Poets of the Fall – Finlandia Klubi, Lahti; December 12th 2014

Poets of the Fall’s gig in Lahti was nothing but very relaxed fun. It painted a smile on my face from the moment the guys walked on stage. Audience and band were in a great mood, the sound was brilliant and there was much energy flowing back and forth between the crowd and the stage. I hadn’t realized just how much I missed the guys until I was right there, standing front row, feeling the butterflies in my stomach. It was absolutely the only place I wanted to be at right then. 🙂

It had been roughly seven weeks since I’d last seen them, but they had played so many concerts during that time that it felt like ages. Usually, I feel a strong connection to the guys, no matter if I see them or not, but knowing they had performed 17 concerts without me being there made me feel as if it was on the verge of being broken. I didn’t even get the usual pre-concert jitters until long after we arrived at the venue and feared I might have lost something. Of course, as soon as the intro started I kew I had been wrong – it instantly lifted me up and I could not stop smiling. No matter what mood I’m in, Poets of the Fall always make me happy!

The trip to Lahti was uneventful, A. and B. were already waiting at my hotel and we went out for lunch before the gig, met the rest of the gang and got to the venue way too early. Waiting consisted of the usual chit-chat. It was quite relaxed, the only thing missing was a sofa for everyone. 😉 We got to say hello to most of the guys upon arrival and it was fun watching Z. almost getting a heart attack every time one of them showed up. It reminded me of the early days in this fandom, when I was still shy around them. Surprisingly, only few people were in line when the doors opened, even though it was a sold out concert. Our group easily made it to front row, happy to be there and ready to go.

We checked out the stage and immediately noticed several good showman opportunities. There was a set of stairs leading down to the stage, there were several pillars that could potentially be used for climbing and three big boxes in front of the stage (left, right and center) to stand on during the gig. The distance between the barrier and the stage was rather wide so it would be ideal if the guys wanted to get closer. Time went by quickly and an hour after we got in the lights went down and the intro started. When the guys walked on stage, I instantly felt at home and seeing their smiles as they spotted me was just the cherry on top. There was a lot of pointing and smiling at the people they recognized, it was a lovely start of the show.

Having not listened to the album in quite some time I thought I might have forgotten all the lyrics, but everything was coming back to me as soon as I heard the songs. From beginning to end of the show I jumped, grooved, clapped and sang along to the music. I was very much in my own bubble that night, feeling a bit detached from the world around me, while very much living in the music. The whole experience became a big blur in my head with some memorable moments sticking out. My perception of time changed, it felt as if it only lasted a heartbeat, whith too many things happening at once. What prevailed in the end was a feeling that it had been great!

Somewhere in the beginning of the show, during ‘love will come to you’ I think, Marko went head to head with Jaska, singing to him. Much later, Captain walked to the front of the stage to show us how to clap along. When everyone was clapping to his satisfaction he gave us a thumbs up and went back to his place behind the keyboards.  From where I stood, on the left in front of Ollie I had a good view of Captain and enjoyed seeing him lost in the music at times, playing notes in the air or conducting the audience. Jari seemed to be having fun as well. He smiled the whole gig through and I remember one time when he had a conversation with Villi the stage tech that seemed to be rather amusing. Unfortunately it was one of the silent kind so I have no clue what it was about, but it made me grin.

None of the climbing opportunities were used at the concert, but the boxes in front were often occupied. even Captain stepped on one of them when he came to the front with his keytar playing ‘Roague’. Jani almost bumped his head on the speakers hanging from the ceiling as he stepped out. Funnily enough Ollie carefully checked the height of said speakers to make sure he would fit underneath. 😀 This was only one of many little things that made me smile. the guys seemed so happy all night and the audience sure had fun.

Marko sang to me several times and looked concerned for a moment when Z. cried at my shoulder during ‘Cradled in Love’. Captain was all smiles and Ollie made sure to look at us when he adjusted his tiepin (the one we had given him in Hamburg). As they always do they played together and walked back and forth on stage to watch the others do their jobs. Ollie checked out Captain’s keyboard playing for a while and bumped fists with Jaska after a particularly good solo, Jani was a hero on the bass, standing on one of the boxes, urging us to clap and cheer, Marko was leaning on him and Jaska for support and of course messing with any guitar he could get a hold of. I was not taking any pictures, but the mental images left on my mind are just as great. 🙂

Nothing left to say about the music other than that it sounded great and the lights were good too. It was a beautiful evening that left everyone smiling. As they walked of stage, waving, Captain leaned out to shake hands. 🙂 Chatting happily we left, going out for a drink. While there we saw that Jaska had tweeted a thank you for the chocolate A. and I had brought as a Christmas present for band and crew. Thank you too guys, see you soon.

Setlist

Daze
Diamonds for Tears
Love Will Come to You
King of Fools
Running Out of Time
Rogue (with Captain on keytar!)
Choice Millionaire
Illusion & Dream
Locking Up the Sun
Brighter Than the Sun
Cradled in Love
Nothing Stays the Same

Dreaming Wide Awake
Jealous Gods
Shallow
Lift
Carnival of Rust