The amount of finnish bands I knew and listened to in Portugal had one thing in common: they sang in english! A suomi band that sang in their mother tongue was something quite unfamiliar to me. I was actually afraid of even listening to something like that, since my first impression of the language wasn't very good, and the singing might be scary.
I got an email on the exchange list telling about a concert of a band called Egotrippi at the Radisson SAS hotel in Oulu. They are supposed to be one of the most popular pop/rock bands in Finland. So what did I do, before buying the ticket and risking depression? I downloaded some mp3 of them to see how they sounded, of course (yes arrest me). At first I thought they were pretty ordinary, but like all bands, once you get to know the songs better, you start to enjoy them instead of judging them. So yes, I bought the tickets and went with 2 friends to the concert.
All of the songs were great and I became a fan of the band. One thing that surprised me, since this was my first "normal" concert in Finland, was how confortable they were with all the fans standing within 1m or less from the stage, and how easy it was to reach them and talk to them during the break before the encore, for example. I liked them so much, that I had to talk to them in some way, so the first time I had a chance I went to Mikki (singer) and told him I liked the band and asked to take a picture with him. He was kind enough to do it:
Mikki, the lead singer for Egotrippi
I would recommend this band to anyone, even foreigners. It is actually a good way to learn some finnish and some expressions. "Mikä sua vaivaa?" for example :) I even learned 2 or 3 songs for guitar and played them at some parties. It was fun. I still listen to this band in Portugal, it helps me remember Oulu and Finland in a way that only music can...
Posted at 01:18 am by edcarpediem
EDU IN OULU - 4 Months in Northern Heaven by Eduardo Gouveia - Porto, Portugal
