Showday - Ice Hall Helsinki

After a nice hotel breakfast, we took the shuttle to the venue at 08:10.

When we arrived, Speedy was on his way, and we started checking out the venue. Not much had changed since I was last here doing Heilung merch, it’s still an ice hockey hall with a stage built on the ice, always an interesting and unique setup.

We opened the pallet that was supposed to be pre-sorted for us, only to realize it wasn’t. On top of that, we received items we hadn’t expected, meaning we had to reorganize everything from scratch for show 1. This cost us valuable time, especially since Eivør’s merch was also arriving today.

Thankfully, the cage trolleys I had ordered through the ice hall were there, and they turned out to be incredibly helpful.

By 13:00, the local crew arrived, but we weren’t ready to hand over the merch yet. As usual, they were overwhelmed by the sheer volume, and it became my job to make sure they also set it up the way I wanted. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, as Anja, the local head of merch, seemed a little grumpy and resistant to my setup. After some back and forth, I decided to step back, observe, and learn from the experience for next time. Since it was a concession show, we could not do more. In the end, they finished just in time before doors opened.

Sales went much better than last time, so that was already a win. I even had a chance to catch some of the show. The ritual was opened by three Sámi performers, which felt incredibly special to me. They also performed Nikkal for the first time and completely changed the setlist, making it an exciting night.

Meanwhile, Bella had arranged for a sauna truck backstage for the entire day, along with some oil sessions, a skill from one of her old jobs. It was amazing, and I managed to squeeze in a sauna session after dinner, just before the show.

Once the concert ended, we waited for sales to finish, did the out count, packed everything up, grabbed our after-show pizza, and finally headed back to the hotel around 1:30 AM. I was exhausted but also restless, feeling like I hadn’t been able to do everything I intended. Still, it was a solid first show!Read more