Poets of the Fall – Virgin Oil, Helsinki; June 1st, 2013
Poets of the Fall returning to the Virgin Oil – in summer for a change. After all the chaos the last time around, I had been a bit worried, but apparently talkig about it with many people had helped. I had realized that much of the chaos was created by each one of us being too nervous and only thinking of themselves so I made it a point to behave differently this time and everyone else did as well. It was a nice, relaxed, friendly atmosphere, where we took care of each other and it worked. We had a well organized line and everyone who was there early got a spot in front row – perfect! 🙂
The usual wait was boring of course – I would have much rather enjoyed the sun outside. Had a nice time chatting with my friends around me though and saying hello to a few I had not seen in a while. Midnight rolled around, the place finally filled up.
When the intro music started and the guys walked on stage I knew this was going to be a good one. They guys, especially Jari looked so happy to be there and we greeted them enthusiastically. Jani saw me and gave me a big smile. <3 The setlist had not changed of course and ‘Delicious’ was the first song. I love how it ends with the words “It will be delicious” almost spoken not sung, but I still think ‘Running out of time’ was the better opener. Either way, the show was on the road and kicked in like a punch to the gut with ‘Locking up the sun’ and ‘Kamikaze Love’. Before I knew it I was jumping and dancing, smiling happily.
For once I enjoyed taking pictures again too, unhindered by any railing or a too high stage. Jaska even posed for me. 😀 Everyone on stage was having fun and so were we. There were no cues needed to clap or sing along during the fast songs, but the slow ones made us listen intently. The pair of ‘Jeremiah Peacekeeper’ and ‘Given and Denied’ was very beautiful that night.
There was so much craziness on stage, moving about and showing off. Especially Marko was “being Marko” as my friend K. would say. He grabbed Ollie’s barstool and grew quite attached to it, standing on it, laying across it, just sitting on it and carrying it around. He even turned it upside down once, but apparently could not figure out what to do with it then. Jani was watching all the time, the look on his face was priceless.
Ollie, Jaska and Jani had fun playing close to the audience, standing on the boxes at the front of the stage. One time or another they all stood above me so to speak. Marko kept sneaking up on the other guys, ruffling Jaska’s hair and giving Ollie a shoulder massage. He also reached out to the audience quite a lot, shaking hands. During ‘Diamonds for Tears’ I was the lucky one. He also sang a full verse to my friend N., but I can’t remember which song it was. <3
During ‘Illusion & Dream’ Captain toasted to me. I raised my glass to him in turn. All the songs came to life anew for me that night. I enjoyed this one much more than the previous concert. Too soon they were playing ‘Late goodbye’ already. Marko made us sing half of the first verse, it sent shivers down my spine. Ollie indicated the size of the “little things that make the world”.
The encores started with ‘Sleep’ again. It is always such a beautiful song. For ‘Carnival of Rust’ N. handed Marko a red mask and he wore it for a while before he gave it back. Judging by the smile on her face that made her night. <3 So soon ‘Lift’ was playing, Ollie jumped high in the air and it was over. Jari was the last one to leave, taking a perfect bow. I was happy as can be, this one was worth traveling for.
C., B., H., S. and I hung out for a while, then said goodbye. We packed our stuff and caught the first bus to the airport at 5:00 a.m. since we all had early flights to catch. We said goodbye soon and left for our respective gates. Up in the air, I finally drifted off into sleep.
Setlist
Delicious
Lockig up the sun
Kamikaze Love
Jeremiah Peacekeeper
Given and denied
Don’t mess with me
Temple of Thought
Everything fades
Cradled in Love
Stay
Running out of time
Illusion & Dream
Diamonds for tears
Late Godbye
Encore
Sleep
Dreaming wide awake
Carnival of Rust
Lift
Poets of the Fall 10th anniversary tour – 9 gigs down and so far 2 (plus a Germany / Austria /Switzerland tour) to go. Next stop: Vantaa