Total balalaïka show

This 1993 concert is absolutely awesome. The Leningrad Cowboys gave the Finnish people a lot for their money. Backed by the Alexandrov Red Army Choir, they set Helsinki on fire on that night in June.

Covers of The Turtles, Bob Dylan, Tom Jones, and ZZ Top are just a small aspect of this "rockumentary". (Their version of "Those Were The Days" has to be seen to be believed)

Bravo to Kaurismaki, a world-class director who achieved something really special with this concert film. It's hard to find these days, but if you can track it down, you will be in for a serious treat.

Featuring a concert by the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov Ensemble, took place on 12 June 1993 at Senate Square in Helsinki, Finland. This event drew a crowd of approximately 70,000 people from two nations - Finland and Russia - that had been engaged in a state of "peaceful coexistence" during the Cold War, should recognize the reason why held so amicably.

I was living in Lahti when this show was broadcast on Finnish television.I was completely stunned by the severe clash of cultures.On the one hand,a group of comically dressed musicians,very competent and visually appealing obviously spoofing the teddy boy craze and on the other hand one of the best choruses in the world dressed in their military finest. You could not expect the two divergent musical styles to get along,much less complement.... But it all works well,with the wonderful antique tractor on full display and the Red Army chorus singing Sweet Home Alabama.What a wonderful show it must have been to see live.It seems like the entire city of Helsinki was there. Hey that is only 500,000 but that's a lot of Finns in one place.

I first learned of the Leningrad Cowboys from one of my mom's employees in 2002. He explained that they're a Finnish band that performs covers of famous songs, and played me some of their performances (being the sort of person that I am, I asked what the group's actual name is in Finnish).

Russia's current occupation of Ukraine makes it a bit awkward to watch Aki Kaurismäki's "Total Balalaika Show". Ignoring that, it's a fun documentary. The subject is a concert thirty years ago this month, where the Leningrad Cowboys performed with the Aleksandrov Ensemble in Helsinki, singing western pop songs and traditional Russian songs. It's a sight like you can't imagine.

We obviously hope that Russia's occupation of Ukraine eventually ends, and that peaceful relations with Russia can get restored. In the meantime, this is one fun documentary. The Criterion Collection's release includes some of the Leningrad Cowboys' music videos. Wacky stuff.

PS: Aki Kaurismäki and his brother Mika are friends with Jim Jarmusch. The cast of Jarmusch's Helsinki segment of "Night on Earth" are frequent cast members in the Kaurismäkis' movies.

The Red Army Choir performing "Happy Together" with a Finnish band called the Leningrad Cowboys? To top it, even singing "Finlandia" at Helsinki's Senate Square? This concert, filmed in 1993, would have seemed rather unthinkable a few years earlier. It's still a surreal experience to watch it on DVD: the Russian choir and orchestra in stiff uniforms, bearing a mostly somber expression combined with the ludicrously styled, eccentric Leningrad Cowboys and their often parodistic rock demeanour. Remembering the time of Cold War, it is also strangely touching. But what about the music? Well, I have to say that it's not bad at all. Quite the contrary, it's surprisingly good. The Red Army Choir's unnamed lead singer does impressive work together with the Cowboys, and I'm sure that the popular Russian songs sound exactly as they should, although the selection can't be called particularly original (neither the choice of Western songs), but that was probably exactly the right decision for a concert of this kind. It's energetic and in its incomparable blend of silliness and really serious musicianship (on both "sides") something to behold, indeed.