PaganFest V America Brought the Party to The Palladium in Worcester, MA
By Frank Poulin
PaganFest’s reputation as a drinking, dancing, headbanging good time has long been established so the fans knew what to expect, especially with a lineup headed by Finnish folk metal bands Korpiklaani and Turisas. And as luck would have it, The Palladium in Worcester, MA was the last stop of the tour, which meant we all got to witness and participate in double the fun and frolicking!
One drawback (for many of us, both media and not) of the Fest’s popularity ~ and this being the last chance for folks to catch this year’s tour ~ is that it also meant double the attendance (the show sold out well in advance), which made the choice to hold the concert in the smaller venue upstairs a very poor one. Of the couple of hundred people hanging out on the mezzanine, only the lucky few standing at the railing got to see the show; those behind could only listen. And as for the main floor in front of the stage, it was packed so tightly nobody could move a muscle. The Palladium Upstairs is a great place to host a show like this in theory, as the more intimate feel is quite conducive to the kind of party atmosphere sought by PaganFest performers and fans alike, but in practice the place is simply too small to hold the kind of crowds that this tour (and other shows relegated to Upstairs) draws nowadays. I sincerely hope the decision-makers choose to hold the event downstairs next year. But I digress…
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get into the venue to see openers Winterhymn and arrived in the middle of Varg’s set. Despite describing themselves as a pagan metal outfit, Varg’s music is definitely more metal than pagan, but it certainly rocks and the crowd ~ those dressed in tunics and flowers as well as those sporting spiked leather ~ were into it. Vocalist Philipp “Freki” Seiler owned the crowd and even took the time to teach us a few German words to make sure we could sing along… The party was already well underway!
Taiwanese metallers Chthonic went on next. Their theatrical setup would definitely have benefited from the larger and better-lit stage downstairs; much of the dramatic effect was lost on the cramped stage upstairs ~ quite a shame, since the band’s look and performance style is unique. Here again, the music was hard-hitting metal with little in the way of pagan flavor (although their signature use of Ehru (Chinese violin) does give it a refreshingly anachronistic, traditional undertone). I would really love to see this band again on a proper stage and take in their full experience. It was still a great show, but you got the feeling you only got the see the abridged version. Judging by the line of fans at the merch table area when members of the band came…upstairs in Upstairs to sign autographs and just mingle with any of the crowd who could reach them, though, Chthonic could play in a bathroom stall and still attract and enthrall a huge audience.
When Turisas came on stage, the “pagan” part of PaganFest really got going. I’d never seen these guys perform live before but I’ll tell you this: I’ll never pass up a chance to see them again. Man, can they ever work a crowd! At the end of their set, the fans demanded an encore (which is unusual for a support band), and when they came back to sing one more, they invited folks to come up on stage with them…an invitation that was immediately accepted with joyous shouting and a bit of a mob scene. The already-cramped space soon became too crowded for anyone ~ band or “special guess” ~ to dance, let alone play music, so that’s pretty much when the set ended, with the entire crowd cheering like they’d won the lottery. Utter, happy chaos.
Korpiklaani couldn’t have asked for a warmer, more receptive audience. They brought it home with their inimitable, happy-go-drinking folk metal. True pros, known for making the best of any situation and never letting anything stand in the way of a good time, they embraced the small stage and managed to break out into fits of dancing and general merriment ~ obviously enjoying every second of what they were doing and genuinely excited at the crowd’s appreciation of their music and spirit, they moved up, down, and side to side, swapping places and in the process, making us forget that they were creating all this movement in such a tiny space. I have seen these Finnish purveyors of, as they call it, “beer metal” on a much larger stage, and was amazed at how adeptly they adapted to the…spatial circumstances…they were dealt. With a set that this time around was more segmented ~ metal (though still with their traditional instruments incorporated) songs (and, I suspect, some plain ol’ spur-of-the-moment musical interludes just for fun) interspersed with more fully pagan tracks, these festive Fins (stay tuned to Flashwounds for our interview with the band!) gave us a fitting conclusion to one hell of a party and very successful tour. Long live PaganFest!
Korpiklaani
Turisas
Chthonic
Varg
Winterhymn
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