Kaivama and Polka Chicks at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (06/09/13)
Polka Chicks
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Kaivama
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Tour Dates
06/13 Vox Concert Series – Marshfield, WI*
06/14 CSPS Iowa City, IA*
06/15 Arts Center of Saint Peter
06/17 Beaner’s Central Concert Duluth, MN
06/19-06/23 FinnFest 2013 Hancock, MI
07/18 Algomah Acres Farm Greenland, MI
07/19-07/21 Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival
08/08 Trinity House Theatre Dearborn, MI
08/09-08/11 Great Lakes Folk Festival
* with Polka Chicks
Their show can be broken down by this: The Polka Chicks did their set, with the last three songs invaded by Kaivama, then a brief intermission, followed by Kaivama’s set, with the Polka Chicks coming back on to close out the last three songs, and, of course, the eventual encore song.
That actually sounds complicated, but it’s really not. There’s something nice about the circular feel to their plan, ending with everyone involved on stage.
Starting the show was The Polka Chicks. They play some traditional polka (some from Finland, some from “sad” Sweden, etc), and some original material. The highlight of their set was either “Ajatuksia” (Thoughts), a waltz, or “Linnanneito” (the Lady in the Castle), which is about a girl in jail and her intent on keeping her man faithful.
Kaivama seemed really pleased at the large turnout, with violinist Sara Pajunen keep asking “who are you?” addressing everyone. The duo formed only three-ish years ago, originally playing only instrumental folk. It would seem Kaivama is experimenting with more instruments (mandolin, banjo) and original lyrics in their songs.
Highlight of their set was a story about the near-non-existent city of “Toivoa”, which in Finnish means hope.
The Polka Chicks came on stage to help Kaivama finish (or would that be funnier if I said Finnish?) the set. Oddly a Swedish title was in the mix: “I Denna Ljuva”, Kaivama’s latest single.
The Polka Chicks and Kaivama are currently playing some Midwest shows. Come check them out if you’re into Scandinavian folk music.
