All the Way (4U)

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Poets of the Fall – Autumn Muse Festival, Bangalore; August 29th, 2015

It’s just after midnight in Bangalore, India. Sweat-soaked, incredibly happy and just a tiny bit tired I am sitting at my hotel room with a huge stupid grin on my face, still not quite believing that I am actually here and just saw a Poets of the Fall concert that was beyond awesome. Currently I am very tempted to take a late night dip in the pool and the only thing that’s keeping me from it is that I want to jot my memories down while they are fresh. The gig covers quite a few superlatives: It was unbelievably hot, unbelievably loud, with an enthusiastic audience, great atmosphere and just general happiness. Oh and it was unbelievably much fun! Totally worth the trip here.

Looking back I remember the first time I wanted to see Poets of the Fall in India was in 2011 – I saw every gig that year, every gig but one, the one in Bangalore. I really wanted to go even then, but quickly realized that it was not only way beyond my budget, but impossible because it was announced too short notice. In 2012 I went as far as booking a hotel (I believe it was in Hydarabad), but once again it was too short notice to get a visa before the gig. The next time around I was too scared to travel to India to even check possibilities. This year, when I had almost given up on the idea, two things came together: a) India had just made it possible for German citizens to get an online visa, which cut the time for getting one down from four weeks to three days and b) the concert was announced early for once.

So as soon as I heard about it I decided that it was now or never, booked a hotel, booked a flight and applied for a visa, all before flying off to the US for my birthday concert (different story, to be read elsewhere on this blog). The visa was granted within a day, I was set to go and pretty much forgot about it until it was almost time to leave. At least I didn’t have weeks to get nervous about it. 😉 The first time I worried whether the visa was actually legit was when I arrived at the airport in Düsseldorf. Then it occurred to me that I had never checked if the site I used for application was actually affiliated with the Indian government at all. They told me it was OK though. Phew! After a long flight via Abu Dhabi I arrived in Bangalore very early on Friday morning. My hotel turned out to be awesome, but I won’t bore you with any details of my first day and a half here.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon: My friend V. and her mom were gonna pick me up at my hotel so I was sitting here and waiting. Gates were supposed to open at 6 so we had roughly agreed on meeting at 5. As the time got closer we exchanged exceedingly panicky messages. Eventually it turned out that their driver got lost so we changed plans to meeting at the gates. I got there shortly after 5 (it is a 20 minute walk from my hotel to the venue) and they finally arrived about 30 minutes later. I was so glad they made it on time. It would have been hard to find each other inside and it’s so much more fun to have someone to share the concert with. 😀

They let us in a bit late, but it was a lot less chaotic than I expected, people were rather nice to each other. After some initial pushing and then another shift during the support act, everyone settled and V. and I had made it to front and second row respectively. Such unbelievable luck! Had brought my Prowlers of the Fall banner, but had no place to hang it so I kept it round my neck to show it to the guys when the time was right.

We settled in for some waiting, but it didn’t take all that long until support act Girish and the Chronicles started at around 7:15. They were a good warm up – classic hard rock pretty much with their own songs and some covers. 30 minutes of rock, nice playing, good rock voice. I liked them! People were singing along and rocking out to their music and of course everyone screamed especially loud when they mentioned Poets of the Fall. This was going to be a good one! I had no idea how big the venue was, couldn’t really see by looking back, but judging from the picture I saw later, it was a lot bigger than I thought. Must have been a few thousand people I would guess.

Anyway, I remember checking my watch at 8:20, thinking “it can’t be long now” and just moments later I saw Nina walk out and signal with a flashlight. Soon after the intro started and the crowd went nuts! It was awesome. Eat your heart out, Moscow! Nah, just kidding, I’d say it was about equally loud here and there. The energy of this crowd was amazing right from the start. We had been singing ‘Late Goodbye’, ‘Carnival of Rust’ and ‘Temple of Thought’ even before the concerts started and now everyone was singing along to pretty much every line. Yes! I had a huge grin on my face from the very start and kept exchanging happy glances with V. who looked liked she would never stop smiling again. 😀

The guys kicked the show off with ‘Daze’ and I started jumping or tried to. It took a few songs before everyone who wanted to jump found the right rhythm and I certainly hope I did not step on too many feet in the process. ‘Diamonds 4 Tears’ was next and by then sweat was already streaming down my face. Warm temperatures, lots of people close together and moving with the music – nothing else to be expected. By the time the show was over I was completely soaked to the skin. This was for sure one of the hottest concerts I have ever been to. 😉

From time to time I tried making eye contact with the guys and wondered how long it would take them to see me. I had kept my trip to India off Twitter until I got here, wanting to surprise them. Luckily I got close enough to the stage for them to actually see me and see me they did. It was early on, during ‘Diamonds 4 Tears’ or ‘Jealous Gods’ when Marko first looked in my direction questioningly, but I wasn’t entirely sure if he recognized me. The fact that he was wearing sunglasses and I could not see his eyes did not make it easier. It was all about being there though and I stopped worrying about it immediately and just enjoyed myself. It was so easy to get lost in the music, move with it and forget any and all of my worries. Everything was beautiful, everyone around me was happy, the band gave all they had and the sound was great too. There was nothing more I could have wanted.

Yet, it got even better. During ‘Roses’, Marko pulled down his sunglasses, looked straight at me and gave me a huge smile. I smiled back happily and V. hugged me. <3 This made an already perfect concert even more perfect. The setlist was amazing too. A mixture of the early and the later ’Jealous Gods’ tour setlist. I loved each and every song they played, danced for ‘Love will come to you’, jumped for ‘Locking up the sun’, cheered for the band during ‘Rogue’ and very nearly cried during ‘Nothing stays the same’. In between I sang at the top of my lungs, except for ‘Rumors’ – I still don’t know the lyrics and I even had the feeling Marko was checking if I did. Nope, sorry. 😉

I should not only talk about Marko though, because everyone in the band did a fabulous job that night. Of course I already know their skills are amazing, but this was something else. Every note was spot on and they were playing with ease, apparently having as much fun as the audience did. For 90 minutes everyone at the Autumn Muse festival was lucky enough to attend one big and happy party with amazing music. Each time I looked around, I saw only happy, even elated faces and the smiles of the audience were mirrored by the guys on stage. It was mind-blowing, really.

In-between then amazing music and the general good vibes there were so many little things that make the world and will be remembered later like small gestures between the band members, Jaska and Ollie, Jani and Ollie or Jani and Jaska playing together, Captain checking out our sing-along, Jari coming to the front to whisper something to Ollie, several of the guys playing with Captain and of course all the smiles and other signals exchanged with the audience. I’m sure everyone felt involved and it showed, every time Marko asked us to sing along. It was loud! 😉

The beautiful ‘Nothing stays the same’ ended the main set. I was surprised, people didn’t scream louder for an encore than they did. That was a bit lame, all things considered. Maybe it is already too well known that the concerts usually last a little longer. Either way, the band did not keep us waiting and when Marko asked us if we wanted more, we screamed loudly. He jokingly announced ‘Lift’ as “the elevator song” 😀 More jumping for me, another smile exchanged with Marko during the “on and on and on” part and finally a look first of disbelief and then recognition from Ollie when I waved at him. 🙂 A bit later, Jani saw me too and also gave me a big smile.

The nicest surprise song-wise was a beautiful rendition of ‘Sleep’. No matter how many times I hear it, I always adore it – it was lovely. Next was their first song, ‘Late Goodbye’, which got such an amazing audience reaction that I really enjoyed it! Afterwards one last chance to jump and dance with ‘Dreaming wide awake’ before they gathered at the front to take a selfie with all of us. Marko noted that we looked great from up there and the audience was partying to all the way in the back. He also made a comment about us getting a view of their beautiful butts ;). The guys closed the show with ‘Carnival of Rust’ because they could not leave us without that one.  Before walking off stage, Ollie threw his remaining water bottles to the audience and gave guitar pics to a few lucky people. Jari threw his drumsicks far into the crowd. One final thank you and they were gone. Not much more I could say, other than perfect concert was perfect. 😀 From the first second to the last I loved it and I would not have wanted to be anywhere else in the world. This night certainly held a special kind of magic! <3

After the gig we stuck around a little bit and ran into Marko H. from the crew. He asked me what I was doing here. Really? What do you think? 😉 Outside, just before we said goodbye, A. found me and said hello. We still remembered each other from the early days of the POTF forum. It was fun to meet you! Soon after, I hugged V. and her mom one final time and made my way back home under a beautiful full moon, all the way smiling to myself.

Now, as I am slowly unwinding at my hotel, I let everything run through my mind again and I still cannot stop smiling. It all feels a bit like a dream, but I know it wasn’t. I actually did make it to India and I have no regrets. So let me end this where I started with repeating how absolutely awesome it was. I know I will cherish these memories for years to come and I still have a stupid grin on my face that will surely accompany me into my dreams. Thank you Bangalore and thank you Poets of the Fall for making this night so memorable. I love you!

Setlist (in roughly this order I think)

Intro
Daze
Diamonds 4 Tears
Jealous Gods
Clear Blue Sky
Roses
Choice Millionaire
Rogue
Locking up the Sun
Love will come to you
Rumors
Temple of Though
Nothing stays the same

Encore

Lift
Sleep
Late Goodbye
Dreaming wide awake
Carnival of Rust

Birthday cake, champagne and a beautiful concert

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Árstíðir – Club Congress, Tucson; August 1st, 2015

After barely two hours of sleep and still drunk from the after-party, I am sitting at my hotel in Tucson until it is time to leave. So many thoughts are swirling chaotically through my head and I’m not entirely sure I can get them in the right order, but let me start by telling you that my birthday was awesome! It had absolutely everything I could have wished for and then some.

So how did I end up in Tucson, Arizona – 9000 km flight distance and 9 hours time difference from home for just one weekend? It all started when I first saw Árstíðir’s tentative US tour dates and read “August 1st” on that schedule. A birthday show? WHERE? Even though nothing was confirmed I started making and then discarding plans. Touring the west coast? Would have loved to go back there, but travel distances were too far and flying over there to expensive. Only that one show? Nooo! I wanted to tour with them and East coast was cheaper and easier. Finally I decided to do the first ten shows and leave it at that. Only to book a flight to Phoenix and back as soon as Tucson got confirmed. I mean, who was I kidding, really? Árstíðir playing a show on my birthday and me not going there? Not gonna happen!

In the weeks counting down to this trip I was excited and nervous about it in equal measures. Excited, because I could not wait to see they guys again and having them play on my birthday was a dream come true and nervous, because I know they are not good at remembering birthdays and I knew I would have been terribly disappointed if they’d forgotten. I grew calmer as the time drew near, finding that I had faith in them after all (and I made sure to remind them on a regular basis 😉 ). After the visa disaster in the beginning of the tour, the band had felt they were just starting when I left. I would have given a lot to continue the tour with them at that point, but sometimes even I have to work. =P Thus, excitement won over and I could hardly wait to see them again. Of course I had followed their progress on social media, but it’s nowhere near the same as being there.

So, early on a Friday morning I took a train to Dusseldorf airport and flew out to Chicago and onwards to Phoenix from there – or so I though. Due to bad weather we could not land and flew to Tucson to refuel. Then the plane had technical problems and the flight was canceled, so I had accidentally landed where I wanted to be. As these sorts of mishaps usually are it was somewhat entertaining to talk to the other people on the plane, sharing jokes and generally just taking things as they came. Eventually we got our luggage, I took a bus downtown, made it to my hotel by 10 pm local and just collapsed into bed – I had been on the road for 26 hours.

Thanks to jet lag I was up early enough to take a nice walk before the midday heat set in. I spent it walking along a dried riverbed, actually singing Springsteen’s ‘The River’ out loud. It was the first song that popped up in my head. I wish I’d had the time to actually go for a hike in the mountains, but I had to be content with just seeing them from afar. The day before someone had told me this was Tucson’s monsoon season and in the afternoon I learned they were not kidding. Heavy rain set in and the road outside my hotel got so flooded some cars had trouble getting through. Luckily it stopped before I had to leave, but for getting to the venue I combined my nice summer dress with flip-flops, because my sandals would not have survived wading through water.

From the moment I arrived at the hotel, everything was absolutely perfect. I ran into Karl or rather he snuck up on me and got a birthday hug. Spent some time outside having a drink, got a piece of amazing chocolate cake the hotel gave out for free because their café turned 25 that day, and went to check out the venue. Bumped into Ragnar, who hugged me, showed me his latest tattoo and invited me to sit with him an Unnur at the bar until it was show time. Gunnar joined us, more hugs and colorful tour stories from everyone.

We actually sat there until Marina V started playing and I hurried over to the club. To my great surprise and delight, the seat in front row center was still empty so I took it – perfect. Marina’s songs were lovely, I enjoyed her set very much. She played piano and sang, Nick played guitar. One song was a beautiful ballad in Russian that she played guitar on. For one song early on, Karl and Unnur played with them and when they covered Guns ‘n’ Roses’ ‘Don’t cry’, Ragnar walked on stage singing backing vocals. He came back later for more backing vocals and Karl for more violin on the last song, ‘Speak’. That song immediately struck a chord with me and would have made me cry had not the rest of the band snuck up on stage during it and joined it. Thus it ended in laughter and lots of hugs on stage. An awesome start to the concert. 😀

During the break I picked up Marina’s CD and learned she’s gonna play in Cologne in September – I’ll do my best to make it there. Said hello to Esther too and got a quick hug from Daníel before it was time to return to my seat. It was a small venue and not completely filled, but people where enthusiastic from the beginning and the sound was fantastic. I had decided beforehand not to take any pictures and just enjoyed the show – it was incredibly beautiful. One of those shows where everything fits and absolutely nothing can spoil the enjoyment.

The moment they started with ‘Himinhvel’ all worries fell away from me and I breathed easier. The last two times I had heard them (on youTube video from Reno and on a radio show) they all sounded tired and I’d been worried about them. Not the case now, they sounded in perfect shape. California seemed to have done them good. The setlist was pretty much the same as at the other shows, continuing right into ‘Things you said’. After that, the entire audience erupted in cheers. 😀

For the first time in a long time I fell right into the music and let it carry me through. I thought I was going to cry, and came close a few times, but every time they made me laugh instead. I looked closely every one of them during the show, amazed at the beautiful work they do. No matter how many concerts I see, I can never get enough of seeing their hands move, watching their faces changing from total concentrations to moments where they just go with the flow. They way this band brings their music to life is still a miracle to me.

Every song was beautiful, even the ones I usually don’t care for as much and the ones I love were exceptional. Somewhere early on, Karl taught us, how to pronounce the band name “Hours, like on the clock, teeth like in your mouth and ear. And if you roll your Rs, your gonna sound Icelandic.” – everyone said it and it actually sounded pretty much right. 😀 When it was time for ‘Day & Nights’, Ragnar told the story of getting stuck in Iowa when the bus broke down and joked that he realized this song was about that. When he started singing, he changed the second line to “…and I’ve been stuck in one place”. It put a huge smile on my face. The song segued right into ‘Sunday Morning’ – it was just perfect.

Towards the end of their set they got up to sing a cappella. I was convinced it was going to be ‘Heyr, himna smiður’ and even contemplated getting out my camera, because for once none of them was blocked by a microphone. Moments later, I was glad I didn’t. They announced: “This is a very special song. You’re gonna figure it out halfway through” and they started singing “Happy Birthday” in Icelandic. I was so happily surprised, it came totally unexpected. When they were done, Gunnar pointed me out and explained how I’m following them and how happy they were to have me there. <3 ‘Nú gleymist ég’ ended the set perfectly.

During the break a few people came up to me and wished me a happy birthday and I had a good time chatting with the people sitting next to me. The second set started with ‘Ró’, and the guys walking back on stage one by one. As soon as Karl walked out and picked up his violin, I knew it was not going to be the version they had been playing at all the other shows I have seen. This time, Unnur joined Ragnar on the piano. It was beautiful. 🙂

The second set was just as brilliant as the first with me being totally caught up in the music and the moment. ‘Shine’ killed me and ‘Silfurskin’ was absolutely gorgeous. Even the older songs seemed to have a special spark that night, and everyone looked like they thoroughly enjoyed being on stage and playing for us. Towards the end, Ragnar thanked me again for coming all the way and gave a shout out to G. who had traveled from Chicago. They played ‘Heyr, himna smiður’ too, eventually and it was a great version as well. When they ended with ‘You again’ and ‘Shades’ the audience went nuts and they got standing ovations.

Once more the band returned for ‘Islands far…’ and of course ‘Kill us’. With the reception they got I thought they might treat us to ‘Góða veislu gjöra skal’, but then people stopped clapping too soon after all. I am not complaining though, it was bloody amazing and totally worth the trip.

After the gig it was time for more hugs and chats and there was even champagne that G. had brought. We all went to an after party at a fan’s home where some of the guys were staying the night. Before we got there we started on the Salmiakki I had brought and at the party there was wine and nacho chips and a pool to dip in too. It was a fun night and I had the most awesome conversations with other fans. I left around four in the morning while the party was still going on and could not get to sleep for a long time, my head spinning with amazing memories. As I finish this I have reached Phoenix, my last stop on this trip before I return home tomorrow. Thank you, Árstíðir for making my birthday wonderful. I love you and miss you already.