Klamydia's gig at Vantaa's Tulisuudelma: A total disaster, Vesku Jokinen admits his mistake | Review & Guide

Well, here we are. Sadly, the worst fear of many Finnish rock fans just came true. Everyone in Vantaa was expecting an explosive tour opener, but in the end, Klamydia's gig at Vantaa's Tulisuudelma was so bad you'd want your money back. And that's not even an exaggeration.

Now that a couple of days have passed, I can say I haven't seen a mess like this in years. This gig was supposed to kick off the new spring season, but it ended up being more of a direct dive into the swamp. Vesku Jokinen himself admitted the next morning what everyone in the crowd already knew: the guy was in absolutely terrible shape. "I was fucking drunk and I was fucking shit," Jokinen wrote in his typically honest fashion on social media, and there was nothing more to add.

Why was this a total fiasco? Here's the straight review

Expectations were high, but right from the first songs, the atmosphere in front of the stage turned awkward. This is where we do the Klamydia gig at Vantaa's Tulisuudelma review – and it's cold, hard truth. According to eyewitnesses, Vesku wasn't just slurring; things got completely unhinged. Middle fingers were flying, he called the audience "arseholes", and at one point he just walked off stage, forcing his bandmates to go get him.

• Zero condition: The singer himself admitted he'd been drinking like a "dickhead" – cheap vodka, not "civilised wine". It showed and sounded in every single note.
• The crowd sang for the band: It's never a good sign when the audience has to do most of the shouting and singing themselves because the frontman can't stay upright or forgot the lyrics.
• The band's frustration: You could see the disappointment written all over the musicians' faces. That's a pro standing there while your own frontman is on the verge of passing out.

How to move on from this? A guide for fans and the band

This was, as Vesku himself put it, "the world's worst tour start". But now let's talk about what we learn from this and how to deal with it – that is, how to use the lesson from Klamydia's gig at Vantaa's Tulisuudelma – read: how to handle this disaster and avoid it going forward.

One thing's for sure: banging your head against the wall isn't a sustainable strategy. Even though Vesku is a legend and mistakes happen, fans won't easily forget if they've travelled 600 kilometres to see this show. Luckily, the next night at Köyliö's Lalliksi, they promised to be "a bit more sober". That's the only right direction.

My own recommendation – this Klamydia gig at Vantaa's Tulisuudelma guide – is clear: Vesku, time to be humble, buy a round for those who kept screaming for you, and play such a tight set that your timeless classic status stays intact. Punk's not dead, but stumbling around drunk on stage is starting to be a pretty dead thing.

I have to end by saying that even though the night was a letdown for many, there's a tragicomic undercurrent to it all. Vesku summed it up best himself: "I've done 3,000 gigs well. So if one mess-up happens now, what the fuck can you do about it?" Well, nothing really – but now just forget the flop and focus on why we all love Klamydia. The next gig at Lalliksi is under pressure, but hopefully they'll pull off a 6-0 victory there.