Finns make noise

This Saturday night was the Suzanne Vega concert in Helsinki at the Kulttuuritalo. The show was very enjoyable and well worth seeing, if she passes near you. One of the highlights was watching her bass player, Mike Visceglia, crank out the bass lines of "Blood Makes Noise," "Undertow," and "Cracking." It brought me a greater appreciation of how important the bass was to her music.

Nearly every song featured an incredible arrangement that brought new meaning to the songs I have listened to on record many times. "Caramel" and "Undertow" were particularly impressive. She was also quite chatty, explaining some of the meanings behind her songs. Her new album Beauty and Crime ranks as one of her best, behind 99.9 F°, in my opinion.

One interesting observation was that several people were shouting out to her a lot, either requests ("Undertow", "Soap and water", "Cracking") or just plain disturbing fan mail ("I love you, Suzanne"). After performing her song "New York is a Woman", Suzanne asked the crowd what kind of city Helsinki was. The best answer was "Depends on the weather". One obnoxious person shouted out, "Helsinki is an asshole." I failed to understand that response.

Yvette mentioned that when she saw the Nine Inch Nails in Helsinki back in March, the crowd was very quiet, despite the head-banging music. So, what happens to make the normally serene Finns irritating at a folk-rock concert?