Poets of the Fall – Tavastia, Helsinki; April 14th 2017

“Mind? Blown!” is pretty much the best description I can come up with right now. Poets of the Fall promised us a special show and they sure as hell delivered. Now, the morning after, I am still trying to wrap my head around all the awesomeness that was their concert at Tavastia. It has been a wonderful eight week, 15 concert tour and it ended with a bang last night. I feel full of love for this band and the people I met because of them and I am deeply grateful for everything they have given me. Being the last show of the tour I expected it to be bittersweet, but it made me so happy I had no time for sad thoughts. There was only joy and wonder. The magic lasted until well after they had walked off stage and I can still feel it now. Of course the tears came eventually, emotional overflow after everything I’ve seen, heard, felt. It’s a good thing though, because in the end, happiness prevails. 😀

Since I was landing in Helsinki after 3 pm on concert day I feared there’d be a huge crowd by the time I arrived at Tavastia. Not the case though. I got there around 4 and found about ten people waiting. Nice! I had totally expected to stand on the stairs during the concert, but this looked more like it was going to be front row. I knew pretty much everyone there, so it was a round of hugs first and then we passed the time talking. By 5 the queue was quite long already. The doors opened on time and we managed to get our usual spots just left of the mic. So far, so good. I got a real photo pass too so this time around would not have to explain to anyone that I have permission to take pictures. (Thank you Nina! :))

Having been spoiled at recent meet & greets this one seemed rather crowded, but we still got the chance to talk to everyone. During the photo we joked about me being there again and Ollie used my line about “Haven’t I seen you before” so I replied “Terrible pickup line, you know,” smiling. He also asked me what the current count was so I told them “183”. Jani stated it was going to be the most beautiful 183 and I agreed. A., S. and I stuck together the whole time and group hugged some of the guys just because we could. We talked about summer gigs and this one being bitter-sweet because it was the end of the tour. I thanked them for the great memories and they thanked us for coming. It all went quickly, but was nice nonetheless.

We had still been talking to Jari when the doors opened, so we had to almost fight our way back to our spots at the front. It was all a bit tight, apparently some more people had squeezed into front row while we were gone. Didn’t matter though, it was all going to be OK. We realized that we had no idea what time the concert would start, because this time around Nina had not announced it. Glen was working on stage, checking all the instruments and for a while sat down on one of the stools that Ollie, Jani and Jaska use I we joked with him if he was going to play today. He pretended to play guitar and we carried on for a while as he moved on to keyboards and drums. 😀 Now, for the first time in a long time I remembered they had promised they’d do something special for this last gig and I wondered what it might be. I had refused to think about it before, because I did not want to create impossibly high expectations. It worked, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire gig!

Start time turned out to be 9 pm when the lights went out and everyone screamed. Even before the guys entered the stage I knew the sound was going to be amazing. I could hear Marko loud and clear. Perfect! 😀 We had learned in Kuopio that Tavastia’s old sound system was there now and the new one really paid off. Front row sound at that venue used to be a bit difficult, but it was amazing now. The lights were great as well, if a bit bright at times, the audience was enthusiastic and loud and the band gave us everything they had from the first moment on. It was a good start and only got better from there.

With such a responsive crowd, the concert had a great atmosphere from the beginning and the guys did not have to work hard to get everyone into the mood. It truly felt like a homecoming gig, as if everyone in the room had been waiting all spring to greet the band and turn this concert into a party. Every time Marko held out the mic, people screamed and they knew all the lines to sing along to as well. 😀 Of course we knew how to clap too, the front row often taking the lead before the guys even raised their arms. Surges of happiness ran through me. I felt proud of our band and lucky to be part of this family, gathering that night to celebrate them.

All the way through the night I was smiling like a loon and wherever I looked I saw only happy faces, in the crowd as well as on stage. Each one of the guys seemed to be in a zone, dedicated to play the best possible concert and yet looking as if it was completely effortless. There were so many appreciative looks and little gestures between them, I’m sure I didn’t see half. I had a good view of everyone and, but could not see them all at once of course. Some of the best moments are always the ones when they play together and check each other out. This night, everyone seemed to be sticking their tongue out at everyone at some point. I even saw Captain do it to Jani when he stood in front of the keyboards. 😀

Over the first five songs I saw lots of jumping, most on stage, but some in front of it, dancing on stage and off, half hugs, Ollie’s hair flying as he headbanged, Jani visiting everyone to play with them, Jaska being all smiles, Marko twirling the mic stand round and round and leaning out to grab hands and finally Jari, beating the drums like a madman. I honestly think I’ve never seen Jari beat up his drums this much and he is a powerful player. It seemed as if he had made a bet to kill his drums that night. It was awesome! 😀

After ‘The Game’ Marko thanked us all for coming and told us they were going to play something special for us. Ollie and Jaska were already sitting down, so I knew it was going to be something acoustic, but I had no idea what it would be. With the first notes from the guitar I recognized ‘Stay’ and as they were bathed in beautiful light I started smiling. I’ve always loved the guitars on that song and I loved how people sang along from the first line, careful not to be too loud until the chorus. On Marko’s cue we all took out our mobile phones, switched on the lights and moved them back and forth. I tried turning to see what it looked like, but did not have the right perspective, i.e. could not see all the way to the back. It must be beautiful from stage. <3 We all laughed when Ollie and Marko did their guitar versus singing duel again at the end of the song, especially because they first went really high and then really low. Amazing!

For ‘The Labyrinth’ Jani chose to sit between the drums and the keyboards this time as his usual seat as still occupied by Jaska. The lights were so bright I could barely see him, but I could hear him just fine. I took a few pictures at the start, but then set my camera aside to fully appreciate the beauty of the song. It suddenly occurred to me that this might be the last time I’d hear it for a long time. I even closed my eyes for a moment, letting Marko’s voice carry me. He once told me how much he loves singing this song and it shows. When it ended, all I could do was breathe a deep sigh. “Wish I had the power to make you stay…”

Ollie started playing the next song and my head was like “That’s not ‘Temple of Thought'”. A moment later I realized they were playing ‘Late Goodbye’. I certainly had not expected that one. 🙂 It was never one of my favorites, but right then and there it could not have been more perfect. After all, it was the last show of a long tour. All of us sang the chorus and once again we proved that Poets of the Fall fans are not exactly great singers. Marko gave us a thumbs up though, must have been for enthusiasm, not for beauty. 😉 Ollie’s solo in the end was brilliant. Jaska watched him for a while, then took over, with Ollie watching. They played together perfectly, passing the solo back and forth. In the end, Marko grabbed a towel to fan them with it.

‘Temple of Thought’ included singing lines to Ollie as well as Captain. It always makes me smile when Marko does that. As he walked over to Ollie his mic stand started swinging and fell towards the audience. He could not reach it in time, but A., who stood there, reached out and caught it elegantly. Marko pointed and smiled at her before moving on. ‘Rogue’ was absolutely brilliant that night. Captain started by first wiping off his keyboards and then his hands with a towel, then all of the guys got really into their playing, showing us amazing solos while still giving each other room to shine. It is lovely to see how much they appreciate each other’s skills. 🙂

The stage went dark, creating the right atmosphere for ‘Drama for Life’. Bright lights flared up in tune with everyone on stage clapping in rhythm. Wait, clap twice, wait. This time around, everyone in the room repeated it. I looked at each one of the guys, noting how the clap differently, but still in perfect unison. Ollie with his fingers pointing every time his arms are outstretched or Captain almost as if he was getting ready to pray. Marko had brought a rose that he was slowly taking apart while he sang, leaving the petals everywhere.

After an amazing version of ‘Everything Fades’ came the third surprise song of the night, ‘The Child in me’. It was fun to have that back on the set, not only because Marko revived the dance routine he had been doing during the Germany tour. 😀 Ollie was showing us a couple of dance moves as well and the whole song felt very relaxed. After that, ‘Locking up the Sun’ was one hell of a power surge. At the start Marko yelled “Captaaaain!” and then everyone just went nuts! 😀 Jaska stood by the side of the drums and drummed together with Jari, both with two sticks, looking at each other while doing it. Then time stood still for a little bit at the beginning of ‘Carnival of Rust’ as Jani and Marko remained in mannequin pose. The song was a beautiful end to the main set.

A few moments later they were back for ‘War’ with Jani running to his spot while the others had already started playing. I can never get over how beautiful that song is. <3 ‘Lift’ started and we all enjoyed rocking out. Even Captain was jumping up and down! Of course we sang along, yelled and jumped for most of the song. All through the night the band had given their best, leaving me with my mouth hanging open in wonder at times. It showed how much they were enjoying the show. Marko thanked us all and told us they had one more song for us. ‘Children of the Sun’ is still the perfect end of the show song for me. Most of us in front row joined hands for a while, swaying with the music. I felt at home among my family and did not want to let go. My hear was content and looking into the smiling faces on stage made me smile in return. 🙂 As  the song ended, Marko turned towards S. and me, smiled and mouthed “Thank you”. <3 Captain and Ollie bowed to each other, they all stood together saying goodbye, taking a bow for the last time this tour.

It was such an amazing show, I still find it hard to put my feelings into words. Trying to describe everything that happened I realize that it is impossible to capture what it felt like to be there and share this with my tour family and my band. You just had to be part of it to understand. We gathered our circle of friends, hugged, smiled, were speechless. Some of us went home, others went out, reminiscing about the night and the tour behind us. All that’s left to say is thank you to Poets of the Fall and everyone who shared this with me. Now we all go home to our respective lives, eagerly counting down the days until the next concert. I love you, see you soon!

Setlist

Shadow Play
Daze
Dreaming Wide Awake
Diamonds 4 Tears
The Game
Stay
The Labyrinth
Late Goodbye
Temple of Thought
Rogue
Drama for Life
Everything fades
The Child in me
Locking up the sun
Carnival of Rust

War
Lift
Children of the Sun

pictures of this concert

Clearview Finland tour: 15 gigs down, none to go. Final stop: home