Poets of the Fall – Markthalle, Hamburg; September 8th, 2022
What an amazing show that was, Poets of the Fall started the second part of their European tour with. They looked so happy and relaxed, sounded great and everyone had a ton of fun. It was a great audience too, happy and loud with great vibes flowing back between us and the stage all night. Wow, this one is going to be hard to beat.
As expected, my trip to Hamburg did not go smoothly. The trains are always delayed that way, but I didn’t expect having to change trains three times and arriving an hour later than planned. On top of it all it was raining heavily – much needed, but still uncomfortable. When I finally got to my hotel I had to change rooms too, but eventually made it to the venue to meet up with A. and G. who had gotten there before me. When I arrived, they already had opened the main door and let us wait inside. 🙂
Said hello to a few people, waited and finally got in smoothly. We even scored a front row spot on Ollie’s side, which was a little elevated due to stairs – perfect overview from there. I already had a good feeling about it. A. and I had both seen shows on this tour already, so G. was even more excited than we were and the waiting time wasn’t long either.
Support act Bomber from Sweden looked like they had time traveled from the 80ies. I immediately liked their outfits and the music was alright too. Not fully my taste, but alright and they were fun to watch, getting us to clap along and playing their hearts out. I thought it was a good start.
As we watched the crew changing the stage, the excitement grew and looking around we realized that the venue had filled up nicely. We listened to the music played over the speakers and smiled at each other: Soon!
it had been dark for a bit when finally the music stopped and the stage lights went on. We screamed and I immediately realized how loud this audience was. Yeah! We cheered for each of the guys as they walked out and when Marko turned the mic in our direction we didn’t hold back. What a great start that was.
‘Requiem for my Harlequin’ opened the show and I happily realized that I know most of the words now. Since both Marko and Ollie checked if I was singing along, that was a good thing. 😉 Ollie had spotted us right away and shot a big smile in or direction. He was clearly happy to see us. With ‘Dreaming wide awake’ I was jumping already and of course I watched Ollie standing on the drum raiser, waiting for him to fly high into the air. This time around, Jani jumped with him. 😀
Jaska, stylish with golden MC Hammer pants, sat down in front of the drums and for a brief moment I had no idea which song was next. Then I heard the unmistakable riff of ‘Temple of Thought’. It still puts a big smile on my face every time. I just love that song and loved how everyone sang along and waves their arms for the chorus.
The guys were goofing around quite a lot that night, teased and hugged each other, posed for Glen and generally were in a great mood. At one point, somewhere in the second half of the show I was watching Captain lost in the music and suddenly noticed that the security guys by the stage rushed to the center. I turned and saw that Marko had stepped off the stage to be closer to the crowd. 😀
‘Rogue’ rocked with Jani getting us all to clap along and everyone waiting until he was satisfied with the noise we made. 😀 They played two and for each other as well as us, giving everyone space. This respect for each other is one of the things I really love about this band. As much as some of them enjoy getting all the attention, they still appreciate each others contribution to the whole and that makes it even better.
I was over the moon already, because everything about this concert felt right. Just seeing the guys on stage made me so happy and everyone else in the audience seemed to feel the same. We were loud and proved it again when Marko came back for ‘Firedancer’. This was the point when I realized they had not changed the setlist since May. No complaints, the selection is a great one that gives a perfect overview of the new album.
‘My Dark Disquiet’ kicked things up a notch and I was jumping and dancing like everyone else, already soaked with sweat. I looked over at A., singing some of the lyrics together before turning back to the stage, asking “Can I get a ride with you?” They were sure taking is on a ride that day and it was a good one. Since we were standing on te same level as hey were, it was easy to make eye contact and it felt like Ollie was playing just for us most of the night.
Jani was especially going wild, from taking Ollie’s tie in his mouth to crawling through Captain’s legs. At one point he stepped of the stage, stepped towards me and tussled my hair. So I tussled his too. 😀
‘Sounds of yesterday’ was beautiful and gave me a chance to breathe and listen before dancing again for ‘Choice Millionaire’. Of course Glen had to join the guys on stage for the arms up and down movement they always do. ‘Chasing Echoes’ was a highlight once again. Of the songs they play from the new album, this one is my favorite by far. It really speaks to me.
Already, we had arrived at ‘Stay forever’ and the end of the main set. Where did time go? We definitely wanted them to stay and once they walked off stage we did not stop screaming for more. They did not make us wait for long either and we cheered even louder when they returned. It was perfect. Some of them even took out their in ear monitors, satisfied with what they heard.
With ‘The Sweet Escape’, the whole venue lit up in lights from our phones. It truly looked like stars. During the guitar solo, Marko sat on the speaker on the far side of the stage, smiling and watching. I had a great view of Tuomas all night and he looked like he was having fun. From time to time, the others visited him and played on the drum raiser.
‘Daze’ had me moving again, while still trying to take pictures. From my vantage point I could take in the whole stage so there was always something I wanted to captured, from Ollie and Captain catching notes out of the ait to Glen running around with a camera.
With ‘Lift’ we did all the movements and for “on and on and on” Marko pointed at me just before like saying “You do it!” Of curse I did. Ollie checked if I was jumping for the chorus and gave me a big smile when I did. I never get tired of it. 🙂 Too soon, Glen handed Ollie the acoustic guitar and ‘Carnival of Rust’ started. One last sing-along for all of us, then a final pictures with the guys and it was over. What and amazing show!
G., A. and I were all a bit stunned and very happy with what we had just witnessed. It might have been the best one so far this year. 😀 Elated, we stayed in front of he stage a bit longer, saying hello to a few people until they kicked us out. Near the merch we met Jani and took pictures with him. He was in a great mood and decided to give me a new hairdo.
Soon, G. left so A. and I found a bar to have drink before returning to our hotels. It was just the right end for a wonderful night and only the start of a four day tour. See you tomorrow.
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 fall tour: One gig down, eight to go. Next stop: Berlin