eirias | (no subject)

Today I sent an email to one of my favorite Finnish music groups, Ville Kangas and his band (well, OK, to be honest I only know 2 Finnish groups, but they're both great...). I mentioned that I'd seen them play about 3 years ago and asked whether there'd be any shows in Finland before I leave, in pidgin Finnish.

I got a nearly-immediate reply that indicated that this is the first fan letter they've gotten. They had a great gig THREE YEARS AGO, I remind you, and they've already released a second album. Man, these Finns are a little behind the curve on how to keep good musicians around. ;) Anyway, to my chagrin I learned that there are no upcoming gigs. Boo! BUT they said they'd keep me posted if there was ever a US tour. :)

Unfortunately, the similar email I sent to Värttinä has not yet been favored with a reply. But Värttinä are probably the most famous thing to come out of Finland besides Nokia*, so it's perhaps to be expected ;).

*OK, OK. And Linux. And IRC. How about "the most famous non-nerdy thing to come out of Finland"?

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It will run for several months; I'm going in May.

I should probably clarify -- they are collaborating with the composer but will (almost certainly) not be performing the music itself.

Yes, I figured that's what you meant. :) But since I appreciate them as much for their songwriting as for anything else, I'm psyched!

Maybe it'll come to Chicago some day - a lot of good theater does, I hear (though I've yet to see anything there). Alas, travelling for a show is not so much in the budget when you're planning a wedding and a honeymoon...

According to Playbill (http://www.playbill.com/index.php), the show is sitting tight in Toronto for at least 18 months, which means that you'll have some time (like a year or so) post-wedding to go see it! ;)

Awesome! Thanks for pointing out that site. :)

Hopefully it will be nearer to you at some point. I understand it's going to London after it closes in Toronto. It was initially planned for a London premiere, but there were no sufficiently huge theatres available.

Having just been to the museum exhibit, I am newly stoked up for the musical. Advance word so far has been excellent--the special "it's not done yet but here's what we're thinking" preview event earlier this year was reported to be jaw-droppingly awesome. *bouncebouncebounce*