One and only Helsinki Vampires, The 69 Eyes, have brought some kind of magick in cold, snowy Zagreb on Sunday, January 24th 2010. As part of their ‘Back in Blood’ tour, with help of Croatian The 69 Eyes fan site, they had an honour to open this year’s Zagreb’s concert season, showing their dark northern goth’n’roll spirit to everybody.
The evening was opened by cult Zagreb band Phantasmagoria, which is situated on a local scene for a long time, but despite the fact that their set was during interview time, I didn’t have a chance to actually see them live, but from what I’ve heard from backstage sounded pretty fine.
After Phantasmagoria Italian gothic metallers Mandragora Scream took over the stage, lead by Morgan Lacroix and they used their half-hour set in front of domestic audience pretty well, turning the heat up for what follows.
As time passed by and instrument change on stage was over, only few minutes after 10pm, lights went down and venue was filled with familiar sounds of “Cry Little Sister”, known to each and every fan as intro song, which always makes me positively nervous, setting the atmosphere just like it should be for the stars of the evening who have energicaly came to stage and started their hour and half long show with song “Back in Blood”. Sound was very good from the beginning, so everything was ready for enjoying in blood band gave us. More rock rather than goth song follows, from their last album “Angels”, “Never Say Die”, and one more from the new album, which have totally set the atmosphere on fire, for “Gothic” colored music, and more than well crowded Boogaloo and that is “The Good, The Bad And The Undead”. We are going back to “Paris Kills” times with “Dance d’Amour” after which has “Lips Of Blood” found its perfect place, when classic follows, one of the songs band is famous for, “Gothic Girl”, which had biggest amount of lovers, when after it starts perfect combination of “Suspiria Snow White”, “The Chair” and “Kiss Me Undead”.
Culmination of the evening starts with devotion of song “Wasting The Dawn” to Croatian The 69 Eyes fan club (who have took part in organization of this event) and a thank you for years of their work, after what songs from the new and old album are perfectly changing, on which has the audience totally gone mad enjoying in the sounds of “Feel Berlin”, “Hunger”, “Perfect Skin” during which has, just like during “Devils” been even louder than the band themselves, singing along.
Of course, I must mention how mr. Jyrki 69 was fascinating everybody with his Croatian words like “hvala” or “dobra večer” as well as with his charm, voice and look, simply amazed everybody around, just like the rest of the band with their professionalism and love towards the music they are making.
After “Devils” short break follows, the audience wanting more blood calls their favorite vampires on encore, who give them “Brandon Lee” and “Lost Boys”, songs that have made almost every person in venue give their last atom of power, so they could be, once again, louder than the band.
I realized later that band’s second single from the new album “Dead’n’Gone” wasn’t played, but that is only a proof how great concert is made, so good that it all seemed to be over in a minute, and “Dead’n’Gone” can be left for another time band comes to visit our country.
It was bloody hour and half filled with love towards the music one of the best Finnish, and I dare to even say at the moment best world’s goth’n’roll band, one and only – ‘Helsinki Vampires’ – The 69 Eyes.

Report: Maja Trstenjak (maja@venia-mag.net)
Photo: Vedran Levi