Warm-up for the night came from the Finnish punk rock outfit Huuto!, a not too unfamiliar sight to me since I caught them live in the past at some HVNK PNKRCK editions. Their catchy and energetic songs were a perfect way to get those who showed up already properly ready for the rock ‘n’ roll whirlwind that would be coming our way. And while there wasn’t crazy many people yet, with a few dedicated fans there, Huuto! played as if they were rocking to a full house! A cool openings act that was for some of the people walking in possibly a nice discovery!

But on to the main event! Those of you who have experienced a Danko Jones show at a sweaty club show, know that it’s quite the experience… These Canadian dudes know how to blow the roof off every. Single. Time. Danko Jones himself, John ‘JC’ Calabrese on bass and Richard Knox on drums came on stage and with a “Hello Helsinki!” they kicked off well over an hour of pure and honest rock ‘n’ roll. And starting with the triplet ‘I Want Out’, ‘I Gotta Rock’ and ‘I’m in a Band’, they made it pretty clear that they were here to party with us and shake the venue’s foundations.

Those who know Danko, also know they can expect plenty of monologues between the tracks where he expresses his feelings and opinions without holding back. He riled up the crowd to boo the band because it had been 5 years since they last got to Tavastia, and as usual, proclaimed that he likes it when they make mistakes playing their music live, since rock ‘n’ roll isn’t supposed to be perfect. Most of us wouldn’t have noticed any mistakes, just a perfect eve of rock ‘n’ roll with both newer songs like ‘I Want Out’, ‘Saturday’ and ‘Flaunt It’ and Danko Jones classics like ‘First Date’, ‘Lovercall’ and ‘My Little RnR’.

When you get to go to a Danko Jones show, you’ll never be disappointed and you’ll be returning home with a huge grin on your face. Which was exactly the case after tonight! Danko & friends, please come back again soon, Finland needs you, we need you… I need you!