Poets of the Fall – Mari’s Coffee, Anjala; March 25th, 2017
The last time Poets of the Fall played at Mari’s Coffee in Anjala in November 2014 I was busy touring elsewhere, so until very recently I did not really know what to expect. All I did know was that the place is in the middle of nowhere and that we were lucky to have S. as our driver. In Seinäjoki, P. Had told me the last gig there had been amazing and that the place had a certain magic that made all concerts special. The story the band told at the previous night’s meet & greet was a bit different. They basically told me to expect and audience comparable to the cruise gigs and how horribly remote the place was. However, when I mentioned I’d heard it was a good gig last time, they agreed that they had had fun after all. So there, I *still* had no idea what to expect. Turns out everything I had been told was true: It was in the middle of nowhere, the audience was comparably strange (i.e. super drunk and with no concept of personal space), but the gig was energetic and – hell yeah – a ton of fun!
With the previous night’s after party having lasted until 5 am, none of us looked the freshest at breakfast. E. pretty much summed it up as “You look really tired!” – felt that way too. We managed to rest a bit during the day, but never enough and the awesome food we had in Porvoo during a little sightseeing stop only made us more tired. Result: Everyone but S., our diver, fell asleep in the car on our way to Anjala. It was indeed in the middle of nowhere, but at least we could get some drinks and sit down before the gigs. H. Joined us soon after and the band arrived after we did. A clear sign we were too early. 😉 Once we were allowed to enter the venue, we immediately took the opportunity to sit down on the low stage. After all, we had almost three hours of waiting time ahead of us. People looked at us funny, which was amusing, because they had gotten there as early as we did, just chosen to sit down at tables. P. and a bit later T., S. and J. arrived, we all passed the time chatting and the place filled up. S. and I were looking for Jari, who had a gig with Anna Puu in Lahti before this one. Funnily enough he arrived about the same time as we joked there should be an announcement like “Jari has entered the building”. 😀
From the moment I knew it was not going to be long, my energy felt restored and I was ready to rock. As the intro started, I looked at my friends and smiled. We would make this a good one! From he first notes we partied at the front, singing to each other, dancing, screaming when asked to and copying all the moved. We had lots of fun and the guys apparently enjoyed seeing that. With the right people around you, any concert can be great. The band seemed unusually energetic that night, but maybe they were just high on too little sleep. Either way, they powered through their set as if they were not gonna be allowed to play again any time soon. 😀
With the low stage, no barrier and not even any boxes in front of it to keep the audience at a distance we were in for some close encounters with the band, some of them probably too close for their liking. This audience, especially the women were constantly reaching out for the guys, expecting them to shake their hands. Some of them, apparently with no respect for anyone’s personal space, were grabbing for and touching Marko so often it made me feel uncomfortable and I’m not talking about only his hands either. I truly admired him for staying calm and just going on with the show.
Strangely enough, the gig was fun nonetheless. The audience was energetic and loud so the band got good reactions throughout the show and didn’t have to guess if people liked it. 🙂 The guys were smiling and laughing a lot so on some level they must have enjoyed the craziness of it all and so did we. I remember reaching out for E. and holding her hand a few times, singing to her and she did it right back to me. All the tiredness we had felt during the day was gone and just loved being there. When I look at my pictures I can see we all had our gigfaces on. 🙂
As usual when I don’t get enough sleep, my memories are a bit hazy. One moment I do remember is being blinded by the stage lights and raising my hands to protect my eyes. S. next to me did the same. Jani noticed and moved over so he stood in front of the light and we were no longer blinded. <3 Towards the end of the show there was someone trying to squeeze to the front, blocking everyone’s view to take pictures with her phone. Ollie saw it and totally photobombed her pictures of Marko. 😀
I just love these guys. No matter where they play and no matter when, it is going to be good and they can win over any audience, bring life to every stage. It is part of their magic that they can transport their fans out of the room they are in into new spheres where happiness resides. From the first sound of any concert to the final note I am in a zone, living the moment. Sore, I do get distracted, but overall the time spent at a gig has its own dimensions somehow, its own rules. When it is over, I blink and find myself back on earth, taking in my surroundings, gathering my belongings. When I am with friends, I usually stammer a few words, often we hug and we always agree it was worth going there.
Of course we had loved it this time too. It was late so we said goodbye to some friends and headed to S.’s car for the long trip back to Helsinki. The road was dark, the clocks were set to summer time during the night and eventually the excited chatter died down and most of us fell asleep. When we finally got to our hotel, we hugged S. goodbye and went straight to bed. 3 short hours later I had to make my way to the airport and go home, leaving A., D. and E. behind until next time. See you soon!
Setlist
Shadow Play
Daze
Dreaming Wide Awake
Diamonds 4 Tears
The Game
The Labyrinth
Temple of Thought
Rogue
Drama for Life
Everything fades
Locking up the sun
Carnival of Rust
War
Lift
Children of the Sun
Clearview Finland tour: 10 gigs down, 5 to go. Next stop: Lahti