Poets of the Fall – Glav Club Green Concerts, Moscow; February 23rd, 201
The second Poets of the Fall concert on my little Russia trip was even better than the first. The show was sold out, venue and crowd were both awesome and the band was in such a good mood that everything was super-fun! I had the best of times, singing along, jumping and dancing, enjoying the show to the fullest. Being front row helped, I’d missed seeing the guys from up close.
Took the fast train to Moscow in the morning and stated the journey with catching up on some sleep. Wondered if the guys might be on the same train and looked around for them on the platform when I arrived, but did not spot any familiar faces. Made it to my hotel later than expected and the check in was taking forever so I settled for going to the show late and being in the back, relaxed a bit, had some food and finally arrived at the venue. Imagine my surprise that the huge queue I saw was all GA tickets and the VIP crowd so far consisted of less than ten people. Woohoo!
Eventually they got us into a different queue and just as I was getting cold they opened the doors. It all went smoothly, but having to go through a metal detector as we entered gave me mixed feelings – strange times we live in. When we entered the actual venue I admired it instantly. The lights and the stage looked so good. Everyrthing seemed just right. The meet and greet was nice. I found out that the band had indeed been on the same train and Ollie had really seen me the previous night. Jari, somewhat bored, decorated one ofthe autograph cards by giving Marko a moustace and Jaska more beard. I immediately claimed that card and Captain wrote “for Stef” on it. <3 I told them I’d been touring with my Icelanders and Jani enquired about the tour. Just seeing the guys again and exchanging a few words made me really happy – good to be back!
Got a great spot at the front, slightly left of Ollie and marked my spot with my hoodie before going for the picture with the band. Sadly the guy to my left lost his spot then to a bunch of girls who tried to all squeeze in next to me. No a chance, sorry. It was a long wait, long enough to finish my blog about the Saint Petersburg gig while standing there. Some DJ was on and I didn’t really like what he played. Sunrise Avenue, really? I was so happy when that was over.
I didn’t check, but I think it was already around 9 when the guys hit the stage. From the first moment they were on fire and from the first moment the audience proved they could scream! I had a huge smile on my face just seeing them and being so close I could actually see the expressions on their faces. It was wonderful! They looked relaxed and happy and all night great energy was flowing between audience and band. Being much less tired than the previous night also helped with my enjoyment of the show.
During ‘Dreaming Wide Awake’ I already realized there was not much room for me to jump, but I did it anyway and sometimes, other people jumped along with me. That song always puts me in an instant good mood. Yes, I do dream you wide awake and so many times that has saved me on a bad day. 🙂 ‘Dancing on Broken Glass’ was perfect, I remembered more of the lyrics than I had the previous night and so many lines made sense to me that night “and all of the hurt and all of those words that we said”, I sang and almost shouted the line when we got to “but the lining is silver”. It is, it always was, I just didn’t see it for a while. 🙂
It was great being able to watch the guys work, seeing all those familiar gestures and poses, the smiles, the way they play and the way they get lost in the moment. At times I also watched Tiia work as her camera briefly showed up side stage or she walked past me at the front. Sometimes it is fun to see other photographers do their job. I’d brought my small camera to film the songs played during the meet & greet (‘Late Goodbye’ and ‘Stay’) so I snapped some pictures as well, but mostly I just enjoyed the show.
‘False Kings’ was immensely powerful. During that song the pit between the barrier and the stage was still filled with photographers and the band had fun posing for them, sticking out tongues or showing them an extra smile. All that smiling was reflected on my face, the grin unstoppable. This time, Marko was wearing a red rose, not white as the day before. I’d seen them all getting roses during the meet and greet so this must have been the one. Before ‘Temple of Thought’ he threw it to the crowd and asked them to “be gentle with my baby”. 😀 That song is always so beautiful it makes me sigh. <3
Marko left the stage for ‘Rogue’ and it was pure raw power. These guys are so good and their passion for playing shows. As usual they gave each other room to shine, pointing and whoever was playing a solo. I believe it was during this song when Glen copied Ollies gesture that I believe is meant to symbolize pulling the whammy bar on Jaska’s guitar. However, it kinda looked like it could mean jerking off as well. 😉 Made me laugh really hard. They were clearly having fun. I never get tired of seeing this. Marko echoed my thoughts when he walked back out, saying how much he was enjoying watching the guys.
Glen set up chairs for the band and the gave us a stunning version of ‘Standstill’. Every night I think this is the song that ought to make me cry, because I love it so much and I find its message so soothing and uplifting. Once again though, I did not shed a single tear. Those didn’t come until ‘The Sweet Escape’, a song I see as much broader than just talking about love between a couple. For me, this goes for friendship as well and for me it fits. So I felt the tears run down my face while I sang along, but nobody noticed. Marko asked us to switch on the lights on our phones and when I turned around once it looked magical – the entire hall was one sea of lights. 🙂
Soon it was time to jump and dance along with ‘My Dark Disquiet’ – if someone had told me at the time I first heard the album that I’d fall in love with that song I would have called them crazy, but now I have to admit that it has great powers live and I love rocking along with it. That might be the secret too, it rocks so much more live than it does on the album. ‘The Game’ of course rocked even harder and I sang or rather screamed along at the top of my lungs. Somewhere in there I had a brief moment of reflection, thinking “It’s good the guys can’t hear me” and then I just continued. I love singing with them, with most bands, but always tune it down for the more quiet songs, because I can’t sing to save my life. ;P
The concerts always go by much too fast. Already we were about halfway through and it still felt like we were only just beginning. There was so much to see, the guys standing on the two platforms they had side stage, instruments raised or arms outstretched. Ollie and Captain communicating with each other, catching something out of the air and throwing it too each other. One day I have to ask what it is the do there. It certainly is fun to watch. Jari was drumming like a madman during ‘The Game’ and Jani was throwing kisses at people. ‘War’ was of course Jaska’s moment to shine and he literally stood in the spotlight for his awesome solo.
‘Choice Millionaire’ is another song I never thought I’d grow to like, but it is undeniably one of the best live songs. Everyone just goes crazy, on stage and in front, jumping along with the music and dancing around. It is so much fun to watch and just to be part of it. I sure get my share of exercise during Poets gigs. 😀 The jumping continued with ‘Lift’ and I saw some people showing the morpho, but nobody went “on and on and on”, not even Marko. We screamed at the right time though and it was effing loud! Way to go Moscow. At some point, either here or during the encores Marko said something about not wanting it to end and I wholeheartedly agreed. I absolutely wanted more.
Already the encores started and it looked like everyone but me was filming ‘Sleep’. I like the song, but I don’t understand the obsession so many seem to have with it. That being said it was a beautiful version and while the spotlight was on Captain Jaska and Jani were sitting down on the drum raiser just listening. 🙂 We needed to rock some more after that and we did, would have continued “Till the first light of the day” if the’d let us. I was compltely with the music, swaying with the crowd, screaming my lungs out and of course jumping during ‘Locking up the Sun’. It all felt wonderful.
Ending the show with ‘Carnival of Rust’ is a bit like the old days even though I don’t remember if they actually ended the shows with this song then. It fits though and that night it brought me back to the second time I saw them live, the moment I filmed that song to capture forever what it felt like to be at a Poets of the Fall show. To this day still, that recording gives me goosebumps, but I have learned that only those who have actually seen it live understand and the magic cannot truly be captured.
They finished the song to great cheers, waved, bowed, hugged each other and took a picture with us. I looked after them for a long time and it seemed like nobody really wanted to leave. Glen threw us a few water bottles and I got lucky to get a drink form one. 🙂 Finally I made my way out, feeling the need to be alone with my thoughts. It was snowing when I left and felt very peaceful as I walked back to my hotel. I was still smiling when I arrived, happy I had made the trip.
Setlist
Dreaming Wide Awake
Dancing on Broken Glass
False Kings
Temple of Thought
Rogue
Standstill
The Sweet Escape
My Dark Disquiet
The Game
Cradled in Love
War
Choice Millionaire
Lift
Encore:
Sleep
Daze
Locking Up the Sun
Carnival of Rust
Ultraviolet Tour 2019: 2 gigs down, 11 to go. Next stop: Stockholm