The Clackamas print., May 01, 2019, Page 5, Image 5

curtains in front of me, and were planning to
play every single song I hoped they would.
Slowly the band filtered on stage. Everyone
crowded closer and I abandoned my leather
jacket, already dripping sweat from the heat
of the lights and the closeness of everyone.
Packed shoulder to shoulder and ready to party,
finally, through the smoke The 69 Eyes kicked
their show off with “ Devils” from their 2015
album of the same name. The crowd came alive
and I Couldn’ t think or hear, as the bass and
lyrics rumbled in my chest along with my own
screams.
Song after song I remained in awe of the
quality performance they put on. Not a Goth
Rock band, not a Goth band, and not simply a
Rock band, The 69 Eyes describe themselves
as a “ Goth ‘ n Roll” band, with a rock sound,
a“nd heavy gothic themes to their work and
aesthetic; The. 69 Eyes put on an electric
performance and the crowd ate up song after
song, shouting their love for them between
tracks and transitions. Their stage and lighting
wasn’ t fancy and they didn’ t,employ costume
changes or special effects at all. All there was
was music and it was refreshing.
Lead singer Jyrki 69 and his bandmates find
inspiration in classic rock bands, and they’ve
often been compared to the legendary band HIM.
Very apparent is the love that Jyrki 69 has for
Elvis, he himself employing a muted gothic-
Elvis style wardrobe and dancing which brought
the performance to another level. Women
asprint.com
jeered for Jyrki’ s hip shaking and dancing as
women did for Elvis in the 1960s and ‘ 70s.
He’ s also developed a very Elvis-esque lip curl
when singing. Performing their popular single
“ Perfect Skin,” Jyrki 69 sang the chorus “ You
can’t keep me waiting forever, baby/ It’s getting
hot/ Who’ s going to rescue me?” unzipping his
leather jacket bit by bit and from the crowd,
even above the bass, you could distinctly hear
the ladies’ voices explode. He might be 50 this
year, but Jyrki 69 still looks as good as he did
in the videos his fans know and love from the
early 2000’ s.
Making their way down the 18-song set list,
the crowd only kept getting louder, shouting
lyrics back to them and clapping along to the
beat. At song 15 the band walked off, waving,
leaving the rest of the crowd (who hadn’t read
the set list,) begging for more - they still hadn’t
played their most popular song. A roadie came
on stage, amping us up and encouraging us to
shout for the band’ s return. Shout we did. And
stomp. And jump.
The 69 Eyes returned for the final three songs
of the evening and the crowd, already bursting
at the seams, came completely undone. Dancing,
laughing, screaming and singing, the crowd
devoured the last leg of the set and finally, the
one song we all waited for began. The beginning
of the end, “ Lost Boys’* ignited a new fire in us
all. People pushed forward one last time and
those of us up front reached toward the stage,
trying our hardest to cling to the last few notes.
Just like that, it was all over. The lights went
up. The band left after giving us their love and
we all stood still for a fraction of a second as the
lights came up. We were dazed, deaf, sweating
violently and we were happy.
Filing out of the venue, tired, disheveled goths
poured from the doors and onto the sidewalk
for their Ubers and rides. Many concert-goers
leaned on the bricks outside, removing the
platform boots and heels they’d donned earlier,
and hobbled down the streets to their cars
barefoot. I walked up the sidewalk through
the cool breeze and felt like I was underwater,
unable to even hear myself speak. The ringing in
my ears sang a pitch that I can only imagine is
what dogs hear when humans blow dog whistles,
my chest continued to vibrate as my heart
thudded at an unnatural speed.
Hopping in the car I brushed my feet off and
put on the comfy shoes I’ d left in the trunk.
Closing the door to the night and getting ready
to go home, I reached my hand in my pocket for
my phone - once again I found the now-squishy
cheese stick and I was glad. Exhausted, elated
and starving I gladly ate it and took off toward
home as The 69 Eyes left for Sacramento.
Nothing beat the bittersweetness in my mouth
as I drove, knowing that I’d just seen the best
show of my life and not knowing when the
“ Helsinki Vampires” would be back in the
United States again.
HBBHHHHHHBHHHHEbuXBIJLb