Poets of the Fall – Arena, Moscow; March 24th, 2012

After a long a pretty much sleepless night we arrived in snowy Moscow. The number of fans waiting at the station was just overwhelming. I didn’t count, but I know there were more people than the previous day. I said hello to my friend L. and received a beautiful gift: An Alan Wake inspired drawing. <3 Less than that I watched and left most of the guys alone, only spoke to Jani for a while. We joked about looking tired and both wearing our sunglasses.

There was a little time to check in to my hotel. finally take a shower and relax for a bit before meeting my friends again. We arrived at the Arena before 2 p.m., ready for a long wait. I don’t know how many layers of clothes I was wearing, but the icy wind cut through all of them . *shudders* Luckily there was a cafe nearby and we could take turns going there to warm up. Many hours later they ushered us away from the doors and se up railings. Unfortunately it wasn’t very well organized and of course they did not tell us right away where exactly they would let us in. Also the way to the door went up a slight slope and was completely covered in ice. So with a railing and a security guard in front of me, people pushing from behind and icy pavement to walk up I was scared of the moment they opened the doors and rightfully so. It was a big mess, people trying to go up the slope, holding on to ach other, almost pulling each other down and everyone pushing form all sides to get through the small door. I was just happy I made it inside without falling down. Once there, I ignored all orders (I don’t speak Russian, but I know they wanted me to go and hand in my jacket) and just ran in.  Made it to the front next to my friend A., but had lost N. on the way so she ended up standing behind us, even though she was inside before I was. 🙁

The place filled up quickly and I barely made it out of my multiple layers of jackets before there was so much pressure from behind that I could not really move any more. Luckily I had some food in me so there was no danger of fainting, but it was quit uncomfortable for a while. Eventually the crowd relaxed a bit and I could breathe again. Passed the time putting up my “Prowlers of the Fall” banner and chatting with A.

Around 8 p.m. lots of photographers took their spots and I knew the wait would be over soon. I briefly met O. (from the Poets’ German partner label) but didn’t really have the chance to exchange more than a few words.
The lights were out and the room was charged with excitement. The noise level was already unbelieveable and reached a new high when he intro started and the guys walked on stage one by one. I had no idea I was even capable of screaming that loudly, but apparently I was. I looked at my friends and their happy smiles said it all. All troubles forgotten, only the here and now counted.

The audience was loud and wild and excited from the very first moment on. ‘Kamikaze Love’ rocked the house. Even though the song is catchy, I had never expected it to work so well live. What a pleasant surprise. 🙂 The fans had given out playing cards to the first few rows and we tried throwing them on stage. The distance was too wide though and many landed on the floor. Of those few that actually landed on stage, Marko picked up a few and posed with them for the photographers.

Being front row again felt so much better, even though I could not breath at times, because everyone from behind me seemed to be pushing forward. I still managed to jump around though. There was absolutely nothing that could have spoiled the fun I was having.

‘Diamonds for Tears’ had everyone clapping along and ‘Temple of Thought’ was just lovely. So many beautiful layers of music entwined. Marko laid down on stage for a while, singing with his eyes closed. He got back up,  had us all waving our arms – it must have looked great from stage. Ollie was so lost in his solo, truly a guitar hero. I really could not decide whom to watch.

During ‘Roses’ Marko was handing out chewing gum and managed to to even unwrap a piece for himself and stick it in his mouth without missing a beat. He was also singing to one of the stage lights which seemed to amuse Ollie. The guys were all smiling a lot, except for Jari, who just seemed totally concentrated on his drumming.

I tried watching everyone which was a bit difficult with the big stage, but again I had a great view of Ollie and Captain who were on my side and Jani whenever he came over. I exchanged smiled with all of them at times, watching how they got more and more relaxed during the gig. It must have been amazing (and probably just a little scary) to play for such a huge audience.

There were a lots of lighters, cellphones, hands and even sparklers up in the air for ‘Cradled in Love’. The atmosphere was beautiful and the song gave us a last chance to rest before rocking out to ‘Locking up the Sun’. I was jumping around as much as possible and people around me just had to jump as well – there was no other way. When it was over, Marko declared “This is the best job in the world people and it’s all thanks to you!” ‘War’ followed, another one of the songs I can never get enough of. It’s just brilliant.

‘The Lie eternal’ brought another R-reated performance that led to a lot of excited screams from the female part of the audience. 😉 Me? I was laughing. 😛 Don’t get me wrong though, I absolutely love this song and think it is perfect for being performed live!

A little time travel to 2005 followed with ‘Stay’ and Marko wished for a cat walk to get closer to the people in the back. Beautiful guitar playing, great drumming and much audience participation, singing of “The little things that make the world”. We stayed in 2005 for ‘Illusion & Dream’ before moving on with ‘Gravity’ – everyone jumped as instructed. Fun!

All the guys played brilliantly that night and time went by in a heartbeat again. I watched, I listened to the different instruments, I enjoyed to see the guys smile, goof off, have fun, enjoying their performance. They gave us ‘Late Goodbye’ as a parting gift and left the stage. <3

While Einari was setting up chairs for the acoustic set the entire audience was clapping and screaming wildly to call the guys back to the stage. They did not let us wait for long. Jani had stolen the top hat again – it suits him well. ‘Sorry go round’ was once again amazing. It’s unbelievable what these guys can do on acoustic guitars. I would not mind more acoustic numbers at all. It came as a nice surprise when they added a second one. ‘Someone special’ which they had not played in six years and I had never heard live before. <3

After the set, it was time for Captain and Jari to return to the stage. Marko wondered what he could build with the chairs, but Einari took them away.  “They are afraid I’ll break stuff. Because that’s what I do, I break stuff. Because if you break stuff, like rules for one thing, you can make new rules, better rules, rules that fit you – but I guess that’s just dreamin’.” With this they went right into ‘Dreaming wide awake’. So much energy!

As ‘Carnival of Rust’ started. A. took my hand and we were just swaying from side to side with the music. <3 In awe I listened to the song that never fails to move me. But there was no chance to feel melancholia, because ‘Lift’ catapulted me right out of that. Jumping, screaming, singing along, watching Ollie and Jaska dueling with their guitars, Jaska playing while laying on his back in the end and Marko stripping off his shirt. A great ending to a great show!

After the gig Ollie, Jani, Jaska and Marko came out to sign autographs. I had the chance to exchange smiles and a few words with all of them and got a group hug from Marko together with my friends. I was stuck in front row, just watching people around me. The crew had fun folding setlists into airplanes and throwing them at us as they had already done the previous night.

Once again it was over too soon. We gathered our belongings and left, hugged each other for the last time and said goodbye. When I arrived at my hotel I was beat, but the happy memories made it all worthwile.

Two concerts down, many to go. Next stop: Kiev

Setlist

Kamikaze Love
Diamonds for Tears
Temple of Thought
Roses
Cradled in Love
Locking up the Sun
War
The Lie Eternal
Stay
Illusion & Dream
Gravity
Late Goodbye

Acoustic:
Sorry Go Round (Bossa Nova)
Someone special

Encore:
Dreaming wide awake
Carnival of Rust
Lift