Poets of the Fall – Scala, London; May 8th, 2022
From their first ever show in London onwards, Poets of the Fall have always played a great concert there. In some places, they just unfold a special magic, a perfect connection with the audience. It can’t be put into words, but if you happen to be there, you can feel it in the air. London is one of these places and they delivered a brilliant show.
Compared to the other three gigs, where I had aimed for front row, this one was supposed to be more relaxed. I met up with L. and M. for a late lunch/early dinner, we chatted, we took a nice walk to the venue and had ic cream on the way. We knew Scala has balconies so we thought we’d stand on one of those. When we arrived at the venue there were maybe 40 people in front of us and we figured we’d easily get the spot we wanted. I was slightly worried, because I still had to pick up my ticket, but once I had talked to one of the security guys, I knew it was not going to be a problem. Tiia dropped by and said hello. It was nice hugging again, we had not seen each other in ages.
When they opened the doors I got really lucky. They checked our tickets as hey waved us forward and when I said “I have to pick mine up”, the guy waved me past the queue so I got in earlier then I should have. The venue was weird and winded and after many stairs I found myself in front row, waving L. and M. over as they came in. Wow, that was unexpected. We were on the far left, but we were at the front. Great start.
Time passed quickly and Tom Lumley & the Brave Liaison were on stage already. The previous night I had told the guitarist that I’d be in London, but probably in the back on a balcony and he’d said he’d look out for me. So when he saw me right in front of him he smiled broadly and I shrugged in response. I had so much fun watching the band. The were all over the place, stepping up to the barrier and on the stage monitors, having a great time and playing some great tunes too. I felt perfectly warmed up and ready for the main show afterwards.
Setlist
Modern Age
Anchor
Shrink
Haunted
Say nothing
Casual
Fake Friends
Crawling
The waiting time between bands passed quickly and once the intro started I had just as much fun watching L.’s face as watching the stage. She wore that smile you only wear when your favorite band is about to start playing and I felt the expression on her face reflected on mine. One moment, just before the band walks out and everyone starts screaming.
This was the second show in a row where I dared to be mask free and I have to admit it made things much more enjoyable. ‘Requiem for my Harlequin’ was the perfect start and so many people were singing along. We also did the screaming very well. It was already a good show. 😀 “Oh London, we missed you! Did you miss us?” Marko exclaimed, before they launched into ‘Dreaming wide awake’. While singing along, I tried to capture Ollie’s jump, but somehow there was always someone in the way. 😉
During ‘Temple of Thought’ Marko turned to me and made sure he sang a few lines to me. ❤️ He was singing at people a lot in general and stepped up to the barrier a few times too. The people at the center had him in their faces a lot. 😉 He and Jani were also flirting with any camera around, but especially with Tiia’s. At one point Jani moved rally close to her lens and then she showed him the pic while I captured that moments.
During ‘Rogue’, Marko left the stage as usual and everyone else got their chance to shine. For once, I could see Captain too and he wasn’t hidden in artificial for. Only Jari remained barricaded behind his cymbals until the very end of the show. The guys rocked the house all evening, making us jump and dance and clap and cheer.
The entertained us with great solos and amazing songs in general. i can’t remember details of each song this time, but I know it all felt right and good and was so much fun. I did all the moves and watched for all their gestures. There was also a lot of love shown among them with hugs and touches of the shoulder and other signs of appreciation. ❤️
I loved every song, loved watching their interactions and laughed at their silliness. They were in a great mood and it carried over to the audience, who had a great time in turn. Sparks flew, magic happened and time and space were forgotten for a while. Whenever Marko asked us how we were feeling, we cheered loudly in response, reacted to every sign the band gave us. There was good energy all around.
During ‘My Dark Disquiet’, Marko went out into the crowd to sing. On the way back, Glen came to help him, but he only handed him the mic. The best part was the look on the face of the security guy, who really didn’t like these shenanigans. 😀 W also got to see Captain and Ollie “catching notes” as they do, Jaska and Ollie playing brilliant solos and lots of jumping and dancing on stage.
As always during a good show, it was over way too soon. How had we already arrived at the encores? How were we already taking a pictures with them. When they all bowed and waved to us at the end, Jari was really enjoying the moment in the spotlight, after being hidden all night. It was one great show.
Ever since Dublin, Glen had handed out the setlists to the audience after the band had left and every time he had passed me by. After Nottingham I jokingly complained about it on Instagram asking if he would ever give me one. This night, he gave the one right in front of me to someone else, but then went back to the mixing desk and brought me a signed setlist. “To Steffi with ❤️” Jani had written on top. I was floored, had never expected that. These guys… *heart melts* – I went and gave Glen a hug.
I stayed for a long time after and luckily the security guys allowed it. When there were about 15 people left, most of the band came out and said hello. I chatted with Ollie and Captain for a while, hugging both. Ollie mentioned that things felt only OK after I had shown up without a mask and we a greed it was all very familiar and very strange at the same time. Captain was looking forward to getting some rest after the tour. I said hello to Jani too and hugged him as well. What a great ending to a great tour.
Setlist
Requiem for my Harlequin
Dreaming wide awake
Temple of Thought
Rogue
Firedancer
My Dark Disquiet
Sounds of yesterday
Choice Millionaire
Chasing Echoes
Stay forever
The Sweet Escape
Daze
Lift
Carnival of Rust
Ghostlight spring tour – four gigs down, one to go. Next stop: Lahti