Jen and I went to the annual World Air Guitar Championships in Oulu.
Yes, you heard right. Air Guitar. It's a thing. And an amazing, wonderful, joyful thing that brings out the kindest, the craziest and the best qualities in everyone.
I've talked about it. A lot. I've talked to anyone who'll listen to my random blathering. I've run out of superlatives. I've run out of words. And as I'm starting to run out of memory and magic, I feel I now need to try to create some semblance of an account to document the experience.
Magic is probably the best place to start.
From the off, things seemed to just work out. We were on a super early flight from Heathrow to Oulu in northern Finland via Helsinki. We had a tight turnaround in Helsinki airport, but we made it. Taken off the plane, bus to the terminal, ran through the airport, bus to the plane. All to get back on THE EXACT SAME PLANE. The woman at the boarding gate chuckled at the whimsical nature of it. We wiped the moisture from our sweaty faces that were now plastered with fake smiles.
Once we arrived in Oulu we had less than an hour to get to the start of the tour. Another tight schedule. But then something amazing happened: our suitcase was first off the carousel.
First! That never happens. I thought it was always a fake suitcase to start the ball rolling.
Which meant we made it to the start of the tour just as the lady with the Madonna headset was starting her spiel. We wandered around the city of Oulu with our tour guide pointing out sights and adding anecdotes here and there. I was listening but equally attempting to people-watch our fellow members of the tour group. Who were they? Where had they come from? What had brought them to this point?
My internal musings were soon answered. At the end of the tour came the excruciatingly school-like introductions.
"Hi, my name is Katie and I'm from Southampton, England."
Fortunately, Jen and I were at the end of the semi-circle of sharing so we heard everyone else's tale first. Yet that started to make things worse. It soon became apparent that everyone else on the tour was either a competitor, a mum or partner of a competitor or press.
As I shuffled side to side awkwardly, waiting for my turn to be thrust into the spotlight, I desperately needed a nervous wee. I panicked that we had stumbled into the tour, not belonging to this world. My general anxiety was added to by the fact that most people there seemed to know each other. As the speaker moved around the semi-circle, our time came to speak and to be rumbled for the charlatans we were and thus unceremoniously ejected from the Air Guitar fold.
But that was not to be.
I'd paid my money for the tour, so I thought, fuck it. Let's just be honest.
"Hi, my name is Katie and I'm from Southampton, England..... and we're here for fun....?"
Cool.
No dramas.
From that moment, everyone we met was so incredibly welcoming and friendly. I cannot put into words how accepted we felt.
There is something about the Air Guitar community. They are all lovely...a word I usually avoid as it sounds so insipid and is almost as bad as nice. But I have used both words a great deal in recounting my experiences in Oulu.
Nice doesn't have to be a bad word. Nice can be great. Nice can mean making some weird girls from England feel welcome and included. Nice can mean smiling to just let someone know that we're part of this world together. Nice can mean saying hello to people as you pass them riding awesome Finnish bikes. Nice can make the world a better place.
Now, stay with me here. I'm fully aware that this sounds all a little hippy-like. But, in this day and age, maybe that's what we need more of. The ethos of air guitar is that if you're holding an air guitar, you can't hold a gun. So if more people around the world played air guitar, the world would be a more peaceful place. It's worth a go, surely? #MakeAirNotWar
Don't worry, I didn't join a cult. Along with the hippy vibe, we also experienced our fair share of face-melting rock. Like I said, everyone was welcoming and so we hung out with all the competitors for the Airentation, Karaoke and then into the Dark Horse round of qualifying.
This was my first air guitar live show. We got there early to get a good spot. It was a small, dark club venue. I was so excited.
The show started and it was like an express train of rock riffs. Air Guitar performances are one minute maximum. Each competitor put every effort in their being into that sixty second show. They have characters and costumes and beautifully crafted air guitar playing. It's impossible not to get wrapped up in the spectacle of it all. At one point there was a glitter explosion. I lost my shit. I was shouting and clapping like a crazy person. I may have even whooped. On several occasions.
At the end of the show I wanted everyone to win. I was out of breath and my face ached from pure joy. I was hooked. Here's the scene of stage at the end of the Dark Horses round. I seriously don't understand why everyone doesn't air guitar.
After the competition, we moved the party to the basement. That's where Aireaoke started. Like karaoke but playing air instruments: the whole band. We had air guitar (obvs), air drums, air piano, air harmonica, air triangle, air maracas...
People put their name down for songs but pretty soon it dissolved into a free-for-all where everyone was playing and singing and air-grasping til their hearts content. And boy was my heart content. You know that feeling when you're out with your friends and you know the exact riff of a particular song, and then another friend adds the cowbell, and then you have a certain silly dance move to finish off the chorus. It was like that. All night. I had found my place.
And then we had the best song in the world. Any guesses?
Bohemian Rhapsody of course.
Now, I know how great this song is. It's part of me. I can't remember it not being. But now it's taken on a much deeper meaning. It's the unofficial Air Guitar anthem. It was ace to play along to it with the World Champions, past and present. But then my tiny little mind was blown.
Nothing really matters. Nothing (holds up air guitar) really matters, to me.
Boom.
The few days I spent in Oulu were fantastic. Nothing has had a real impact on me; it really does matter. I have always believed in being nice and trying to change the world, even a little at a time, but this has reinvigorated by beliefs and my need to try to do something, anything.
The Championships went on and the finals came. We watched, we laughed, we clapped like crazy folk. Airistotle was the winner, but in my eyes, every single person on stage was a hero to me. I have to admit cheering the female competitors extra loudly. I may be biased, but they were awesome. Mom Jeans Jeanie's sticker is now pride of place on the fridge.
The end came too soon - although my woolly-glove clad fingers might disagree - thanks Finnish 'summer'! For the finale, our new friends included us in their fun once more. We got to play air guitar on stage. Rockin' In The Free World is the song they end every finals with. Man, that song makes me cry anyway. This almost tipped me over the edge. All the feels. So painful, so happy to be there, so much need to capture that feeling and spread it into "the real world".
Which brings me to a very important point. Everyone there was nice and kind to each other. Why does that have to be something we do just for special occasions? I totally believe that people are inherently nice underneath it all. Why can't we roll this feeling of peace out into our 'normal' lives? I shall endeavour to do this more, at all times.
Relive the magic of the finals here. You might even catch Jen and I playing on stage at the end.
When people ask me what I did in my summer holidays, I'll tell them, with joy: I stood in a soggy field, in freezing rain to watch people play pretend instruments.
And it was worth every goddamn second. Kiitos Oulu.
#MakeAirNotWar
