Princess of Finland, King of the North

Käärijä’s massive concert proved that Vantaa is more international than Helsinki

In his concert review, journalist Vesa Rantama writes that Käärijä’s huge concert at Veikkaus Arena oddly demonstrated that Vantaa is a more international place than Helsinki.

No other Finnish artist could currently bring as many international stars onto the stage, including Baby Lasagna, Joost Klein, Tommy Cash, and bbno$.

The concert was fragmented but energetic, with the two-hour show flying by and culminating in the megahit Cha Cha Cha, Rantama writes.

Photo caption: Käärijä performed surrounded by clones and disco-ball-headed figures.

Käärijä, Joker Out and Pure at the Pure Eurodisco concert at Veikkaus Arena on May 23.

Toward the end of his arena spectacle, Käärijä — whose real name is Jere Pöyhönen — mentions that he kept selling tickets “like a refrigerator salesman” right up until the last day in order to fill Veikkaus Arena. However, he says he’s happy about the success of his fellow Vain elämää colleague Lauri Haav, whose two concerts at Nokia Arena sold out instantly.

The comment serves as a reminder that Käärijä is competing in two completely different leagues that cannot really be compared. Exceptional international popularity does not automatically translate into sold-out shows in Finland, even though many people had traveled from far away to attend the Veikkaus Arena concert.

No other Finnish artist could currently bring the number of international stars to the stage that were seen at Veikkaus Arena on Saturday. The show was also a genuinely multilingual fireworks display.

The achievement feels even more impressive considering that, according to his own words, Pöyhönen originally headed out into the world from a tiny apartment in Vantaa with almost no language skills. Perhaps the only thing more universal and easier to share than language skills is the lack of them.

In that same spirit, Käärijä proved that the airport city of Vantaa is more international than Helsinki, which the writer describes as populated by narrow-minded social climbers.

Photo caption: People danced at the back of the arena floor.

The warm-up band was Slovenia’s most popular group, Joker Out, who perform Arctic Monkeys-style indie rock with unmatched energy — naturally in Slovenian — and who musically have very little to do with Käärijä. It’s well known that Pöyhönen became friends with the band’s singer Bojan Cvjetićanin during the 2023 Eurovision trip in Liverpool, and friendship transcends musical differences.

Nor did it feel calculated to book the relatively unknown freestyle-focused rapper Pure — real name Pyry Rasinmäki from Joensuu — as the evening’s opening act. Together with his hype man MC Sige, he managed in a short time to throw out a commendable amount of Käärijä-themed jokes, genuinely warming up the target audience.

The eclectic lineup reflected not record-label calculations but the big heart of the night’s headliner. Guests on stage during Käärijä’s concert included later Eurovision colleagues Baby Lasagna (real name Marko Purišić), Joost Klein, Tommy Cash (real name Tomas Tammemets), and Erika Vikman, as well as Swedish group Hooja and hugely popular Canadian rapper bbno$ (real name Alexander Leon Gumuchian).

Many of the guests also had time to perform one of their own hits without the evening’s headliner. One of the most touching moments of the night came when Joost and Tommy sang together with Käärijä the Backstreet Boys-inspired song I Miss Us from the recent Boyband EP.

Given all this, it’s hardly surprising that the concert felt somewhat fragmented. Following current trends, the show began with a video sequence descending from outer space directly into Veikkaus Arena, where a narrator declared that love was being kept alive there while the rest of the world focused on hate.

The framing story was abandoned almost immediately after the beginning, which was probably for the best. Likewise, the biggest spectacle elements — such as the giant disco balls and disco “balls” seen during the song Disko Balls, as well as the rising stage structure — were used surprisingly little after the explosive opening.

Explosions were heard here and there, and pyrotechnics warmed the air even far from the stage. Käärijä performed some of his older hits in a circular stage built in the middle of the arena, creating a club-like atmosphere even for people seated in the stands.

Photo caption: Disco balls and disco “balls” were seen at Käärijä’s concert.

The finale built toward the megahit Cha Cha Cha, with distorted guitars growing louder and flames getting bigger. In that context, Käärijä’s version of Moottoritie on kuuma surprisingly worked even better live than on record.