Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool - It’s a strange feeling turning up at a gig in the daylight. No more standing outside, in the dark - not to mention the cold and wet - waiting for the doors to open. The clocks have changed and there’s plenty of light left in the day - can’t say the same about the weather mind as the Sunshine Coast is as wet as it can be on a Thursday night in April. Welcome to Blackpool. It’s my second time at the Waterloo Music Bar. I struck lucky the first time with Bywater Call playing a blistering set and leaving me desperately waiting for later this year when they return to these shores. Tonight though, Canadian blues is replaced by Finnish blues as Erja Lyytinen comes to town. I wonder what she thinks of the British seaside which is probably as far removed from anything that Finland can offer !
Ashley Sherlock - No Support was announced, but we have one, so first up is Ashley Sherlock with, by his own admission, a host of tales about break up and heartache. Sherlock normally performs with a band, and he admits to us that he sh*ts himself when he has to play on his own and wouldn’t have done if one of the band members could’ve got time off work to make it - but he couldn’t - so solo he is. An interesting and honest way to start a set perhaps, but there you go.
He tells the tale of an old girlfriend with ‘Dear Elizabeth’ which, he says, "hasn’t quite made it as her ring tone even though she likes the song", but Sherlock hopes that one day that might be the case and another story about a Facebook troll that he used as a ‘stand in’ once - and only once - who hands out incessant diatribes but Sherlock has the last laugh as his band has folded ! !
It’s a good thirty-minute set from the man from Manchester, with a good deal of chat and banter in between, but few song titles, making my job a whole lot more difficult – a sign of nerves perhaps or is this how he is when surrounded by his band also ? It might be worth looking him out at some point though, just to kill the curiosity.
As Ashley is solo, the changeover will be a swift twenty minutes, enough time for a beer or two before the pace picks up considerably.
Erja Lyytinen - With the intermission over, the two back line boys arrive on stage in a relaxed manor and wait patiently. Lyytinen, on the other hand, bounds on stage – which isn’t that big and is full of gear - but she manages it well all the same. She has a huge smile and loads of excitement as this is her first time in Blackpool.
They start with ‘Diamonds on the Road’ from her fourth live album released in October 2023, and from where the tour gets its name, and comes with a big chorus – if you’re going to make an appearance, then you might as well make it a big one – and a chunky bit of slide guitar, enhanced with a bit of wah-wah pedal, which will be used quite a bit over the evening, before that chorus rears its head for a final time. A big ‘opener’ if ever there was one. Blackpool likes a big entrance !
There’s no time to hang about as she’s straight into ‘Rocking Chair’, a solid blues tune with a big riff, but not before she’s given Blackpool a dancing lesson so that they can join in and fully appreciate this next song and Lyytinen has enough patience to make them rehearse three times - which they do, well of a fashion they do. Audience partition at the start of a show really is ‘end of the pier’ stuff, but maybe it’s a Finnish custom too.
‘Bad Seed’ comes next, which was chosen as the 13th Best Rock Song of the year by Classic Rock Magazine, and Lyytinen’s guitar solo reached 10th place in Guitar World’s Best guitar solo of 2022 reader's poll, which is no surprise as it screams at you, makes you sit up and pay attention, as if you weren’t anyway and leaves you mightily impressed by Lyytinen’s talent.
She needs to take a breather for a moment and tells us that “they’ve just been to Australia, on beaches where the weather is fabulous and then they came to England and Blackpool and that it’s raining”. There’s only one thing to say to that - ‘welcome to Blackpool’ !
To take her and the band back to sunnier climes, they play ‘Black Ocean’ which comes with a weeks’ worth of guitar playing, much of it intricate and with plenty of tremolo arm tugging, all wrapped around another chorus with a catchy hook that encourages you to join in, whether you want to or not. It’s left to the drummer to bring us all back into the room from wherever we’d floated off to, for which we were all grateful for. From the metal-blues-ness, ‘Never Really Had You’ has a more jazz feel to it, soft and gentle, until you realise that you’ve been given a false sense of security. Before you know it, there’s a thud of drums accompanied by a chunky power chord that takes you into power ballad territory
‘Waiting for the Daylight’ is “the title track off the latest studio album”, Erja says, “which is going to be loud. Is that ok?”. “Well, we’re going to do it anyway. It’s the story of what it’s like in Finland with six months of darkness to contend with every year”. Maybe a rainy night in Blackpool isn’t all that difficult to handle after all, then. The lyrics to this are as dark as Finnish night and day, all hypnotic and trance-like before they’re replaced by a bass solo that’s echoed by the drums until they fade away into the distance – but not for long as Erja wants her moment in the sun again and she vogues her way through a dirty guitar riff, with the distortion turned up to twelve, as are her facial expressions, just to ring a bit more sustain out things. Erja loves to perform and ‘You Talk Dirty’ gives her every opportunity to do so “It’s a lullaby, and it’s ok if it puts you to sleep as I will wake you up”.
‘Wedding Day’ is the final tune of the evening, well, apart from the encore and is dedicated to those who didn’t have their day in the spotlight. It’s s strong and punchy song wreaking of female empowerment and the full gamut of guitar olympics, just in case you thought she’d forgotten how to play and embellished with a dose of slide for a final flourish.
So, off our intrepid trio go, but not for long as they’re back for an encore which consists of a cover the Jimi Hendrix Experiences ‘Crosstown Traffic’, blended together with their own ‘The End of Music’ which gives all three, one last chance to show off their skills and techniques, with even a kazoo thrown in for good measure. It's an excellent end to an excellent performance.
There’s nothing like promoting a live album with live performances, and as Erja puts it, “When playing live, you’ve got one moment to get it right, and then the moment is gone. There is no correcting stuff later. It is very raw and exciting to play and sing at the same time. The adrenaline runs through your body, and everything around you affects your performance”.
It’s my first time experiencing the blues done Finnish style, but it won’t be my last. I found Lyytinen’s magnetic stage presence captivating and engaging. She’s a true performer and gives you the impression that she enjoys every minute on stage. I’ll leave the final words to Erja…
"I have always loved performing live, but now I enjoy playing even more and saying this on behalf of my band; I think they do, too. Performing live is stronger, more relaxed, and empowering. I’m grateful to be a guitarist and singer who is giving her best for the audience each night. It is the best thing you can do with your pants on".
The Band: -
Erja Lyytinen – Guitar and Vocals
Sami Osala – Drums
Harri Taittonen - Bass
Diamonds on the Road – UK Tour – April 2024
Thursday 4 – Faversham, The Old Brewery Store
Friday 5 – Newcastle, Cluny
Saturday 6 – Edinburgh, The Voodoo Rooms
Sunday 7 – York, The Crescent Community Centre
Tuesday 9 – Southampton, The 1865
Wednesday 10 – London, The Half Moon
Thursday 11 – Blackpool, Waterloo
Friday 12 – Melton Mowbray, Eastwell Village Hall
Saturday 13 – Leicester, O2 Academy
Sunday 14 – Dudley, The Lamp Tavern
Written in association with Noble PR
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