The Date: 18.10.2012
The Place: Tampere, Pakkahuone
The Album: Temple of Thought
The
night started on a positive note as the guy that hang my coat (leather
jacket with a hood) complemented it. I made my way to the stage and
practically just walked into the front row. I saw an opening and asked
if I could squeeze myself into it. Mikko had decided to stay at home
this time, since the tickets were a bit pricey.
So I spent my
time browsing Twitter. There were a couple of big screens at the both
sides of the stage that showed the gig that was going on at Klubi. I
have to say, this was one of the most smoothly ran events I have ever
participated. Just when Sturm und Drang finished, Poets of the Fall
started. My clock was 21.46 so they started only a minute late. The new
intro was wicked and Running out of Time is a really great start-up
song.
Marko had his feather boa, top hat and a make-up that
reminded me of the movie Crow. It is one of my favourites movies and the
black lipstick and eye-shadow really brought to mind Brandon Lee's
character. The third song was Cradled in love and Marko started the way
he has previously started Carnival of Rust: by asking a show of hands of
those who have come there with someone. Although I still have a
somewhat love-hate relationship with the song, it is right now the one
song from the new album that I really know the lyrics by heart. I should
listen the album more... During that song Jani grinned and nodded to me
and I returned the gesture.
There were a bit of stumbling during
the gig: when Marko and Jani were back to back, Jani pushed a bit too
forcefully and sent Marko scrambling forward. Later Marko bumped into
Jaska. Both mishaps were greeted with a lot of laughter. During the gig
Marko blew feathers several times to the audience. The first time it
happened the feather floated right in front of me. Me and a girl next to
me reached for it the same time. After a furious flurry of motion, I
finally lucked out and grabbed the feather and grinned like mad to Marko
who had watched the spectacle with a laugh. Later when he sent out more
feathers, I stayed back and let others get their share of the boa as
well. Now the feather is decorating one of my dragons.
The
audience was really really great, I actually felt the good vibes around
me while people sang along, clapped and cheered. Before the Carnival of
Rust Marko once again started to sing little bit of R.E.M:s The one I
love and it always throws people off a little bit. But when the song
transforms to the first chords of Carnival of Rust the audience catches
on. That moment when they realise it and a wave of applauds and cheers
rises up it sends such a rush through my body! I love it!
Marko
teased the audience by faking that he was going to throw his top hat to
the audience. As if he would ever do that! Someone from the audience
gave him a baseball cap though and he wore it like a minute and then
gave it back. This time I didn’t have a bottle or soda can with me, so I
toasted the guys with my phone during Illusion and Dream. The girl next
to me found that pretty amusing and so we laughed about it together.
It's really fun to have random encounters like that in gigs, where you
connect with someone you have never met over the shared experience.
It
was awesome to hear Signs of Life live for the first time! I had a
feeling that it might be played, so I bought it just before the gig from
the digistore and fell in love with it right away!
The overall
mood of the gig was giddy, the house and the band were rocking like
crazy and I was excited, jumping up and down and just furiously happy.
Even though the gig lasted only 45 minutes, it was a perfect gig for me,
after a couple of not so perfect. After the gig I was high on
adrenaline and just floated home to my love.
torstai 18. lokakuuta 2012
torstai 2. elokuuta 2012
No Geekgasm for Me
The Date: 2.8.2012
The Place: Helsinki, Assembly
The Album: Temple of Thought
I had really big expectations about this gig. Ridiculously big. Nerds and geeks are my people, I am one of them. And in Finland Assembly is one of the biggest gamer geek festivals. It has been orgnized since 1992 and it's audience has grown from 700 to about 5000. Just before the gig one of the organizers told the audience why Poets of the Fall was performing there. That in addition to liking Poets of the Fall's music there is also a demoscene connection. Captain has been involved with the demoscene for a long time and is known for such hits as Space Debris and Beyond Music. And of course Poets of the Fall has made music to several video games.
I have been to Assembly once before, in 2007. Then I had the privilege to hang out with some of the Byterapers and Energia crew. The former is one of the oldest demoscene groups in Finland and they were one of the organizers of the first Assembly. The latter is a production company behind Star Wreck and Iron Sky and I participated Star Wreck roleplaying game run by them in the middle of the night. Needless to say I had a blast!
This year I had to go to work on Friday but I took the day off from work on Thursday and came to Helsinki all by myself, since Mikko couldn't get a day off.
This was Assembly's 20th birthday and I was expecting non-stop geekgasms. I mean, this was the perfect opportunity to play songs that don't fit into normal tours, to really retrofit the show according to the audience. My dream set list would have consisted of Old Gods of Asgard songs, Late Goodbye, War, Dreaming Wide Awake, Grinders Blues, the Happy Song and Space Debris. But I would have been happy with just the Happy Song. I know, that it would have required rehearsing but it was Assembly's 20th birthday which is kind of a big thing. Wouldn't it have been worth it?
Now, I have to admit, that the special intro was übercool. I have been racking my brain over it, and the best I can come up with is that it is a remix of Beyond Music with a bit of Space Debris thrown into the mix. I might be completely wrong about that, but it was awesome nonetheless. Otherwise than that, the setlist was the same one with what they have been touring earlier this year. I have never ever been disappointed by a PotF-gig, until now.
But even a disappointing gig from PotfF is a great gig. It was a solid performance and I did have fun. At first it was difficult to get into the mood because of the mixing. I was in the first row where the view was perfect but the sound was anything but. I hardly could make out any of the words and the sounds were just porridge. I tried putting on earplugs, taking them off and putting only the other one on. Nothing worked. So about half way through the gig I abandoned the first row and moved several rows back where the sound was immensely better.
It was a rare and fun treat that the audience consisted mainly of guys that were sober to boot. It was fun to observe different type of an audience, for example during Carnival of Rust chorus there were a lot of fist pumping the air and I joined the crowd. There were no shoving or rude behaviour and there was plenty of room in front of the stage. My water bottle was on the floor in front of me and nobody came even close to knocking it over. At first the audience was a bit sluggish and most of the people just stood stoically and listened. But as the gig progressed, people started to participate more by clapping and fist pumping and whatnot. There was this group of 4-5 young blokes near me that were really stoked about the gig. I do hope they didn't think I was laughing at them, I was so happy that they had such a great time that I couldn't help but laugh. They moshed in a row and during Lift they danced and jumped around by locking their arms together from elbows.
After the gig I watched the game development compo with my friends, ate expensive vegetarian pizza and made my way to the nearby hotel where I spent my night before going back to Tampere and to work.
The Place: Helsinki, Assembly
The Album: Temple of Thought
I had really big expectations about this gig. Ridiculously big. Nerds and geeks are my people, I am one of them. And in Finland Assembly is one of the biggest gamer geek festivals. It has been orgnized since 1992 and it's audience has grown from 700 to about 5000. Just before the gig one of the organizers told the audience why Poets of the Fall was performing there. That in addition to liking Poets of the Fall's music there is also a demoscene connection. Captain has been involved with the demoscene for a long time and is known for such hits as Space Debris and Beyond Music. And of course Poets of the Fall has made music to several video games.
I have been to Assembly once before, in 2007. Then I had the privilege to hang out with some of the Byterapers and Energia crew. The former is one of the oldest demoscene groups in Finland and they were one of the organizers of the first Assembly. The latter is a production company behind Star Wreck and Iron Sky and I participated Star Wreck roleplaying game run by them in the middle of the night. Needless to say I had a blast!
This year I had to go to work on Friday but I took the day off from work on Thursday and came to Helsinki all by myself, since Mikko couldn't get a day off.
This was Assembly's 20th birthday and I was expecting non-stop geekgasms. I mean, this was the perfect opportunity to play songs that don't fit into normal tours, to really retrofit the show according to the audience. My dream set list would have consisted of Old Gods of Asgard songs, Late Goodbye, War, Dreaming Wide Awake, Grinders Blues, the Happy Song and Space Debris. But I would have been happy with just the Happy Song. I know, that it would have required rehearsing but it was Assembly's 20th birthday which is kind of a big thing. Wouldn't it have been worth it?
Now, I have to admit, that the special intro was übercool. I have been racking my brain over it, and the best I can come up with is that it is a remix of Beyond Music with a bit of Space Debris thrown into the mix. I might be completely wrong about that, but it was awesome nonetheless. Otherwise than that, the setlist was the same one with what they have been touring earlier this year. I have never ever been disappointed by a PotF-gig, until now.
But even a disappointing gig from PotfF is a great gig. It was a solid performance and I did have fun. At first it was difficult to get into the mood because of the mixing. I was in the first row where the view was perfect but the sound was anything but. I hardly could make out any of the words and the sounds were just porridge. I tried putting on earplugs, taking them off and putting only the other one on. Nothing worked. So about half way through the gig I abandoned the first row and moved several rows back where the sound was immensely better.
It was a rare and fun treat that the audience consisted mainly of guys that were sober to boot. It was fun to observe different type of an audience, for example during Carnival of Rust chorus there were a lot of fist pumping the air and I joined the crowd. There were no shoving or rude behaviour and there was plenty of room in front of the stage. My water bottle was on the floor in front of me and nobody came even close to knocking it over. At first the audience was a bit sluggish and most of the people just stood stoically and listened. But as the gig progressed, people started to participate more by clapping and fist pumping and whatnot. There was this group of 4-5 young blokes near me that were really stoked about the gig. I do hope they didn't think I was laughing at them, I was so happy that they had such a great time that I couldn't help but laugh. They moshed in a row and during Lift they danced and jumped around by locking their arms together from elbows.
After the gig I watched the game development compo with my friends, ate expensive vegetarian pizza and made my way to the nearby hotel where I spent my night before going back to Tampere and to work.
lauantai 9. heinäkuuta 2011
Spinal Tap Moments, Air Hugs and Tongue Wiggling
The Date: 9.7.2011
The Place: Seinäjoki, Ilona Live Carnival
The Album: Alchemy
Mikko and I arrived at the Live Carnival about half an hour before the gig started. At the front gate there were "no colors" -sign and I wondered, what has been going on in Ostrobothnia since I moved away? Has it become overrun by motorcycle gangs? Weird.
There were drunken people everywhere and I was a bit anxious. Nevertheless, there was still a spot open for us in the second row and we planted ourselves there firmly. The gig started a few minutes early, that was a first! We were at the left side of the stage, right in front of a huge loud speaker. Mikko had earplugs, but I hadn’t brought mine. I know, that was stupid but what can you do?
At the beginning of the gig there seemed to be something wrong while Dreaming Wide Awake. Olli was tuning some knobs, Captain mimed playing guitar at someone off the stage and Jaska seemed to be a bit lost. But after a while they figured things out and the gig kept on going. At first I wasn’t in to the mood: the music seemed too loud, it was too hot and some girl wanted to get a better view so she kept trying to run me over with her boobs.
But then my ears adapted, the girl backed off and the music swept me away. It was still hot as hell but it didn’t matter, I was lost in music with my loved one by my side.
Marko's Poet of the Fall character was channeling the overall mood of the audience: a bit aggressive and horny, or so it felt to me. He was clutching his crotch, swinging the microphone in front of his loins suggestively, twirling his fingers on top of his nipples and throwing some swear words among the lyrics.
And this time when people raised their hands as an answer to the question before Carnival of Rust "who of you have come here with someone?", he commented that it was a good thing that all of us weren't singles, otherwise the night wouldn't be long enough and wiggled his tong. He has done things like that before, but this time more than usual. But then there were some tender moments also, like the hugging gesture that encompassed us all and before Roses he said that he wished that he could give us all real roses.
It's been a long time since I have seen Marko doing introductions of the band or the whole band bowing hand in hand at the end of the show. All I remember from the introductions is Marko saying that Jaska plays guitar like Lucifer himself. Jaska changed his shirt at backstage at some point and when he came back, he got huge applause and a lot of cat calls. No wonder, he looked really hot that evening, even before the shirt change. Marko asked what he would have to do to get that kind of appreciation, take his shirt completely off ? But that was just a tease, pffft. Jani seemed to be in a very good mood, his smile lit the stage and I loved seeing him play bass back to back with Marko.
There was a lot of laughter on the stage during the gig. Before the encore songs started, Olli was still missing and Marko quipped that Olli had to go to take a pee. Then he started a joke but he never finished it: a man went to a bar...
After the gig I was exhausted from all the jumping and completely drenched. In addition to that my eyes had a kind of pandaish look because of a runny eyeliner. Someone might have thought that I had been in a shower with my clothes on. Oh well, it was worth it, like always. I spotted a familiar face, it was Carpe Diem that I hadn't seen in ages! I went to say hi and gave her a hug. She was in the middle of an conversation with some people, so I didn't chat long with her and went to say hi to redbossfan. It was nice to meet her but it was a bit difficult to chat while music was playing really loudly so we kept it brief. Better luck next time =)
Misc: Mikko noticed that Olli had a different acoustic guitar than what he had at the Tavastia gig.
Random funny line: (after the unfinished joke) This is the Spinal Tap moment of Poets of the Fall!
Summa summarum: One of the best things about that gig was being there with my love. Our fists pumping the air at the same time, our hands side by side doing the clock winding thing during Locking up the sun in unison with Marko, the looks and shaking our heads while laughing at Marko’s antics, Mikko giving me support to jump even higher during Lift and the kissess we shared. I am such a lucky girl that I can share the band that I love with the man that I love.
The Place: Seinäjoki, Ilona Live Carnival
The Album: Alchemy
Mikko and I arrived at the Live Carnival about half an hour before the gig started. At the front gate there were "no colors" -sign and I wondered, what has been going on in Ostrobothnia since I moved away? Has it become overrun by motorcycle gangs? Weird.
There were drunken people everywhere and I was a bit anxious. Nevertheless, there was still a spot open for us in the second row and we planted ourselves there firmly. The gig started a few minutes early, that was a first! We were at the left side of the stage, right in front of a huge loud speaker. Mikko had earplugs, but I hadn’t brought mine. I know, that was stupid but what can you do?
At the beginning of the gig there seemed to be something wrong while Dreaming Wide Awake. Olli was tuning some knobs, Captain mimed playing guitar at someone off the stage and Jaska seemed to be a bit lost. But after a while they figured things out and the gig kept on going. At first I wasn’t in to the mood: the music seemed too loud, it was too hot and some girl wanted to get a better view so she kept trying to run me over with her boobs.
But then my ears adapted, the girl backed off and the music swept me away. It was still hot as hell but it didn’t matter, I was lost in music with my loved one by my side.
Marko's Poet of the Fall character was channeling the overall mood of the audience: a bit aggressive and horny, or so it felt to me. He was clutching his crotch, swinging the microphone in front of his loins suggestively, twirling his fingers on top of his nipples and throwing some swear words among the lyrics.
And this time when people raised their hands as an answer to the question before Carnival of Rust "who of you have come here with someone?", he commented that it was a good thing that all of us weren't singles, otherwise the night wouldn't be long enough and wiggled his tong. He has done things like that before, but this time more than usual. But then there were some tender moments also, like the hugging gesture that encompassed us all and before Roses he said that he wished that he could give us all real roses.
It's been a long time since I have seen Marko doing introductions of the band or the whole band bowing hand in hand at the end of the show. All I remember from the introductions is Marko saying that Jaska plays guitar like Lucifer himself. Jaska changed his shirt at backstage at some point and when he came back, he got huge applause and a lot of cat calls. No wonder, he looked really hot that evening, even before the shirt change. Marko asked what he would have to do to get that kind of appreciation, take his shirt completely off ? But that was just a tease, pffft. Jani seemed to be in a very good mood, his smile lit the stage and I loved seeing him play bass back to back with Marko.
There was a lot of laughter on the stage during the gig. Before the encore songs started, Olli was still missing and Marko quipped that Olli had to go to take a pee. Then he started a joke but he never finished it: a man went to a bar...
After the gig I was exhausted from all the jumping and completely drenched. In addition to that my eyes had a kind of pandaish look because of a runny eyeliner. Someone might have thought that I had been in a shower with my clothes on. Oh well, it was worth it, like always. I spotted a familiar face, it was Carpe Diem that I hadn't seen in ages! I went to say hi and gave her a hug. She was in the middle of an conversation with some people, so I didn't chat long with her and went to say hi to redbossfan. It was nice to meet her but it was a bit difficult to chat while music was playing really loudly so we kept it brief. Better luck next time =)
Misc: Mikko noticed that Olli had a different acoustic guitar than what he had at the Tavastia gig.
Random funny line: (after the unfinished joke) This is the Spinal Tap moment of Poets of the Fall!
Summa summarum: One of the best things about that gig was being there with my love. Our fists pumping the air at the same time, our hands side by side doing the clock winding thing during Locking up the sun in unison with Marko, the looks and shaking our heads while laughing at Marko’s antics, Mikko giving me support to jump even higher during Lift and the kissess we shared. I am such a lucky girl that I can share the band that I love with the man that I love.
sunnuntai 12. kesäkuuta 2011
Blood, Sweat and Rock'n'Roll
The Date: 12.6.2011
The Place: Helsinki, Kalasatama
The Place: Helsinki, Kalasatama
The Album: Alchemy
This time I was flying solo and I traveled to Helsinki by train all by myself. When I arrived at Helsinki metro station, I was a bit at loss, where to go and what to do. There I met S, who was also going to see Poets of the Fall and approached me asking for advise how to reach Kalasatama. We were both equally lost, so we decided to go all the way down to the platforms and figure things out together. As we descended, we witnessed an accident that happened on the escalator beside us. An older gentleman fell backwards and hit his head on the escalator. There was blood all over and S ran to help the man. She and a couple of guys carried him down to the platform, I also helped a bit with his legs. At first he was unconscious but soon regained consciousness. Someone had called an ambulance and we (and a few others that helped) stayed with the man until security guards appeared and took over for us. S went to wash her hands that were all bloodied as she had tended the man's injured head. She told me that she was studying to become a nurse.
After that we managed to find our way to the right metro cart but almost missed the Kalasatama stop and we ran out of the cart at the last minute. We followed the river of people and met S's friends near the gates. Then we proceeded near the stage as the gig was about to start at any minute. S and her friends decided to stay near the mixing booth but I wanted to get closer so we decided to meet again after the gig. I was able to get approximately to the tenth row where I had a really good view to the stage. I was wearing platform sandals and as the audience before me consisted mainly of young girls I had no trouble seeing. For once I can understand how my significant other feels while on gigs, as he is six foot five and most of the Poets of the Fall's audience is females.
The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky and it was almost 30 degrees Celsius out there. The gig started with Dreaming Wide Awake, followed by Given and Denied, Locking Up the Sun, Carnival of Rust and finally Lift. It was a great combination of fast rocking songs and slower ballads in between, perfect for a such a hot day. The slower songs gave the audience a breather and a chance to gather strength to jump up and down during the faster songs. Marko was on a funny mood, during the gig he laughed maniacally, knocked the microphone stand down, spread water all over, showed us his booty and conducted our yells and cheers like an orchestra. Before Carnival of Rust he asked the audience to show hands if they had come there with someone. Quite a lot raised their hands and Marko said that he was perversely disappointed, that there weren't more singles out there.
Other moments that stuck to my mind were during Locking up the sun when Captain waved his hand like a lasso, Marko did his clock winding thing and some point where Olli slided really coolly to the other side of the stage in front of Marko. Just before Lift was over, Marko urged us to shout: Finnish summer! Nice weather! Friends! And Poets of the Fall! That about sums that day up nicely. Captain had a really cool stetson on his head the whole gig and when the guys left the stage, he teased us by faking that he was going to throw that into the audience. But of course he didn't. What a shame, it was a really good looking hat =) The whole gig was over way sooner that I would have liked, it lasted about 25 minutes. It was great and all, but it was like an appetizer or a quick fix, I imagine. Just enough to keep the withdrawal at bay but not enough to leave me satisfied. But it was fun while it lasted.
After that I met with my newfound friends and we left the area since there wasn't anything that interested us anymore. We bought some ice-cream, sat in a park and enjoyed the sunny day until our trains departed. Mine was canceled because of an arson that took place the night before, so I had to pay some extra for a pendolino ride. I was happy nonetheless, since the day was an unexpected adventure, like all Poets of the Fall gigs are!
Money spent: 65 euros (train rides)
People helped: 1
New gig friends found: 3
Fun had: immeasurable
perjantai 18. maaliskuuta 2011
Joygasms and Good Old Times
The Date: 18.3.2011
The Place: Helsinki, Tavastia
The Album: Alchemy vol 1
When we (me and my significant other, Mikko) arrived at Tavastia, we decided to leave our jackets in the car, because we didn't have any cash with us to pay the “service-fee” for coats and the parking space we found was very close to the club. We entered and the doorman was a bit rude, he said that we would have to pay the fee nevertheless. I can understand paying for the service, but paying for the service I don't use? That's just ridiculous. So we just sneaked past the coat hangers.
Petri was selling merchandise so I went to say hi to him and talked a bit. Then we entered the stage-area. I would have imagined, that because we arrived there so late (about fifteen past nine) there were no chance to get even a decent view to the stage. But fortunately I was mistaken. We were able to find a great spot at the left side of the stage, first it was about 5 rows from the stage and then it was about three. We had a great visibility and Mikko was able to take some nice pictures also.
The new intro was cool. Mikko said that it was definitely made by Captain, he could hear the demoscene-influences in it. When you have seen enough demos, you recognize the style. The gig started only 5 minutes late, that was surprise to Mikko but not to me. For some reason Tavastia gigs usually start on time.
The gig started with "Can you Hear Me" and was a nonstop joygasm for me from that moment on. I sang along with all might of my lungs, jumped, danced, giggled and laughed. I was surprised that "No End, No Beginning" was the third song, I was dead sure that it would be the last song of the gig and the lights of the stage would go out as the last sentence of that song would echo. But maybe it would have been too obvious of a choice. It was nevertheless amazing to hear those new songs live for the first time.
I loved hearing Sleep after such a long time. I think I have heard it live once or twice, it has been very rare indeed. And as I love Roses, it was joyous to hear it first time as a live performance. As Marko introduced it, many people have wished that it would be on their set list.
There were a lot of “oh, those good old times” vibes and moves present on the show. During Locking up the Sun's “Someone who holds out a hand and turns back time” Marko held out his hand once and turned it like winding back time. There was raising of bottles and glasses during Illusion and Dream, I had my own juice bottle with me just because of that. The song/play competition between Olli and Marko during Late Goodbye and using Illusion and Dream as the fake-ending. I have heard it so many times as a final song or final song before encores, that now every time I hear it on the radio or from cd, my mind automatically adds “Poets of the Fall thanks you, good night!” to the ending of the song!
But there were also some unpredictability also. The thing that sticks to my mind mostly, was just before Carnival of Rust. At the front row there was this young girl, who had a gray felt bowler hat. Marko asked her if he could borrow it, put in on top pf his head and said that he has to get into the character. Then he struck a pose that was straight from the video and held it for a few moments. Then he “came to life”, grinned maniacally and started moving mechanically as the song started. Then he returned the hat and started to perform the song as usual. I was awestruck and just stared at the stage and said “whoa” under my breath.
During some of the songs, Marko started draw with black marker pen some doodles on his left arm while singing. During at the end of “Given and Denied”, there is this sort of outro, where the music swells up and rises. I love that outro and what I love even more, is that Captain does this thing with his hands during it, he raises his hands while the music is rising. I noticed it when they were touring with “Twilight Theater” and was pleased to see that he still does it.
There were also some mistakes and missteps, as Marko forgot what he was singing during Locking up the Sun and Captain stumbled on his way back to his keyboards at the beginning of Late Goodbye.
Marko also mentioned that there were quite an international audience gathered there that night and he hoped they would enjoy their stay. And then they performed Stay.
The encore songs were fittingly Late Goodbye, Carnival of Rust and Lift. I just love that Carnival of Rust and Lift are back to back, because to me they are different sides of a same coin. Carnival of Rust is heart wrenching, achingly beautiful song, that makes me want to cry and Lift is so full of positive energy that it makes me laugh out loud. I also love the little changes that Marko does to the melody while Carnival of Rust.
And so the gig ended. All the 15 songs from Alchemy, hour and a half of pure joy.
But the fun wasn't over yet. I had no idea that there were so many old friends. There were Bolo Hamwitch and his girlfriend, Tuitu and the Cheerleaders with plastic inflatable instruments and for a longest of time, LivingDeathGirl.It felt like the good old days again, a lot of hugging, laughing and enthusing. I also said briefly hi and bye to Mako. For a while, it felt like I got back my family that I thought I lost.
After a while, the boys appeared to give out autographs. I had with me the Alchemy cover, because this time I wanted to get all of the autographs at the same page. And so I did. I thanked Olli for the gig that was the greatest party ever and Jani thanked me for being there. I couldn't stop smiling and at the end of the night my cheeks were actually hurting for smiling so much. I got to share awesome gig with my love and lovely forum peeps. Cherry on top was seeing LivingDeathGirl after such a long time, I didn't even realize how much I had missed her. Then we said our goodbyes and I left with my love back to Tampere, high as a kite.
The Place: Helsinki, Tavastia
The Album: Alchemy vol 1
When we (me and my significant other, Mikko) arrived at Tavastia, we decided to leave our jackets in the car, because we didn't have any cash with us to pay the “service-fee” for coats and the parking space we found was very close to the club. We entered and the doorman was a bit rude, he said that we would have to pay the fee nevertheless. I can understand paying for the service, but paying for the service I don't use? That's just ridiculous. So we just sneaked past the coat hangers.
Petri was selling merchandise so I went to say hi to him and talked a bit. Then we entered the stage-area. I would have imagined, that because we arrived there so late (about fifteen past nine) there were no chance to get even a decent view to the stage. But fortunately I was mistaken. We were able to find a great spot at the left side of the stage, first it was about 5 rows from the stage and then it was about three. We had a great visibility and Mikko was able to take some nice pictures also.
The new intro was cool. Mikko said that it was definitely made by Captain, he could hear the demoscene-influences in it. When you have seen enough demos, you recognize the style. The gig started only 5 minutes late, that was surprise to Mikko but not to me. For some reason Tavastia gigs usually start on time.
The gig started with "Can you Hear Me" and was a nonstop joygasm for me from that moment on. I sang along with all might of my lungs, jumped, danced, giggled and laughed. I was surprised that "No End, No Beginning" was the third song, I was dead sure that it would be the last song of the gig and the lights of the stage would go out as the last sentence of that song would echo. But maybe it would have been too obvious of a choice. It was nevertheless amazing to hear those new songs live for the first time.
I loved hearing Sleep after such a long time. I think I have heard it live once or twice, it has been very rare indeed. And as I love Roses, it was joyous to hear it first time as a live performance. As Marko introduced it, many people have wished that it would be on their set list.
There were a lot of “oh, those good old times” vibes and moves present on the show. During Locking up the Sun's “Someone who holds out a hand and turns back time” Marko held out his hand once and turned it like winding back time. There was raising of bottles and glasses during Illusion and Dream, I had my own juice bottle with me just because of that. The song/play competition between Olli and Marko during Late Goodbye and using Illusion and Dream as the fake-ending. I have heard it so many times as a final song or final song before encores, that now every time I hear it on the radio or from cd, my mind automatically adds “Poets of the Fall thanks you, good night!” to the ending of the song!
But there were also some unpredictability also. The thing that sticks to my mind mostly, was just before Carnival of Rust. At the front row there was this young girl, who had a gray felt bowler hat. Marko asked her if he could borrow it, put in on top pf his head and said that he has to get into the character. Then he struck a pose that was straight from the video and held it for a few moments. Then he “came to life”, grinned maniacally and started moving mechanically as the song started. Then he returned the hat and started to perform the song as usual. I was awestruck and just stared at the stage and said “whoa” under my breath.
During some of the songs, Marko started draw with black marker pen some doodles on his left arm while singing. During at the end of “Given and Denied”, there is this sort of outro, where the music swells up and rises. I love that outro and what I love even more, is that Captain does this thing with his hands during it, he raises his hands while the music is rising. I noticed it when they were touring with “Twilight Theater” and was pleased to see that he still does it.
There were also some mistakes and missteps, as Marko forgot what he was singing during Locking up the Sun and Captain stumbled on his way back to his keyboards at the beginning of Late Goodbye.
Marko also mentioned that there were quite an international audience gathered there that night and he hoped they would enjoy their stay. And then they performed Stay.
The encore songs were fittingly Late Goodbye, Carnival of Rust and Lift. I just love that Carnival of Rust and Lift are back to back, because to me they are different sides of a same coin. Carnival of Rust is heart wrenching, achingly beautiful song, that makes me want to cry and Lift is so full of positive energy that it makes me laugh out loud. I also love the little changes that Marko does to the melody while Carnival of Rust.
And so the gig ended. All the 15 songs from Alchemy, hour and a half of pure joy.
But the fun wasn't over yet. I had no idea that there were so many old friends. There were Bolo Hamwitch and his girlfriend, Tuitu and the Cheerleaders with plastic inflatable instruments and for a longest of time, LivingDeathGirl.It felt like the good old days again, a lot of hugging, laughing and enthusing. I also said briefly hi and bye to Mako. For a while, it felt like I got back my family that I thought I lost.
After a while, the boys appeared to give out autographs. I had with me the Alchemy cover, because this time I wanted to get all of the autographs at the same page. And so I did. I thanked Olli for the gig that was the greatest party ever and Jani thanked me for being there. I couldn't stop smiling and at the end of the night my cheeks were actually hurting for smiling so much. I got to share awesome gig with my love and lovely forum peeps. Cherry on top was seeing LivingDeathGirl after such a long time, I didn't even realize how much I had missed her. Then we said our goodbyes and I left with my love back to Tampere, high as a kite.
torstai 1. huhtikuuta 2010
Second Home
The Date: 1.4.2010
The Place: Tampere, Klubi
The Album: Twilight Theatre
I arrived at the Klubi when the warm-up band, Phoenix Effect had performed about three songs. My friend was saving me a seat and where we sat, we had fairly good view to the stage. I had never seen or listened to the Phoenix. At first it sounded a bit generic but after a while I started liking their sound. Not love at first sight, but I wouldn't mind seeing them again. After they had finished, it was time to start looking for a better spot. My friend stayed at the back, but I started gradually making my way closer to the stage.
A little bit of luck and courtesy can take you a long way. I got as far as the third row just by navigating around people but then I hit a wall. Before me were two long blokes, but there seemed to be room in front of them. So I asked if I could get pass them and they gave me a passage between them. So now I was at the second row, at the far left. At there I stayed for a good long while, because the schedule was late. In front of me were a bit older couple very much in love. They were very close to each other and that left a small gap at the front row. So after the first song I tapped the woman on her shoulder and asked if the spot was free. It was
The set list consisted of the whole Twilight Theatre and some selected hits from previous albums. Because of work and theatre performances, I hadn't had much time to listen the new album and therefore I didn't know most of the lyrics. So most of the time I just listened and started to make myself familiar with the songs in addition to observing the show. Olli, Jani and Jaska had fun, they played together in group several times. While Illusion and Dream I catched Olli's eye and he nodded to me, then waved. For all I know he might have waved to someone else, but I waved back to him nevertheless.
Marko seemed to be on his own zone. Couple of times he did interact with the audience but it seemed he concentrated more on his own performance than anything else. During You're Still Here he even sang a while with his eyes closed while bended on his knees on the stage. As the new songs are mainly on the slower side, more peaceful approach might be carefully thought out. But then again, it might have been because Marko was bit under the weather.
I did not notice it, but he told us a funny story what happened during their visit to Russia.
(I can't recall this word for word, so correct me if I am wrong) For some reason, Marko had missed their bus to railway station and he had their chauffeur to drive him to the station. What took the bus an hour and 10 minutes, the chauffeur drove in 45 minutes. Near the station he said that from there Marko would run faster than the car would go. So Marko grabbed his things and ran. Jani was outside the right train yelling Marko, coaching him the right place and would have missed the train also if Marko hadn't made it. So that is how Marko got his laryngitis.
What really warmed my heart was the fact that they said that Tampere was like a second home to them, had been ever since they had their first tours first gig here. And that it was nice to be back, as it had been a long time since they had been here last. After that someone from the audience shouted: yes it has!
For me the gig was a great introduction to the new album, after it a lot of the songs played back in my mind for hours. It was a rare treat to hear a whole album on a gig but still I kinda missed the hour-and-a-half-sweat-aerobic type of rocking it out even though I managed to get a light sweat while jumping up and down during Locking up the Sun and Lift!
After the gig I said briefly hi to Tiia, Satu and Jutta and headed home as my love came to get me so that I wouldn't have to walk home all alone in the night. Next up, Tavastia.
The Place: Tampere, Klubi
The Album: Twilight Theatre
I arrived at the Klubi when the warm-up band, Phoenix Effect had performed about three songs. My friend was saving me a seat and where we sat, we had fairly good view to the stage. I had never seen or listened to the Phoenix. At first it sounded a bit generic but after a while I started liking their sound. Not love at first sight, but I wouldn't mind seeing them again. After they had finished, it was time to start looking for a better spot. My friend stayed at the back, but I started gradually making my way closer to the stage.
A little bit of luck and courtesy can take you a long way. I got as far as the third row just by navigating around people but then I hit a wall. Before me were two long blokes, but there seemed to be room in front of them. So I asked if I could get pass them and they gave me a passage between them. So now I was at the second row, at the far left. At there I stayed for a good long while, because the schedule was late. In front of me were a bit older couple very much in love. They were very close to each other and that left a small gap at the front row. So after the first song I tapped the woman on her shoulder and asked if the spot was free. It was
The set list consisted of the whole Twilight Theatre and some selected hits from previous albums. Because of work and theatre performances, I hadn't had much time to listen the new album and therefore I didn't know most of the lyrics. So most of the time I just listened and started to make myself familiar with the songs in addition to observing the show. Olli, Jani and Jaska had fun, they played together in group several times. While Illusion and Dream I catched Olli's eye and he nodded to me, then waved. For all I know he might have waved to someone else, but I waved back to him nevertheless.
Marko seemed to be on his own zone. Couple of times he did interact with the audience but it seemed he concentrated more on his own performance than anything else. During You're Still Here he even sang a while with his eyes closed while bended on his knees on the stage. As the new songs are mainly on the slower side, more peaceful approach might be carefully thought out. But then again, it might have been because Marko was bit under the weather.
I did not notice it, but he told us a funny story what happened during their visit to Russia.
(I can't recall this word for word, so correct me if I am wrong) For some reason, Marko had missed their bus to railway station and he had their chauffeur to drive him to the station. What took the bus an hour and 10 minutes, the chauffeur drove in 45 minutes. Near the station he said that from there Marko would run faster than the car would go. So Marko grabbed his things and ran. Jani was outside the right train yelling Marko, coaching him the right place and would have missed the train also if Marko hadn't made it. So that is how Marko got his laryngitis.
What really warmed my heart was the fact that they said that Tampere was like a second home to them, had been ever since they had their first tours first gig here. And that it was nice to be back, as it had been a long time since they had been here last. After that someone from the audience shouted: yes it has!
For me the gig was a great introduction to the new album, after it a lot of the songs played back in my mind for hours. It was a rare treat to hear a whole album on a gig but still I kinda missed the hour-and-a-half-sweat-aerobic type of rocking it out even though I managed to get a light sweat while jumping up and down during Locking up the Sun and Lift!
After the gig I said briefly hi to Tiia, Satu and Jutta and headed home as my love came to get me so that I wouldn't have to walk home all alone in the night. Next up, Tavastia.
lauantai 21. huhtikuuta 2007
Dachshunds, Cows and Pig Clubs
The Date: 21.4.2007
The Place: Pirkkahalli, Tampere
The Album: Carnival of Rust
Following PotF's gigs takes me to the strangest places. This time it was a car show. I admit, that I do like to check out cars, especially American cars from the 50's or 60's. But I would have never gone to an actual car show, if PotF hadn't been there. The place was Tampere's biggest convention hall and it was only 3,5 kilometers from my place. So I decided to walk there. The sky was pouring big, cold and wet snowflakes and the wind was chilly, but by buss the amount of time spent in the journey would have doubled, cause there isn't any straight buss line from my place to Pirkkahalli. So after half an hour walk I was there and I had enough time to check out the cars a bit too. Lots of black leather, shiny metal and an awful lot of people. I even got a glimpse of a strange show: some girls with skimpy outfits, fake tans and blond hairs were performing and singing to a pulsing beat with lyrics that went: my boobs, my boobs, my boobs are ok... Right after that I made my way into the D-hall, where PotF would be playing in 45 minutes. There were already some fans gathered near the stage, so I went and reserved me a place in the front row, fairly middle.
The sound check started right after that: Petri was banging on the drums, Jaska was tuning his guitar and Einari was just generally fixing the stage. Jaska and Einari also checked the microphones and during that, Einari blurted out: A dachshund! A cow! A pig club! And that made the gathered audience crack up. The Cheerios and some other fans arrived as well and Satu, Toola and Jolie came to say hi to me. Cause I was there so early, I had time to look around the area. The stage was pretty big. Almost as big as in some of the summer festivals. There was a space between the front row and the stage large enough to walk and in front of the first row were iron bars. This time those were at the right height for me, my arms didn't hurt and I could take a hold of them when I jumped up and down during Sorry Go 'Round and Lift. The hall was really big and very cold. It was the coldest place I have been in a gig, including outdoors. At the other end of the hall was a smaller stage and a fenced bar area. The people around me seemed quite young, this gig didn't have any age-limits. When the starting time was closing, more people started to gather around. Right next to me in the front row came a little girl that was half of my size and the other side of me were some girls who had with them some paper sheets. In those sheets were written song request and some stuff I didn't see.
When the familiar sounds of the intro of Fire begun, I started grinning. The band came to the stage and it was time to rock. Only when Fire started, it was without Ollie. Once again he had some trouble with his guitar, but the band just kept going without him. It actually didn't sound that bad, but luckily he got the guitar working in no time and the song sounded once again the way it should be. The song list was the standard: Fire, Sorry go 'Round, Delicious, Gravity, Stay, Late Goodbye, Carnival of Rust, Don't mess with me, Lift, Locking up the sun and Illusion and Dream. As usual, I jumped, moshed, sang along, danced and partied my head off in that small space in the middle of the front row. The little girl next to me spent about half of the gig staring at me, she must have thought I was a complete and utter mental case, cause most of the people just stood there and stared at the stage. But I came there to have fun and that goal was fulfilled. It is amazing how the guys are able to keep the shows fresh, every time there are special ingredients that aren't in any other gig. This was my 29th PotF-gig and I never get tired of the songs nor the show.
In between the songs Mark gave funny speeches: after Fire he said that it was a song about faija (faija is a Finnish slang word for dad), he reminded us, and especially the little ones, to drink enough fluids because of the long day and then he quirked that that was an unnecessary reminder for those at the bar-area, but they should drink water too. When Carnival of Rust was about to start, he passed the microphone to Jani, who introduced the song: now it is time to be a bit more serious, to go to the backyards of love and dig up things long buried...Then Mark took the mic back and started to sing an intro to the song: without your love my life aint nothing but this carnival of rust by repeating and prolonging the words while an acoustic guitar and a chair was brought to Ollie.
After the gigs I always have hard time remembering, what happened during what song. Anyway, during one song Ollie was playing a solo near the edge of the stage, on his knees. First Mark was by his side, but when the solo just kept on going, Mark moved behind Ollie, grabbed the mic stand and mimicked hitting Ollie with it. Poor Ollie had no idea what was happening behind his back. I just love those funny moments that happen between Ollie and Mark on the stage (the singing/playing competition during Late Goodbye, Mark singing to Ollie etc.), sometimes I swear they could be brothers! Somewhere around the end of the gig Ollie disappeared from the stage and appeared at the walking space between the stage and the front row. He went right in front of Mark, bowed to him, turned around and walked straight to me and shook my hand. After that he had to shook ten more hands that were reaching towards him and then he went back to the stage. I just LOVE the fact that they are so nice to the fans and do notice the ones that have been going to the gigs from the start. It makes the gig so much more special when you get a smile from the stage and see from the look of their eyes that they recognize you and appreciate your coming to the gig.
After Lift the whole band disappeared from the stage. I was a bit worried that the audience wouldn't demand more, but my worry was unfounded. Clapping just continued and after a while the band came back to the stage. Mark joked that now that only true fans were left, the party could really start, that the gig before was just a warm up. Oh how I wished he wasn't kidding. But he was and after two more songs it was truly over. After that I talked a bit with Cheerios, Toola, Jolie and maaru and I also spotted Jack of all trades, who had really awesome short leather jacket on him. After I left the hall, I noticed that the guys were handing out autographs at the corridor, so I just stopped to observe the situation for a while and Ollie waved at me and said hi. After a while there was only Captain writing his autograph for two young girls and then he asked if the girls wanted autographs from the whole band. The girls said yes, so Captain just knocked on the nearby door (on the door there was taped a paper that said Poets of the Fall) and went in to get the rest of the autos. Right about that time I left the building and started to walk home. The clock was 2.30 in the afternoon and it was somewhat surreal to be walking home in daylight.
Following PotF's gigs takes me to the strangest places. This time it was a car show. I admit, that I do like to check out cars, especially American cars from the 50's or 60's. But I would have never gone to an actual car show, if PotF hadn't been there. The place was Tampere's biggest convention hall and it was only 3,5 kilometers from my place. So I decided to walk there. The sky was pouring big, cold and wet snowflakes and the wind was chilly, but by buss the amount of time spent in the journey would have doubled, cause there isn't any straight buss line from my place to Pirkkahalli. So after half an hour walk I was there and I had enough time to check out the cars a bit too. Lots of black leather, shiny metal and an awful lot of people. I even got a glimpse of a strange show: some girls with skimpy outfits, fake tans and blond hairs were performing and singing to a pulsing beat with lyrics that went: my boobs, my boobs, my boobs are ok... Right after that I made my way into the D-hall, where PotF would be playing in 45 minutes. There were already some fans gathered near the stage, so I went and reserved me a place in the front row, fairly middle.
The sound check started right after that: Petri was banging on the drums, Jaska was tuning his guitar and Einari was just generally fixing the stage. Jaska and Einari also checked the microphones and during that, Einari blurted out: A dachshund! A cow! A pig club! And that made the gathered audience crack up. The Cheerios and some other fans arrived as well and Satu, Toola and Jolie came to say hi to me. Cause I was there so early, I had time to look around the area. The stage was pretty big. Almost as big as in some of the summer festivals. There was a space between the front row and the stage large enough to walk and in front of the first row were iron bars. This time those were at the right height for me, my arms didn't hurt and I could take a hold of them when I jumped up and down during Sorry Go 'Round and Lift. The hall was really big and very cold. It was the coldest place I have been in a gig, including outdoors. At the other end of the hall was a smaller stage and a fenced bar area. The people around me seemed quite young, this gig didn't have any age-limits. When the starting time was closing, more people started to gather around. Right next to me in the front row came a little girl that was half of my size and the other side of me were some girls who had with them some paper sheets. In those sheets were written song request and some stuff I didn't see.
When the familiar sounds of the intro of Fire begun, I started grinning. The band came to the stage and it was time to rock. Only when Fire started, it was without Ollie. Once again he had some trouble with his guitar, but the band just kept going without him. It actually didn't sound that bad, but luckily he got the guitar working in no time and the song sounded once again the way it should be. The song list was the standard: Fire, Sorry go 'Round, Delicious, Gravity, Stay, Late Goodbye, Carnival of Rust, Don't mess with me, Lift, Locking up the sun and Illusion and Dream. As usual, I jumped, moshed, sang along, danced and partied my head off in that small space in the middle of the front row. The little girl next to me spent about half of the gig staring at me, she must have thought I was a complete and utter mental case, cause most of the people just stood there and stared at the stage. But I came there to have fun and that goal was fulfilled. It is amazing how the guys are able to keep the shows fresh, every time there are special ingredients that aren't in any other gig. This was my 29th PotF-gig and I never get tired of the songs nor the show.
In between the songs Mark gave funny speeches: after Fire he said that it was a song about faija (faija is a Finnish slang word for dad), he reminded us, and especially the little ones, to drink enough fluids because of the long day and then he quirked that that was an unnecessary reminder for those at the bar-area, but they should drink water too. When Carnival of Rust was about to start, he passed the microphone to Jani, who introduced the song: now it is time to be a bit more serious, to go to the backyards of love and dig up things long buried...Then Mark took the mic back and started to sing an intro to the song: without your love my life aint nothing but this carnival of rust by repeating and prolonging the words while an acoustic guitar and a chair was brought to Ollie.
After the gigs I always have hard time remembering, what happened during what song. Anyway, during one song Ollie was playing a solo near the edge of the stage, on his knees. First Mark was by his side, but when the solo just kept on going, Mark moved behind Ollie, grabbed the mic stand and mimicked hitting Ollie with it. Poor Ollie had no idea what was happening behind his back. I just love those funny moments that happen between Ollie and Mark on the stage (the singing/playing competition during Late Goodbye, Mark singing to Ollie etc.), sometimes I swear they could be brothers! Somewhere around the end of the gig Ollie disappeared from the stage and appeared at the walking space between the stage and the front row. He went right in front of Mark, bowed to him, turned around and walked straight to me and shook my hand. After that he had to shook ten more hands that were reaching towards him and then he went back to the stage. I just LOVE the fact that they are so nice to the fans and do notice the ones that have been going to the gigs from the start. It makes the gig so much more special when you get a smile from the stage and see from the look of their eyes that they recognize you and appreciate your coming to the gig.
After Lift the whole band disappeared from the stage. I was a bit worried that the audience wouldn't demand more, but my worry was unfounded. Clapping just continued and after a while the band came back to the stage. Mark joked that now that only true fans were left, the party could really start, that the gig before was just a warm up. Oh how I wished he wasn't kidding. But he was and after two more songs it was truly over. After that I talked a bit with Cheerios, Toola, Jolie and maaru and I also spotted Jack of all trades, who had really awesome short leather jacket on him. After I left the hall, I noticed that the guys were handing out autographs at the corridor, so I just stopped to observe the situation for a while and Ollie waved at me and said hi. After a while there was only Captain writing his autograph for two young girls and then he asked if the girls wanted autographs from the whole band. The girls said yes, so Captain just knocked on the nearby door (on the door there was taped a paper that said Poets of the Fall) and went in to get the rest of the autos. Right about that time I left the building and started to walk home. The clock was 2.30 in the afternoon and it was somewhat surreal to be walking home in daylight.
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