Poets of the Fall – Barba Negra, Budapest, October 9th, 2022
I haven’t really slept since the alarm clock brutally ripped me out of a dream yesterday morning and I can feel it in every bone of my body. Yet, the happy-goofy grin on my face has not left me since last night and once again I’m struggling to put all my feeling’s into words. Budapest saw the last show of Poets of the Fall’s EU tour and it was an absolute kicker. As if they had decided to make my 250th show extra special.
After celebrating the concert in Graz with a few cocktails i did not want to get out of bed the next morning and stumbled towards A.’s Hotel rather tired and just a little bit grumpy, because I had not had any caffeine yet. It wasn’t even 8 am yet and I was far from awake. We were on a mission though and this mission required a few supplies we needed to buy at the station before catching our train to Budapest.
Once on the train, after a nap and the first coke zero of the day, we made plans… need to rewind to the previous day at this point, because it really started with Marko’s tour diary from Graz. The previous afternoon we had laughed out loud while reading the story about their hotel listing the band as “Bob’s Fall”. Over drinks that need, the idea was born that we needed to make some joke about it. T-shirts? Too short notice to organize. A banner maybe? We had paper, so we bought a pen and some Scotch tape… now, on said train, we only needed to decide what we wanted to write on it. We settled for “We ❤️ you Bob’s Fall!” It didn’t end there though. A. had a stuffed animal dragon she wanted to gift to Marko and between giggle fits and mind’s spinning into overdrive on how it should be delivered, it somehow occurred to us that the dragon’s name was Bob.
Some 5 hours later we arrived in Budapst, speed walked to our hotel, got ready and finalized our plans. I wrote the banner, while A. made a paper necklace for Bob with its name on. We gathered our stuff and took a taxi to the venue, surprised to find only two people in front of us when we arrived – J. and her friend. That was a good start. It was a long wait and a little chaotic at times, because it wasn’t 100% clear where the entrance was. I feared that people who had come much later might be able to jump the queue, but somehow it all worked out and even though we were not the first people through the gate, A. an I were the first ones in the venue and thus, front row center. We could not believe our luck and wondered how that had happened.
It was the perfect spot for the show, the stage was a good size and a good height and the venue a lot bigger than the previous too. We had read somewhere that the capacity was 1000. I can’t guess crowd sizes so I have no idea if that was true, but I know that the place filled up quickly and there were a lot of people. It was getting hard to keep the excitement at bay.
Both Bob and our banner were still safely stowed away in a tote bag, because first we were going to the final show of Tom Lumley and the Brave Liason on this tour. We were excited to see them again and a little sad that it was going to be the last time.
When Edwin Starr’s ‘War’ started playing over the speakers, we knew this was the signal for the show to start. As they walked on stage we cheered them on, happy to see them. With the first lines of ‘Modern Age’ I knew this was going to be great, because the sound was so much better than at the two previous gigs. Yes! Doing my best to sing along, I was already smiling. The band’s energy is so contagious, it is impossible not to move along to the music and enjoy being there.
Jake and Billy where moving all over the stage, while Johnny kept a strong and steady beat in the background and Tom snag his heart out. All of them were smiling ear to ear as well, happy to be there. It was a powerful start and the audience rewarded them wit cheers. Tom thanked us for coming early and noted that this was beyond all expectations to play in front of so many people.
After ‘Anchor’, Johnny took off his T-shirt and it must have been hot, because Jake did the same. 😀 The previous night he had told us he was planning to spend the last bit of energy he had left at this concert and he looked intent on doing just that, never stopped moving. Before the show, A. and I had joked that we expected him to crawl off the stage once the show was over.
For ‘Shrink’ Tom noted that “some people at the front” might know the song already and gave us a big smile that we returned right away. While they were playing to and with each other, I watched their photographer, Sam, walking around between them, always trying to capture the best moments. He does a great job, his pictures and videos always letting me relive the essence of the gigs.
It was such a great show and I tried to follow each one of them with my eyes, trying to capture some good moments with my camera as well. From time to time A. and I looked at each other, nodding and smiling in complete agreement that the night was going great already. I moved in tune with the music, air drummed, clapped and had so much fun that their set just flew by and suddenly they were playing ‘Crawling’ already. They thanked us again, smiled, waved and left. I was already hoping to see them again.
Setlist
Modern Age
Anchor
Shrink
No Trust
Comedown
Say Nothing
Fake Friends
Crawling
While everyone was busy clearing the stage and setting up for Poets, we got out our banner and taped it to the barrier. Tom saw it and gave us a thumbs up. The people around us were smiling too. Only Glen was so focussed on his work, he did not notice anything. we made bets on who was going to see the banner first and I said Ollie or Jani, while A. had no doubt it was going to be Ollie. Soon we would find out.
When the intro started I tried hard not to get too excited, because if my expectations are too high I often get disappointed. However, the moment Ollie walked on stage, he saw the banner, pointed at it and laughed. A. looked at me with a wide grin – she was right. Bob the dragon was safely tucked away in her T-Shirt at her shoulder, ready to be handed over when the moment was right.
We cheered for everyone when they arrived on stage and Marko pointed the mic to us and urged us to get louder. we did! 😀 Already during ‘Requiem for my Harlequin’ A. and I started jumping and I was already lost in the music. It’s funny, how I can be completely into the show and still manage to watch out for the moments I ant to capture with my camera, just as if there were two of me, one enjoying the music and one looking for the best angles. Sometimes it feels a bit dissociated, but on the best of nights I do it unconsciously and it works. This was one of those. I captured Marko, playing air guitar on the mic stand and doing a version of river dance, Jani, raising the bass high up above his head, Ollie flying off the keyboard raiser and much more.
After two songs of dancing and jumping while singing out the lyrics as loud as I could, I was grateful for a break, sang along more quietly to ‘Temple of Thought’ and waved my arms during the chorus. Marko crouched down in front of us, singing to us and the people to our left and right. It was a nice moments. Soon, the song was over and he made room for the others to play ‘Rogue’. Jani, hand outstretched, commanding us with his fingers to cheer louder, Ollie and Jaska playing right in front of us so I watched in awe as their fingers danced across the strings, Captain, leaning back, playing the keyboard one handed, while the other was up in the air and Tuomas, delivering some amazing beats.
Eventually, Jani and Jaska noticed the banner and smiled, but I cannot remember when that happened. When ‘Firedancer’ started, I remembered A. telling me that Marko always sings to her during that song and I knew this was the time Bob would be handed over. First, Marko was playing and imaginary fute though and admiring Jaska’s guitar skills from up close. I cheered when Jaska raised the guitar above his head and kept on playing. Woohoo! Eventually, Marko was crouching down in front of us, A. waved Bob in his general direction, stretched and he accepted the gift, holding Bob high up in the air and then examining them closely before tucking them away in his T-Shirt, resting against his neck. It looked like Bob was very cozy. At the end of the song Marko sang to them before setting them down on the drum raiser with a good view of the crowd.
It felt like everyone was jumping up and down for ‘My Dark Disquiet’ while we watched Ollie and Jaska play together and Marko dragging Jani all across the stage by the bass strap. As always I yelled out the “we’re false kings and bastards” line and watched as Ollie sang the same. Him, Jaska and Jani stood in a half circle, played for a while and then did a fist bump, explosion motion at the center, ending with their hands high in the air. Moments later, Ollie stood with one foot on each raiser and Jaska was playing with Tuomas, turned towards him. I watched Jani and Marko crouching down with their heads together while still playing and singing. <3
‘Sounds of yesterday’ was truly beautiful and at the part when Marko sings a really strong note, while moving the mic away from his mouth and upward I happened to look over at Glen and saw him do the same, just silently. It totally cracked me up, but I wasn’t fast enough to take a picture. 😀 At the end of the song, Marko took another look at Bob and only then saw the name neclace. His face lit up in a bright smile when he saw it. <3 We watched Ollie play an amazing solo and Marko giving him a thumbs up.
It was party time with ‘Choice Millionaire’ and I jumped together with the guys. Every time I see them do that I consider turning in a circle while jumping as they dod, but I’m too afraid of getting dizzy or jumping on someone’s feet. 😀 Marko picked up Bob again and told us “Me and my new friend Bob want to let you know that Bob’s Fall have a new album out. It’s called Ghostlight. Have you heard of it?” I laughed so much, I could not cheer anymore . The song was just perfect, especially when Marko sang “You still light up my soul” to us – yes, you do light up my sould and I am forever grateful for it. It ended with Ollie’s solo and Jani crouching down in front of him, looking up admiringly. Meanwhile, Marko lay down on the other side of the stage only to roll over and crawl towards them to sit on Ollie’s other side. <3
I completely forgot to pay any attention to Captain until I saw him sitting on the keyboard raiser for the beginning of ‘Stay forever’, enjoying a rare break and having a drink of water. Soon he had to get up again and move behind the keyboard, thus making room for Ollie, Jani, Marko and Jaska to sit down. At one point they were laughing at a joke none of us got and I saw Jani posing for Glen. Later they all got up again and Marko walked around, watching Jaska and Tuomas play from up close. We sang along to “it’s the little things that make the world” and this was one of the nights where I really felt that line.
They thanked us and walked off stage, only to come back soon for ‘The Sweet Escape’, starting with Tuomas and Jani, who decided to sit down on the bass drum. I saw Billy watching from side stage and when Marko asked everyone to switch on our phone lights, he did it too. <3 During the song, Ollie took off his tie and threw it at Glen, who proceeded to tie it around his head and practice some karate chops. It really made me laugh and immediately wondered if he favored Cobra Kai or Miyagi Do. 😀 I also thought it must be really hot, because in all these years I have never seen Ollie take off his tie.
During ‘Daze’ Ollie and Captain were plucking notes out of the air again and afterwards Ollie stood next to Tuomas and jumped off the drum raiser in the end. Wait, what? Wasn’t that a bit early? 😀 At some point Marko posed like a body builder showing off his muscles and I can also remember that some time suring the show Jaska was filming one of the others and someone else gave him rabbit ears, but can’t recall the details. 😀
Just before ‘Lift’, Marko finally saw our banner, pointed at it and laughed. I had thought he’d seen it long before, because he made the “Bob’s Fall” reference, but apparently dragon Bob was enough to trigger that. It was loads of fun to jump up and down during the song and before it ended, Jaska, Jani and MArko all crouched by Ollies side, admiring his guitar skills. Right after, everyone turned to Tuomas and pointed or bowed to him. Rightfully so, he sure has earned his place in this band by now! <3
The finale was ‘Carnival of Rust’ of course and I felt very emotional, because it was the last song on the last night of the tour. I was too happy to cry though and just watched and listened in awe. When it was over the guys bowed to us and Marko mouthed “thank you” to A. and me. The others gave us a smile and a wave too. We held up our banner, thinking they might grab it for the picture. Then Tuomas saw it and said “good one”. For the pic he held drum sticks between his fingers, looking like Wolverine. Great!
When they left we happily hugged each other. What a great show that was. Everything about it was perfect! Neither of us wanted to leave, but chances of all of the guys coming out were next to nothing. Either way, we wanted to go and say goodbye to Tom Lumley and the others, so we made our way to the merch. We ran into Billy first. He was rather emotional, very happy and hugged us right away. Awww! I had been hoping for hugs so this was great. We chatted for a while, then talked to the others as well, about the great tour, ending on a high note and hoping to see them again. In the end we got hugs from everyone and took pictures together. It was the perfect ay to say goodbye.
Before we left, we even got to talk to Jani and Tuomas briefly and thanked them for the show. It was amazing! We were so high on emotion, we didn’t even need a post gig drink and chatted through the night to unwind, recounting all the memories to cherish. Thank you A., for sharing these moments with me. I have missed this. Thank you, Poets of the Fall, thank you Tom Lumley and the Brave Liason. Thank you to the crew too. It was wonderful. I love you and we will meet again.
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: Nine gigs down, none to go. Last stop: home