Nochtspeicher, Hamburg, Germany 12th May 2024
Maustetytöt - “Happiest Nation Of The World” Tour 2024
Have you seen the Northern Lights this week? I have - not in the sky but in a cozy club in Hamburg St. Pauli. But first things first… Imagine your mother language is only spoken by less than five million people worldwide. Which language would you choose if you start a band and write lyrics? Maybe the language you know best, and which is understood by the people in your country. How likely is it though that you will have commercial success outside your home country? Not much, right?
Thus, when you are from Finland, it makes sense to choose English. That’s what HIM and NIGHTWISH did. You can also choose to start with instrumentals like APOCALYPTICA did. You can also say: “I don’t care” - and see what happens. That’s the way MAUSTETYTÖT have chosen (Finnish pronunciation: mɑu̯steˌtytøt; lit. “spice girls”). The Indie Pop group consists of the sisters Anna and Kaisa Karjalainen, who both sing. In addition, Anna plays guitar while Kaisa plays the keyboard. The band’s trademarks include lyrics in their mother language, a laconic and serious-looking performance style, and a dead-certain taste in fashion.
The band is pretty successful in their home country - which does not mean that a European tour will be a sure-fire success. However, there are indicators concert promoters can rely on, such as YouTube click figures or record sales data from Bandcamp. But even if you do that kind of research there is still a risk. In case of the start of the tour, things developed pretty well for the band, though. A few weeks before the show in Hamburg, I received an email from the ticket office that the gig was rescheduled from the small Nochtwache to the bigger Nochtspeicher. Even that bigger venue sold out quickly.
Music & Performance
Punctual to the minute, the ladies entered the stage. Both dressed in shirts of the local football club Hamburg St. Pauli. The timing could not have been better, since the football team celebrated their return to the first German football league on that particular day (congrats by the way!) The first track was ‘Ei Niin Kovin Suuri City’ (‘Not so big city’) - not in applicable this case, but well - the song is not about Hamburg. Kaisa told the audience that they have seen the football match earlier that day. Grown-up men running after a ball seem a bit odd to her - but it was okay anyways. Here might be the first thing people in Northern Germany and people from Finland have in common: the phrase “you can’t complain” is the maximum of excitement you can expect. Cheers for that!
In this context: the concert audience in Hamburg is not very easy to ignite in general. Despite of this the band managed to thrill the audience from the very beginning. Between songs, Kaisa said that it must be a bit weird to listen to songs in a foreign language which is as little known as Finnish. However, judging from some interjections from the audience, there is quite some Finnish community in Hamburg. And there are English subtitles on YouTube. That’s not enough to learn the lyrics and sing along at a gig for sure but at least one can get an idea what the songs are about. In the case of MAUSTETYTÖT they are about being in therapy, suicide, not winning the lottery, bad weather and getting drunk alone.
The setlist was a mix of titles from the band’s latest album ‘Maailman onnellisin kansa’ (‘Happiest Nation in the World’). A title which matches perfectly with the cheerful lyrics. In addition, the two of them played a “best of” the two previous records. Definitely a good mix. I’ve enjoyed myself and had a great time. The band is still on tour. So, if you think English or Spanish are too easy, go and learn some Finnish - or just enjoy the music. Earworms guaranteed. I hope to see the ladies back on stages in Germany soon! Kiitos, jatkuva menestys! That’s Finnish for “thank you, continued success”! At least that’s what DeepL told me.
Setlist
01. Ei niin kovin suuri city
02. Takapajula
03. Ne tulivat mun isäni maalle
04. Eivät enkeliäkään ilman siipiä lennä
05. Näkymätön Anna
06. En unta varmaan saa haudassakaan
07. Syntynyt suruun ja puettu pettymyksin
08. Jos vain pääsisin pääsi sisälle
09. Kiviä sukkiin
10. Lyijyä ja puuta
11. Jos jäisin onnibussin alle
12. Ylpeyden sopuhinta
13. Mä loistan kuin hämärä
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14. Tein kai lottorivini väärin
15. Jos mulla ei ois sua mulla ei ois mitään
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Light: 7
Sound: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10
All Pictures by Christian W.
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