Poets of the Fall – Pressa, Helsinki; April 28th 2012
This was a concert that left me with the feeling of having been pretty much perfect. Everything about it was good and right, nothing disturbed the experience, it all fit. Yet, I can’t put my finger on why. There is not a single thing I can name that made it so special, but when it was over I felt that once again I had been part of something wonderfully amazing, I really had no words to describe. Oh well, let me try anyway…
The day started with breakfast at A.’s place where I’d spent the night and the weather was so nice, we even had tea in the backyard. Then A. dropped me off at the Turku train station where I met C. on the train – without making any plans about it, we ended up in the same car.
Once in Helsinki we said good-bye for while, I met M. for coffee and went with her to the Pressa to find out where the entrance was and when they would open the doors. Met C. in the hotel lobby, saw the guys walk in, heading for soundcheck, had dinner. Once back at the hotel I jokingly tweeted to the Poets about missing soundcheck pictures and soon they posted one – sweet! There was still quite some time to wait though and we spent it chatting, sharing memories of the past gigs and expectations for the upcoming one. This was going to be C.’s last spring tour gig so she expected it with mixed feeling. I understood, knowing I’d feel the same in Tallinn in a few days.
Admission was painless, we secured our spots in front row, saw a few familiar faces, settled down, waited, I finally met P. from the forum. Some DJ played music and was disappointed that he could not get us to dance. He kept talking to the people at the front until some others started dancing. The music he played was OK though. After a while I saw Petri walk in and went to chat with him for a while. It’s always fun and this time I even had a good reason, because I had brought a little present for the crew. They’ve always been nice to me and without them, there would not be any concerts to enjoy so I felt the need to thank them and I did. 🙂
Finally midnight rolled around and it was time for the gig to start. The club had filled nicely and quite a few people by the side of the stage seemed to be friends of the guys, there were a lot of hellos and looks exchanged.
The setlist was the usual one nothing added, nothing left out. Interestingly, no matter how many times I hear these songs being played, it never gets boring. There is always so much energy so many good vibes that I can just lean back and let the music carry me. This night, the guys were on fire, giving all they have, playing like there was no tomorrow.
They kicked off the show with ‘Kamikaze Love’ and immediately had the audience on their side. Everyone responded well, ‘Temple of Thought’ brought Marko to the front, shaking hands and with ‘Cradled in Love’ there was a nice sing along and everyone was waving their arms. During one song I don’t remember which, Marko walked over to Jaska, sang to him and licked his cheek. At least that’s what it looked like from my point of view. Pictures anyone?
It was obvious that the guys had a lot of fun. They seemed really relaxed, enjoying the gig and the mood. Marko spent a lot of time in front of the railing, the stage was just too small for him. 😉 During ‘Roses’ he walked over to Jaska and held up two fingers behind his head making rabbit ears. Later during the show, he sat down on a stool in front of Captain, watching Ollie play guitar and this time Captain made rabbit ears behind Marko’s head. 😀
Once again, they enjoyed wearing the top hat and passing it around. Jani stole it somewhere during the beginning of the show and later Marko put it on Ollie’s head. It suits each of them quite well but if they all had one it would not be quite as funny.
The audience was great. A home crowd, responding to every cue from stage, making it easy for the guys to perform. They were well behaved too. During ‘War’ Marko parted the crowd with a few gestures, walked off the stage to the back and later returned. Everybody made room for him and only a few people dared to touch his arms or back and then did it very carefully. 🙂 At the beginning of this, Marko motioned for my friend C. to move over and make room for him and she ha no idea what he meant until I took her by the sleeve and pulled her towards me. 😀
For ‘The Lie eternal’ the railing and the microphone proved to be great props, ‘Stay’ and ‘Late Goodbye’ had everyone waving and singing along. Generally the audience was loud and sang along to every song, chorus and verse. It was amazing. The acoustic set brought back the double bass and Jaska playing on his guitar whatever Marko whistled. Pretty cool. 🙂
Way too soon the encores came, rocking the house with ‘Dreaming wide awake’. The sing along was incredibly loud the guys loved it. ‘Carnival of Rust’ the crowd favorite gave us a last chance to catch our breath before everything was brought to a close with a powerful version of ‘Lift’. Jaska and Captain were headbanging, smiling happily. Towards the end of the song first Jaska and Marko, then Jani and Ollie stepped in front of the railing and finished the song there. Awesome!
I was happy that C. got such a great last gig and of course I was happy that I got to be there too. There is always something special about their concerts in Helsinki and this one was no exception. It was wonderfull to see so many happy faces on stage and in front.
14 gigs down, 2 to go. Next stop: MS Baltic Princess
Setlist
Kamikaze Love
Diamonds for Tears
Temple of Thought
Roses
Cradled in Love
Locking up the Sun
War
The Lie Eternal
Stay
Illusion & Dream
Gravity
Late Goodbye
Acoustic:
Sorry Go Round (Bossa Nova)
Someone special
Encore:
Dreaming wide awake
Carnival of Rust
Lift