Ensiferum Live (+ Moonsorrow) @ nosturi, Helsinki, 30-12-2008

1. Ad Victoriam
2. Blood is the price for glory
3. Deathbringer from the sky
4. Token of time
5. Into battle
6. Ahti
7. One more magic potion
8. Finnish medley
9. The Wanderer
10. Funky bass solo
11. Iron
12. Markus solo
13. Little Dreamer
14. Lai Lai Hei intro, funk version
15. A new dawn
16. Victory songs
---------Encore-----------
17. Kalevala melody
18. Treacherous gods
19. Tale of revenge
20. Guardians of fate

                                                                                      Moonsorrow

Ensiferum’s people love them and the band knows it. And in their hometown Helsinki the love is maybe even stronger! Add to the line-up more than brilliant Moonsorrow and you have an explosive mix! The venue was packed, and black face-painting and fake (at least we hope so :P) blood were to be seen anyway.
First band on stage were Moonsorrow. The atmospheric band is sure one of those that live can’t give everything they have, expecially not playing as support band, but yet their fan(atic, has to be added!) could appreciate a mindblowing gig. I don’t personally know the band very well, but I could not but love the attitude, the melodies and the atmosphere that was created on stage. A rush of could wind invaded Nosturi.

Ensiferum

Then Ensiferum came, and warmth got inside our veins again, right from the epic intro Ad Victoriam. Like always, just the first few notes if this song brings the audience into the enchanted and ancient land of the five member band. Few moments of silence, and bang, in an explosion of sparks here is the band. Literally, since this time they decided to add some spice to the show with few fireworks (in one case the heat was enough to reach us in the upper floor balconade…).
First two song of the set list (if we include also Ad Victoria, the first three) were exactly in the same position as in their last album, Victory Songs, and the crowd went literally mad.

Then the old glories Token Of Time and Into Battle came. I was particularly pleased with the latter, one of the best live songs of the man, in my opinion, not to mention that this song wasn’t included into the last tour’s setlist.
Ahti came along, and then the drinking song One More Magic Potion turned Nosturi into a huge taver, were everybody just dance and had fun. One could almost turn his head and expect to see a troll brawling with some knight in shiny armour…
But on we go, and with the same atmosphere here came the Finnish Medley, all sung by the band, since Kaisa Saari wasn’t of the party.
It was now time for The Wanderer, a much more malinconic song from the new album, that was played almost totally, apart from raised by the sword (and that’s a pity, marvellous song!).

Now, the audience had been asking for a while a bass solo, since Sami Hinkka skills are very well known, and finally, after Petri had mockingly stated that the band members are not audience’s puppets, a short and funky bass solo was performed, strictly followed by the title track of their second album Iron.
It was now time for Markus to play a short solo, introducing Little Dreamer, a song that has been never, of very rarely, played on stage, and that was welcomed more than warmly by die hard fans.
Said fans had been asking all night long for the band hymn Lai Lai Hei, and here the band played a small part of the intro with a nice funk arrangement, but that was al we got. The whole song was never played. It was instead time for the rush of adrenaline of A New Dawn, followed by the masterpiece Victory Songs. It’s unbelievable how such a long song can pass in a blink of an eye!!
We waited a few minutes and the band was back on stage, accompanied by the bits of the Kalevala melody, for the juicy encore: Treacherous Gods, Tale of Revenge and Guardians Of Fate.
An amazing gig, and an amazing way to wish to all fans the best 2008 possible. A band with an impressing ability to get always better live.
 

Pictures Done by Dataico Albertin