(is there anything I could add to this? No, there is not. It is here, then, that I sign off.)

Well, not anarchy as much as Anarchist Action: Sunday was the second day of a two-day festival to benefit Anarchist Action. The festival was held in a bare room on the second floor of a fire station turned punk venue called Vuoritalo. The story, as I’ve pieced together from various sources, is that the fire station was long abandoned before punks discovered it and started having events there. Then they were booted, at which point, the junkies called the place home. Now the punks are back, to the apparent delight of the neighbours, who, given the choice, would pick punks over junkies. Though, being a quiet suburb, it’s amazing that either group found their way to this house atop a hill.

And now, a brief tour. First, in the door on the left side of the building, and up two flights of stairs:

Which brings you to the stage area:

Another couple flights of stairs, and you come to the bar and hangout area, where all types hang: Chinese punks, 14-year-old Finnish punks (yup, he’s 14), and even writers who want to interview the former.

Soon after we arrived on the third floor, we discovered the Finnish tradition of “an onion and a bag of strawberries for new friends from far away places”.

Another Finnish tradition we learned that night was the local take on the phrase “hat’s off”:

All in all, another show, another huge pink mohawk, and another crowd pleased.

His jacket, for those wondering, says “Anarchy is order, property is theft”.

 

The organizers of the event (is ‘organizer’ the wrong thing to call someone who puts on a benefit show for Anarchist Action?) were pleased: they had a big turnout both nights despite some concern that the gig might get cancelled by The Man. And, to our surprise, Subs even sold some CDs. Someone at Vastavirta the previous night put the conundrum into words: “I know it’s all capitalist or whatever to buy CDs, but I liked the show and I want to take something home with me.” As opposed to this guy, who wasn’t going anywhere after getting rocked hard by the Subs Experience (the snoring let us know that he had not expired):