While not quite a weekend, it was time off for my wife and last year I had bought tickets to the Kylie Minogue concert in Helsinki. My wife isn't a fan, nor am I, but I like a few songs and she has been in my Australian media orbit since I was a kid. This was my second gig of hers - the first was her last visit to Finland back in 2011.
My wife booked the hotel and when we turned up, the receptionist was bothering around with something with the booking, as if someone was wrong. We haven't had a lot of hotel luck over the years, with the worst experience being getting robbed in Amsterdam of my wife's entire suitcase, from the hotel security room. There have often been issues. This time though, our pretty basic room wasn't ready on time (perhaps it had been trashed the night before) and I think for the first time ever,
We got upgraded to a suite.
It was nice to have the upgrade, but there is no way I would have paid the asking price for it per night, because I just don't see the point. We were awake in the room a total of about two hours (including having a bath), so all the amenities in the world are useless. Perhaps if staying for several night it would be fine, or if money didn't matter that much.
As my wife was working the day (and while we were travelling on the train), we had a pretty quick turn around from getting the room, to dinner and then off to the concert. The Italian restaurant attached to the hotel was fine for a risotto and a glass of wine, and then we took an Uber (my first since Hivefest in Poland 2018) to the venue. A bit cheaper than a taxi, and easier to book.
Did you know that Kylie Minogue has a wine range?
I am guessing it only sells at her gigs, but it wasn't too bad for a rosé prosecco. Not my favourite drink at the best of times, but was fitting for the evening.
And speaking of fitting for the evening.
As it was pouring down with rain, my wife had an umbrella and a jacket and a this and a that and another thing... And forgot to bring a cloth tote bag to carry them in. The hotel happened to be selling one a "Tom of Finland" bag, being just after Pride week. I said to my wife that she will fit right in at the Kylie concert, and she didn't really react.
It wasn't until we got to the concert venue which sat 8000 in an ice hockey arena, that she asked "so... is Kylie a... Yes. Yes she is a gay icon. Lots of tight shorts and Kylie t-shirts, and that was on the men. When we went in about half hour after doors opened, my wife was pretty shocked that it was pretty empty, with only about 5% of the seats filled. Even when the warmup act (some DJ) was playing, it was only about 10% filled. But as Kylie came on, it was completely filled.
It was also her first concert back after cancelling her last four shows due to illness and she obviously wasn't still at 100% as she had to rely on her backup singers a little more for the full range, but overall, it was a decent gig, a bit of fun, and the crowd were more active than the average Finnish crowd.
More flamboyant, you could say.
She only sang a few from her new album, which is good for these kinds of concerts from artists with careers that range for forty-odd years, as fans date back. She sang things from each period, including her very eighties first song, The Loco-Motion. The stage was pretty simple, with the band and backup singers not moving too much, and a small flock of backup dancers doing their thing. It was a far simpler show than the last one I saw. Which suits me. Too much at a gig and it becomes like a Marvel movie, all show, no story.
And then it was another Uber back to the hotel, and into the massive bathtub for a soak. I love baths, but they are very uncommon in Finnish homes, so it is only at some hotels where I get to enjoy one. I find them more relaxing than a sauna, as does my wife, but she won't completely admit it - but is begrudgingly saying that they are sometimes more relaxing.
And every time she has a bath, she wonders if we can put one in our home.
And after a slow breakfast where we didn't have to worry about organising allergy acceptable foods for Smallsteps, it is back on the train and headed toward home again. We were gone less than 24 hours, but it was a nice little break away, and I think it will be a decent start for my wife to release some tension and begin her summer holidays with.
Taraz
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