Poets of the Fall – Finnlandia Klubi, Lahti; May 20th, 2022
The Poets of the Fall concert in Lahti was the first one they played in Finland since a one off show somewhere in summer 2020 so it had been a long time for the Finnish audiences. It was a great comeback show and I am glad I got the chance to see it.
Since the concert in Helsinki, the following week was not possible for me, I decided to go to Lahti instead. It was going to be a short stay as it was my mom’s birthday weekend, but it was doable. I started early and flew from Berlin, landing in Helsinki at 4 pm. 2 hours and 15 minutes later I stood in line in Lahti with only two people ahead of me. Compared to the UK, people arrived late here and apart from H., S. and I. I hardly saw anyone who looked familiar. It was strange, especially for a full house. Once I was at the front I forgot all about that though. I had the perfect spot and knew it would be fun.
By Finnish standards the gig started early, i.e. at 9 pm and there was no support act so we would not have to wait long. I felt the excitement in the room – it had been too long since they played here. everyone cheered when the lights went down and the intro put a big smile on my face. I always love these moments when they walk out one by one and make us wait just a little bit longer before the show really kicks off. With ‘Requiem for my Harlequin’ as the first song, it feels especially dramatic. Each one of them celebrated his moment of being cheered on and of course Marko had to turn the mic our way and make us cheer some more before he started singing. 😉 Some of us were even clapping along. Great start! The sing-along worked well too and already I could not stop smiling.
Marko greeted us and he might or might not have asked us if this felt like dreaming – it sure did. More clapping along happened and I watched Ollie, waiting for him to jump high. Funnily enough, Jaska showed him where he should land, as soon as he stood on the drum raiser, getting ready. He pretty much hit the right spot too. 😀 Everyone looked like they were having a great time.
Details of this show are a blur in my head, but I know that it felt great to see the guys on their home turf again and that they showed their appreciation for each other and were hugging a lot. I heard great solos, saw a lot of pointing, showing us, whom we should watch and all those little interactions among the band that make the show more fun.
All the songs sounded great and time went by super fast without me even noticing it. By now I could sing along better to the new songs and everything fell into place. This was just the right setlist and there was a perfect balance between slow and fast, loud singing along, jumping, dancing and just listening while getting lost in the sound.
At one point or another I exchanged looks with the guys and had to laugh when Marko closed his eyes during ‘Lift’ and then opened one of them to check if I was doing the “on and on and on” move – of course I did! It was a fun show throughout and I remember laughing a lot too, but don’t recall why specifically. I needed to get used to not understanding anything again. All my Finnish seems to have disappeared and I could only guess. It has never mattered though, it’s all part of the game.
Much too soon it was over already and I felt a bit dazed indeed – how? The show left me elated and I am already counting down to the next one, even though it is a few months away. Afterwards I had a nice chat with H. and, since we wer at the harbor, got a lovely sunset before heading back to my hotel. It was a great night!
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 – five gigs down, none to go. Next stop: home