Rajaton at Van Dusen

After the amazing, quiver inducing night on Saturday, I decided to mix things up a little, get my culture on and instead attended an outdoor performance by renowned Finnish a capella group Rajaton. It was the closing night of MusicFest Vancouver and I was offered tickets to the groups sold out performance on the lawn at VanDusen Botanical Garden.

Not only did we score rockstar parking in the Garden itself, we somehow managed to snag a prime location on the lawn. A bottle of Red (Stump Jump from Australia..... delicious!), sushi and local blueberries. A perfect start to the night! For many in the crowd it was clearly not their first "World at the Garden" performance. People had actual cutlery and plates that were not made of paper. A far cry from the plastic beer and stealthy joints of GM Place. The weather was spectacular and we settled in to see what this group had to offer.

They were amazing. A different kind of amazing than KOL. But amazing none the less. This was the fourth year in a row that the group has been in Vancouver for the Festival. They kept selling out. And now I know why. While a lot of their set was in Finish, it didn't really make a difference. Their voices blend seamlessly and they seem to really enjoy what they do.

The few English songs were a mix of 70's (ABBA's, Fernando), 80's pop (Wham's, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go) and the Commodores classic Easy (my personal fave song of the night, although I know the Faith No More Version better that the original). Oh yes, one of the band also insulted me and my homeland. Something about NOT singing Waltzing Matilda, and instead doing the Tom Wait's twist (which is better than the original - and don't even get me started on the twits who wanted that to be Australia's national anthem. Dumb asses). It's okay. I wasn't actually insulted. I was more surprised that I was the only Aussie in the audience... or the only one who had had enough wine to identify herself as an Aussie.

Anyways, Rajaton is an impressive group. They are witty and were clearly appreciative of the love from the enthralled crowd. And the crowd was another eclectic mix (No fake blond big boobs) - younger students to retired couple and everyone in between. 2 encores, 3 standing ovations. They were awesome. No instruments required. Their voices were more than enough.

Many thanks to Heather at MusicFest Vancouver for the tickets.

XO