Gig Review - Steve 'N' Seagulls - Manchester Academy

Gig Review - Steve 'N' Seagulls - Manchester Academy

I have seen the light, and the light is Steve ‘n’ Seagulls. These Finnish boys sure know how to entertain.

I didn’t quite know what to expect. I saw an ad in Record Collector for their tour, chuckled at their name, and saw banjos and other assorted acoustic instruments. I looked them up, a band from Finland doing covers of heavy metal songs. Oh but reader they are so much more than that.

They are all multi instrumentalists, except for the drummer, who also sings, and the energy

they put into their performance is uncanny, it’s like their lives depend on it.

They do do covers of metal songs but they also do covers of the cheesiest of AOR songs,

like Bostons More Than A Feeling, and Kansas’ Wayward Son, and even Don’t Fear The

Reaper, with Iron Maidens Run For The Hills thrown in for good measure. To say I’ve never been fond of any of these songs would be an understatement, but delivered acoustically by five Finnish maniacs, and well, they turned into joyous songs, songs I liked and appreciated.

This is how I want all my AOR delivered from now on. Don’t fear The Reaper was started by blowing into empty beer bottles by the accordion player and the drummer – I kid you not, and it worked perfectly.

They started the set with Led Zeppelins Rock n Roll, and played the obligatory

Thunderstruck, their video of this went viral. That guitar part sounds hard enough delivered by Angus Young with full on electricity in his arsenal, but to play it note for note on a banjo is something else. They also incorporated some traditional Finnish songs which, in rhythm felt Russian, but they are only a stones throw away from Russia, so I guess musically the two cultures clashed. They also did a couple of band originals, one called Ghost Town and the other a science fiction meets bluegrass song, which I forget the name of. These were as good as the covers and warmly received by the crowd, which I guess was about 2 – 300 strong.

You get the idea that these boys have spent their lives eating mommas cooking to keep the cold out, and honing in their musical talent after digesting a ton of rock music. . As I looked at the stage their was a large chap in overalls and a fox skin hat, called Hiltunan who played accordian, mandolin, keyboards, a traditional Finnish instrument which looked like some relation of a hammer dulcimer, called a kantele I think, and bottles.

Next along, Remmel the main vocalist who played frantic guitar balaika and mandolin, then we had the delightful upright bass player,Jamppa who also played violin,and sung and had a series of cute facial expressions, in fact he was overall cute and very camp. Then we had the slightly less rotund banjo player, Herrrrman who doubled up on guitar and vocals, and behind them Skubu a very slight drummer, but what he lacked in weight, he more than made up for in skin thumping, and vocals.

I would go back and see this band any day, they should be on at every festival there is

going, and I would advise the readers to get out and see them, whatever music you are into. They transcend genres in a very unique way.

They were supported by a Mancunian called Robbie Cavanagh, who I am going to do a separate review of, but he was great.