Poets of the Fall – Pakkahuone, Tampere; October 1st, 2016

Day two of the ‘Clearview’ tour brought us to Tampere. The concert was just as amazing as the first one and yet completely different. The band was visibly more relaxed, the audience much more into it. The lights were great too, but sadly the sound wasn’t as well balanced as the previous night (at least not where we stood). Either way, I fully enjoyed it and having heard the album in the meantime made for a completely new experience. It was a wonderfully energetic night that left me yearning for more.

After the Helsinki gig L. and I had spent much time talking into the night and didn’t get a lot of sleep before moving on to Tampere. We went to our separate hotels and agreed on a time to meet again. Not having VIP tickets this time we didn’t see the need to be terribly early. Getting some sleep was my first priority. Then I finally had time to listen to ‘Clearview’. It blew me away and had me in tears for half of the songs. I had made it through to ‘Chrystalline’ when C. arrived. I looked at her, raised my hand and said “Give me five minutes, I’m still on my first listen” then closed my eyes again and concentrated on the music. It was quite difficult to come back from the place the album had carried me to once I was through with it. I felt the need to immediately tell the band what I thought about it and did so in a series of tweets since I would not get to talk to them again until Oulu. C. and I said hello and got ready to meet L. and S. at the venue. When we got there we found out that the doors opened an hour later than they had in Helsinki so we went for a tea instead of waiting. Coincidentally the band was having dinner the place we went to, but of course we did not bother them and sat far away. Occasionally we could hear them laughing. It was a nice background to our conversations.

Despite neither having VIP tickets nor being the first in line C., L. and I managed to score a spot in front row once we got in – on the right this time, assuming it was Ollie’s side now. I was really excited about hearing the new songs again, now with knowing them a little bit. First it was time for support act Softengine though and again they didn’t quite convince me. They know what they are doing, play well and bring a lot of energy, but it all went right by me without touching me at all. I guess this band is just not for me.

Soon the stage was ready for Poets of the Fall, no white curtain this time though, just darkness and with the intro, Marko illuminated from behind, moving in the light, singing the chorus to ‘Shadowplay’. Having heard the album now, I recognized the song immediately´. It makes for a perfect intro and I hope they will play the entire song eventually. As of now, ‘Drama for Life’ into ‘Daze’ was a great start to the show that got me moving and singing along. While the audience in Helsinki had been a bit slow to respond in the beginning, this one was into it right from the start. 🙂 with one show already under their belts, the band was visibly more relaxed as well.

‘The Child in me’ was the first test of how much of the lyrics I had picked up on one listen. Bits and pieces of sentences came to me, not yet enough to fully sing along yet, but I didn’t have to stay quiet. 😉 I stood on the right this time, Ollie’s side and it felt weird to see everything from that perspective. at least I had he chance to read some of the patches and buttons on the other side of Marko’s jacket. 😀 Without my camera I tried to take everything in, saw perfect picture moments everywhere and caught myself thinking “I hope somebody got that!” a few times. It felt great though to just watch and be aware of the people around me as much as of the band on stage – L., C. and I shared a few looks during the evening, smiling at each other. I loved everything about the concert, even though the sound was a bit imbalanced on my side.

Getting to know a new setlist is always fun. Some songs still come a s a surprise, a gig feels different to me when my head does not yet know what’s coming next. No two shows are ever the same anyway, but there is something special to the beginning of a tour when everyone is still finding their place and transitions still feel fresh. Every phase of a tour has its high points and in the early days it is always the excitement about the new songs and new setlist that makes me happy. In between, the familiar songs that change place, but never disappear give me a comfortable feeling of knowing what to do and expect. 🙂 It is all part of the experience to know the sing-along parts or the hand movements that go with certain songs and I enjoy checking who else in the audience goes along too. 🙂

‘The Game’ is quickly becoming one of my favorites on the setlist and again I was choking up just a little. Since I was wearing the new chessboard T-Shirt, Marko was pointing at my shirt during the song. He was also showing us the goosebumps on his arm at one point, moved by the atmosphere of the night. Everyone else in the band seemed visibly moved as well. Good vibes. During the sing-along part of ‘Stay’; captain was conducting the audience and during ‘Locking up the sun’ (I think) I was singing along with Jaska. 🙂 Marko forgot to sing the entire bridge of that song and screwed up the first verse of ‘Running out of time’ – for a moment I though I had the lyrics wrong, but he did. It always makes me smile.

Of course the main set was over in a heartbeat. We called them back for encores, Ollie came out and played the beautiful guitar solo that now is the intro to ‘war’. Once again I started crying, could not stop for the entire song. Ollie looked at me somewhere towards the end of it and I don’t know if he could see my tears, but just in case I smiled at him, showing that I was fin, juts could not contain all the emotions within. After lots of jumping and screaming for ‘Lift’ they said goodbye, then played ‘Children of the sun’ for us. The song is slowly growing on me and it’s a good way to send people home. Jari was singing along the whole time. 🙂 A final bow and a wave from everyone, me gesturing “thank you” to the guys and they were gone. It always goes by too fast!

We gathered our group, went out for a drink and eventually said goodbye. Until next time!

Setlist:

Intro: Shadow Play
Drama for Life
Daze
The Child in Me
Dreaming Wide Awake
Diamonds for Tears
The Game
Stay
Someone Special
Sleep
Running Out of Time
Once Upon a Playground Rainy
Locking Up the Sun
Carnival of Rust

Encore
War
Lift
Children of the Sun

Clearview tour 2016/17: 2 gigs down, 20 to go, next stop: Turku