Lean on me

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Poets of the Fall – Oliver’s Corner, Rovaniemi; June 11th, 2016

It had been a long time since Poets of the Fall last played in Rovanieni, so long, that I could not remember it, i.e. it must have been a time before I went to as many concerts as I do. Either way, they were back and enthusiastically received by the audience. It was a fun gig, full of positive energy that everyone enjoyed. The band gave it all they had, much rewarding those who had taken the trip to this concert. 🙂

I had arrived the previous night, happy there was no snow on the ground (like the week before). Considering that it was surprisingly warm. The sky was too grey to see any midnight sun though and there was nothing to do but rest. Concert day was for exploring, but as beautiful as the cities surroundings are, Rovaniemi itself is a bit bleak. I enjoyed walking along the water though and looked Forward to the evening ahead. Two bands were scheduled to Play before Poets of the Fall, but with them starting at 22:30 it was still and early concert.

Got to the venue around 7 pm, sat down for a while and listened to the first band, then the second. Both cover bands, both OK, nothing special. Went dancing for a while, met S. who I knew from Turku, saw only one familiar face otherwise. Anyway, it was easy to get a spot in front row and we didn’t have to wait all that long once the second band was done. It felt weird to know they would play while it was light outside, but it was not going to get much darker. 😉 S. and I spent the time chatting, both happy and excited to see the guys again.

At 10:30 pm a guy from the venue walked on stage to announce Poets of the Fall. I did not understand everything he was saying, but he did mention that people from Germany and Sweden had come to see the show. 😀 The band walked on stage one by one, all in long sleeves, the only indication of summer being Marko’s sunglasses. 😉 Loud cheers from the audience greeted them and got louder as they started with ‘Daze’. The song rocked and right from the start the audience was into it. Everyone seemed happy and so full of energy, clapping and moving along to the music.

It was such a fun gig! The guys looked like they loved it too. They had changed the setlist around since last time, exchanging a few songs and playing the others in a different order. It made things seem new and fresh again. Once more it was a setlist with the right mix of fast and slower songs. I loved the songs, loved singing along, enjoyed having enough room to move around and jump with the beat. Being there brought me lots of joy. The sound was great and the spot I was in was perfect for watching all of the guys – at least those times when Jari and Captain were not hidden by artificial smoke that is. 😉 Of course I had no trouble seeing the others and enjoyed watching all of them.

Between the stage and the front row was about a meter of space in front of the barrier, but there were a few boxes to step on, so Marko came close frequently, leaning out into the audience, singing directly to people. A few times, he even used my shoulder to lean on. 🙂 As always it was a lot of fun watching not only whoever was closest to me, but especially seeing the interactions between the band members. I can never get enough of seeing how they play together and joke with each other all the time. They have amazing musical skills, every one of them playing their chosen instrument well. That is part of what makes them function as a band, but even more so, it is the appreciation they have for each other, the way each one of them gives the others room to play, the gestures between them showing they really like each other and enjoy working together. It often feels like watching one happy family and the best part is they make the audience feel like we are part of it too. 🙂

With the lights and a lot of moving around it got arm on stage so most of the guys got rid of the long sleeves, pretend stripping included. 😉 We also got to see quite a few poses and stuck out tongues during the course of the evening. The good vibes from stage spilled into the audience and vice versa. Whenever I looked around I saw happy faces and people moving along with the music. Everyone in the room was into the show and whenever we were called on to clap or sing along, it worked nicely. It was as if the audience had decided to make the most of this show after waiting to see the band for years. Overall I had a blast and did not want it to end, but of course it did eventually. As soon as the Poets walked off stage, I wanted to call them out again for the next show, but I guess I will have to wait a little bit for that one.

The evening ended with a relaxed chat and drinks for S. and me. At some point, Ollie said hello and Jani even dropped by for a little chat. Such a nice treat. 🙂
Flying back to Helsinki the next day, the band was on the same plane. I didn’t bother them though, just said hello to those who saw me and thanked them for the great show. See you in July!

Setlist (to the best of my memory, out of order)

Daze
Locking up the Sun
Temple of Thought
Rumors
Rogue
Stay
Diamonds 4 Tears
Cradled in Love
Miss Impossible
Sorry go Round
Late Goodbye
Jealous Gods
Dreaming wide awake
Illusion & Dream

Sleep
Lift
Carnival of Rust

pictures from this concert

I swear I’d drive all night again…

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Ricoh Arena, Coventry; June 3rd, 2016

A few months ago, C. called from Berlin, asking if I wanted to go see Bruce in Coventry. Coventry was not on my mental list of shows I considered, but of course I said “yes” right away. 😉 Anyone could do London or Dublin after all, but this might be a show off the beaten track. Despite difficulties in finding a hotel and bad weather forecasts we wowed to make the best of it. We already knew there is no such thing as a bad Springsteen show and thus had nothing to lose. We got a nice, relaxed show with a solid setlist and an audience that had not yet been spoiled by seeing a gazillion concerts already. It was fun and at the end of the night we walked away with smiles on our faces. There is not much more I could have asked for.

It was a late night for me on the day before the concert, but finally I made it to our hotel and dropped straight into bed. Still, much sleep was a luxury not to be had and roughly five hours later we were up again. Armed with our tickets and a little food we made our way to the stadium at 8 in the morning. The atmosphere was relaxed, we didn’t see all that many familiar faces and the line worked well. Around 3 pm they led us all around the arena and then inside. We were rewarded for the long wait with pit access. Finding our spot at the back with M. and D. we sat down and relaxed some more until show start. The stadium filled up, everyone seemed excited for what was about to come. We made bets as to when Bruce would start. There was a last minute setlist change and at 6:46, one minute after D. had predicted, Bruce stepped on stage and walked to the piano.

He was greeted loudly as he sat down and with the first notes he played, a smile spread on my face. My heart recognized the song before my brain did, but finally, when he started singing, I knew it was ‘For you’. It has always been one of my favorites so it was a perfect start for me. Having not read any setlists, I had no clue what to expect and was quite happy about that. The band came out and as soon as they had settled they launched into ‘Something in the night’. The song has never been a particular favorite of mine, but I thoroughly enjoyed this version. ‘Prove it all night’, right after, was a killer. From that moment onwards, I was fully into the show, remembering all the reasons why I love Bruce Springsteen.

‘My love will not let you down’ was the first song when I remember consciously looking around at my friends and watching what people around me were doing. M. was jumping, C. danced, everyone in the audience seemed happy to be just where they were. All evening, no matter which song Bruce and the band played, someone in the audience let out a happy shout as if it was his or her favorite song, the one they’d been longing to hear. It was wonderful to be among such a happy audience. 🙂 They showed so many different people on the screen during the show, once I even briefly saw myself and M. behind me. So many happy faces, but especially memorable was a old lady at the front. She must have been at least 70 and she rocked! Wow.

With the fifth song, Bruce finally went into The River, but he did not stay there long. Unfortunately he decided not to play the full album on the European part of the tour. I would have loved to hear the album in full at least once. He did pick a few nice songs though, amongst them ‘Drive all night’. It is another song I never appreciated much on the album, but right then and there it hit home, almost made me cry. I loved most of the other songs as well and didn’t even mind ‘Hungry Heart’ or the “little kid sings along” during ‘Waiting on a sunny day’. I could have done without the  last one, but this time around at least the kid seemed to have fun and not been dragged there by his parents.

The odd song picked from the crowd this time was ‘Save my Love’. Bruce commented that half the audience was probably wondering what the song was, then explained that it was an outtake from ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’. I did not remember it, but liked it a lot. Hearing ‘Youngstown’ and ‘Because the Night’ made me happy as I love both songs. Overall the show was really enjoyable and the song selection fit my mood. The main set ended with ‘Badlands’ and before launching into the planned encores, Bruce was looking for something else to play in the signs the crowd held. He picked ‘Travelling Band’.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard that one before and enjoyed it a lot. Much of the encores felt like a party with ‘Shout’ and ‘Seven Nights to rock’.  For ‘Dancing in the Dark’ there were a flood of signs by people asking to dance with different members of the band. Bruce picked a lady who wanted to dance with Jake, a guy whose sign read “Can this boy dance with Roy?” and a girl saying it was her 21st to dance with him. It was fun, especially the guy going all out and Roy dancing next to him. ‘Tenth-Avenue freeze-out’ is still a memory song to Clarence and Danny as it should be. I even had tears in my eyes while they played it. After ‘Shout’, the band walked off, but it was not the end of the show yet. Bruce walke dto the front, with just his guitar and played ‘Thunder Road’. It was the perfect ending. 🙂

Setlist

For You (solo acoustic)
Something in the Night
Prove It All Night
My Love Will Not Let You Down
The Ties That Bind
Sherry Darling
No Surrender
Two Hearts
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
Save My Love
Hungry Heart
Out in the Street
Crush on You
Death to My Hometown
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
The River
Drive All Night
The Promised Land
Working on the Highway
Darlington County
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
Because the Night
The Rising
Badlands

Travelin’ Band
Born in the U.S.A.
Born to Run
Seven Nights to Rock
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Shout

Thunder Road (solo acoustic)

The River Tour 2016: 1 show down, 5 to go, next stop: Berlin