The Posies Live = Euphoria!

To see the Posies full-band gig again... To see a new Posies album was another thing that seemed unlikely to me mainly because it took quite a few years for it to be released. Well, obviously I hadn't been following the news too carefully because everyone else seemed to know about the album before me. So, the news came, the album was released and I went running to the record store. Blood/Candy is a superb album, definitely an improvement after the 2005 album Every Kind of Light. Soon it was time for a new Posies gig! I chose Turku due to the possibility of also seeing some friends there. The same day Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow even played an acoustic set in 8raita record store, which I of course went to see. It was magnificent – those gorgeous harmonies can be heard so much easier without all the other instruments.

The lasttime the Posies visited Finland was in autumn 2007, if I remember correctly, but Jon and Ken didn't bring their rhythm section with them that time. The first time I saw the entire nowadays version of the Posies was in November 2005. At that time I hadn't seen a lot of gigs (by any band) yet, and the Posies definitely gave me some real shock therapy! I still remember it as the craziest, wildest, loveliest, as well as loudest gig I have ever seen. Excellent work, guys! That is how I would summarize that show now.

This time Jon and Ken were a bit more calm... But they rocked and rolled nevertheless! Jon, Ken, Darius (Minwalla), and Matt (Harris) played a solid show presenting almost every possible Posies classic, including some excellent rarities, and most of the songs on the new album. As always, lots of incomplete cover versions were also played. This time the band seemed to get kicks out of The Who's material.. Gosh, they could play excellent the Who tribute gigs anytime!

I tend to enjoy Jon Auer's voice a bit more than Ken Stringfellow's but that composition always gets reversed in live situations. Ken's voice is better suited for hard-rocking live performances and his presence is more energetic. Jon Auer surely is charming as well and his angelic voice and intriguing stage personality could never go unnoticed. Together Jon and Ken are invincible.

Thank you so much guys and welcome back anytime!

Acoustic live in 8raita record store:

She's Coming Down Again!

So Caroline

The Posies at MySpace

The Posies website

The Posies Live = Euphoria!

To see the Posies full-band gig again... To see a new Posies album was another thing that seemed unlikely to me mainly because it took quite a few years for it to be released. Well, obviously I hadn't been following the news too carefully because everyone else seemed to know about the album before me. So, the news came, the album was released and I went running to the record store. Blood/Candy is a superb album, definitely an improvement after the 2005 album Every Kind of Light. Soon it was time for a new Posies gig! I chose Turku due to the possibility of also seeing some friends there. The same day (October 26th) Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow even played an acoustic set in 8raita record store, which I of course went to see. It was magnificent – those gorgeous vocal harmonies can be heard so much easier without all the other instruments.

The last time the Posies visited Finland was in autumn 2007, if I remember correctly, but Jon and Ken didn't bring their rhythm section with them that time. The first time I saw the entire nowadays version of the Posies was in November 2005. At that time I hadn't seen a lot of gigs (by any band) yet, and the Posies definitely gave me some real shock therapy! I still remember it as the craziest, wildest, loveliest, as well as loudest gig I have ever seen. Excellent work, guys! That is how I would summarize that show now.

This time Jon and Ken were a bit more calm... But they rocked and rolled nevertheless! Jon, Ken, Darius (Minwalla), and Matt (Harris) played a solid show presenting almost every possible Posies classic, including some excellent rarities, and most of the songs on the new album. As always, lots of incomplete cover versions were also played. This time the band seemed to get kicks out of The Who's material.. Gosh, they could play excellent the Who tribute gigs anytime!


I tend to enjoy Jon Auer's voice a bit more than Ken Stringfellow's but that composition always gets reversed in live situations. Ken's voice is better suited for hard-rocking live performances and his presence is also more energetic. Jon Auer surely is charming as well and his angelic voice and intriguing stage personality could never go unnoticed. Together Jon and Ken are invincible.

Thank you so much guys and welcome back anytime!

Acoustic live in 8raita (filmed by me):

She's Coming Down Again!

So Caroline

The Posies at MySpace

The Posies website

Hypnotized by Ken

Today is the one week anniversary of my first The Disciplines gig. It’s definitely not very rewarding being a Finnish fan of numerous American power pop/pop/indie rock bands when you look at how often they play gigs in Finland. However, sometimes we Finns get pampered big time. Nowadays, Jon Auer or Ken Stringfellow or both, visit Finland almost every year. They seem to have quite many fans in this country – the biggest live audiences in the entire world, I’ve heard!

The latest turn in The Posies story was Ken Stringfellow starting a band called The Disciplines with Norwegian musicians who had played in a band called Briskeby. Well.. Norway, that’s geographically very near to Finland! Norwegian-American The Disciplines already played in Helsinki a couple of years ago, and now, in January 2009, it was time for a three-gig Finnish tour that also included shows in Turku and Tampere.

I really can’t complain. Seeing a power pop god like Ken Stringfellow perform in my hometown, 5 kilometres from my home is absolutely cool. Also, Stringfellow is the most enthusiastic and devoted live performer you could ever imagine. At Klubi his performance was filled with wild energy, quite sensual dance moves, and inventive activities that he used to make the audience participate. Ken ran singing around the venue while the audience got tangled in his very long microphone wire.. He encouraged everyone to jump up and down with him, and some people got a chance to sing a bit of lead vocals. Ken also hypnotized the entire audience. That was the most unusual gig moment ever but it surely was great fun! The encore was AC/DC’s Highway to Hell with Ken’s own made-up lyrics (“I’m going down to Tampere!”). It was an unforgettable gig. Feedback from other people who had witnessed the gig included stuff like “the best gig I’d ever seen”..

After the gig I got a chance to purchase Smoking Kills (2008), The Disciplines’ first album, from Stringfellow himself. It’s a good modern rock album – melodic like you could expect from Ken. And of course there are some power pop songs, too.

Extra points go to Finnish warm-up act Agent Kooper who come from Turku. Their 70s retro-rock sounded great. This was the 2,33th time I saw them, and it was definitely the best gig so far. They performed some new songs too. Those songs were quite epic!

The Disciplines at MySpace
Agent Kooper at MySpace