HARDCORE SUPERSTAR
Helsinki, Finland
8.1.2004

Hardcore Superstar has just released their third album ”No Regrets” and the band stopped by in Helsinki to kick off their European tour and to bring some red hot and sweaty rock music to a cold evening in Finland. The venue was Nosturi, a place suitable for approximately 500 people.

Last time I saw the band live was about two years ago when they were promoting their previous album “Thank You (For Letting Us Be Ourselves)”. In my opinion Hardcore Superstar has evolved quite a lot since I last saw them. The band is a lot tighter and the sound was really compact. Rhythm section did their job well and lead singer Jocke Berg was all over the place in the stage. I was also impressed with their guitarist Silver who delivered quite a few great solos and his playing was quite enjoyable in general.

The opener was the first single “Still I’m Glad” from their new album. There weren’t that many people in front of the stage because most of them decided to observe from the area where the beer was served. The crowd’s reception in general was quite calm. During the first songs the band did quite a lot of work to get all the people in front of the stage and to just to get them involved. As the gig progressed their worked started to pay off. After a few songs they started to play more material from their previous two records and by that time almost everyone had finally made it in front of the stage. The crowd was really getting into it and the people were enjoying themselves.

Hardcore Superstar had included one cover to their set. The song was well chosen, because after they showed “how Don’t You Ever Leave Me sounds in Sweden” the last few who were still undecided about weather to raise their hands and participate to sing-alongs or not finally gave in. During “Someone Special” the crowd was singing together with the band and everyone was really having fun.

After that song the band left the stage to return for three encores. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, “Have You Been Around” and “Liberation”, that had a cool jamming part in the middle, ended the show and the evening was over. The band took some time to greet a few fans before going off the stage and the crowd that would’ve loved to hear more went home. I was chatting with some man from the crowd and he thought that Finns are quite stupid because they don’t come to see a live show like the one that night. And it was a shame; there was room for a lot more people. But it doesn’t have to be the same in other countries. So if you’re looking for a good rock and roll show check them out during their European tour, I recommend it. But before that enter our Hardcore Superstar competition (link below) to win their signed CD!

I tried to write down the set list between the songs. I might have missed a song or two but here’s pretty much how it went down: Still I’m Glad – Honey Tongue – That’s My Life – Breakout – Just Another Score – No Regrets – Shame – Dear Old Fame – Hello/Goodbye – Don’t You Ever Leave Me – Someone Special // Rock ‘n’ Roll Star -Have You Been Around - Liberation

Report and pix by Petri Kautto,

The competition: Give-A-Way Page
The interview: HCSS interview Page