By: Tanya
Type O Negative/Moonspell/Manhole
at Tavastia Club in Helsinki, Finland 11/21/96
Manhole. I heard their music for the first time the night before they played in Helsinki. Altho' it was just bits and pieces via the Net, I could sense the raw power and anger that is typical for Manhole's music. When they started their set the club was half empty. I seemed to be one of the few rockin' to their music. My friends and I found a place in the staircase near the stage where we could see everything perfectly. Tairrie B is a cool bitch. She seems to give everything on the stage. Maybe it's because their music is so different from Type's that the crowd didn't warm up, or maybe they were just saving themselves for later. The highlight of Manhole's energetic set was (of course) "VICTIM" where Tairrie B was practically spitting at the guy in the front row. All in all, I liked Manhole and will get their CD as soon as possible.
Moonspell. I've known them a little longer. Well, three weeks. But for those three weeks I've listened to them intensely and fallen under the Spell. I don't know, maybe my hearing has been damaged a long time ago but Moonspell played on a good volume. It was the technical stuff that almost spoilt their set. They started with "Opium" but the mic was dead and the whole song was pretty much wasted. After that some electical gadget went bust and it had to be repaired. As if their set wasn't short enough without those two incidents. Anyway. Moonspell is a magnificent band on stage. Almost scary. I thought that the crowd would go nuts for Moonspell but I was wrong. The crowd was pretty lame. For me, the best moments were "Raven Claws", "Awake" and "Vampiria". The set was cut short and it certainly left me wanting for more.
TYPE O NEGATIVE. I didn't know what to expect. But all my
expectations were fulfilled. My mind has gone totally blank as to
what song they started with. All I remember is Peter with his bottle
of red wine and the crowd going crazy. Peter spoke a lot during the
show, cracking jokes, and I like it when the band "reaches out" to the
crowd that way. "Christian Woman" was dedicated to all christian
women in Finland (me included). The song was one of the highlights of
the evening, with crowd singing so loud that I couldn't hear Peter.
Other songs that set the night on fire were "Love you to death",
"Summer breeze/set me on fire", "Are you afraid", "In praise of
Bacchus", "Cinnamon girl", "My girlfriend's girlfriend" - of course.
In other words, each song was a highlight in its own way. The cover
of "Light my fire" was a lot of "fun". It's a brill version of the
classic and everybody seemed to love it.
It was obvious that everyone
had come to see Type O Negative. Johnny seemed to be having a
lot of fun during the show, while Kenny was doing his own thing and
Josh moshing with his hair. The surprise we got during "Too
late:frozen" was totally AWESOME! Don't worry, I won't spoil it for
you (like someone spoiled it for me)... I just had to stare in awe!
The gig was over too soon. They finished with "Black No.1"... and I
think you all know the reaction that song gets. Josh smashed his
keyboards (accidently) and Peter his bass so we knew we didn't need
to wait for encores. The show was way too short, less that 90
minutes. But otherwise, I have no complaints whatsoever. It is one of
the best gigs I've ever been to.
I was lucky enough *ecstatic sigh* to meet all the bands before the gig and that made the concert experience much more personal. Can't wait for another Negative tour!!!
In praise of the negative,
Tanya
Return to the Euro Autumn Tour or read the previous review