Magical Music April 14, 2009

Things have been exquisite in the musical front in the last few weeks. I had my first “real” gig at Liberté with my band, put together only for this occasion, and I had a blast. It was awesome being on stage again, in front of all my friends and fam, and strangers. I was pretty happy with how the gig went, even though there wasn’t too much time to practice together with the band. I feel as though my confidence has been somewhat boosted in terms of my singing and performing – I do get nervous, but I have learned to control my nerves and sing steadily nevertheless. Every time I am about to perform, I do get butterflies in my tummy, but it’s a good feeling. Every time, I know I will do good, that I can sing well, that my singing can knock some people off their feet

After that awesome experience, I was lucky enough to see TWO musicals in London last week!!! We had ordered tickets online for Les Misérables in advance and then we got last minute tickets for only 25 pounds to see Spring Awakening. Wow. Incredible stuff.

Les Misérables was, well, a spectacle. It was grand and magical and mesmerizing. The set was incredibly well done, the singers were brilliant, the music was touching and beautiful, the story one to remember. The cast was spectacular, and I was happy to see Earl Carpenter (who played Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera that I saw two years ago) play Javert! Nice to see “familiar” faces… Anyways, I am short of words. What an experience, a night to remember. I especially loved Eponine sing “On My Own”. It was pure heaven.

Spring Awakening was interesting. Since I had already seen it in Finnish here in Helsinki, it was really nice to see how the Londoners performed it. Surprisingly, almost every little detail was identical to the Finnish performance, apparently the show is supposed to be like the original. Nevertheless, there were a few differences, the biggest of which was probably the more humorous undertone of the British version and the incredible singing by the London cast. It was kinda nice to see something familiar on stage, I enjoyed it a lot more then than the first time I saw it in Finland. But otherwise, all the credit to the Finnish version and the Finnish cast, their performance rocked as well.

All these magical musical moments have, once again, made me hungry for more. Hungry for musicals, hungry for singing, hungry for stage. These instances and experiences teach me that nothing in this world is impossible if you believe. So yes, I’m gonna make it one day!

Canucks sure can make music April 2, 2008

I’ve been lucky enough to have been introduced to some Canadian music in the past few months. The music that I have gotten to know is mostly Indie, but it’s damn good. I never knew Canada produced so much good stuff in terms of music, and that the bands and singers here were actually REALLY good. A lot of the stuff I’ve been listening to lately is exactly my type of music. I’m not listening to it just because it’s Canadian, but because I love it.

Among my favourites at the moment are City and Colour, Feist, Tegan & Sara, Metric, and Emily Haines. And you cannot believe how pumped I was to hear that Emily Haines, the singer of Metric and now also a solo artist, was performing here in Toronto! I got tickets to go check her out and was glad to partake in the event, and experience a somehow reminiscent Tavastia-kind-of gig in Canada. Her polished, but down-to-earth kind of style of music mesmerized me, and the rest of the audience too, I’m sure. Sitting behind the piano or the guitar with her inhibitions and vulnerability made it more touching, more interesting. She didn’t try to be a star on the stage, but she definitely had a stage presence. It was just simply beautiful and peaceful, a concert I’ll remember for quite some time.

The under card of the night was a young Edmontonian, Lyra Brown. She was astonishing. Singing and playing the piano simultaneously, singing her own songs amazingly well. The concert was definitely worth the 27 bucks! The only problem is that now I wanna buy a whole bunch of new cds, and that means spending more money. But then again, it’s not that often that I have the chance to acquaint myself with Canadian music…

Rent, rent, rent February 22, 2008

Seeing Rent on Broadway was a long time dream come true. It still feels surreal, like I wasn’t actually there. But in reality, I was. I was there in the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street, watching and listening to a musical for 3 hours. It was incredible!

The cast was amazing with Declan Bennett as Roger, former American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray as Mimi, and Justin Johnston as Angel and Harley Jay as Mark. Everything just clicked, and the rest was pure magic. I think I wrote the same words about the Phantom of the Opera that I saw in London almost a year ago, but there’s nothing less I can say. That is the thing, musicals are my thing, my life, and I can breathe and eat and see hundreds of musicals, and I’m still not fed up with them!

I am glad I chose Rent, though. The contemporary plot-line and the young people enabled the audience to get really “in” the musical. The set was pretty bare, with only a few chairs, tables, stairs and brick walls, and the band only consisted of a quartet. No fancy symphony orchestras like in the Phantom. But that just made it more real, more touching, more unique. And it was great seeing a totally different kind of production for a change.

The best part about the experience was the music, of course. The singers were amazing. Really belting it out, singing their hearts out with feeling and compassion. My favourites were Bennet’s “One Song Glory” and his duet “Light my Candle” with Mimi, as well as “Seasons of Love”, “La Vie Boheme”, and “Without You”. Of course the most interesting song was “Take Me or Leave Me”, the song that I sang in my concert last December. It was really awesome seeing the girls sing it, and also to see what it looks like on stage. And imagining myself on the stage…

If you ever go to New York, I highly recommend checking it out. And speaking of Rent, I just got not-so-great news from back home. My landlords gave me 6 months notice to leave my apartment in Helsinki, because they want it for themselves. So that means I’m pretty much homeless when I come back. After the news, I don’t feel like coming back at all. I hate to stress about finding myself a nice, affordable, and comfy crib -and trying to do it from Toronto isn’t the easiest thing, either. Oh well, it is what it is. If you hear about anything, let me know.

All I Ask of You December 1, 2007

I still feel all pumped up after finally getting to actual business. I found a perfect person to sing a duet with, and practising and rehearsing it has been more than rewarding. After a few incredibly useful and fun singing sessions together, we put the whole thing on record last night. Despite a few (well, quite many) technical difficulties, we managed to create something unique and beautiful. I think it came out better than I ever could have anticipated.

Like we both noted last night, it is not an easy thing to sing a duet. But it’s more rewarding and pleasurable than singing alone. I, for one, have learned so much during the ordeal -not just about ways of singing or working together, but about music as such. I had completely forgotten how incredibly great it feels to make music together -to share the world of music with someone. And it’s not just that: when you do something as a team, you put that much more effort into it that if you did something by yourself. I feel that I have found that passion for making music again: when you see that the other person gets at least as much energy and consolidation from music than you do, it’s all worth it.

So thank you, partner-in-crime. I look forward to working with you in the future, too! And I must say that his voice was more magical than the voice of the Phantom himself!

On another front, Toronto is drawing closer. I have a few shifts left at work and when I’m finished with exams, essays, and such, I will start packing my things and saying goodbyes to everyone around me. There’s a lot of anticipation, fear, and doubt in air, but I’m confident everything will end up going okay. 4 weeks and I’m there.

All I ask is peace and quiet and time with my friends and family. Then I’m good to go.