I Have Been So Absent From Tumblr! In My Defense, I Just Got Home From A Whirlwind Almost Two Weeks In

I have been so absent from tumblr! In my defense, I just got home from a whirlwind almost two weeks in Finland, where I initially traveled to fulfill a long-held dream of mine to see Ville Valo perform at Tavastia on New Year’s.

On that note, I present to you The Finland Chronicles Part 1: New Year’s Eve

Scoping out the area the day before we queued up.

Looking back, I really don’t know how we were in line for as long as we were in those temperatures, even with food and bathroom breaks, and the occasional escape into Kamppi station (right across the street) when the cold got to be too much. But I couldn’t have asked for better people to queue up with and look, we even met Sampo and Juho, who were as sweet as could be.

Had a nice time hanging out once we were inside the club (despite the occasional belligerent in the crowd). Mandatory pics of the famous ceiling Heartagram and hey, what’s that on my ring finger?

One of the ways Ville has most impacted me outside of his own music, has been his impeccable taste and willingness to dispense valuable knowledge to us all. Zetra is one of those discoveries. I first heard their cover of “Beauty Has Her Way” at the Lisbon show in February 2023, as part of a playlist Ville compiled in the break between Kælan Mikla’s set and his, and it made me feel like my soul was leaving my body (and now it's my blog's header, haha). So getting to see them live almost a year after the fact felt like a full circle moment. After the Tavastia show, I’d have to say my current favorite song by them is “Float.”

Then the owner of Tavastia gave a very emotional speech (someone in the crowd told us he is retiring this year) counted down to 2024 with us, and sprayed the audience with champagne. Followed by The Man, The Myth, The Legend. There’s really not too much I can say, other than the usual. Ville and the band were perfect that night, they gave us two encores, and we got to hear Gone With The Sin and Killing Loneliness live once more (due to Tumblr’s limits on videos I had a difficult choice to make, so here’s a snippet of Killing Loneliness).

And then, just like that, the show and the year of Neon Noir were over. My voice was already going when I got to Finland, but I happily sacrificed what was left of it at the altar of Tavastia. I realize how immensely lucky I am for scoring tickets to a gig like this, which I know is a dream for so many. Here’s to hoping the tradition continues (it’s been more than hinted that it will) and thank you Ville for starting and ending the year with us 🩷

Stay tuned for more.

Trying to get back into the habit of posting on here more regularly. When my sleep schedule is messed up (as it often is) I can at least take solace in the fact that we get some amazing sunrises from our kitchen window. So 6-7 am often turns into a 2 in 1 rooting around in the fridge for food + photography session.

The grip this book had on me in middle school 🤍🧚🏻

Wildwood Dancing by Kinuko Y. Craft

Worlds Of Possibility

Watercolor on Black Paper

2022, 44"x 30"

Allium, Ornamental Onions