{mosimage}The first wintery evening in Helsinki might have stopped the meeting of the indie-kids tonight at Tavastia but the call of Wolf Parade is too strong to resist. The Canadian band has never hidden its love for the Finnish capital being the third time in four years they play over here and the fans have repaid them with a sold-out show.
The opening act is Joensuu 1685, an intriguing local band which plays psychedelic rock with shoegaze shades. With a debut album just released and the blessing of Wolf Parade (during the concert the Canadian quartet expresses the appreciation for them) the future looks bright. After a small break the North American group comes on stage without the sound manipulator Hadji Bakara busy pursuing his doctoral studies home. His absence is reflected in the live sound that looses a bit its noisy cut, one of the trademarks of the band.
After a slow start (despite the always splendid You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son) the four-piece finally fires all its potential with a handful of tracks from the previous album Apologies To The Queen Mary for the joy of an ecstatic audience. The voices of Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug are alternated in a highly synchronized fashion while the bass of DeCaro and the drumming of Thompson are playing a very important role in building the sonic plots. {mosimage}The energetic potential released by Dan is devastating: during the set his possessed moves are going hand in hand with the accumulation of positive tension. In such an entertaining atmosphere the less immediate but otherwise fascinating tracks extracted from the recent At Mount Zoomer are making a very good impact.
After more than an hour of conversations with the audience, fulfilled requests and instrumental digressions it’s time for the encore that stirs the stalls around the stage. Outside the cold air is waiting but this time our hearts and legs have been warmed up by a sumptuous show. After three years from the previous excellent gig the Wolves have crafted another outstanding concert.
Photos by Alessandro Bonetti and Wold Parade`s MySpace official site.