Getting lost singing their song

Poets of the Fall – Circus, Helsinki; April 21st, 2018

For the second year in a row, fans from all over the world were traveling to Helsinki in April to see Poets of the Fall. The Helsinki spring concert was one big fan meeting and as I had hoped it was a bunch of fun before, during and after the gig. 🙂 It was a long wait, but time went by faster among friends and we were much rewarded with an amazing concert and a band in a great mood. We even got a little something extra compared to the other concerts this year. They sure know how to please a crowd. 😀

I’d arrived in Helsinki the day before the concert, relaxing and seeing another gig. Stayed with my friends K. and K., slept late, met A. for late lunch and moved on to the venue where a handful of people were already in line. Said hello to everyone I knew, sat down on the stairs and waited. It as nice seeing everyone and having a chat, the weather was warmer than expected and time went by surprisingly quickly. Still, I wish it didn’t involve so much waiting. *sigh* Eventually more people showed up, many familiar ones among them. eventually they opened the doors and we rushed in, settled down for the next two hours. Watching the stage I noticed two new raisers – one on the left and one on the right side. Were they getting tired of everyone standing on the speakers and stage monitors all the time? 😉 It all looked good, including the lights that were being tested as we waited. Finally I was getting excited and looking forward to the show.

Time went by surprisingly quick. We had just been talking about the intro when the pre gig music stopped and the show started. It was brilliant and the audience screamed loudly to greet the band as they walked on stage. The excitement was palpable. Quite a few people had not seen them in a while or never before. 😀 For me it was concert number 195 and I still felt as happy the moment the guys walked on stage as I did all these years ago when I first saw them. They instantly put a big smile on my face and the moment Marko started singing I was singing along, forgetting everything else, living the songs. 🙂 It always amazes me how easily their songs take on new meanings, depending on the situation I am in. The different layers of meaning may be the one thing I love most about Poets of the Fall. <3

The setlist pretty much stayed as it has been for most of the tour, but as it so often happens in Helsinki the band had a few surprises in store for us. On Facebook they had a vote for us to choose among four songs, but since all of them had been in the set until recently, it didn’t matter to me which one of them they played. All of those would have been nice. 😉 Anyway, ‘Temple of Thought’ was the one most voted for and Marko announced it just like that. It was lovely too and fit in well between ‘Shallow’ and ‘Rogue’. The bigger surprise came after though, when ‘The beautiful Ones’ made a reappearance. I was sure they had kicked it off for good and ere it was back again as beautiful as ever. I even managed to record it this time, getting more than a big blob of white light. 😀 That song is such a hidden treasure, I’m happy this tour has brought it to the light for a while. <3

Overall the guys were happy, silly and lost in the music. I had so much fun looking out for all the little things that happened and time and time again A. and I turned to each other smiling when we had just witnessed something cute or funny. There were Ollie and Captain, looking at each other and waving their hands together. I can’t really describe it, but it looked funny. Sort of like they were weaving the air together. There was Marko, walking over to Jaska and casually tickling him under the chin. There was Jani, visiting Jari behind the drums and checking out Jaska’s guitar – for a moment I even thought he might take a bite. 😀

The sound was not great in the beginning, but luckily it improved soon. At least were I stood all the instruments seemed well balanced and I could hear Marko quite clearly too. He even switched language from time to time and spoke English, mostly for S. benefit. 🙂 It was a sweet gesture.

I can’t remember much related to certain songs, but I know that at the beginning of ‘False Kings’ someone threw a flower on stage of the same kind that were used in the ‘Dreaming wide awake’ video. Marko picked it up and took it apart with glee, gathering the petals in one hand and blowing them towards Ollie during a solo. 😀 Later on the damaged flower ended up as decoration on Jani’s bass.

The raisers were used a lot that night, mostly by the tall people in the band. 😉 All the guys showed their admiration for each other, watching closely, falling to their knees, making room for solos. They were clearly having fun, everyone singing along from time to time and playing their hearts out. I loved seeing them interact and I loved seeing all of them in the zone where they seem so lost in the music and their playing I’m sure they would not remember anything about these moments if I asked. 😉 Especially Captain seems to be elsewhere sometimes, whereas Ollie is always watching the audience. I got so many smiles from him that night. Of course the others looked at me too, checking if I know the lyrics 😉 , smiling when they see me jump, just giving me a not to show “it’s nice to see you”. <3

At the end of ‘Rogue’, I think, Ollie and Jani were pointing their instruments at each other like guns, pretending to shoot. Staying with the gun theme at one point Marko unscrewed the top of his microphone and used it as a pretend gun as well. It made me laugh really hard, especially because I had been wondering what he was doing at first. 😀 There was so much happiness in the air, so much magic, they guys urging on the audience, trying to make us sing along or jump with them, letting us hold up our phone lights and the like. It was beautiful. The guys were leaning on to each other at times, hugging, showing appreciation for each other’s skills and towards the end, Marko introduced each one of them so they all got their share of applause. 😀

I loved the show, I loved being with my friends and without my camera so I could move freely. I loved all the little gestures between the band and their interactions with the audience. The setlist was fun too, it was a good show for beginners and veterans alike. In the end they thanked us all and took a pictures with us in the background before they left. Sadly, Jari did not get his 15 seconds of fame. He got ready to throw his drumsticks and they just switched out the lights on him. I felt sorry his special moment was stolen,but there was nothing to be done about it.

Afterwards, while trying to gather everyone to go out for drinks, I ran into M. I had not seen her in years and was so happy to meet her again. Had been wondering if she’d be there, but never asked. So glad we got to meet. A big group of us ended up in the lobby of S., O. and C.’s hotel for drinks and once some retreated the remaining ones moved on to a bar around the corner for one more drink and more talk. It was the perfect way to end the evening. Thank you all!

Setlist

Overboard
Daze
False Kings
Diamonds for Tears
Shallow
Temple of Thought
Rogue
The Beautiful Ones
Given and Denied
Kamikaze Love
Choice Millionaire
Late Goodbye

Encore:
Children of the Sun
War
Dreaming Wide Awake
Lift
Carnival of Rust

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