Lots of sweat and no tears

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Poets of the Fall – Virgin Oil, Helsinki; September 26th 2008

Wow, what a huge difference it is between being forced to sit and standing front row, ready to rock!

As usual I was too early, but as usual I was not alone and time went by chatting and waiting (compared to the waiting time at other gigs, being there two hours before the doors open is really not much). They let us in at 22:00 and I got my favorite spot on the right between Marko and Jaska. More waiting then, because it was another midnight gig.

The gig was sold out and the place packed. There were good vibes from the beginning and people started stamping their feet and clapping from 23:30 on. Everyone went completely wild when the music to ‘The ultimate Fling’ started and the guys walked on stage one by one. This audience did not need anyone to tell them to clap or sing along.

By the time the first song was over I was drenched with sweat. It was hot in there – in more than one sense of the word. It was wonderful to be able to rock and move around instead of being bound to a seat.
During ‘Diamonds for Tears’ Marko was squatting in front of us, sang first to S. and then to me. *smiles*
Next was ‘Save me’ which had much more power than two nights before. Marko was really into it and the entire audience was singing along for the chorus. What a fantastic version of a great song! ‘Sorry go round’ brought more singing along and ‘Stay’ gave me the first chance to catch my breath.

Marko was talking a lot that night (and I didn’t understand one word). Less than that he was goofing around a lot and I had some fun watching Captain laughing all the time. Ollie was in a great mood as well, making faces all the time. I laughed so hard sometimes I forgot to take pictures.

At some point Jaska gave me a plec and a huge smile too. I was taken totally surprised as I wasn’t even sure he had seen me. 🙂

The gig had a whole lot of power and I was totally exhausted by the time it was over. They took a small break between ‘Locking up the sun’ and ‘More’, walking off stage and we actually had to clap them back out – which worked well. The singalong for ‘More’ and ‘Late Goodbye’ was great too.

The setlist was the same as in Espoo, but the gig was much better. More energy and more fun.

After the gig I saw them all except for Jari (no clue where he disappeared too). I didn’t feel like bothering the guys though and only watched them. Talked to Jaska for bit and stole another hug before I left at around 2:30. Was back at my Hotel by 3:00 a.m., too wound up to sleep and stayed up till 5 in the morning. What a great night!

Setlist

The ultimate Fling
Diamonds for Tears
Save me
Sorry go round
Stay
Clevermind
Passion colors everything
Miss impossible
Illusion & Dream
Locking up the Sun
More
Carnival of Rust
Lift
Late goodbye

Sitting down for the Poets

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Poets of the Fall – Sellosali, Espoo; September 24th 2008

I arrived a few hours before the gig and spent quite some time browsing the shops at the mall. In summer I had promised Jaska a copy of the pop-art poster I had made, so I had brough that with me. Since the tourbus was there, I was hoping to see at least one of the guys before the gig, but no such luck. Or so I thought…

I was just sitting on a bench, eating an apple, when I saw Jaska walking by so I called out to him and he came over. I handed him the posters and told him there were six – one for each of them. He thanked me and hugged me, then had to leave in a hurry.

It was time for me to walk over to the concert hall. Met a few friends and spent the time shooting the breeze until they let us in. Had a great view from my seat in 5th row but felt weird nonetheless – I cannot really sit down at a concert.

They started at 7 p.m. sharp and it was noticable right away that this was a concert hall – the sound was fantastic. They started with ‘The ultimate Fling’, followed by ‘Diamonds for Tears’ and then – finally – I got to hear ‘Save me’ for the first time. Awesome! The audience was good too if a little too quiet for my liking. Yet the hall was sold out and it showed.

The guys were in a good mood and made it a good show. I had been hoping for an acoustic set as the location would have been perfect for it, but no such luck. Yet I loved every minute of the gig and even forgot that I was sitting down.
The audience was not that great at singing along, but they certainly knew how to clap. So much that all the Poets came out again after the last song, but unfortunately only to take one last bow.

After the show I hung out at the tourbus, because I wanted the guys to sign my Prowlers of the Fall banner.
The first one out was Jaska, once again in a hurry.
After that Ollie, Marko and Captain all at once. I patiently waited for them to get done signing autographs for everyone who was in line in front of me. The first one to see me was Ollie. He grinned and said “Nice to meet you – again. And thanks for the poster.” He remembered me 🙂
Marko was next. He also thanked me for the poster and said it was cool that I’d come all the way from Germany to see them. Not only did he remember me, but knew where I was from. I was truly amazed by that. I told him “Well, if you’re not coming to Germany I have to come here.” and he said they might come here next year. It sounded as if they really wanted to, but didn’t know if they could yet. Sweet.
Captain and Jani (who came out a bit later) didn’t remember me or if they did did not acknowledge it. They all signed my banner though and it was really cute how Captain was worried to put it on top of a (rather expensive) car for that purpose. He was genuinely afraid to sign the car by mistake.
Before we left, Jaska came back and I got another hug. What a nice ending to a nice night. Only Jari remained absent.

Setlist

The ultimate Fling
Diamonds for Tears
Save me
Sorry go round
Stay
Clevermind
Passion colors everything
Miss impossible
Illusion & Dream
Locking up the Sun
More
Carnival of Rust
Lift
Late goodbye