Micke and Lefty w/ chef
This mad stunt trio from Finland had a meek and humble start to their long and winding show: They started off as a duet, playing a low-key stum-a-long/hum-a-long tune to get the crowd into the mood. Lefty, with no deeper philosophy to his name than him being left-handed, announced the band as a three-piece, to mild confussion, until the bass player was pointed out in the crowd as the guy drinking beer in the front row.
Micke (drums) and Lefty (guitar) with chef (bass) play an array of shifty showmanship melodies, ranging from delta blues and roots to hillbilly rockabilly and crowdpleasing Beatlesque dancetunes. By the time they were at their most swinging, the audience had metaphorically kicked off their shoes and were giving it their best as well.
The audience are not the only ones putting on a show. Lefty, Micke and chef seem to have worked up a stock of friendly teasing banter in between numbers. They play three sets; well into the early hours of the morning.
Humour is key here, no doubt about it. From their playful renditions of cover songs to their crazy self-composed numbers, including a fabulously funny “Hawaii in space”, they do everything they do good humourdly. Their smiles betray almost no strain of effort.
They make it look easy: By one o’clock Lefty has got enamoured fans on the first row clapping and whistling in between jaw-dropping solo’s. It’s no wonder that the poster boasts of the best guitarist in Europe in his field; what’s more incredible is how underappreciated this group of bluesmen seem to be. Most bands of their calibre would be touring for months abroard; the tremendous trio from Finland are on foreign ground for only ten days, in which they play only eight shows.
Catch them while you can. Maybe a warm welcome from a norwegian audience will persuade them to come back to inspire rythm on norwegian soil sometime soon.
