All you need is a Cynical Skin

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Martin James – Kulturzentrum Lagerhaus, Bremen; February 2nd 2012

Just before this tour started it got really cold in Germany (-12 to –17 degrees) and I was not looking forward to spending much time waiting in the cold. Then again I figured nobody else might either. I had been counting down to this tour since Christmas, but I didn’t feel any excitement until I was actually on the train and knew I was going there.

Arrived in Bremen at 5:15 p.m., found the way to the hostel where A. was already waiting. We stayed there until 6:30 p.m, arrived at the venue 15 minutes later. Just two other fans were there already and luckily we could wait inside. More people came, clearly divided into Jim Kroft fans and Martin and James fans. Neither group could really figure out the other.

We got in, took our spots in front row and looked around a bit worriedly – there were hardly any people. The stage was decorated with living room lamps and Christmas lights. It looked pretty and created a nice atmosphere. Seems like they’d really love to do a tour of everyone’s living rooms. 😉

But before we got to enjoy Martin and James we had to listen to Jim Kroft. I had liked many of his songs on youTube and thought it would be fun listening to him, but he didn’t work for me at all. A few of the songs were OK, but mostly I found him boring. He was also screaming into the microphone more often than singing and had no charisma whatsoever. I felt a bit sorry for him even, because A. and I were standing there with our arms crossed, obviously not enjoying his set. I could not help it though, his music just didn’t do anything for me.

Finally, about 15 minutes after 9:00 p.m. Martin and James walked on stage. A. and others told me the had been extremely nervous the previous day in Hamburg, but this night it was their usual “a bit nervous but mostly OK” behavior. They had brought Lucas, who had already supported them in May last year., to play stand up bass and the piano occasionally. No drummer this time, they took care of that on their own with an additional drum on stage.

Before Lucas came out, they played a few songs on their own, starting with the tried and tested combination of ‘She’s light guiding’, and ‘Turn it up’, only with ‘Maybe it’s time in the middle’. I felt a smile spreading on my face as soon as they started singing. I didn’t take long for me to fall into the music and I enjoyed singing along. .

At that point the setlist indicated “Here comes Lucas”. I loved that he was playing stand-up bass instead of the regular electric one. It suited the music well and the one drum gave an additional kick when needed. As usual they were very absorbed in their music, closing their eyes a lot, but they also made some conversation, talking about new songs, Nashville, Scottland’s possible independence and  – of course – Becks beer. At one point James even smiled at us.

They warmed us up some more with ‘Wheels’ and ‘Wrong Directions’ then threw in ‘One way forward’ as a first song that was new to many people. This was the first highlight to me. The song made me think of the great video A. had made o illustrate and I could not help but be amused. I also finally remembered the lyrics. An amazing version of ‘You’re my window’ followed right after. They had rearranged it and it became more powerful.

‘I was blind’, ‘Bad Dream’ and ‘Live Wires’ followed before they put more new songs in the mix. I liked them all, but could not figure out much of the lyrics. ‘Cynical Skin’ is really great and I also enjoyed ‘The Rope’ and ‘Hard to cry’ a lot. They are all more upbeat, at least music-wise. ‘Love’s not a fight’ is still beautiful and it still hurts. The last new song was the slower ‘Life’s a show’ that felt weakest to me, because the music didn’t immediately grab me. I’ll reserve judgement untilI understand the lyrics though.

They played a good mixture of new and old songs, slow and fast. The main set ended with ‘Crashing into Love’ and everyone singing along. We had to clap and yell for a bit to make them come back, but then got three more songs: ‘Somebody’, ‘With you’ and finally ‘I have to fall’, with Jim Kroft guesting, but refusing to sing. Again they had ‘With you’ listed as ‘Walz’ on the setlist and explained they didn’t remember why they had called it that, asking if we had any suggestions for a name. Some time this tour I need to tell them that the song already has a name. 😉

With ‘I have to Fall’ it ended. It was all wonderful and elating. A. and I stayed and had a nice chat with first James and later Martin. We waited until most others were gone, James came over to talk but Martin didn’t, so we ended up back in front of the stage where they were packing their things and got to witness a funny conversation with a rather drunk girl who didn’t speak English but tried to invite them to a pub down the road. We said goodbye to the guys and left.

First concert down, six to go. Next stop: Cologne.

Setlist
She’s light guiding
Maybe it’s time
Turn it up

Wheels
Wrong directions
One way forward
You’re a window
I was blind
Bad Dream
Live Wires
Love’s not a Fight
Cynical Skin
Hard to cry
Little bits of Light
Life’s a Show
The Rope
All over the News
Crashing into Love

Encore:
Waltz
Somebody
I have to fall

 

Everybody wants to be like me ‘cause I’m a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star

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Poets of the Fall – Virgin Oil, Helsinki; December 9th 2011

Things were coming full circle last night – their tour and mine ended (almost) where it started: In Helsinki, just at the Virgin Oil and not the Tavastia. I love both clubs and have seen amazing concerts at both so it was fine for me to end here.

I had a sore throat after Monday’s gig (from too much singing along I assumed then), which unfortunately turned into a full-blown flu by yesterday with headaches, coughing fits and a runny nose. Still, there was no way in hell anything or anyone would keep me from attending the last Poets of the Fall gig of this year. So I went to the apteekki, got myself some drugs and vowed not to hug anyone or shake any hands during the course of the evening.

Met my friends at the Virgin Oil around 7:00 p.m.to hang out at the bar. Was a little early and bumped into Ollie, said hello briefly. Also saw Jari arrive and waved at him. We had drinks and chatted, hung out, met more friends and got in line around 9:00 when it started. At the Virgin Oil the lines are always a little chaotic, but the security guard was nice and took care of that. The opened at 10:00 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than promised and we secured front row for us. The waiting was not good for me. I really felt that I should have stayed in bed, but what can you do? There’s always Sunday to get well before going back to work.

The guys had promised something special and when I saw three chairs instead of only one as usual I knew it was going to be an acoustic set. That alone made it all worthwhile.

The gig started shortly after midnight with the ‘Dreaming wide awake’ intro. Seeing the guys walk on stage immediately made me smile. I also loved being so close. I had a pretty good view of everyone for once. They all looked happy to kick off the last gig of the year and the audience reaction was pretty overwhelming. Loud screaming greeted them on stage. My throat didn’t thank me for screaming along, but at least I didn’t end in a coughing fit. 😉

No chance to stop rocking or even catch my breath during ‘The ultimate Fling’ and ‘Can you hear me’. I did take a few pictures, but mostly I just tried to take everything in with my eyes. The guys having so much fun on stage, smiling, rocking out, letting us carry them – and the people around me, elated and happy to be there. ‘No end, no beginning’ was once again so beautiful it took my breath away. There is no song quite like it. My friend C. and I looked at each other while singing the lines about being secretely grateful. I am indeed grateful to all the friends who have shared these past concerts with me. This started the calmer part of the show, followed by ‘Stay’ and ‘Sleep’, both always crowd favorites, before ‘Locking up the sun’ rocked the house and even had me jumping around a bit. The smile on my face just grew bigger as I was watching the guys. Ollie and Jaska duelling with their guitars, Jani and Jari all caught up in the music, Marko all over the stage, climbing boxes and jumping off again. One very memorable moment was Captain moving his hand in the spotlight above the keyboards, just watching the effect. He looked pretty caught up in it and reminded me that I’d done the same thing with the green light spots in Turku before the gig. It’s indeed “the little things that make the world”.

Then it was time for the acoustic set and even more awesomeness. Ollie, Marko and Jaska sat down, while Jani got out the stand-up bass. I had not seen that appear since the Tavastia gig last year so it was a pleasant surprise. They played ‘Desire’, ‘Sorry go round’ (bossa nova) and ‘You’re still here’ – all without any lyrics screw-ups this time. 😉 ‘Desire’ is one of the few songs I cannot relate to, but I still enjoy this version. ‘You’re still here’ was stunning. It’s just one of those songs that seem to become more meaningful time after time. ‘Sorry go round’ bossa nova version is always a highlight. I consider myself lucky to have heard it for the third time now. The lyrics got changed a little bit to “Everybody wants to be like me, because I’m a Rock ‘n’ Roll star.” I dare anyone to disagree with that statement. 😉

Back to the regular scheduled programming with ‘War’, yet another song that during the course of this year has gone from “just” a song I really like to one that has taken on a very special meaning, has become “mine”.  ‘Roses’ still makes me happy every time I hear it and ‘Given and denied’ is just beyond beautiful. While Marko was busy shaking hands and playing to the crowd to the left and right of the stage of the stage I took some time to watch the others. It is so much fun to see them interact with each other and I can’t help but marvel at their skills. Even though I don’t know much about music or playing an instrument, even as a layman I can tell when I see masters at work and all of these guys are. Jani and Jari are probably the strongest rhythm section I know in any band (and I’ve seen quite a few good and even some great ones), who just always know when to be at the center of the music and when to step back and provide the foundation for the others to work on. I always loved it when Captain gets a moment in the limelight during the more piano driven pieces like ‘Sleep’ and Ollie and Jaska? What can I say about these two guitar heroes other than watching their fingers work is pure joy? So everyone attending a Poets gig should take their eyes off Marko once in a while (and yes, I know how very difficult that is) and take the opporttunity to watch the others. You’ll miss a great deal of fun if you don’t. 😉

‘Diamonds for Tears’ and ‘Illusion & Dream’ brought the main set to a close. Both had the crowd rocking and singing along with a lot of toasting during ‘Illusion & Dream’. I felt a small pang of sadness, realising it was going to be over soon, but then got right back into the groove and rocked on. A Poets of the Fall gig is no place for me to be sad. The guys just make me way to happy for that.

With the last chords of ‘Illusion & Dream’ they left, but we didn’t have to do much begging to get them back on stage. They were not quite done with us yet. 😀 ‘Late goodbye’ had us all waving and singing along, the always hauntingly bautiful ‘Carnival of Rust’ gave Marko yet another chance to show just how amazing a singer he is. He started it with a quote from R.E.M.’s ‘The one I love’ – that alone gave me goosebumps. I must say I can’t remember ever having heard him sing quite like he has been this fall. He has a great voice and he certainly knows how to use it, but with these past 6 gigs I’ve had the feeling his singing was even better than usual.  *tips invisible hat* ‘Lift’ ended the show and had me screaming at the top of my lungs once again. Judging by the sound of it, everyone else in the audience did the same. It was just like a burst of energy from the stage to us and back to the stage. The guys gave it all they had and drove the show to a wonderfully crazy finish. I watched them walk off with a huge smile on my face, waving, happy. Ollie gave me a guitar pick as he left. 😀

When it was over I was a little dazed and it took me a while to get my bearings and gather my belongings. I did not feel like leaving at all. Didn’t get very far either, just got stuck at the merchandise stand chatting with Petri for a while, then met E. and chatted with her too. Briefly met Marko as he walked out and said goodbye. Before I finally left I didn’t only get hugs from my friends, but from Petri as well. He wasn’t afraid of getting the flu from me. 😀 A nice ending to a fantastic evening.

Setlist:
Dreaming wide awake
The ultimate fling
Can you hear me
No End, no Beginning
Stay
Sleep
Locking up the sun

Acoustic set:
Desire
You’re still here
Sorry Go round

War
Roses
Given and denied
Diamonds for Tears
Illusion & Dream

Encore:
Late goodbye
Carnival of Rust
Lift

pictures of this concert