Poets of the Fall – Pressa, Helsinki; February 27th, 2016
The second Poets of the Fall gig of the year took me to another familiar place. Pressa is not my favorite club in Helsinki, but the concerts there are usually fun. I was counting on the guys to still be high on energy from the previous night and I was right. The gig was great, the audience was in a good mood and despite things not always running smoothly, everyone had fun.
This was going to be my 6th concert at Pressa and I was looking forward to the usual hanging out at the lobby with my friends while we waited for the concert time to come around. However, I was in for a bit of a shock when I arrived: The hotel was being renovated and looked completely different – the most notable difference being that the entrance to the club was gone. I immediately knew that meant using the outside entrance instead and C. confirmed that when she checked in. So no comfortably walking to the gig in our T-shirts, but standing outside in the cold instead. *shudder*
We made the best of it and gathered in the lobby anyway, checking the door from time to time to see if we had to line up yet. It was nice, we met some new people and some familiar once, had a brief chat with Ollie when he arrived and finally got in line around 8:45 in the evening. Not too bad, only an hour and 15 minutes to wait. Time passed quickly, but we were all happy to get back inside where it was warm. More waiting as usual. The music played by the DJ was pretty good though and time passed quickly once again.
Just after midnight the show started with the guys walking out one by one. I can only repeat how much I love the new intro. It totally rocks and got everyone in a good mood right away. ‘Miss Impossible’ and ‘Locking up the sun’ was such a great concert kick off it had me dancing and jumping from the start. As opposed to the previous day, I had enough room for that too. 🙂
The sound was great, but they had technical problems twice with the sound completely cut off. Kudos to Marko for singing so loudly I could still hear him. The second time around it wasn’t so noticeable, because it happened just when the audience was supposed to sing (and we did too). Before our line was done, the power was back. The guys didn’t make a big deal of it, the show simply went on, but I would have wished for them to have an uninterrupted gig.
None of this spoiled the fun though. A usual the and was all over the stage, teasing each other, watching each other and playing together. Marko leaned out into the audience many times, singing with us, at one point picked up my friend I.’s purse (a black magic book) and showed it around with a sinister smile. Funny! The audience wasn’t as loud as in Tampere the previous night, but they clearly enjoyed the gig. So did I, singing, jumping, dancing and in-between watching Ollie, Jani and Jaska whenever they played right in front of me.
The whole show was full of energy and good vibes, I never wanted it to end and kept looking at C. with a big smile on my face. She smiled right back – this was heaven for both of us. Most details of the night escape me already, but I am left with an overwhelming feeling of joy and the knowledge that it was worth the trip to Finland. Poets of the Fall never cease to amaze me and no matter which mood I am in at the beginning of the concert, they always make me smile. It’s going to be a while before I get to see them live again, but I am already looking forward to it. 😀
C. and I stayed at the bar for a long time, having drinks and talking in to the night. Due to an early flight I didn’t have a hotel and she was so kind to keep me company. <3 Thus, the two gig weekend ended as it had started: with good conversations and hugs. Hope we’ll meet again soon, I miss you already!
Setlist (to the best of my memory, out of order)
Miss Impossible
Locking up the Sun
Temple of Thought
Sorry go Round
Rumors
Rogue
Diamonds 4 Tears
Dreaming wide awake
Given and Denied
Jealous Gods
Stay
Daze
Late Goodbye
Carnival of Rust
Lift
Illusion & Dream