No Boss Night - The Sonics in Helsinki

Last Sunday was the big day. The Sonics played Finland. And we had tickets. When we arrived there was a long cue at the door but we got in much faster than I thought. The guys at the doors just checked the ticket and took the 'service' fee. There was no security check for possible weapons or small bottles of booze you tried to hide in the pockets of your jeans. I wish I had known that earlier. The beer from the tab was 'just' 5,- Euros but as usual in Finland it didn't taste very good. I wonder why some countries just can't produce decent tasting beers. The place was if not sold out for sure very packed and like predicted there was a lot of long hair. But also quiffs and baldies. The average age was way over 30, possibly even over 40.  But this time no one was constantly stepping on my shoes or bumping into me. That made the evening much more enjoyable.

When we entered the hall the Flamin' Sideburns were playing already and it was a disappointment. No one of them had sideburns. Sometimes my girlfriend calls music I listen to 'Adult Rock'. Of course I don't agree with her but what the Sideburns delivered I'd like to call just that. Adult Rock. There wasn't the slightest sign of Garage. IMO. I never was a fan of them anyway, I always found them to be pretty boring. After seeing them live for the second time now this  didn't change. I like their cover of 'Out Of Our Tree' but that's pretty much it. Which reminds me of one of the great mysteries in Finnish Rock history. This country never had one decent Garage band. They have and had great Rockabilly, Punk-Rock, Surf and Hardcore bands, but when it comes to Garage there is none. Yet. I play guitar, anyone plays Farfisa?
Then it was time for the Sonics. It was ok. Not as boring as the Roky Erickson and the Explosions show two years ago but also not the exciting, wild, bursting with energy gig I had been hoping for. Maybe they are just too old to tour and kick ass a few days in a row. Credits go out to Rosalie for drinking beer on stage and to their mad drummer. He was the only one that seemed to be really enjoying himself, followed by the always smiling bass-player. Which is sad in a way as they are the two non original members of the band. I mean, yeah it was nice to hear those Garage classics 'The Witch', 'Boss Hoss', 'Cinderella' etc. played live by the original band but let's face it, 2009 is not 1966. They are no longer hormone driven, pimple faced wild young men with an unsatisfiable lust for adventures of any kind and an uncontrollable urge to drink, fight, fuck. They are old dudes with probably more than one prostate problem amongst them. And you could hear that. Not the prostate problem. The age. I for my part am done with paying a lot of money to see grandfathers who made a few good recordings in the 60s and just came back to make some extra cash. It's just not worth it. Legends or not.