When it was first announced in 2019 that Turmion Kätilöt (aka the best live band ever, which is not up for debate) was coming to the UK in support of Nightwish for two shows, I could scarcely believe it, especially since one of the dates was in my home country of Wales! Usually I have to book flights to Finland to go and see this talented band, so it was definitely convenient to actually be able to drive to one of their shows for the first time ever! I immediately booked my ticket and thought “damn, it’s going to be a long wait but it’s going to be worth it!” – but it ended up being a hell of a lot longer than I initially thought!
When the tour was rescheduled due to Covid for the first time, Cardiff was sadly cancelled rather than rescheduled (and yes I’m still salty about that!) so I duly booked a ticket for the new Birmingham 2021 date instead as that was closer to me than the other UK show in Wembley. After a first reschedule from May 2021 to November 2021, when the November dates began to loom, Birmingham was one of the first wave of shows that got postponed until 2022. The Wembley show remained intact at first, and because my boss saw how heartbroken I was about having to wait another year to see Turmion Kätilöt in the UK, he told me I “had” to book a ticket for the Wembley gig so I’d still get to see them in 2021, despite it taking place during our busiest week – the one before Christmas! However, things weren’t meant to be and that one got postponed as well, but on the plus side the rescheduled dates were on consecutive days rather than a month apart, and it meant I’d get to see them twice in the UK!
I actually wound up seeing Turmion Kätilöt twice before these shows took place, at Nummirock and Saarihelvetti in June and August respectively. The show at Nummirock reminded me exactly why I class this band as my all-time favourite live act, and words cannot begin to describe how emotionally impactful that performance was for me after a long wait of over three years since my previous time seeing them in Germany. And after I got home from Saarihelvetti, my countdown to the UK shows began.
Ovo Arena, Wembley – 21/11/22
The first of the two UK dates led me to Wembley. I have been to Wembley Arena once before, and ironically that time was to see a Nightwish support act as well (Amorphis). After getting scared seeing someone post about missing Turmion Kätilöt at the previous show in Antwerp due to queues, I arrived at the venue two hours ahead of doors and lost all feeling in my feet as I waited for the doors to open. Limping my way inside after the venue opened the door five minutes late, I arrived to seeing the band soundchecking on the stage and honestly, all the emotions hit me. It was finally happening. Turmion Kätilöt were in the UK, I was going to be seeing them, and were going to be playing on a huge stage like they absolutely deserve to.
After a wait that felt like forever, and still with no feeling in my feet, the lights went down and finally it was happening. After three years, Turmion Kätilöt were finally here and ready to kick some ass. I have to admit, it was a surprise to see them open with Grand Ball after how perfectly Naitu worked at Nummirock and Saarihelvetti – but this isn’t a complaint. The English lyrics worked well at ‘easing’ the crowd into their live spectacle, and the cheers they got as the closing chords rang out made my heart swell.
Once they had introduced themselves, and saying that they were the first band to perform in Finnish at Wembley (what a feat!) the rest of the set was exclusively songs in Finnish, and the second song of the night was Verta ja lihaa. An older track from their debut album, the song always kicks ass live, and yelling back the chanted back-and-forth lyrics between MC Rakka Pee and Shag-U feels so good.
Showing no signs of slowing down, the third song of the set was their brand new single Sormenjälki, which I had been eagerly awaiting to hear in a live environment after instantly falling in love with the track on my first listen. The high energy to the song translated perfectly into its live version, seemingly tailor-made to be performed live, and I could feel my throat getting dry and my head beginning to spin as the closing chords rang out.
Although I personally find Isä meidän to be the weakest of the three singles we have heard so far from the band’s upcoming album Omen X, its placement in the set couldn’t have worked better as it gave me a chance to catch my breath due to its slightly slower pace, and following that there was a playful exchange between singers as Shag-U asked Rakka how he was feeling, only for him to say he “felt wet” and then threw his bottle of water over him! There was a fun vibe on the stage as a whole, and it was clear that all six members were loving being at such a historic place as Wembley, and following penultimate track Sano kun riittää, it was sadly time for the set to come to an end, but they absolutely went out on a high with their track Sikiö.
My last chance to dance, I no-doubt pissed off the stationary people with their arms folded surrounding me as I bounced about and yelled the lyrics back to the band, and as the song came to an end, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed they only got a six-song set because they deserved to play for much longer! But saying that, I am biased and would have happily watched them play for hours.
After having to shell out £4 (!!!) for a bottle of water because the queues for the bars were outrageous, I managed to locate the one merch stand that wasn’t sold out of Kätilöt shirts (hopefully a good sign!) and with my bounty in my bag, it was off to the train station to reflect on what had been an incredible night. Next up…Birmingham!
Resorts World, Birmingham – 22/11/22
After a detour to a massive Hotel Chocolat factory shop I’d spied on the way to my hotel the previous day, I had chocolate for breakfast because I’m a grown adult, and made the thankfully shorter drive to Birmingham, where I was able to park up several hours before the show and do some Christmas shopping before heading to queue about two hours ahead of doors…just in case.
I made some friends in the queue, who were amazed about my trips to Finland to see Turmion Kätilöt, along with the fact that I was only really there to see Kätilöt, and the organisation at Resorts World was a hell of a lot better than Wembley. We were allowed into the building an hour before doors opened, meaning no numb feet like in Wembley, and there was just a nicer vibe in general, everyone just seemed a little friendlier, somehow.
After being slowly herded into the venue by several employees constantly yelling at people not to run, it was time for round two! I met some more absolutely lovely people who were stood near me, who were really excited to see Turmion Kätilöt after the glowing review I gave them, and once again…when the lights went down, I felt my heart racing and the adrenaline rush was incredible. Nothing beats seeing your favourite bands live, especially when you’re still riding the high of the previous night’s amazing show.
Grand Ball hit even harder, but that may have been because my new friends were also totally into Turmion Kätilöt and were bouncing along with me! It definitely felt like the Birmingham crowd as a whole were more into Turmion Kätilöt compared with Wembley, and this felt like a stronger performance in general. Although the setlist featured exactly the same songs as the previous date, each tightly-delivered track was still so exciting to hear. Sormenjälki was a particular highlight, and indeed, I danced and jumped so hard to this track that I actually somehow managed to completely tear off the strap from my supposed “rip proof” anti-theft bag. Oh well, go hard or go home, right?!
Despite there not being as much interaction with the crowd as the previous night, this didn’t mean the set was lacking and if anything, the performance was a little tighter compared to Wembley. When they began to play Sikio, I felt myself get lost in the music and the set was once again over far too quickly for my liking, but it made my heart swell that they got such a great reception – and indeed, my new friends in the crowd all excitedly told me how I hadn’t been wrong about how good they were!
As a whole, the two shows were utterly fantastic, and left me hungry for more – but luckily in a month and a half, I’ll be flying to Finland to see them play their album launch show for their no-doubt brilliant tenth album, Omen X. Time to count down the days already…
