Poets of the Fall – Night Club Tähti, Oulu; May 21st, 2016
It felt like ages since I had last seen Poets of the Fall, even thought it was less than three months ago. Considering that I had seen over 30 concerts in-between, it’s not surprising I could not remember the setlist. 😉 Switching to Poets concert mode had felt weird all day, but the moment the lights went down and the intro started everything came back to me. It was a wonderful show: good sound, good lights and good vibes all around. Audience and band had fun, the room was buzzing with energy and I loved every minute of it. My only “complaint” is that it was over in a second (or at least that’s what it felt like). 😉
Getting to Oulu was easy and thanks to the bright nights at this time of the year I even saw the last bit of the sun when I arrived around 1 am. The day before the concert was spent swimming and catching up with my friend C. Just after we had left a café, we saw the Ollie, Jaska, Captain, Marko and Nina walking by on the other side of the road. We didn’t say anything, but somehow Ollie must have felt us watching, because he turned and waved when he recognized us. The others noticed, saw us too and waved as well. It was a cute chain reaction. 🙂 In the evening we found ourselves in front of the club with Z., S., H. and others, waiting. There were surprisingly many people in line and the venue personnel was a bit overactive and strangely discriminating asking people to hand in their hoodies and purses (while others walked in with all their clothes and huge bags). Nothing to get worked up about though and even though many were inside before us, must of them chose a table and we got our usual spots at the front. 🙂 Luckily he music was not too loud to talk so we passed the time quite nicely.
They started around midnight with a new intro (or at least it sounded new to me). I loved it! The rocking combo of ‘Miss Impossible’ and ‘Locking up the sun’ had me moving with the music from the start and painted a smile on my face. From the very first notes the sound was great and the lights were amazing. Luckily ‘Temple of Thought’ was next and gave me time to catch my breath. Sadly I could not fully let myself fall into the beauty of the song because I was only allowed to take picture during the first three songs and this was my last chance. Still, I enjoyed it very much and managed to fully be in the moment once I had put my camera away. 😀
It felt so good just to be there in the crowd, clapping, dancing and jumping. Before the concert I was not 100% I would be able to make the switch from Árstíðir mode to Poets mode, especially because I had just toured so much with them. Of course I should have known better. Both bands speak to my soul, yet they do so on different levels or maybe to different parts of it. Each is very special and equally enjoyable in any mood, place or time. This night, I felt my love for Poets of the Fall flow through me with every note they sung and played, every smile they gave me, every gesture or look shared with my friends around me. I was high on emotion and on their music.
Once again details of the concert or the songs escape me, all I know is that everyone on the stage and in front looked happy and time seemed to have sped up. When they played ‘Late Goodbye’ it felt as if the concert had just started moments before. I loved watching them, seeing their faces going from concentration to smiles and back again. Each one of them looked at me some time during the concert – it felt like a family reunion. Yes, I did miss you and I’m glad to be back! Despite being lost in the music my thoughts were running wild from time to time, my head flooded with memories of other concerts and events directly or indirectly connected with their music. During ‘Given and Denied’ I remember reading my story with the same title to a good friend some time ago and when they arrived at ‘Carnival of Rust’ I vividly recalled my first concert in Finland and the deep impression that song had made on me then.
Picking a highlight is difficult, because all the songs were great. Just watching the band work was so much fun, I could not stop smiling. Looking at the audience made me happy too – they were really into the music and enjoyed it just as much as I did. ‘Illusion & Dream’, the final song triggered another train of thought because I had just recently told someone how it made me a fan. 🙂 The evening was absolutely perfect, I cannot put it any other way. We left soon after it was over, but ended sharing tour stories until deep into the night.
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
Late Goodbye
Daze
Carnival of Rust
Lift
Illusion & Dream