CONCERT REVIEW: The Rasmus Resurrected With New Energy In Patronaat, Haarlem

After taking a shot at winning the Eurovision Song Contest, the Finnish band The Rasmus decided it was time to go touring again with a completely new album called Rise and a new guitarist. Fortunately, the rockers also came to Patronaat in Haarlem on Friday, October 28th.

Initially, Icon For Hire was on the poster, but a few days before the show, the band decided to drop out of the tour. Time for Overlaps to take over and warm up the fans for The Rasmus. The band does this with the new single White Line, which is not only a great pop, but is also well-received. Overlaps put on a great show, have enough energy and work hard for the well-deserved applause.

Time for the headliner of the evening, the band that many fans have been queuing for for hours. The Rasmus immediately starts with a few nice old hits: First Day Of My Life, Guilty, In My Life and No Fear! The public immediately knows how high the bar is set by the Finns. Frontman Lauri Ylönen is a bouncing ball full of energy, as we are used to from him.

New guitarist Emppu Suhonen, who replaces original guitarist Pauli Rantasalmi, has an uphill task: to prove that she is worthy of being a member of this well-oiled, nearly 30-year-old rock band. And she does it with conviction! Her energy, infectious smile and astonishingly good voice complement the band very well. Lauri and bassist Eero Heinonen also seek interaction with her and the whole thing immediately feels familiar. Welcome to The Rasmus, Suhonen.

There was reason to celebrate twice this evening. Overlaps singer Gloria Piccinin celebrated her birthday and The Rasmus’ drummer Aki Hakala also got to blow out candles. Unfortunately. there was also a black edge to this show. Ex-drummer Janne Heiskanen passed away the night before the Dutch show at the age of 43. The Rasmus dedicated the emotional, beautifully acoustically performed Still Standing to Heiskanen. Then October & April and Sophia followed in an acoustic version. Emppu was allowed to take on the vocals of Anette Olzon on October & April. After having sung the first sentence, the audience screamed enthusiastically. What a great voice does this power woman have!

Not only the audience is very enthusiastic about The Rasmus. Heinenon also says that he is very charmed by this gig: “this evening had something magic”. And Emppu had also been talking about this show in Haarlem for some time, according to Ylönen: “She didn’t even know why, but she had a certain, special feeling for this show for two weeks.“

Of course, hits like Livin’ In A World Without You, In The Shadows and FFF-Falling are being played, and new tracks like Fireflies, Rise, Live And Never Die and Jezebel can also be heard. The latter is especially noteworthy. Fans react just as enthusiastically to the Eurovision Song Contest song Jezebel as the monster hit In The Shadows. The European Song Festival has certainly revitalized the Finns.

You don’t see it often anymore: band members who neatly come together at the end of the show to take a deep bow. The Rasmus has been doing this for decades and it continues to do so today. Is this exciting? No, not really. Do the fans like this? Yes, absolutely. It’s familiar and it shows the band’s gratitude! On to the next show. The Rasmus is resurrected!

Our photographer Nylo de Meijer was there to take some photos to give you a glimpse of the evening!