The half Duran concert 2025

Nostalgia

I looked forward to see Duran Duran live for the second time. I almost missed it because I had an slipping accident in my hotel room and had to go to the emergency room. It took so long so I thought I would miss the whole concert.

Fortunately I didn’t hurt myself that bad and I managed to get to the concert after all. I only saw half of the concert and I still blame myself for getting hurt. But no can do. I got to see the band and that I’m grateful for.

Duran Duran is my favourite band and I would have hated to miss it. They started their European tour from Tampere, Finland. We are honored 👍
Hopefully they will come back here in the future. Next time I make sure I see the whole concert.

The yikes factor

There are a couple of yikes factors. I entered this Gurushots photo challenge by mistake. As always, I was only supposed to participate in the challenge and not enter the exhibition. The entrance fee for the photo exhibition was about 9 euros. But what was done is done. I entered with 4 photos, and this got the most votes. So now I’ve been selected to be one of the over 1000 digital photos to be displayed in the exhibition. I got an invitation to the opening night in November in India. But of course I won’t go. I’m just happy to be part of the photo exhibition.

a heart shaped keyhole on an old wooden door
Photo: Yours truly, 2025. Taken with Canon EOS 40D

The other yikes factor is that my birthday is around the corner, on June 2. How time goes fast. In two years, I’m turning the big 5 0. That’s even more yikes, but I prefer not to think that far ahead. Age is nothing but a number anyway. I won’t be celebrating that day, but the next day. I will see Duran Duran in concert for the second time. This time, it’s indoors, so there won’t be weather problems like it was in 2022. That was a wet one, but I still had a good time. I can’t wait for this one. I’ve got a good seat. Or it’s standing since it’s on the floor.

The most yikes factor is the Kylie Minogue concert on June 23. It’s in a more difficult place to get to. First, I need to drive to Espoo, Finland, to the hotel and then take the tube from the hotel to the concert hall. I have never been in that part of the country. It’s close to Helsinki, but there was too much hustle with public transport from there, so I decided to go by car. At least then I don’t need to go by schedule. That’s going to be another travelling adventure.

Summer of 2024

pink and yellow flowers on field
Photo: Generate with AI

The summer of 2024 so far has been both slow and eventful. Weather-wise, it has been different. There was a heatwave here in Finland in May, and then it’s been a little chillier. There have been hot days in June once in a while. I hate hot weather, so this summer has been much better. I prefer it to be between 20 and 22 degrees Celsius, but anything hotter than that is not my favourite. I’m glad we haven’t had the heatwaves they have in other countries.

An event that I went to was Bryan Adams’s concert on June 5 in Tampere, Finland. I love every minute of it. I sat pretty far, but I didn’t get to choose any closer. I bought the ticket in advance when it came on sale, so I couldn’t choose where to sit. If I had bought it later, I could have. But I didn’t know the tickets wouldn’t go that fast. You never know how fast concert tickets go, so I had to ensure I got one. He’s been one of my favourite artists for years. It didn’t matter where I sat; I was there to enjoy myself, and I did. The concert was sold out, so he is still famous here. Rock music is a popular genre over here.

Here is a short clip of one of the songs he performed. If you can’t see the video, do let me know.

Bryan Adams performing, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started

And a few photos.

It was definitely the highlight of my summer.

Other things that have happened this summer for me are lame compared to that. I got another achievement in the GuruShots Photo Challenge. I levelled up to Challenger. I could get one step further to Advanced, but I need a few steps to do that. That’s the highest level I will get. The highest level is Guru, but you need to win a lot of challenges to even get to Veteran. My goal is to get to Advance, but it doesn’t matter. It’s only a bit of fun.

GuruShots new level status

Last but not least, I am going on holiday to Stockholm in August. There will be a noisy festival in the park I live near, so I want to get out of here. Two days away from that noise will be bliss.