2022. Halftime.

If you haven't done it yourself, touring for a couple of months or longer on your own, you probably can't imagine how this feels. Changing places on a daily basis, losing ground both literally and metaphorically. It can feel, or rather it does feel, marvellous. Being free to do what you always wanted to do. On your own, walking across the sunny main square of Maribor, having a coffee in one of those unique, renown Kaffeehauses of Vienna, meeting wonderful, interesting people. Sounds great? Oh it is, but there are those other moments or times, the dark ones. When you realize being on your own is not always a walk in the park, when you realize it's just a nicer expression for solitude.

Homeland-Tour 2019. October/November. (III)

… the whole atmosphere was eerie. I recall it being a difficult one to perform or even start the concert. How to find the right songs and words for a crowd of people having just lost both a very good friend and one of the key figures of local/regional social and cultural activities? Most of them about to leave for the funeral in Nice, five o'clock in the morning.

Homeland-Tour 2019. October/November. (I)

Any time I played here since the early 2000s something special, out of the ordinary is connected with those shows. Including one song on my first solo album. This might sound funny for you but for me this town has got an air of strangely fertile creativity whilst at the same time being a bit sloppy and laid back. Especially for a Swiss town. What adds to it is its a river town. In my experience a different quality of energy in such places.

Martti Mäkkelä9 January 2021Mäkkelä, maekkelae, roadblog, Europe 2019, France, Switzerland, Germany, travel by train, folk noir, folk punk

roadblog - Canadian tour 2018, pt. 4

Thunder Bay Greyhound station. Oh my. Been there? It’s the place where excitement starts. I have to admit I was pushing my luck here.

The Mayor in Winnipeg — no, that’s how they call him, he’s not the mayor of Winnipeg — set the show for 7.30/8.00pm the very night. According to Greyhound’s timetable I’m supposed to make it to Winnipeg by 6.45 pm. Unfortunately the hydraulic ramp for the wheelchair refused to do what it was designed for…

roadblog - Canadian tour 2018, pt. 3

They looked at me with a both knowing and pitying smile, an expression of “well, good luck son. Some just never learn…”, a respectful undertone (“oh, he seems to be mad but, wow, he apparently really does it”) and at the same time pointing out what a great thing it is riding a coach from Toronto all the way to Winnipeg via Thunder Bay.

Martti Mäkkelä9 January 2021maekkelae, canada, roadblog, tour diary, toronto, ontario, greayhound

roadblog - Canadian tour 2018, pt. 2

… running into Em first thing on arrival. Snow globe queen of Ontario. Sort of slightly shaky start, testing the grounds, an almost surreal little thing to start this tour with, sharing stage with Bird City and Wax Mannequin. Wax being the thing on this night with an irritatingly beautiful set. I will be back in a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand…

Martti Mäkkelä9 January 2021canada, tour diary, maekkelae, heather valley, bird city, wax mannequin, alt. folk, roadblog

roadblog - Canadian tour 2018 pt. 1

Crossed the Missisippi River (Ontario) on my way to Peterborough. The first moment here that made me feel - like it did the first time - “Alright, now I’m here. Now I’m finally in that vast country on that big other continent.” The difference on this tour will be the distance. This time it’ll be further west. This time it’ll be all the way to the end of it. Coast to coast.

Martti Mäkkelä9 January 2021blog, road blog, maekkelae, tour diary, canada