Poets of the Fall – Galery Music Bar, Pratteln; October 4th, 2013
Poets of the Falls first ever concert in Switzerland seemed to be a bit ill-fated in the beginning with somewhat chaotic organization, but all worked out fine in the end. No matter how crazy things might have been, the guys delivered a solid show and I don’t think anyone was disappointed or unhappy when it was over.
I arrived in Switzerland the day before the show and stayed with my friend C. She was really nervous about the entire thing, as if she alone carried the responsibility for the concert to be successful. A last minute change of venue did not make things better and watching the pledger’s download of the DVD did not help matters either – all we could do was wait and see.
The following day started with a good breakfast. We picked up B. from the train station and then went to get a custom made cake C. had ordered for the guys. It looked stunning. On to Pratteln we went, having a hard time to find the venue. When we finally did we were still the first people there. Luckily they had food so we could have some dinner while waiting.
Time went by slowly, a few more people arrived. Finally, around 6:45 pm I think, Nina (POTF’s tour manager) came to pick us up and led us inside. There was a sofa and some seats for us. We got drinks too. We got comfortable and soon the guys arrived. Two women jumped up right away to hug Marko. People spread out, talked to the guys. It was all very relaxed – there were only 15 of us. The guys took their time, chatted, and took pictures. Most of us even got a picture with the full band. 🙂 I enjoyed being there and chatted with whoever was not busy. Hugged all the guys as well. <3
After the meet and greet we had to leave again because for some odd reason the guys were not allowed to soundcheck before 7 pm and still needed to do that. However, Nina made sure we were the first back inside the venue once the doors opened for real. We had a nice spot in front row, now all we needed to do was wait. It wasn’t sold out, but the place was nicely filled. I wondered what the new setlist would be like. After a private gig a few weeks earlier I knew that ‘Show me this life’ was on it and already looked forward to hearing it live. Had my photopass too and my camera was ready.
The wait was over, the intro started, they guys walked on stage one by one – this was the moment of truth. I felt excitement in the air around me. For many, this was the first Poets of the Fall show ever and some of them had been waiting for years to see them live. With over 90 shows under my belt I should have been calm, but I wasn’t. There is something special about the first concert in a new country. If things go well, lasting bonds are forged with the audience. So far, this had always been the case and I had no doubts the guys would do it again. I was nervous for them (or with them) until I saw them do what they do best: take over the audience. It worked like a charm. 🙂
The first song was ‘Dreaming wide awake’ and the lights were a bit bright for my liking, but the sounds was great. I heard everything clearly. They continued rocking the house with ‘Show me this life’ and it was so much better than the crappy youTube video I saw. Ever since the album came out I had known this one would be an amazing live song and I was right. Two slower songs followed with ‘Cradled in Love’ and ‘Temple of Though’ before the show shifted gears again with ‘Kamikaze Love’.
To my surprise, Marko left stage after that and the remaining guys played an instrumental piece. Later we learned from Facebook that it is called ‘Rogue’ – it truly rocked and gave everyone on stage the chance to show their skills. Awesome! <3 They continued rocking and everyone looked quite comfortable with the concert. Somewhere in all of this I remember Marko being his usually crazy self, spraying water at everyone, lifting up his shirt and shaking hands with the audience. After ‘Diamonds for tears’ he asked us to scream for him which we did. Then he wanted everyone to be quiet. Into the silence he whispered “The Distance”. It marked my personal highlight of this show, I had long been hoping for this song. As usual ‘Late goodbye’ ended the main set and I wondered where the time had gone. It felt as if merely five minutes had passed since they started.
They came back out for an acoustic set that started with just Ollie and Marko playing ‘Desire’ – not one of my favorite songs, but it worked quite well. Jani and Jaska joined them for the next song, but first Jaska brought a bowl of popcorn, offering some to Marko while Jani was eating an apple. A brief memory of April struck me, thinking of Daniel Gildenlöw offering chips to the audience. ‘Sorry go round’ was next. The bossa nova version no less, which is always fun.
Everyone was back on stage for the finale with ‘Running out of time’, ‘Carnival of Rust’ and ‘Lift’. I always love and dread the last songs of the show. I love it because it’s a huge burst of energy from everyone and a (last) chance to rock and dance along with the guys. I dread it, because I know that after ‘Lift’ invariably the show will be over and the world will start turning again. Only memories remain, but as usual they are good ones: Bits and pieces of lyrics, shared looks, Ollie’s bright smile, a good show.
Afterwards we chatted happily, learned from Petri that the “Delicious” – T-Shirt is “not pink, it’s fuchsia!”, found out via Twitter that the guys enjoyed the cake and generally just soaked up the good mood and energy still left in the room long after the guys were gone. It may not have been the world’s most perfect gig when it comes to organization, but it sure was a good start of the tour. 🙂
Dreaming Wide Awake
Show Me This Life
Cradled In Love
Temple Of Thought
Kamikaze Love
Rogue
Locking Up The Sun
Illusion & Dream
Diamonds For Tears
The Distance
Late Goodbye
unplugged
Desire
Sorry Go ‘Round – bossa nova style
Running Out Of Time
Carnival Of Rust
Lift
Poets of the Fall Switzerland/Austria/Germany tour: 1 gig down, 9 to go. Next stop: Vienna