TALLINN - The month of August may have been uneventful, but in a long-standing Estonian tradition the end of summer will be celebrated with a major blowout bash. On Sept. 4, the biggest venue in Estonia, if not the whole of the Baltics, will fill out with kids looking to have one more night of freedom before going back to school.
But even though it's only been three months since you last saw your classmates, the Go Live! concert at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds will be an excellent way to be reunited before school starts again.
The talent lined up for the show reads like a who's who of Estonian music. The Smilers are booked as the star attraction, while Chalice brings some funk and Led R tends to the needs of the headbangers, thus covering all bases. The impressive lineup of opening acts includes Ines, Slobodan River and Caater featuring Trinity - who insist on being mentioned separately although the two acts never seem to go anywhere without each other.
Estonia's hottest new pop sensation, Nexus, will be performing as well, and a touch of something completely different will be provided by J.J., the Baltic's best robot dancer. Power Hit Radio DJs will be there to fill in the blanks, and after sunset the sky will light up with fireworks.
Any event at the Song Festival Grounds is likely to be more of a party than a performance, so there will be entertainment for the audience as well. Now, we've all heard the jokes about Estonian summers, but a snowman building competition in early September is bordering on the ridiculous - but it should certainly be entertaining. All you need to do is put together a team of no more than five, and show up. Mittens, shovels and a big pile of snow will be provided for you. A worthy reward is promised for the winner determined by a celebrity jury, although no competitors will leave without a consolation prize.
The Go Live! show is the singular effort of a media empire that includes one of Estonia's mobile phone operators, so a bunch of exciting new interactive technologies will be tested out. Discounted tickets can be ordered by SMS if your phone number begins with the right digits, and every on-stage performance will be accompanied by a short message vote to choose an encore, courtesy of Jumbotron screens conveying directions.
The whole thing will also be beamed live to the Town Hall Square in Tartu: the last time this country saw something this elaborate was two years ago for the Eurovision contest. At the end of the day, they are even hoping to have a ringtone concert. Order the tune for The Smilers' latest hit and you can be a performer. The idea is that hundreds of people will press play as soon as the conductor waves his wand, and the festival grounds will be filled with a polyphonic dream. Or more likely a cacophonic nightmare. Either way, it will be an attention-grabbing concert.
Go Live! is the last great party of the summer, so if you still have some energy left before returning to the dreary world of education, come to the Song Festival Grounds on Sept. 4 - and see in the academic year with a bang. o
Go Live! End of summer concert
Tallinn Song Festival Grounds - Sept. 4
Tickets 75 kroons (5 euros)
See www.tele2.ee for schedule and discount details
