The 69 Eyes 10/8/05 @

The Live n Louder Festival in Mexico City

I was bitten by Jyrki69, the Helsinki Vampire and singer of The 69 Eyes when I met him in London back in April of this year. When I returned home I quickly became addicted to the sound of this band and could not wait to see them in concert. I decided to travel to Mexico to see them and I am ecstatic that I did! So here I sit days after my first 69 Eyes experience and I still have a smile on my face...

The lights dimmed over the sea of people screaming with anticipation as "Cry Little Sister" the theme song from the movie "Lost Boys" played as their intro enticing the crowd even more...The 69 Eyes were welcomed to the stage with loud screams and thunderous applause as they started their set with "Devils". I was quickly snapping live shots while trying not to miss anything on stage and my first thought was "WOW! They're AWESOME!". I have heard almost all of their music and have seen a lot of live footage over the past six months, but was eager to see/hear them perform with my own eyes/ears. I continued to take photos through their next song "Don't Turn Your Back on Fear" then enjoyed the rest of the show from an area overlooking the audience. I watched the audience and it was immediately clear to me that every female was mesmerized by Jyrki. Now the rest of the band got their fair share of attention, but any time Jyrki made his way to a different area on stage the girls would swoon, but hey it is rather difficult not to, trust me on this one. The man oozes sexuality not only with his vocal abilities but from a visual perspective. Let's face it, he is very easy on the eyes. He sounded amazing the entire set and he spoke to the audience in between songs to keep them wanting more. He made even a crude remark before "Gothic Girl" sound drop dead sexy!! At one point he was lying across the speakers singing and moving around making every girl's heart skip a beat. I was too busy taking pictures, listening and watching him and the crowd to be 100% sure (so sorry!) what song was being performed! I think it was "Dance D'Amour". Considering their newest CD, "Devils", just came out two months ago in Mexico, the crowd LOVED them and knew their music. I noticed that most of the audience sang along to "Lost Boys", "Gothic Girl" and "Brandon Lee" in particular. Timo-Timo and Bazie complimented each other perfectly on guitars and were outstanding. It was exciting for me to see how much Timo moved around on stage and was I very impressed by his talent. He even joined Jyrki with his trademark spin/dance several times, which looked fantastic visually! THE BAND JUST ROCKS...you can tell how long they have been together and not only are they great to listen to and watch perform it is amazing and fun to see how much they enjoy performing together! Jussi absolutely kicked ass on drums!!! Not only is he extremely talented, but he is exhilarating to watch!!! In my opinion, if you take two of the best drummers on the planet, Tommy Lee and Charlie Benante, and mix them together you get Jussi! You don't just hear the drums, you feel them and it is hard to take your eyes off of him because he is so entertaining!! The man plays standing up!!! Come on now, how is that possible!!!??? Damn he is awesome!!! Archzie on bass along with Jussi's spectacular display on the skins set the rhythm of the set and Bazie and Archzie were excellent on backing vocals! Plus I just have to give these guys extra kudos for their ability to perform a flawless set at such a high altitude and after hours of travel to Mexico from Finland!!! I could barely see straight or walk and they performed as if they were there for a lifetime. What even impressed me more was watching them interact with their fans. They travel great distances worldwide to bring their music to their fans and they were kind and sincere signing autographs and taking pictures into the early hours of the morning!!! I absolutely adore this band and can not wait to see them again! There set list in order:

Devils

Don't Turn Your Back on Fear

The Chair

Crashing High

Gothic Girl

Feel Berlin

Sister of Charity

Framed in Blood

Dance D'Amour

Lost Boys

Brandon Lee

I loved the entire set with my favorite song still being "Framed in Blood". I also have a new found appreciation for "Brandon Lee", it sounded spectacular live! I have nothing but positive remarks about this band and their live performance. It was a perfect concert and they left me fascinated and wanting more! If they make it to your area of the world, go see them, you will be happy you did and will look forward to the next time!!! Stay on top of all things 69 Eyes at their official website and I will keep my site updated on a regular basis. Click here to see the rest of the live shots! These guys not only look like rock stars, they ARE ROCK STARS!!!!

~jo~ aka mt69