through the year of enjoying long week ends in Estonia…) I decided to visit Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and the only country in the Baltic-Scandinavian region where I had not been yet.

The trip was long, 4 hours by bus to Riga and another 4 from Riga to Vilnius, but worthy. My Finnish friend Ilkka flew from Helsinki to join me, and there we met at Old Town Hostel. I must say that the double room we had was excellent. Actually, one could feel like having a hotel room, because it was separated from the rest of the hostel, and we had our own key to go in and out whenever we wanted withouth disturbing anybody. The price was fair, so I reccommend it.

Vilnius

We wandered during the weekend mostly around the old town, so I cannot say much of the rest of the city. But I liked a lot what I saw there. The city is clean, the buildings are in good shape, and the atmosphere is charming. The nightlife was sadly quite dead, due to many people having escaped from the city for the holidays, but even though, we found a couple of bars where to have fun. We settled our operational base for the night especially at the University Pub. But during those days there, most probably there were more people going to church than to bars. And it is amazing the amount of churches you can find in a few square metres! In every corner there is a church in old Vilnius! Even if you are not a religious person, you cannot less than admire the special atmosphere that this gives to the city.

About Lithuanian people, I must say that in general they were pretty friendly, even better than expected. Girls actually smile you easily at the bars, and are very eager to have a conversation (I would say that maybe more friendly than Estonian girls, who usually give you the look of “do not disturb me foreigner, I prefer to talk with the local guy who looks like a retired boxer” when going out at night. But also Lithuanian guys (ok, those who are not 2 metres high and look like serial killers) were quite friendly, and we had the chance to chat with quite many of them while sharing some beers.

vilnius

As a final remark, do not make the mistake to confuse Lithuanian language with Russian language (It happened to me once, sorry!!!). In Vilnius, only around 9% of the population is Russian speaker, and the local Lithuanians do not take very well the comparisons. In that sense, they are probably less welcoming than in the other Baltic capitals, where Russian speakers are more widely spread among the local population.

If you still have not visited Vilnius and are thinking about a possible weekend destination, do not think it twice. Prices are affordable, the city looks good and pretty safe, the people are friendly… and the women pretty ;)

Categories
Features Interviews Music

Interview with Taka from the Japanese band MONO

MONO has been around for more than one decade, not afraid of wandering around the world outside the Japanese borders to spread their unique musical style. They will be soon visiting Estonia, stopping in the city of Tartu. Taka, their lead guitar, kindly talked to FREE! Magazine about his view on music and the last experiences touring around the world.

Thanks a lot for your attention guys! For a person who would have not had the chance to listen to your band before, how would you describe the musical style of MONO?

The underlying energy in our songs is meant to be positive. The layers of heaviness and melancholy sounds on top are just the same things we endure in life to reach a higher place. We want our songs to mimic this balance of dark and light. As we grow older as a band, I think we want our songs to be more meditative.

MONO

How did you get to know and started to play together in 1999?

Takada and I became friends and we played a show together one time before forming Mono. I knew Yoda from the music store so he joined us shortly after. Then, a mutual friend introduced us to Tamaki because we needed a bassist. I’m lucky to have met each of them. It’s like fate because we all work well together and share the same vision.

After more than 10 years as a band, is there anything different from the beginnings, or the basic spirit remains the same?

We’ve grown tighter as a quartet and we are now more confident in taking risks in our music. Our basic spirit remains the same though.

I have read in previous interviews that you always give a great importance to remain independent, and you are not so happy about how capitalism affects the music business. How do you see the situation with the current economical crisis?

I’m not too familiar with the music business but it seems to me that most areas of mainstream entertainment are still doing well in most countries, especially Japan. The main thing that I enjoy about remaining independent is the freedom to create what we want to. The mainstream music business has a tendency to mold bands into what they view as marketable.

Is now even a better option to remain independent instead of depending on the fluctuations of the music market and the companies? Now for example Internet has opened the door to many bands to spread their music with a very cheap cost, just having a MySpace or Facebook page…

It really depends on what kind of musician you are and what kind of musical career you are going after. There have been several indie bands who have reached a wide audience with networking and touring.

Many European and American bands affirm that their craziest audience is in Japan. For you, as a Japanese band with a broad experience touring abroad, how is the European audience?

“I am a huge fan of Arvo Pärt”

The European audiences have already been wonderful to us. They are always enthusiastic and kind to us whenever we visit. Some of our greatest memories are in Europe.

It seems also that Japanese bands are getting more attention lately in North Europe than years ago, with other rock/metal bans like MUCC or D`Spairs Ray having a great legion of fans, for example in Finland. Have you noticed an increasing interest from Europe to Japanese music in the last years?

Unfortunately, I have not been able to keep up with the music scene lately.

You will be playing at the end of March in Estonia. I think you were here playing 2 years ago. What do you think of Estonia and Tartu? Did you have time to visit the city before?

Yes, we have played before at the Plink Plonk festival. Tartu is a very special for me, especially because I am a huge fan of Arvo Pärt. I am excited to visit to there again.

Plink Plonk club in Tartu is pretty small. Do you feel more comfortable playing in small clubs, or in bigger venues?

Both of them have good things about them. Playing in a small setting is more intimate which is nice. But playing in a large venue or festival is also great because we can reach a wider number of people.

The orchestration of your music could suit pretty well as soundtrack for movies. Have you received offers recently to participate in any movie soundtrack?

Yes, we’ve receive a few offers. We love film and it is a field that we are looking into.

MONO

You have always given a great importance to travelling around the world to promote your music. What is the best country or venue so far where you have stayed? Any place you would really love to visit, but never had a chance yet?

Such a difficult question because each country is so different. We’ve found something positive about every place we’ve visited.

What other hobbies and activities do you enjoy when you are not on stage or touring around the world?

Taking naps, reading, watching films, spending time with friends,

What will be the plans for MONO for the rest of 2010?

We still have a long tour ahead of us and when that is over, we will start to create new material for the next album.

Anything you want to add for the readers and fans?

Thanks for reading and hope to see you in a city near you soon.

MONO Setlist Tartu March 2010

MONO

1. Ashes in the Snow
2. Burial at the Sea
3. Kidnapper Bell
4. Pure as Snow
5. Sabbath
6. Yearning
7. Follow the Map
8. Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
9. Everlasting Light

MONO

Photos of the Tartu gig by Evert Palmets

Categories
Cinema DVD

Surrogates / Gamer

This is the first time I do a double film review in the same article, but well, I saw both movies Surrogates and Gamer one after the other, and at some points I felt like watching the same movie. Gerard Butler could have perfectly suit the role of Bruce Willis, and Willis, maybe a bit younger, could have been on the shoes of Butler with no problem.

Surrogates

It must be a trend in Hollywood that they release movies with similar patterns and topics at the same time. If before they did it with catastrophe movies, this time they play with virtual reality. New technologies have arrived to our everyday lives, and obviously the scriptwriters and directors are aware of that.

Surrogates is a good sci-fi movie, but it falls into a melting pot of all the classics of the genre. It is easy to see too many winks here and there to Blade Runner or I-Robot for just putting a couple of clear examples. The film is nonetheless saved by Willis, against fitting like a glove in a solitary character that goes beyond the borders to clarify the truth of some mysterious murders in a society where the real human beings just stay in bed leading mentally their surrogated robots. It could still have been more fruitful to see more interaction between real men and surrogates, the plot could have developed into much more funnier and interesting dialogues and situations with somebody who could pull the strings there. Director Jonathan Mostow failed in that.

Gamer

Gamer is more a shoot`em up movie which ending can certainly be foreseen miles away. But Butler is always good as a tough guy, although the script falls into too simplistic, and does not develop much the secondary characters. A pity, because it could have had more potential if it was not focused about the typical story of good guy meeting at the end the bad guy for the final duel and recovering the chick…
All in all, both are good entertaining for a couple of hours, but I still think that virtual reality and new technologies can deserve a much better sci-fi product in the future. Let´s see if any director out there is able to bring it (ah ok, for one second I forgot about Avatar… ;) )

Surrogates – Rating 3/5

The best: Bruce Willis

The worst: A cocktail of sci-fi stereotypes that leaves the film with not much to create a self impression on the audience.

The detail: I just wonder if there would be enough room in a big city or in the world for double size of citizens, the real human beings and the surrogates in the streets…

Gamer – Rating 3/5

The best: John Leguizamo as Freek

The worst: At some point, it reminded me too much of Death Race…

The detail: Milo Ventimiglia from the TV series Heroes makes a short but funny appearance in the virtual world.

Categories
Albums Music

Frida Andersson – Busy Missing You

If just in our previous album review we talked about a great female singer, here comes another one from Finland. Frida Andersson is a 22 years old Finnish singer and songwriter who lives in Helsinki, although having spent time in the past living in Sweden (and having Swedish surname).

Together with her guitar, and a great orchestration (her producer Hannu Korkeamäki has done a great job here), she features her debut album, released at the end of 2009. A collection of 10 tracks that exhale a classy aroma of good music.

Frida Andersson

Although the melancholia is a predominant feeling in Finnish songwriters, Frida’s album has a great cheerful general tone, even when talking about sad things. The songs could be perfectly used more like the soundtrack of an entertaining musical in Broadway than for crying alone in the darkness of your room. Tracks like the first Love Candle, Busy Missing You, Indian Summer (my favorite) or October Blue are just some highlights of this well-balanced album, mastered perfectly by Frida’s candid and beautiful voice.

If you like artists like Katie Melua, you are going to enjoy this one pretty much. The CD shows good taste even in the art design, measured but with a touch of romanticism and class; an excellent debut album for a very promising and young talented Finnish musician.

Rating 4/5

Categories
Albums Music

Sarah June – In Black Robes

Sarah June is an American musician that will certainly leave an impression on you. It is not easy nowadays, with the tones of new albums released every month, to find something fresh or shocking in music bussiness, but certainly her sophomore album In Black Robes, it is something surprising the first thing you hear it.

Just with an acoustic guitar and her voice, Sarah is able to create a kind of oniric musical experience. She sounds like a mischiveous teenager about to whisper a dirty secret to the microphone, but at the same time the lyrics can be really dark and deep. Goth folk? Certainly the style is not easy to catalogue, and that makes this album even more interesting.

Sarah June

Maybe the best parts of the album is when the rythm turns to be more bluesy, as a perfect example you can listen to the sixth track Bluesy Melody, where June`s vocal skills just shine or in Fencepost. Some other highlights of the album are the introductory Cowboy or the tenderly beautiful Paper Lantern, my favorite of the whole album.

However, if I have to put a “but”, I would say that the album could fall into sounding a bit monotonous after listening to it a few times. Sarah is skilled enough to show a wide enough palette of registers in the 13 tracks, but still, it would be interesting to see her beautiful voice going more experimental in the future (for example with a electric guitar…). In any case, if you like good songwriting and a female voice with a delightful twist, this album can be a great discovery for your collection!

Rating 4/5