GREEN CARNATION: Finnish Tour Report Posted Online

For the first time in GREEN CARNATION's history, the band visited neighboring country Finland in the last week of November. The trip included three regular concerts and an acoustic one.

GREEN CARNATION singer Kjetil has issued the following tour report via the group's official web site:

"Just back from five days in Finland, five days of great gigs, vodka little sleep, beers, snow, whisky and meeting a lot of fans and old friends. Yeah, it was a big success for the band. Before going to Finland we had no idea what to expect, as we'd never been playing there. And the response we got, made us more than eager to return to Finland as soon as possible.

"After a long trip from the south of Norway on Thursday, we were picked up on the Airport in Helsinki by our Finnish organizer, and headed for Turku, where our very first gig was to be played the following day. I was looking very much forward to meeting up with my old friends and warriors from BATTLELORE (Finland) which I toured with a couple of years ago with TRAIL OF TEARS. The presales for the Turku gig were good, and after meeting and greeting on Friday, we prepared for the gig by relaxing and having a few beers. A lot of people turned up, more than 150, of which a lot seemed to be very much into GREEN CARNATION, knowing the lyrics and wanting to have a good time. That mood made the world for the band, and I think we delivered the goods on stage, which made the excuse for having a few drinks a very good one. Also we did sell a lot of copies of our EP, 'The Burden is Mine...Alone', which basically will be available as an extra bonus to the ones coming to our gigs. It became very late for some of us!!!

"Our first support band, DEATHLIKE SILENCE (also from Finland) had offered us the chance to join them in their own tour bus for the trip north to Jyväskylä, for our Saturday gig. Jyväskylä is well known as a good place to play in Finland, and again the turnout was good; about 200 people turned up and were even crazier than the ones the day before. The people also showed great interest in the EP, and we sold out every single copy we had brought after only two gigs, which must be something of a good sign. We had a fantastic time on stage, and of different reasons barely none of us slept too much before the trip back to Helsinki on the Sunday.

"The Helsinki gig was a bit different than the other ones, with the crowd being a bit quieter and laid-back. But some times crowds are more of the listening type, and we adjusted well to that on stage, only to get them really warmed up in the end, and we were shouted on for an encore for the third day in a row. And since this was the last gig together with BATTLELORE, half of the band stayed on an after-party until it was light outside (don't ask any of us about the time) before we had to head back to our nice, little cottage in the woods.

"On the request of the organizer we accepted to do something special for Monday night. And although we didn't wake up until it was dark, we had a nice meal which was a nice preparation for the acoustic gig in a small pub in Helsinki. Tchort and Michael handled the acoustic guitars, and Ole did a great job again on bass. About 50 people turned up for this special showcase, and for the first time we did 'Child's Play Part 1' live, very popular to the ones who were present. Also, acoustic versions of 'Crushed to Dust', 'Myron & Cole', 'Into Deep', 'Lullaby in Winter', 'Boy in the Attic' and 'Purple Door', 'Pitch Black' was played, and we had plenty of time to talk to the people that wanted to have a chat, and to have the last drinks with our friends in BATTLELORE.

"So — to you Finnish people, than a lot for making us feel very welcome in your country. Than for turning up at our gigs, and than for the extremely positive response both during and after our shows. You are the reason that we would like to return next year."

Check out photos: Gallery#1, Gallery#2, Gallery#3, Gallery#4.