Doodle post yet again, still because I spend most of my free time finishing the Negative pictures – that I managed to get signed yesterday night See them below

One of my first drawings of Love XD

Waury as a ninja…

Wiwian as a ninja…

Aaaaand the Negative pics

Got no comment from Antti, as he was sick and zoomed into the bus and didn’t come out. But Jonne was nice enough to pass on the pen and drawings, and he drew a scar on the right cheek

Jay hugged me when I gave him his copy after he signed mine

Jonne liked his picture a lot, and as he finished signing it, he asked if he could have a copy – of course, that’s why I print 6 many copies of each drawing And then he asked me to sign it XD

Larry said, “Nice picture” with a grin, but I caught him last and he was heading back to the bus, which was preparing to leave, so didn’t have much time for a longer impression :3

Näkki asked if it was him when I gave him his copy XD No, no, it’s of a random person >_> XD He also asked if I drew it and said it was very nice

I have to thank Melissa for joining me for the evening, waiting with me in the cold and helping me a lot with getting my drawings signed Also thank you to Nadine, Sabine, Kati and Catharina for the great evening

P.S.: The glossy stuff on photo prints… it dissolves with water >.<

                          

Seeyou there!!

Laury

                          

In random other news, tonight was the end of Tammerfest. I’ve only been to 3 gigs, but they were all great

Day Eleven were really great. Janne (Octopussy) was jumping everywhere and generally having a good time. Kimmo (Glaring Finn) sported awesome heart-shaped glasses with blinking red lights. It doesn’t get any cooler And they played Montage, which is my favorite song off their latest album, Matador. <3

Poets Of The Fall were amazing. Now I understand why their last 2 gigs in Tampere were sold out. They have great chemistry onstage and it feels like they couldn’t be truly happy doing anything else. Marko (Butterfly Ballerina) seemed to have every single cell of his being animated by the music. It’s quite contagious

Negative were just awesome. As I’ve said before, I love Neon, so seeing them for a third time in less than 5 months was not overdoing it Though seriously, they were overdressed. I mean, erm, it was already hot, no need for those vests and jackets, right? Also, Antti got a nice arm for throwing roses to the crowd :3 Wish we’d have been closer to catch some.

But we weren’t. We had a nice spot higher than the stage (“we” as in my friends and I, including Pinkass), from which we could see the whole thing. I was also surprised when 2 girls waiting beside us asked me if I was the one drawing the comics (so weird to have people recognize me! but nice ) and I drew Rumors for them ^_^ I still don’t know how they actually knew it was me… but hei, if you were those 2 girls, hello You easily made my night

I actually got many more ideas for comics now, so next week should resume the schedule as usual. We’ll take a break from the Wiwian/mic/Theon love drama for a little while and I’m gonna try to draw other characters for a change XD
(also I need to come up with the rest of the drama, though I already know the underlying story. They live in my head, after all.)

That’s about it. Almost 4am now, sleep for me X) Have a nice weekend everyone!!!

                          

Upcoming update schedule:
From Sunday 23rd until Saturday 29th, week-long marathon of “Why Life Dislikes Lil Lii”.
Return to weekly pathern on June 5th.
Possibly wonky update schedule during the summer, as I’ll be going around a lot (Rovaniemi, Lappeenranta, Tallinn, and much traveling between Valkeakoski and Tampere and Helsinki).

It’s looking like summer here, I’ve started wondering if I’m still in Finland >_>

                          

JUNE
—————————————————})ï({

• Sauna Open Air – Tampere, Finland
10th-12th

The 69 Eyes (10th)
Tarot (11th)
Sonata Arctica (12th)

Tickets:
3-day: 100€; Thursday 65€; Friday 45€; Saturday 45€

www.sauna-open-air.fi

————————————})ï({

• HyväriRock – Lappeenranta, Finland
June 11-12

The 69 Eyes (12th)

Tickets:
2-day: 45€; Friday 30€; Saturday 30€

www.hyväri.com

——————————————————————})ï({

• Novarock – Nickelsdorf, Austria
June 11-13

Negative (12th)
[Other recommendations:
Rammstein 11th; Green Day 12th]

Tickets:
3-day: 120€

www.novarock.at

———————————————–})ï({

• Kivenlahti Rock – Espoo, Finland
June 11-13

Sonata Arctica (13th)
[Other recommendations:
Disco Ensemble 12th]

Tickets:
3-day: 75€; 2-day: 55€; Friday: 34€; Saturday: 39€; Sunday: 34€

www.kivenlahtirock.com

————————————————————-})ï({

• Kotka Rock Festival – Kotka, Finland
June 18-19

Tarot (19th)
[Other recommendations:
Disco Ensemble 19th]

Tickets:
2-day: 55€; Friday: 25€; Saturday: 40€

www.kotkarock.fi

—————————})ï({

• Metaltown – Götegorg, Sweden
June 18-19

The 69 Eyes (18th)
[Other recommendations:
Rammstein 18th; Sonic Syndicate 18th]

Tickets:
1-day: 850 SEK; 2-day: 1450 SEK

www.metaltown.se

—————————————————})ï({

• Provinssirock – Seinäjoki, Finland
June 18-20

Sonata Arctica (19th)
[Other recommendations:
Lapko 20th; Disco Ensemble 19th; Rammstein 20th; 30 Seconds To Mars 18th]

Tickets:
3-day: 110€; 2-day (F-Sa): 85€; 2-day (Sa-Su): 88€; Friday: 65€; Saturday: 65€; Sunday: 70€

www.provinssirock.fi

————————————————————————})ï({

• Juhannus Himosfestival – Jämsä, Finland
June 24-26

Day Eleven (24th)
[Other recommendations:
The Baseballs 26th]

Tickets:
3-day: 92€; Friday-Saturday: 82€; Torstai: 52€; Friday: 52€; Saturday: 52€

www.himosfestival.com

——————-})ï({

• Jämin Juhannus – Jämi, Finland
June 25-26

Uniklubi (26th)
[Other recommendations:
Essentia 26th]

Tickets:
2-day: 55€; Saturday: 40€; Friday: 40€

www.jami.fi/juhannus

—————————————————})ï({

JULY

• Status Goes Fest – Forssa, Finland
July 02-03

The 69 Eyes (02nd)
Poets Of The Fall (03th)

Tickets:
Friday: 25€; Sunday: 25€

www.statusgoesfest.fi

——————————————————————-})ï({

• Lahden Yöt – Lahti, Finland
July 08-10

Uniklubi (08th)

Tickets:
3-day: 60€; Thursday: 23€; Friday: 23€; Saturday: 23€

www.lahdenyot.fi

——————————-})ï({

• Rock Harz Open Air – Ballenstedt, Germany
July 08-10

Sonata Arctica (08th)
[Other recommendations:
Sonic Syndicate 10th
Delain 9th]

Tickets:
3-day: 59,50€

www.rockharz.com

—————————————————})ï({

• Festival D’Été de Québec – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
July 08-18

Apocalyptica (18th)
[Other recommendations:
Billy Talent 17th
Rammstein 18th]

Tickets:
Pass to all outdoor concerts: 54$CAN

www.infofestival.com

—————————})ï({

• Ruisrock – Turku, Finland
July 09-11

Sonata Arctica (11th)
[Other recommendations:
Tarot 9th
Disco Ensemble 10th
Billy Talent 9th
The Baseballs 10th]

Tickets:
3-day: 110€; 2-day: 95€; Friday: 70€; Saturday: 70€; Sunday: 65€

www.ruisrock.fi

—————————————————————————-})ï({

• Rock Fest – Cadott, Wisconsin, United States
July 15-18

Apocalyptica (15th)
[Other recommendations:
Gavin Rossdale (of Bush) 16th]

Tickets:
4-day: 155$US; 1-day: 77,50$US

www.rock-fest.com

—————————————————})ï({

• Simerock – Rovaniemi, Finland
July 16-18

Negative (16th)
Uniklubi (16th)
[Other recommendations:
Tarot 18th]

Tickets:
3-day: 70€

www.simerock.com

——————————–})ï({

• Tammerfest – Tampere, Finland
July 14-17

Day Eleven [K-18] (15th; 15€)
Poets Of The Fall [K-22] (16th; 15€)
Jann Wilde (16th; free?)
Negative + Flinch (17th; 18€)
[Other recommendations:
Disco Ensemble 15th (16€); Lapko 14th (13€)]

www.tammerfest.fi

———————————————————————–})ï({

• Sunset Beach Party – Karkkila, Finland
July 23-24

Day Eleven (24th)

Tickets:
2-day: 43€; Friday: 20€; Saturday: 26€

www.sunsetbeachparty.net

—————————————————})ï({

• Meripäivät – Kotka, Finland
July 29-August 01

Negative (+Stam1na, Cheek, Klamydia) [29th; 25,90€?]
The 69 Eyes (30th)

Tickets:
Negative+others: Menolippu

www.meripaivat.com

——————————————————————————————–})ï({

• Qstock – Oulu, Finland
July 30-31

Sonata Arctica (30th)

Tickets:
2-day: 69€; Friday: 39€; Saturday: 43€

www.qstock.org

———————————-})ï({

AUGUST

• Hämyvestarit – Hämeenkyrö, Finland
August 6-7

Uniklubi (6th)

Tickets:
2-day: 40€; Friday: 22€; Saturday: 24€

www.hamyvestarit.com

—————————————————})ï({

• Sonisphere – Pori, Finland
August 7-8

H.I.M. (7th)
Apocalyptica (7th)
The 69 Eyes (7th)

Tickets:
2-day: 125€; Saturday: 69€; Sunday: 89€

www.fi.sonispherefestivals.net

————————————–})ï({

• Jurassic Rock – Mikkeli, Finland
August 13-14

Sonata Arctica (14th)
[Other recommendations:
Disco Ensemble 13th]

Tickets:
2-day: 55€

www.jurassicrock.fi

——————————————————————————-})ï({

• Bloodstock – Walton On Trent, United Kingdom
August 13-15

Sonata Arctica (13th)
Children Of Bodom (14th)

Tickets:
3-day: 104,90£

www.bloodstock.uk.com

—————————————————})ï({

• Ankkarock – Vantaa, Finland
August 14-15

Children Of Bodom (15th)
[Other recommendations:
Tarot 14th, Disco Ensemble 15th]

Tickets:
2-day: 80€; Saturday: 45€; Sunday: 45€

www.ankkarock.fi

———————————})ï({

• JyväskyläRock – Jyväskylä, Finland
August 20-21

The 69 Eyes (21st)
[Other recommendations:
Tarot 20th]

Tickets:
2-day: 45€; Friday: 35€; Saturday: 35€

www.jyvaskyla.fi

                          

Then! Music post!

~* })ï({ * ~

Apocalyptica has announced the release date for their upcoming album 7th Symphony, which is August 27. Among the collaboration, resident-guest Dave Lombardo (drummer; Slayer) on the track “2010″, Joseph Duplantier (singer; Gojira) on “Bring Them To Light”, Lacey Strum (singer; Flyleaf) on “Broken Pieces”, Brent Smith (singer; Shinedown) on “Not Strong Enough”, and for the first single, “End Of Me”, Gavin Rossdale from Bush.
(I’ve also been told, Mikko managed to get his hands on a cello contrabass (thank you Katja!) on “Beautiful” .__.)

In addition, if anyone has the occasion to, Apocalyptica will be played at the Festival D’été de Québec, in Quebec City, Canada, on Sunday July 18th. It might be worth it to check it out, because surprisingly, Rammstein will also be playing there on the very same day. Benzin, anyone?

~ * ~

Naked is preparing the release of a new album, Double Down, on a yet unconfirmed date. You can listen to a preview of a few track on MySpace. Don’t forget to become fan on Facebook to stay updated

~ * ~

Negative released their new video for the single “End Of The Line”, which you can see below:

(Better quality video than previously, thanks Karen for the heads up )

Neon, their new album, will be out on June 2nd in Finland.

~ * ~

SURPRISE! Private Line is not dead and will perform twice of their ever few gigs this summer. You can see them at Pegorock Festival in Mantova, Italy, on June 2nd, and in Helsinki at Dante’s Highlight, on June 4th. Tickets for Helsinki on Tiketti.

~ * ~

Reminder: The Salvation is playing at Semifinal, in Helsinki, on May 21rst. Tickets 7€ on Tiketti.

~*~

I… think I don’t have anything else to add…? Upcoming: Festival Post

                          

21:22: We are in Nosturi, waiting for the show to begin. The stage is decorated with street memorabilia – urban background, lamp post – and a sign that says, “Live To Ride”. The lineup was changed pretty much last minute, as the opening band – The Winyls – is missing its drummer, stuck in France because of the eruption in Iceland. Damn volcanoes v__v Earlier I had an email informing me of the new lineup, which includes The Grammers as replacement.

We’re also getting St. Felix, which according to their flyers, is “a new Finnish indie-rock band, pronounced SEINT FIILIKS” (I swear it’s what’s written, we have picture proof, see below). That one comes as a total surprise since we thought we only had one opening band.

St. Felix
They begin on time, which is a plus. We decided to call the singer Special, in a very loving way. He looks like he took a bit too much caffeine, especially compared to the other band members (who are much calmer). But definitely entertaining.
Waury: The music is interesting, though to our ears it sounds like the Hellofatester era of The Rasmus, with a small hint of INTO. The bassist looked like the glaring Finn.
“Giants never never can stop the weather”
We’re kinda lame so we keep making references to bands we know. A Billy Talent moment, a part sounding like Guano Apes, and now some kind of rap à la Papa Roach.
Though I won’t personnally run to get their album from the gig only, I do believe they’re worth giving a shot.
Pinkass: They’re not bad, but it’s not a particular sound, so it didn’t hook me. I’d listen to it on the radio.

The Grammers
Two guitarists, the drummer, a keyboardist (less work for PK), a bassist and the singer: the stage is a bit crowded.
Pinkass: they really sound like a band from the 80′s. The singer is a bit à la Axl Rose, with songs that have a neverending ending.
Waury: Personally I think it’s good music, though not quite my style. Never got hooked on the classic so it doesn’t exactly talk to me.
Pinkass: Of course the blond guitarist’s long hair is perfect. They have a good energy onstage, they’re not static (especially considering the limited available space), though that goes with the type of music they’re playing. St. Felix was a bit weirder, which is fine considering it was an indie band.
Waury: We misheard the title of one of their songs into “Sauna de Sauron”, which was actually “So Long Sorrow”. That’s a win.

Negative

Pinkass: HOT. DAMN. We left satisfied.
Waury: The only time I’d seen them before was at Tammerfest in 2008, with Gary, and that was definitely not one of their best. This time completely made up for it.
Pinkass: They seemed to have found their balance, to really be just them, without overdoing glitters and accessories.

The stage has been a bit modified. The street decoration stayed, but they had added many neon signs – among which a huge horse which was (but shouldn’t have been) on its back. They also had a screen in the background.

Jonne looked quite tired at the beginning of the show, but as the gig progressed he seemed to regain energy. The whole lot of them seemed to be very happy to be there.
They opened with Won’t Let Go, which at once set the venue ablaze. Motherfucker followed, during which Jonne did look quite angry. After All preceeded Moment Of Our Love, which was a nice highlight of the gig for us, partly because we love the song, but also because we haven’t listened much to Karma Killer (we don’t know the new songs that much). Giving Up! gave way to a new song, No One Can Save [Me]. After hearing End Of The Line off MySpace, NOCSM is definitely promising Neon to be a good album.

Waury: I was delighted when they started playing My My/Hey Hey, as it’s still one of my favorite from them.
Pinkass: It was a really really good one.

In My Heaven is one of the first songs we – as outsiders from Camada – ever heard from them, and that was also a special one for us.
After that song, they all left the stage, and only Jonne returned, bearing an acoustic guitar. He played Still Alive alone, or as alone as you be when the whole crowd is singing with you. That was a really beautiful.
He went on a new song, still alone onstage, that is definitely already one of our favorite from the upcoming album: Fucking Worthless. Don’t let the title fool you: it was a very sweet, adorable song:

“You’re so fucking perfect / You’re so fucking cute / I’m so fucking worthless / When I’m not around you”

The whole crowd, mainly composed of girls, went AWWWW. The rest of the band came in toward the end, taking the song a bit more to the rock side.
The Ornament was next, and they ended the main set with Planet Of The Sun, which was sung along to like an anthem.
They left the stage for a while, waiting for us to get a bit impatient, and finally returned for a 3-song encore. Frozen To Lose It All was first, followed by yet another new song, Love That I Lost (in which he says he’s had enough), and they ended the show with Sinner’s Night / Misty Morning (which made me very happy cause it’s my favorite off Anorectic /Waury).

As the final notes stretched into a typical end-of-show neverending ending, Jonne kept demanding cheers by stepping up to the edge of the stage, repeatedly and in various fashions, all of which were each time greeted with screams and applause. When the last instrument died out – not before Jonne climbed on, fell off, then climbed again Jay’s drums to jump off them – the rest of the band joined him up front for the traditional salutes and throwing of roses. Antti had a few ones sticking out from his pants, some of which got partly broken. Though neither of us managed to catch one (they almost threw them all to the other side of the venue, of course), we did managed to find a broken stem, and one of Antti’s plectrums he’d previously stuck to his forehead (in sweat or spit).

Mission accomplished!

The gallery of my host is being stupid at the moment, so please go
>> HERE <<
(photobucket) for the gig’s pictures by Pinkass!

                          

Also, as Mr Jack Smack was present at the show, I learned from him that The Salvation will sadly not get to blow up the Myllysilta in Turku. I’m quite disappointed for them, but well, that’s life.
Also, as he was quite keen to remind me, they’re playing in Turku next Friday, and in Helsinki on May 21rst. If anyone is planning to go to the Hki one, please let me know

New comic sketched in my shinee sketchbook; hopefully online also in the next few days

Take care!!
~Laury