It had only been ten months of waiting for me, but it was finally here and I was standing with my friends in the audience for the first 69 Eyes US show. I was extremely excited when the lights dimmed and "Cry Little Sister" was playing as the intro as the large crowd roared. I immediately had goose bumps all over my body and had tears in my eyes that I was going to see them again. They took to the stage and the crowd went wild! The first song was "Devils" and it sounded amazing. The guys were energetic and full of life and considering they had just arrived in the states only a few hours prior, I was very impressed. They played for a solid 90 minutes and since Jyrki is not a front man that talks to the crowd you get more music in the set. The entire band is fun to watch and I enjoyed every aspect of the show. They all move around the stage constantly, but I have said it before and I will say it again, it is hard to keep your eyes off of Jussi69, the drummer. He is simply magnificent to listen to and to watch. That man is a power house! Not only does he beat the shit out of the skins with his sticks, but he was beating the cymbals with his hands at the very end. I could watch him play for hours. He plays standing up and yes he is very easy on the eyes with that killer six pack! Hello! Simply stated Jussi is an extremely talented and active drummer. He simulates "masturbating" with his drumsticks at one point in the set and shoots a beverage of choice out of his mouth with the intensity of a killer whale. Very impressive. I also love watching guitarist, Timo-Timo on stage. He is a very talented guitarist and he interacts great with the crowd, posing for pictures, making eye contact and smiling. He was grinning from ear to ear the entire set. Bazie and Archzie were awesome as well and did a killer job with the backing vocals. They all looked fantastic and happy to be in the US. You could feel the tight bond and energy between the band and I was extremely proud to be there and see them play. The complete set list as follows:

Devils
Don't Turn Your Back
Betty Blue
Christina Death
Crashing High
The Chair
Hevioso
Wasting the Dawn
Nothing on You
Feel Berlin
Gothic Girl
Sister of Charity
Framed in Blood
Dance D'Amour
Lost Boys
Prime Mover (Apparently a Zodiac Mindwarp cover; not familiar with it & did not like it)
Brandon Lee

My favorite songs of the evening (and the weekend) were "Hevioso", "Feel Berlin", "Betty Blue", "Crashing High", "The Chair", "Gothic Girl", "Framed in Blood" and "Lost Boys"...I am disappointed I did not get to hear "Stigmata" but I don't see that ever happening, so I guess I better just forget about it & keep watching the DVD! I was surprised that a large portion of the crowd knew their older music. That was awesome to see. The age of the audience was mixed greatly from pre-teen to mid 50's...all ages were represented and other than an obnoxious group of Bam followers and their mosh pit it was a great crowd.

The second show in Philly was the best 69 Eyes show I have seen by far on video OR LIVE! The sound system and lighting at the venue was spectacular. The place was packed with a vast range of age groups and they LOVED The Eyes. I have never seen Jyrki so active on stage. Totally blown away by this side of him. He fed off the crowd's excitement and I couldn't keep the smile off my face! I have never seen him look so great on stage and the man just looks great standing there, so...quite a few Elvis moves, but breathtaking & sexy just the same. His voice sounded fantastic and the girls in the crowd were swooning with his every move. The rest of the guys were incredible as well and you could see how happy they were to be performing. I think I have said enough previously about Jussi. More of the same antics this evening, but the drum kit sounded remarkable. You could just feel the drums radiate through your body. One thing that I really enjoy about The Eyes is that though they are loud, I can go without ear plugs and not be deaf for days. I am used to heavier bands that blow my ear drums out so that was quite a nice change! Timo is an absolutely incredible guitarist and adorable on stage. Bazie and Timo are great together and Archzie is a fantastic bass player. He looks larger than life on stage and so intimidating, but he is such a teddy bear in "real life". Actually the entire band fed off the crowd in Philly. You could feel the energy in the room and the crowd was singing along with new and OLD songs! That was awesome to see. The stage was large so they moved around a lot giving fans an opportunity to see each of them. Jyrki did an awesome jump off of the top of Jussi's bass drum and I caught it on camera, see below. The set list was pretty much the same with the addition of "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" which was pretty cool to hear live.

By day three I have to admit I was ready to go home. Let's face it, I am 40 years old and none of my friends in bands are quite like The 69 Eyes. I generally leave after and just go home and sleep, but I didn't do too much of that the first two nights so I was pretty tired in NYC. The Bowery is a cool place to see a band because you don't have to sit through the opening acts, you can just sit in the bar area downstairs. So that was great to catch up with friends! The set list was the same except for a Ramones song as the encore. Sorry, not a Ramones fan so I have no idea what song it was. The stage was way too small for them so they could not move around too much, but the performance was fantastic. All three shows were and I had a very interesting and educational weekend to say the least. I got to speak to a lot of fans and US Team69 team members. It is pretty funny to be recognized as Mama Trash when I am out and about, but fun. I still blame it all on Acey Slade of Trashlight Vision. Famous by association. When I spoke with him the next day I told him that I could not understand why people wanted their picture taken with me and he said "Because you are fucking Mama Trash!"...I really got emotional at the number of people that told me how much they appreciated my site and for turning them onto The Eyes and TLV. That is why I do it. If I love a band I love to share them with as many people as I can. Sometimes I am blessed and become friends with some of them, sometimes I don't, but you know what? The ones I do love and care about are blessed to have me as well. I finally realized that this weekend. Either way I love music and it is a big part of my life so thank you all for the kind words and support of the bands I hold close to my heart. I hope to be bringing you much more in the future from more talented bands! So I have a week to re-cooperate then onto LA. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? If you don't experience these guys on their first US Tour you are definitely missing out. They are an amazing band and a great group of guys. The only good photos I got from the weekend were from Philly. Enjoy what I have posted so far and stay tuned for 100's more from Philly if I ever catch up!

~jo~

Springfield Photos

Philadelphia Photos (1 of 5 sets; more to come)

NYC Photos

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