The Date: 09.11.2005
The Place: Access All Areas, Kulturhuset, Stockholm
The Album: Signs of Life
This time I did sleep before leaving to Sweden. For about two
hours…Because the Cheerios went to Stockholm by plane and I wasn’t able
to lure anyone with me, I travelled alone in a boat to Stockholm. The
trip lasted about 11 hours and during that I toured the ship, slept,
ate, sang karaoke (Bon Jovi’s Wanted dead or alive) and slept again.
Luckily there was also internet, so I could check the forum!
When I finally arrived to Stockholm, the cheerios were nowhere at
sight. So I called to Jutta and she said that they were still in some
bar, they had thought that it would take more time to get through the
check-out…So I waited them for fifteen minutes by a runestone in the
terminal and saw a guy that reminded me of Tapio. The girls came with
Jutta’s Italian friend, Alicia (sorry I don’t remember the name
correctly) and hugging started. Then we hopped to the bus and for some
reason, the driver didn’t take my money or give me a ticket, just
gestured that I could go and have a seat. Weird folk those Swedish!
We changed to an underground (there I had to buy a ticket) that
reminded me of Berlin and then we were at the gig site. The girls wanted
to have a smoke before going in, because you can’t smoke inside in
Sweden. I was glad about it, but some of our party was pissed because of
it =)
The timetable was pinned into a fence there and girls scribbled
below ‘The Poets of the Fall’ a text that said: feat. Da cheerios!
We had to wait three hours before the Poets would be at stage and we
spent that time in upstairs where there was a bar lounge. But there
wasn’t any chairs or background music so it was a bit boring
place..Luckily we ran into Captain and Kiffe. We chatted a while with
Captain and during that time Stenfan and Daniel (Swedish fans) joined
us. It took about 10 minutes before they noticed who was with us and
then the fun started =) Funny and sweet guys they were.
A whole lot of talking and laughing, one sandwich, few songs from
some other band and climbing up and down of awful stairs (they must had
been made for giants) after, it was finally 11 pm.
We gathered in front of the stage and saw also JackOfAllTrades
there. The guys were having a lot of difficulties with the equipment and
they kept tuning them. We were getting a bit restless and worried,
because there wasn’t much of a crowd anymore. The clock was running fast
and nothing happened. Finally the familiar sounds of Don’t mess with me
started and the band was ready to start. Then I just flipped. Lost my
mind. Went crazy. At first I was as near the stage I could get to, but
there were a couple of photographers so I moved to where the
Cheerleaders were, just a bit further from the stage but still in the
front row. Mark reached out his hand for each of us and when he was
holding my hand, I twirled around in his grip once, just for the fun of
it. Mark was also reaching his hand to an apparently Swedish girl who
was so scared of that fact that she practically jumped backwards! When
Mark kept reaching, she approached his hand carefully and touched it a
bit. At one point Mark also jumped off the stage and strolled little
amongst the audience. Ollie was really going wild with his guitar and
all of the guys seemed to have fun. Mark also asked the audience sang
the lalalaa-part in Shallow.
The gig lasted only an half an hour, what a pity. Then we were
thrown out of the club, because Poets were the last act and the place
was closing. We hang around outside for a while and then the guys showed
up. Mark gave us a group hug and was amused and pleased that we had
come to Sweden. Ollie said that it was really nice that we were there
and all I could reply to him was: yay!
I meant to say: It is always great to see your show, in Finland or
in abroad. And wow, it is so nice to hear that you appreciate that we
follow you around all the time =)
But nooo, that was too difficult for my poor brains..Luckily Tiia
showed up and hugged Ollie at that point and after that so did I. *sigh*
I’m amazed how every time those guys can affect me so strongly…
The guys got into a taxi and we started to look for a bar that was
still open (most of the bars were closed at 12 in Sweden) and we found
one called Kelly’s. It was decorated with pictures from 1950’s and the
music was supposed to be heavy and dark rock. The playlist was:
Metallica, Metallica, Korn, Metallica, System of a down, Metallica,
Metallica…
Nothing wrong with that, but a little variety would have been nice.
We hang there until 3 am, talking, laughing and drinking. Then we got
thrown out there (once again closing time) and decided to go to a
McDonals for a late night snack. At that point we were getting really
tired, and that showed. I hadn’t laugh so hard in many months! We had a
hysterical talking hamburger box entertaining us there with his sexy low
voice.
Then we got thrown out there too (closing) and we left to wander
along the almost empty streets of Stockholm by night. Alicia took a buss
and left home, Tiia and Jutta curled up in a park bench. Me and Satu
wanted to go somewhere warm (it was freezing outside) and we spotted an
underground station. We all went inside, took a stack of free
newspapers, laid them down near the wall and sat down. The terminal
would be open in about two hours and we spent hour and a half sitting at
an underground station’s hall, dozing off and every once in a while
bursting out to sing Poets or James Blunt or whatever. The passers by
had interesting expressions on their face: some were amused, some
pitying and some just baffeled. Then some woman wanted the newspapers
under our assess and we left towards the boat terminal. It wasn’t open
yet and we met JackOfAllTrades out there on a bench. When we got inside,
we had to wait an hour before we got to the boat. We spent that hour by
sleeping in a café.
When we got to the boat, we went straight to our cabin and to sleep.
We slept about six hours, woke up and went to eat something. We visited
also the tax-free shop and there I got harassed by an drunk old man. He
told Jutta that I looked pretty as a God’s angel. Strange image of them
he must have, I had a bad hairday and I was wearing black gothic styled
clothes…And when I was looking through forum again, some drunk man
(don’t know if it was the same) tried to mumble something about the net.
The girls came to my rescue and we went to the boat’s dance restaurant.
There was a band called Hospital performing and people were dancing
tango. There was this one couple that danced amazingly well, it was a
pleasure to watch.
We were at Turku at 8 pm approximately and the train to Helsinki
left at 9 pm. We bought some tasty hotdogs, boarded the train and slept
almost the whole way to Helsinki.
I was tired but happy and grinning again. The trip was exactly what I
needed right then and there, it was amazing to be in a gig again and
see the guys and I loved travelling with Cheerios!
It was my first time in Stockholm and even if I didn’t get to really see the city, I had the time of my life!
keskiviikko 9. marraskuuta 2005
perjantai 16. syyskuuta 2005
Because they are worth it
The Date: 16.8.2005
The Place: Frannz, Popkomm, Berlin, Germany
The Album: Signs of Life
When MelesMeles, SLS and I found the ticket office, we were baffled by the fact that the timetable had changed. It showed that Poets would be at 10 pm. instead of 11 pm. Well, me and SLS were glad because we wanted to see another great Finnish band called Lullacry. They were supposed to perform at 11 pm at a nearby club. Another thing that surprised us was that I had reserved us tickets via e-mail but no one in the office seemed to know that. We got our tickets anyway and left to tour the city a bit.
We were at the meeting-site at 7.00 pm sharp. Only problem was that we were unsure of what side we should be: the entrance-side or the side where there was a big sign that said Sparkasse. So we just kept patrolling between those two and we were getting a bit bored and irritated. But we kept our spirits up by singing Someone Special, Shallow and Late Goodbye. The others (Jutta, Perla, Sascha, Vilma, Rasputin, Paulex, Johannes, Ellen and her boyfriend) arrived about 7.40 pm. There were lot of hugs, greetings, talk and gossip. Then we decided to search a place to eat and found ourselves in an Asian restaurant, the Royal Elephant. I wasn’t that hungry, I had had a big Falafel-thingy earlier. So I just ordered Irish coffee and some baked apples from the desert-menu. When I made the order, the waiter just laughed at me. I was like wtf, what was so funny?
The atmosphere was warm and happy, but the table was very long. Therefore there wasn’t any chance to talk to the people at the other end of the table, only those that were near you. I was getting exited and wanted to go already, but we ended up missing almost the whole gig of Humane.
When we were almost in, Rasputin realised that he had forgotten his ticket to Sascha’s car. When he and Sascha went to get it, we spotted Jani who was entering the club and said Hi to him.
When we finally got in, we found out that Poets were going to perform at 11 pm. After all. Weird.
But at the end I was glad about that. Before Poets a band called Iconcrash performed and once again I became an instant fan. I have seen them once in Tampere, but this time I really fell in love with them. After their gig SLS and I talked with the singer a bit. He was really nice and very surprised that we were from Finland.
Then the guys started to carry their gear up to the stage. I was happy that I got a few shots of Tapio; normally it is really difficult to get a decent picture of him behind the drums. And he looked really hot with that black shirt. Luckily we forum-peeps were able to get to the first and second row and I was in front of Mark’s microphone. And there weren’t any borders between the stage and the audience.
Mark gave us handshakes and soon after that the show started. He was wearing a black bowler hat and he kept playing with it, he even put it on Ollie’s head for a while. I was looking forward his speeches and I wasn’t disappointed. The normal lines were absent and he talked about watching rainy Berlin from the seventeenth floor window and driving around in a taxi. Another funny line was when he joked that luckily he was jumping so much, otherwise he would have to run backstage every now and then because all of the water he was consuming and that wouldn’t be fun at all…
I could have listened to his Gorgeous Irish Accent ™ all night, but unfortunately he wasn’t speaking so much.
Another thing that was absent was that Mark didn’t ask us to sing the lalalaa-part in Shallow, neither the chorus in Late Goodbye. But he did ask us spell the L-I-F-T and to clap our hands. At one point he asked us if we were having a good time and we shouted our lungs out and throats red. Then he pointed to the back of the place and asked if they were having a good time. I think one or two voices answered and Mark was happily surprised: he did get an answer!
The first half of the gig I was taking pictures and then I put my camera away and jumped, clapped, sang and partied. I was enjoying the fact that I was there with my friends from the forum but every now and then it hit me: this was the last gig for a very long time. Emotions ran very high and affected my brains making my memories a bit blurry…A good example of that is that I can’t remember during which song Mark grabbed my hand. I think it was Everything Fades but I’m not sure. He was reaching out his hand and so I reached mine. Then he grabbed it, leaned in, looked me in the eye and caressed his cheek with my hand. I can clearly remember only the feel of his cheek: a combination of roughness and softness. At that point I could have been knocked down with a feather. God, that man sure knows how to mess with girl’s head!
I also shared a moment of synchronised jumping with him during Lift and then he turned and shook his ass to us *laughs aloud* This time I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the other guys, but I did notice that Captains comp almost fell off! I think it was because of Ollie’s wild guitar…
When Illusion and Dream ended, the guys vanished from the stage. We clapped and yelled and made an awful racket. I think I have never clapped and yelled so much after a gig before. But that didn’t help; they didn’t even come back for a final bow.
After a while Mark showed up to greet us and I got an autograph and a hug. Then Tapio tapped at my shoulder and we talked a bit. I asked him an autograph and a hug too and then we talked a bit more. He was happily surprised that we were there; it had been nice to see familiar faces.
It would have been nice to hug and thank all of the guys, but they didn’t show up. After Mark and Tapio disappeared, we hang there a bit but then everyone just scattered around and left (but I had the chance to give the chocolate to Rasputin and meeting Rubbishrose at the gig was also nice).
I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a proper forum-meet. We didn’t even take a group-picture, not to mention group hug. And I was sad that now the whole reason to come to Germany was over and done with. But there were some adventures waiting, the Berlin-report is coming up soon.
Before I left home to come to Berlin, I thought that I was crazy. Why would I go all the way to Germany to see a Finnish band that I have seen 12 times already? After the gig the answer was clear and simple:
Because they are worth it.
------
8 months with PotF, a total:
New friends: at least 20
Gigs seen: 13
Towns visited: (Tampere), Seinäjoki, Vaasa, Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Kouvola, Berlin
Gear: red t-shirt and one red and one black wristband
Euros spent: I don’t even wanna know
Gigs top 3: Hämeenlinna, Seinäjoki acoustic, Berlin
Joy, happiness and excitement experienced and spreaded: immeasurable
A big THANK YOU and *HUG* to Marko, Olli, Captain, Jani, Jaska, Tapio, Marko, Petri, the rest
of the team and every fan that I have shared these months with.
Every single gig was a dream come true.
See you next year!!
The Place: Frannz, Popkomm, Berlin, Germany
The Album: Signs of Life
When MelesMeles, SLS and I found the ticket office, we were baffled by the fact that the timetable had changed. It showed that Poets would be at 10 pm. instead of 11 pm. Well, me and SLS were glad because we wanted to see another great Finnish band called Lullacry. They were supposed to perform at 11 pm at a nearby club. Another thing that surprised us was that I had reserved us tickets via e-mail but no one in the office seemed to know that. We got our tickets anyway and left to tour the city a bit.
We were at the meeting-site at 7.00 pm sharp. Only problem was that we were unsure of what side we should be: the entrance-side or the side where there was a big sign that said Sparkasse. So we just kept patrolling between those two and we were getting a bit bored and irritated. But we kept our spirits up by singing Someone Special, Shallow and Late Goodbye. The others (Jutta, Perla, Sascha, Vilma, Rasputin, Paulex, Johannes, Ellen and her boyfriend) arrived about 7.40 pm. There were lot of hugs, greetings, talk and gossip. Then we decided to search a place to eat and found ourselves in an Asian restaurant, the Royal Elephant. I wasn’t that hungry, I had had a big Falafel-thingy earlier. So I just ordered Irish coffee and some baked apples from the desert-menu. When I made the order, the waiter just laughed at me. I was like wtf, what was so funny?
The atmosphere was warm and happy, but the table was very long. Therefore there wasn’t any chance to talk to the people at the other end of the table, only those that were near you. I was getting exited and wanted to go already, but we ended up missing almost the whole gig of Humane.
When we were almost in, Rasputin realised that he had forgotten his ticket to Sascha’s car. When he and Sascha went to get it, we spotted Jani who was entering the club and said Hi to him.
When we finally got in, we found out that Poets were going to perform at 11 pm. After all. Weird.
But at the end I was glad about that. Before Poets a band called Iconcrash performed and once again I became an instant fan. I have seen them once in Tampere, but this time I really fell in love with them. After their gig SLS and I talked with the singer a bit. He was really nice and very surprised that we were from Finland.
Then the guys started to carry their gear up to the stage. I was happy that I got a few shots of Tapio; normally it is really difficult to get a decent picture of him behind the drums. And he looked really hot with that black shirt. Luckily we forum-peeps were able to get to the first and second row and I was in front of Mark’s microphone. And there weren’t any borders between the stage and the audience.
Mark gave us handshakes and soon after that the show started. He was wearing a black bowler hat and he kept playing with it, he even put it on Ollie’s head for a while. I was looking forward his speeches and I wasn’t disappointed. The normal lines were absent and he talked about watching rainy Berlin from the seventeenth floor window and driving around in a taxi. Another funny line was when he joked that luckily he was jumping so much, otherwise he would have to run backstage every now and then because all of the water he was consuming and that wouldn’t be fun at all…
I could have listened to his Gorgeous Irish Accent ™ all night, but unfortunately he wasn’t speaking so much.
Another thing that was absent was that Mark didn’t ask us to sing the lalalaa-part in Shallow, neither the chorus in Late Goodbye. But he did ask us spell the L-I-F-T and to clap our hands. At one point he asked us if we were having a good time and we shouted our lungs out and throats red. Then he pointed to the back of the place and asked if they were having a good time. I think one or two voices answered and Mark was happily surprised: he did get an answer!
The first half of the gig I was taking pictures and then I put my camera away and jumped, clapped, sang and partied. I was enjoying the fact that I was there with my friends from the forum but every now and then it hit me: this was the last gig for a very long time. Emotions ran very high and affected my brains making my memories a bit blurry…A good example of that is that I can’t remember during which song Mark grabbed my hand. I think it was Everything Fades but I’m not sure. He was reaching out his hand and so I reached mine. Then he grabbed it, leaned in, looked me in the eye and caressed his cheek with my hand. I can clearly remember only the feel of his cheek: a combination of roughness and softness. At that point I could have been knocked down with a feather. God, that man sure knows how to mess with girl’s head!
I also shared a moment of synchronised jumping with him during Lift and then he turned and shook his ass to us *laughs aloud* This time I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the other guys, but I did notice that Captains comp almost fell off! I think it was because of Ollie’s wild guitar…
When Illusion and Dream ended, the guys vanished from the stage. We clapped and yelled and made an awful racket. I think I have never clapped and yelled so much after a gig before. But that didn’t help; they didn’t even come back for a final bow.
After a while Mark showed up to greet us and I got an autograph and a hug. Then Tapio tapped at my shoulder and we talked a bit. I asked him an autograph and a hug too and then we talked a bit more. He was happily surprised that we were there; it had been nice to see familiar faces.
It would have been nice to hug and thank all of the guys, but they didn’t show up. After Mark and Tapio disappeared, we hang there a bit but then everyone just scattered around and left (but I had the chance to give the chocolate to Rasputin and meeting Rubbishrose at the gig was also nice).
I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a proper forum-meet. We didn’t even take a group-picture, not to mention group hug. And I was sad that now the whole reason to come to Germany was over and done with. But there were some adventures waiting, the Berlin-report is coming up soon.
Before I left home to come to Berlin, I thought that I was crazy. Why would I go all the way to Germany to see a Finnish band that I have seen 12 times already? After the gig the answer was clear and simple:
Because they are worth it.
------
8 months with PotF, a total:
New friends: at least 20
Gigs seen: 13
Towns visited: (Tampere), Seinäjoki, Vaasa, Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Kouvola, Berlin
Gear: red t-shirt and one red and one black wristband
Euros spent: I don’t even wanna know
Gigs top 3: Hämeenlinna, Seinäjoki acoustic, Berlin
Joy, happiness and excitement experienced and spreaded: immeasurable
A big THANK YOU and *HUG* to Marko, Olli, Captain, Jani, Jaska, Tapio, Marko, Petri, the rest
of the team and every fan that I have shared these months with.
Every single gig was a dream come true.
See you next year!!
torstai 1. syyskuuta 2005
Mesmerized in The POTF-Dimension
The Date: 31.8.2005
The Place: Helsinki, Tavastia, Star Wreck Release Party
The Album: Signs of Life
When I arrived in Tavastia, the clock was 7.30 pm and the doors were opened at 8.00 pm.
While I was waiting, I saw quite a lot familiar faces, including Jaakko and Jani, who exited from the building and said hi to me. When I finally got in, I talked a lot with Mako, who was really bored behind the merchandise counter. He told me that all of the hoodies were sold out, for good. So you, who have one, be glad of those rare items. Just before the movie was about to start, Captain showed up and ‘stole’ a couple of wristbands from the counter; he had forgotten his own pair at home.
The movie was awesome! If there had been room, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing for real (the movie itself would require an entry of it’s own, so I just leave you with that). After the movie it was Roihu’s turn. It really wasn’t my kind of music, but I still went to the first row and took some photos of those cute guys.
And then it was PotF’s turn. This was my first time at the most famous gig place in Finland, Tavastia. Frankly, I wasn’t that impressed. Yes, it is spacey and has a big stage but other than that,
quite ordinary. There weren’t any borders between the stage and the audience but there was a little space between the edge of the stage and the amplifiers. But you had to crane your neck a bit at the first row in order to see properly. Luckily Mark had a good connection to the audience as always (although he sang with his eyes closed more than once), so that didn’t bother too much. He ran and strut along that space near the edge, shook hands with people, swung his microphone stand and sat on one of the amplifiers. When Shallow was played, he crouched in front of me, looked me straight in the eyes and sang. I was totally mesmerized, everything else faded away except his eyes and voice. Still I managed to sing along somehow and that goes to show that my mouth doesn’t need a connection to the brains in order to work :)
The guys were on a good mood, Jani almost lost his plectra and was laughing openly at that. It was really hot, so I didn’t have the energy to jump and party, so the first half of the gig I took photos. Then I put my camera away, danced, sang and grinned to Ollie every now and then. Mark was drinking a lot of water, sprinkling it all over the first row and even spraying it from his mouth. The reason for all that drinking was his voice; he didn’t want it to end up in same condition as in Linnanmäki.
At one point Mark asked if we were tired. When he got his answer he replied: “Good, cause I’m just getting started!” But to my shock, after a couple of song they just stopped and went away. We cheered them back and we got Someone Special and Illusion and Dream. As usual, before Someone Special Mark asked who had come with someone and who had come alone. That is a tricky question for me, because I usually go to the gigs by myself, but end up bumping into friends or meeting new people.
Ollie took a stool and an acoustic guitar, Captain and Tapio went to sit side by side on the drum stand for the first part of the song. When it was time to start Illusion and Dream, Mark ‘clapped’ his index fingers together and when the audience started to clap their hands, he gave us a thumbs up.
And then it was all over, once again too soon. My last gig in Finland before the gig break and I felt a little bit sad…
The Place: Helsinki, Tavastia, Star Wreck Release Party
The Album: Signs of Life
When I arrived in Tavastia, the clock was 7.30 pm and the doors were opened at 8.00 pm.
While I was waiting, I saw quite a lot familiar faces, including Jaakko and Jani, who exited from the building and said hi to me. When I finally got in, I talked a lot with Mako, who was really bored behind the merchandise counter. He told me that all of the hoodies were sold out, for good. So you, who have one, be glad of those rare items. Just before the movie was about to start, Captain showed up and ‘stole’ a couple of wristbands from the counter; he had forgotten his own pair at home.
The movie was awesome! If there had been room, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing for real (the movie itself would require an entry of it’s own, so I just leave you with that). After the movie it was Roihu’s turn. It really wasn’t my kind of music, but I still went to the first row and took some photos of those cute guys.
And then it was PotF’s turn. This was my first time at the most famous gig place in Finland, Tavastia. Frankly, I wasn’t that impressed. Yes, it is spacey and has a big stage but other than that,
quite ordinary. There weren’t any borders between the stage and the audience but there was a little space between the edge of the stage and the amplifiers. But you had to crane your neck a bit at the first row in order to see properly. Luckily Mark had a good connection to the audience as always (although he sang with his eyes closed more than once), so that didn’t bother too much. He ran and strut along that space near the edge, shook hands with people, swung his microphone stand and sat on one of the amplifiers. When Shallow was played, he crouched in front of me, looked me straight in the eyes and sang. I was totally mesmerized, everything else faded away except his eyes and voice. Still I managed to sing along somehow and that goes to show that my mouth doesn’t need a connection to the brains in order to work :)
The guys were on a good mood, Jani almost lost his plectra and was laughing openly at that. It was really hot, so I didn’t have the energy to jump and party, so the first half of the gig I took photos. Then I put my camera away, danced, sang and grinned to Ollie every now and then. Mark was drinking a lot of water, sprinkling it all over the first row and even spraying it from his mouth. The reason for all that drinking was his voice; he didn’t want it to end up in same condition as in Linnanmäki.
At one point Mark asked if we were tired. When he got his answer he replied: “Good, cause I’m just getting started!” But to my shock, after a couple of song they just stopped and went away. We cheered them back and we got Someone Special and Illusion and Dream. As usual, before Someone Special Mark asked who had come with someone and who had come alone. That is a tricky question for me, because I usually go to the gigs by myself, but end up bumping into friends or meeting new people.
Ollie took a stool and an acoustic guitar, Captain and Tapio went to sit side by side on the drum stand for the first part of the song. When it was time to start Illusion and Dream, Mark ‘clapped’ his index fingers together and when the audience started to clap their hands, he gave us a thumbs up.
And then it was all over, once again too soon. My last gig in Finland before the gig break and I felt a little bit sad…
torstai 18. elokuuta 2005
Wrong Chairs, Tape and Cops on the Way to the Poet County Jail
The Date: 18.8.2005
The Place: Helsinki, Linnanmäki
The Album: Signs of Life
The day started with meeting Rasputin, Hidden, Hexalius, Vilma and Perla in a bar called Roskapankki. I had one long drink and that was a mistake. Coupled with coffee I had in the morning, it sent me to bathroom like every half an hour..(yeah, things you’ve always wanted to know). After that we went through Linnanmäki to Hesburger. I wasn’t that hungry, so I just bought a milkshake. Then back to Linnanmäki where we met Toola, Jolie, Satu, Joh, Jutta, Tiia and LivingDeathGirl. We invaded a couple of tables and once again we should have had laptops with us: sometimes there were these silent moments because of all the excitement and the fact that we had like three tables separating us from each other.
Also one big conversation killer was Petri, Mako and Mark sitting a few tables away. Our heads just kept turning to their direction, no matter how hard we tried not to stare at them. Finally Vilma was brave enough to go there and ask Mark to come and say Hi to us and so he did. But the only vacant seat was on the other side of the table-group and honestly I didn’t hear a word Mark was saying. Then his phone rang and I thought I could go and say Hi to Petri and Mako as well because they stayed on their table when Mark came to ours. So I went there, gave them a hug and talked to them a bit. They seemed genuinely happy that someone remembered them also =) When I got back, Mark was sitting on my chair! I acted like I was shocked and petrified that he had done so and he just spread his hands and mumbled something (it’s hard to explain cause we just used sounds and body language, but you get the picture). Somebody said that I would just had to sit on his lap and I agreed. But then Mark got up and went back to the other end of the table, despite the fact that I told him he could just sat on my chair. I guess the poor guy was so scared of me (I wont bite, unless I’m asked to)…But then Captain and Ollie appeared, said Hi to us and dragged Mark away from us.
After that I ran to the other side of the table and asked, what was Mark been talking about. Satu told me that he had been very tired; he had been giving interviews for the whole day. He had also told that they would have to be at 6. Am at the airport and asked was anyone going to Denmark. The girls had said no, but they had had trouble keeping a straight face, so…
We heard that Poets would be the last act and so we decided to go on a PotF-rollercoaster ride in the meantime (before that I saw the Carpark North gig and totally fell in love with those songs). On the way we spotted Ollie and waved at him. This was my first real roller coaster ride and I screamed my head off, I hope Rasputin still has his hearing left…
After that it was time to go and try getting best possible view to the stage. We got to as far as 4th or 5th row, it was impossible to get to the front row, it had been populated by a bunch of teenagers. When we were waiting for the show to start, my purse’s zipper got caught on the zipper of a backpack in front of me. When I was trying to release it, the girl turned and asked what I was doing. I told her that it was an accident, but she didn’t believe me! She and her friends were very suspicious of me but luckily I was able to change place after a while. I lost my nerve for the audience more than once; they were screaming and undulating back and forth, crushing each other and me at the process. And it was very evident, that most of them were the ‘Kiss FM and NRJ-generation’, the only song they were really singing along the whole way was Illusion and Dream (I&D has been powerplayed on both of those stations).
This time I wasn’t so analytical and observant as I usually am, I was just so ecstatic that I could hear those songs live again, that I was on the gig with the most wonderful people on earth (the forum-peeps I mean) and irritated by the rest of the crowd. Where I was standing, I could really only see Mark and sometimes a bit of Ollie too…Mark asked the audience to sang a bit and to clap their hands. The clapping went fine, but as I mentioned, the crowd was a little unresponsive when it came to singing. The only new things in that show for me were Mark’s cool hat (I just love it!) and at the end of the show Mark taping himself with red tape..I just have to ask him sometime what the hell does that mean, or does it mean anything. I won’t probably get a straight answer anyway, but I can try! To be totally honest I didn’t even noticed that Mark had some trouble with his voice…I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing =) Otherwise the gig was great, energetic and wild. But it was sooo shorter than usual, it was over before I even realised it.
After that we headed to Vilma’s to watch some videos. We also had to give LivingDeathGirl a lift to the train station. So Hidden, Hexalius and Rasputin were at the backseat, Vilma was driving, LivingDeathGirl was next to her and I was sitting on LDG’s lap. I didn’t have enough room to sit straight and my neck was hurting a bit. And then the cops showed up behind our car. We were so scared that they were going to stop us (it is illegal to have so many people in the car) and we were just cursing the whole way to the station, with the cops behind us still. But when we turned to the yard of the station, they just drove past. Phewww! So we avoided the Poet County Jail, this time.
After watching LG and Lift videos (at least 4 times a row) we headed to Molly Malone’s (Irish pub) and Fever (a nightclub). And then we girls just danced danced danced the night away. We did try to get the boys to the dance floor as well, but no success there. I was having a time of my life and I do hope that the guys weren’t bored out of their mind…
*HUGS EVERYONE* Thank you for making that day a day to remember! And welcome back to Finland some day Rasputin and Hidden! It was nice to get to know you a bit, I miss you already!
sunnuntai 24. heinäkuuta 2005
Bad Jokes and Group Hugs
The Date: 23.7.2005
The Place: Espoo, Awalon
The Album: Signs of Life
The Cheerios-team collected me from the parking lot of Dipoli. In the muddy side of the morph mobile was written: here goes the cheerleaders I squeezed myself in the backseat with 3 other girls and we were on the way. Beside the Awalon door was an over enthused bouncer and when we went for the door, he stopped me after three of us had gone trough it. Not because he wanted to see my id, we just had to wait that the other three had cleared the way. After I had finally gotten in, I noticed Petri and Mako and they immediately gave me a group hug =)
That made me feel welcome and more at home in there, because after seeing fairies, trolls and space cowboys for two days straight (ropecon) entering into a normal nightclub was like a plunge into another dimension. Urban disco-hell with mirrored ceiling =) But the DJ was quite good, and soon enough I invaded the dance floor with two girls that I had never met. When I was on a break, this man came to talk to me and was kind of hitting on me, but I wasn’t interested. It was really hard to get rid of him, but luckily the DJ announced that the band was due on stage in a few minutes and I once again surged in the front row. He didn’t follow me, thank God.
Just before the guys came on the stage, Queen’s We will Rock you was played. As it is seen in photos, the stage was so miniature that only Tapio’s drum set fitted in there. The rest of the band was on the floor and some gate installations were put in front of them to stop the audience. It was very weird feeling to be so close to the guys when they played, for them also. Mark commented that more than once, and only when he climbed next to the drum set, he could see the whole audience. In the side of the stage was a kind of bar counter and he even climbed on top of that and shook hands with the audience.
Initially I was glad that the gig place had an age limit of 22, which meant no screaming teenagers that could puncture years with their voice. But I hadn’t taken account the influence of alcohol on some people. Once again, someone just had to break a pint, and the glass shards fell on to the stage also. Mark said that if he slips on them and slits his jugular, the gig would certainly stop then and there. There were also some women, who pulled at his shirt, tried to hold his hand for ages and all but fell over him despite of the gates. I think that is just rude and borders on harassment, after all the guys are up there doing their job.
But there were also some good things that the ‘stage’ brought. First of all, you could actually see Tapio the whole time, he wasn’t hidden by the other guys, his drums or smoke and lights. In the front row you could practically see everything. And where I was (in front of Ollie) it wasn’t hot at all; a light breeze was blown from somewhere. At one point when Ollie had to change place in the stage, he slipped past Mark and was forced to take a hold of Mark’s hips. After few of us wohooed, Mark said something about gang bangs on the stage…And then admitted that it was a bad joke =)
He also remarked at some point that if he would threw the microphone in the audience, the same speeches would be delivered without hesitation, ‘nothing you haven’t heard before’.
Because the stage was so small, Mark couldn’t jump around as much as he wanted. And because the audience was so cramped, we couldn’t jump either. So I just let the music take me wherever it was taking me, sometimes with my eyes closed. It is amazing how my emotions can change in a heartbeat because of the music. Sleep sent shivers up my spine and brought tears to my eyes, and then a second later 3 A.M made me almost laugh with delight (despite of the words). After being on the road a fairly good amount (this was my tenth time), it is inevitable that the songs also hold memories and feelings from other gigs and events.
Once again it seemed that the gig was over in a flash. After the gig we stayed in the Awalon, met briefly Bolo Hamwich and Toola, that man came back to hit on me, I got rid of him and spent a whole lot of time in the dance floor. When the Cheerios were giving me a lift back to the Dipoli, it was nearly 3 A.M and that song was played…
A HUUUUUGE hug and thanks to the Cheerios-team for the transportation and advance ticket!
The Place: Espoo, Awalon
The Album: Signs of Life
The Cheerios-team collected me from the parking lot of Dipoli. In the muddy side of the morph mobile was written: here goes the cheerleaders I squeezed myself in the backseat with 3 other girls and we were on the way. Beside the Awalon door was an over enthused bouncer and when we went for the door, he stopped me after three of us had gone trough it. Not because he wanted to see my id, we just had to wait that the other three had cleared the way. After I had finally gotten in, I noticed Petri and Mako and they immediately gave me a group hug =)
That made me feel welcome and more at home in there, because after seeing fairies, trolls and space cowboys for two days straight (ropecon) entering into a normal nightclub was like a plunge into another dimension. Urban disco-hell with mirrored ceiling =) But the DJ was quite good, and soon enough I invaded the dance floor with two girls that I had never met. When I was on a break, this man came to talk to me and was kind of hitting on me, but I wasn’t interested. It was really hard to get rid of him, but luckily the DJ announced that the band was due on stage in a few minutes and I once again surged in the front row. He didn’t follow me, thank God.
Just before the guys came on the stage, Queen’s We will Rock you was played. As it is seen in photos, the stage was so miniature that only Tapio’s drum set fitted in there. The rest of the band was on the floor and some gate installations were put in front of them to stop the audience. It was very weird feeling to be so close to the guys when they played, for them also. Mark commented that more than once, and only when he climbed next to the drum set, he could see the whole audience. In the side of the stage was a kind of bar counter and he even climbed on top of that and shook hands with the audience.
Initially I was glad that the gig place had an age limit of 22, which meant no screaming teenagers that could puncture years with their voice. But I hadn’t taken account the influence of alcohol on some people. Once again, someone just had to break a pint, and the glass shards fell on to the stage also. Mark said that if he slips on them and slits his jugular, the gig would certainly stop then and there. There were also some women, who pulled at his shirt, tried to hold his hand for ages and all but fell over him despite of the gates. I think that is just rude and borders on harassment, after all the guys are up there doing their job.
But there were also some good things that the ‘stage’ brought. First of all, you could actually see Tapio the whole time, he wasn’t hidden by the other guys, his drums or smoke and lights. In the front row you could practically see everything. And where I was (in front of Ollie) it wasn’t hot at all; a light breeze was blown from somewhere. At one point when Ollie had to change place in the stage, he slipped past Mark and was forced to take a hold of Mark’s hips. After few of us wohooed, Mark said something about gang bangs on the stage…And then admitted that it was a bad joke =)
He also remarked at some point that if he would threw the microphone in the audience, the same speeches would be delivered without hesitation, ‘nothing you haven’t heard before’.
Because the stage was so small, Mark couldn’t jump around as much as he wanted. And because the audience was so cramped, we couldn’t jump either. So I just let the music take me wherever it was taking me, sometimes with my eyes closed. It is amazing how my emotions can change in a heartbeat because of the music. Sleep sent shivers up my spine and brought tears to my eyes, and then a second later 3 A.M made me almost laugh with delight (despite of the words). After being on the road a fairly good amount (this was my tenth time), it is inevitable that the songs also hold memories and feelings from other gigs and events.
Once again it seemed that the gig was over in a flash. After the gig we stayed in the Awalon, met briefly Bolo Hamwich and Toola, that man came back to hit on me, I got rid of him and spent a whole lot of time in the dance floor. When the Cheerios were giving me a lift back to the Dipoli, it was nearly 3 A.M and that song was played…
A HUUUUUGE hug and thanks to the Cheerios-team for the transportation and advance ticket!
lauantai 16. heinäkuuta 2005
The Adventures of a Superfan: part 2
The Date: 15.7.2005
The Place: Vaasa, Rockperry
The Album: Signs of Life
The day started out rainy, but fortunately the rain stopped by the time the gigs started. Ollie had just told me the day earlier, that after that Kaisaniemi Pop all of the gigs had been rain-free.I was supposed to meet Carpe Diem and Jariq there, but only Jariq was able to make it. Carpe Diem had things that included her friend’s bachelor party and no babysitter..She told me that her heart bleeded, but she couldn’t come to the gig.
So, me and Jariq went in the front row an hour before the gig, to watch the soundcheck. There we met this lady, whom I had seen in the Seinäjoki acoustic gig. And I found out, that she is a teacher at my hometown!
Because this was a festival-gig, there was a huge gap between the audience and the band, and those awful metalbars. But that didn’t bother me that much this time, I’m getting used to them and I had a blast in spite of them.The gig started traditionally with Don’t mess with me and it was much shorter than the night before (but every time the gig seems too short, every time). The audience was amazing, I think I have never heard so loud singing in any of the gigs before.
The sounds were great, bigger and more aggressive than at Klubi. The whole show seemed more energetic and Mark jumped around more. Maybe it was because the stage was outside (and bigger) so it wasn’t that hot, not like in the Klubi. The show included also the showdown and the clapping and yelling patterns as the night before. When Shallow was played, I waved my fan with the music and Mark shot me a knowing glance :)
After the gig was over, I changed a couple of words with Mark and Ollie. I was just talking on the phone with Carpe Diem, when the whole band walked by and Petri yelled that ‘say Hi to your mom’.
That comment still makes me laugh!
The Place: Vaasa, Rockperry
The Album: Signs of Life
The day started out rainy, but fortunately the rain stopped by the time the gigs started. Ollie had just told me the day earlier, that after that Kaisaniemi Pop all of the gigs had been rain-free.I was supposed to meet Carpe Diem and Jariq there, but only Jariq was able to make it. Carpe Diem had things that included her friend’s bachelor party and no babysitter..She told me that her heart bleeded, but she couldn’t come to the gig.
So, me and Jariq went in the front row an hour before the gig, to watch the soundcheck. There we met this lady, whom I had seen in the Seinäjoki acoustic gig. And I found out, that she is a teacher at my hometown!
Because this was a festival-gig, there was a huge gap between the audience and the band, and those awful metalbars. But that didn’t bother me that much this time, I’m getting used to them and I had a blast in spite of them.The gig started traditionally with Don’t mess with me and it was much shorter than the night before (but every time the gig seems too short, every time). The audience was amazing, I think I have never heard so loud singing in any of the gigs before.
The sounds were great, bigger and more aggressive than at Klubi. The whole show seemed more energetic and Mark jumped around more. Maybe it was because the stage was outside (and bigger) so it wasn’t that hot, not like in the Klubi. The show included also the showdown and the clapping and yelling patterns as the night before. When Shallow was played, I waved my fan with the music and Mark shot me a knowing glance :)
After the gig was over, I changed a couple of words with Mark and Ollie. I was just talking on the phone with Carpe Diem, when the whole band walked by and Petri yelled that ‘say Hi to your mom’.
That comment still makes me laugh!
perjantai 15. heinäkuuta 2005
The Adventures of a Superfan: part 1
The Date: 14.7.2005
The Place: Tampere, Klubi, Tammerfest
The Album: Signs of Life
My day started brilliantly. As I was passing the Klubi somewhere around 6.30 p.m, I spotted the guys outside. It was pure coincidence that they were there that moment when I was going to my friend’s place to drop off some things. Naturally I stopped and went to say ‘Hi!’. That hi turned into a half an hours talk with Mark, I interviewed him for a indiezine that I was part of then.
After that talk I stayed where I was and after a while the t-shirt sellers (edit: Petri and Mako)came to talk with me and then Ollie appeared, with a motorcycle helmet in his head (helps him to wander about unnoticed:). We had a really nice talk and then guys had to go to haul their stuff up to the stage.
The timetable had gone a little awry, so the soundcheck was played when the audience was already in. But you don’t hear any complaints about that from me. The soundcheck was quite short for obvious reasons, but Mark did sang a little Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Under the Bridge and I loved it!
Humane wasn’t all that bad, harmless good-natured poprock, I kind of liked it. After that I surged to the front row and earned a couple new ‘friends’ as I used my laced fan to ease the feeling of some girls. It was like sauna there and a breath of cooler air was a life saver. Then Satu, Tiia, Perla and Jack-Of-All-Trades appeared and the gig started soon after that.
We were all blown away by that fact that Lift was a first song to be played and all of the albums songs after that, including Maybe Tomorrow is a better day. It was really refreshening, like a whole new show. I had my fan with me the whole time to ease the hotness and sure enough, Mark snatched it from me a couple of times. First time he used it to make dramatic poses with it and second time he cooled himself and all the boys as well with it. He had earlier commented that it was very beautiful and now he said to the whole audience that it is very useful as well. I just laughed my ass off.
New additions (since I last saw them) to the show were a kind of showdown with Mark and Ollie. At some point when Ollie played his guitar, Mark staggered backwards like the music was hitting him and vice versa. Also new clapping patters and yells were introduced by Mark (hey hey, ho ho, Tampere, Poets of the Fall) and the audience was happily doing what he asked.
After the gig the Chearleaders and I formed a line to hug Mark and after that we went to get a table. The DJ was playing really good music and my legs (my whole body actually) wanted to dance. It had been almost 6 moths since I had been able to really go out and dance in a club and I was so loving it! Satu was like ‘what the hell you have been taking woman?’ because I was all over the place. Only water, one long drink and a whole lot of PotF.
The Place: Tampere, Klubi, Tammerfest
The Album: Signs of Life
My day started brilliantly. As I was passing the Klubi somewhere around 6.30 p.m, I spotted the guys outside. It was pure coincidence that they were there that moment when I was going to my friend’s place to drop off some things. Naturally I stopped and went to say ‘Hi!’. That hi turned into a half an hours talk with Mark, I interviewed him for a indiezine that I was part of then.
After that talk I stayed where I was and after a while the t-shirt sellers (edit: Petri and Mako)came to talk with me and then Ollie appeared, with a motorcycle helmet in his head (helps him to wander about unnoticed:). We had a really nice talk and then guys had to go to haul their stuff up to the stage.
The timetable had gone a little awry, so the soundcheck was played when the audience was already in. But you don’t hear any complaints about that from me. The soundcheck was quite short for obvious reasons, but Mark did sang a little Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Under the Bridge and I loved it!
Humane wasn’t all that bad, harmless good-natured poprock, I kind of liked it. After that I surged to the front row and earned a couple new ‘friends’ as I used my laced fan to ease the feeling of some girls. It was like sauna there and a breath of cooler air was a life saver. Then Satu, Tiia, Perla and Jack-Of-All-Trades appeared and the gig started soon after that.
We were all blown away by that fact that Lift was a first song to be played and all of the albums songs after that, including Maybe Tomorrow is a better day. It was really refreshening, like a whole new show. I had my fan with me the whole time to ease the hotness and sure enough, Mark snatched it from me a couple of times. First time he used it to make dramatic poses with it and second time he cooled himself and all the boys as well with it. He had earlier commented that it was very beautiful and now he said to the whole audience that it is very useful as well. I just laughed my ass off.
New additions (since I last saw them) to the show were a kind of showdown with Mark and Ollie. At some point when Ollie played his guitar, Mark staggered backwards like the music was hitting him and vice versa. Also new clapping patters and yells were introduced by Mark (hey hey, ho ho, Tampere, Poets of the Fall) and the audience was happily doing what he asked.
After the gig the Chearleaders and I formed a line to hug Mark and after that we went to get a table. The DJ was playing really good music and my legs (my whole body actually) wanted to dance. It had been almost 6 moths since I had been able to really go out and dance in a club and I was so loving it! Satu was like ‘what the hell you have been taking woman?’ because I was all over the place. Only water, one long drink and a whole lot of PotF.
lauantai 18. kesäkuuta 2005
Captain On the Move
The Date: 17.6.2005
The Place: Seinäjoki, Provinssirock
The Album: Signs of Life
So, Provinssirock is the first festival that kickstarts the festival season here in Finland (Kaisaniemi pop and others like that are just a warm up) and it is also a kind of legendary and very popular. Initially PotF was meant to play late in the evening and on a smaller stage. However, they were moved on the mainstage a couple of weeks before and they were the first band to perform.(obviously I was very happy about that, but what was that about?)
When the gates were opened,I headed for the main stage, over an hour before the gig was meant to start. Of course I wanted to get in the first row. The sun was shining and I was talking to a nice guy,who was actually from my home"town". I met Anya briefly and then Carpe Diem showed up and we started talking.
The gig started traditionally with Don't mess with me, but it didn't include Someone Special or Sleep (Maybe tomorrow is a better day was played though).This time Mark wasn't jumping as much as usual,or at least so it seem to me (the stage _was_ kind of big, so I couldn't see everything at the same time) and he didn't climbed up or down the stage, which was a pity(but at least we didn't have to fear for his safety).
On the other hand, Captain was really on the move! He "visited" Mark and Ollie and was also in the center of the stage clapping his hands.And then he had to run to his keybord and mac =) It was really nice to see him move (keep it up, please!) for a bit too. It would be nice if Jaakko and Jani moved a bit more too. I know it's difficult with those wires and sounds and everything,but it would be nice *blink blink* Too bad that Tapio doesn't have wheels in his drumset!
As usual, I was singing, dancing, laughing, clapping and waving my arms. Initially I was afraid that I would be crushed by the crowd, but the pressure wasn't actually that bad, I think it was worse in Kouvola. So it's front rows for me from now on, everytime!
It was really nice that Ollie and Mark both noticed me, and Ollie seems genuinely happy every time he sees that someone is singing along and knows the lyrics (after that smile it's hard to remember what words come
next though). Next to me was a girl who also knew the lyrics and was exited that I knew them too, so we sang together, it was fun!
After the gig was over, Carpe Diem, her husband and me went first to get a drink and then we went to look for the merchandise. Carpe Diem wanted to buy a t-shirt and wristbands but the girls behind the counter weren't allowed to sell those. They said that the guys were going to collect those soon, so we decided to wait. After just a few minutes Jani, Tapio and one of The T-Shirt Sellers came there. We thanked Tapio and Jani for the great gig and Carpe Diem got her merchandice. After that I just smiled the whole night through!
The Place: Seinäjoki, Provinssirock
The Album: Signs of Life
So, Provinssirock is the first festival that kickstarts the festival season here in Finland (Kaisaniemi pop and others like that are just a warm up) and it is also a kind of legendary and very popular. Initially PotF was meant to play late in the evening and on a smaller stage. However, they were moved on the mainstage a couple of weeks before and they were the first band to perform.(obviously I was very happy about that, but what was that about?)
When the gates were opened,I headed for the main stage, over an hour before the gig was meant to start. Of course I wanted to get in the first row. The sun was shining and I was talking to a nice guy,who was actually from my home"town". I met Anya briefly and then Carpe Diem showed up and we started talking.
The gig started traditionally with Don't mess with me, but it didn't include Someone Special or Sleep (Maybe tomorrow is a better day was played though).This time Mark wasn't jumping as much as usual,or at least so it seem to me (the stage _was_ kind of big, so I couldn't see everything at the same time) and he didn't climbed up or down the stage, which was a pity(but at least we didn't have to fear for his safety).
On the other hand, Captain was really on the move! He "visited" Mark and Ollie and was also in the center of the stage clapping his hands.And then he had to run to his keybord and mac =) It was really nice to see him move (keep it up, please!) for a bit too. It would be nice if Jaakko and Jani moved a bit more too. I know it's difficult with those wires and sounds and everything,but it would be nice *blink blink* Too bad that Tapio doesn't have wheels in his drumset!
As usual, I was singing, dancing, laughing, clapping and waving my arms. Initially I was afraid that I would be crushed by the crowd, but the pressure wasn't actually that bad, I think it was worse in Kouvola. So it's front rows for me from now on, everytime!
It was really nice that Ollie and Mark both noticed me, and Ollie seems genuinely happy every time he sees that someone is singing along and knows the lyrics (after that smile it's hard to remember what words come
next though). Next to me was a girl who also knew the lyrics and was exited that I knew them too, so we sang together, it was fun!
After the gig was over, Carpe Diem, her husband and me went first to get a drink and then we went to look for the merchandise. Carpe Diem wanted to buy a t-shirt and wristbands but the girls behind the counter weren't allowed to sell those. They said that the guys were going to collect those soon, so we decided to wait. After just a few minutes Jani, Tapio and one of The T-Shirt Sellers came there. We thanked Tapio and Jani for the great gig and Carpe Diem got her merchandice. After that I just smiled the whole night through!
sunnuntai 5. kesäkuuta 2005
The Kaisaniemi weekend-report part 2: Biblical Rain and No Free Sausages
The Date: 4.6.2005
The Place: Hämeenlinna, Kesäloma Express
The Album: Signs of Life
When we arrived to Hämeenlinna,it really was pouring cats and dogs.
The stage was flooding and there was a guy who tried to sweep the water
off, but with limited success. Jaakko was tuning his guitar and
connecting the wires and everything like that. Then we just started
singing Frere Jaques to him, with some modified lyrics.
In finnish version Jaques is Jaakko and then we just replaced the bells with guitar =)
We were having difficulties in singing, because we were laughing so hard at the same time!
At first I was in the first row with Anya and LDG, but after my umbrella almost decapitated LDG (sorry about that!) several times, I decided that it was safer to everyone if I was on the second row =)
Other than that, the rain really didn't bother me that much. I kind of like that there were only the people that really really wanted to be there, to listen the music and see the band. That was really the fan-gig, all the way through and probably the best gig so far, to me at least. This time ( as well as earlier today) I didn't photographed at all and I was happy about that. This time I was able to enjoy the gig fully and so I did. I laughed, sang, danced, jumped, clapped and waved my hands, and generally went mad (and was covered in mud from the waist down, it was like in Woodstock there!)
The feeling was just right, the audience wild and the band absolutely fabulous. Mark jumped and climbed and slided and splashed, he had the time of his life on that wet stage!I was a little afraid that he would hurt himself, and he did actually tumble to his knees but was up in a sec, like nothing had happened. The rain finally stopped a few songs before the gig did and I closed my umbrella and moved to the first row. Somewhere along the gig Jaakko whispered something to Mark, but when he was about to told us what it was, Jaakko told him not to. We demanded to know what it was, but they didn't tell us!
After the gig we started to wonder, if there still were those promised free sausages left, but one of the arrangers told that there weren't. We started to complain and told that we had came all this way from Helsinki, Tampere, Germany and God-knows-where-else just because of the free sausages!
The fireworks was just a perfect way to end the show. All the way home I smiled and grinned, so that my face hurt .PotF has really managed to spread out positivity and good spirit and now we are spreading it too, I just can't stop smiling.
One last thought: in the last report I told that being on the PotF gig is a way for me to grasp the moment. But it is also a way out of this dreary reality, a way to celebrate, to separate the workdays and the weekend. Other people might take alcohol or drugs to achieve the same effect,
I just take PotF.
The Kaisaniemi weekend-report, part 1: Happy Happy Joy Joy And Bribing The Band
The date: 4.6.2005
The Place: Helsinki, Kaisaniemi, YleXpop
The Album: Signs of Life
When I arrived in Helsinki, I met the other fans and finally got myself a pair of wristbans.
We moved near the stage. None of us weren't able to get in the first row though, it was already packed with teenagers. It was kind of weird not being able to be in the first row..
Mark didn't do 110 m hurdles up there, nor did he do any karate moves. But he did do some moves that he had obviously learned in tai chi lessons (for example standing on one foot without a slightest tremble). He ran, jumped, rolled and actually sang on his back for a while but you would never have noticed it in his voice, he was amazing. He actually said that although the stage was a big one, he was afraid of falling down on it, it was like a skateboard to him. The guys seem to have fun and yeah, it was a great gig.
But personally I didn't enjoy it as much as clubgigs. The stage was too high and too far away and the audience.. Well there were some fans (other than just us I mean) but it was afterall a free concert with other bands too. So that familyfeeling wasn't there. The guys have taught us too well; it isn't enough just to see and hear the gig anymore, we have to feel it too, we have to connect with the band and with each other...
After the gig we were told, that we had a whole restaurant booked for us (or at least the terrace) and the band would meet us there. We were waiting there kind of silently, sure sign that we were nervous.
We joked that we should have had laptops with us, so we could have enthuse in the chat =)
And then the band arrived. It was really, really nice that the whole band was there, and that they all shook hands with us and hugged us =) Now the whole band seems much more close.
And it was a HUGE honour, that we could be there when the gold records were given. So a BIG thank you to the management! They could have done that on the stage, but they decided to do it on the terrace.
And then the bribing really started =)I had participated with the card and the presents as well, but I wanted to give something more personal too, so I had made a card with morphos and a few poetic lines.
The call to Donna was something so sweet,and as Tiia said,something not so many "rock stars" would do for a fan. And we got to hear Mark's Gorgeous Irish Accent (tm) once again. At some point I actually started thinking, what would it be like if he talked that way in finnish too..But nah, it wouldn't work :P
A lot of smiles, laughs, hugs and warm thoughs and words and then it was over, right when it had just started. I wished that we had had more time,but I was grateful nonetheless. And I had a huge grin on my face that hasn't wear off even now.
The Place: Helsinki, Kaisaniemi, YleXpop
The Album: Signs of Life
When I arrived in Helsinki, I met the other fans and finally got myself a pair of wristbans.
We moved near the stage. None of us weren't able to get in the first row though, it was already packed with teenagers. It was kind of weird not being able to be in the first row..
Mark didn't do 110 m hurdles up there, nor did he do any karate moves. But he did do some moves that he had obviously learned in tai chi lessons (for example standing on one foot without a slightest tremble). He ran, jumped, rolled and actually sang on his back for a while but you would never have noticed it in his voice, he was amazing. He actually said that although the stage was a big one, he was afraid of falling down on it, it was like a skateboard to him. The guys seem to have fun and yeah, it was a great gig.
But personally I didn't enjoy it as much as clubgigs. The stage was too high and too far away and the audience.. Well there were some fans (other than just us I mean) but it was afterall a free concert with other bands too. So that familyfeeling wasn't there. The guys have taught us too well; it isn't enough just to see and hear the gig anymore, we have to feel it too, we have to connect with the band and with each other...
After the gig we were told, that we had a whole restaurant booked for us (or at least the terrace) and the band would meet us there. We were waiting there kind of silently, sure sign that we were nervous.
We joked that we should have had laptops with us, so we could have enthuse in the chat =)
And then the band arrived. It was really, really nice that the whole band was there, and that they all shook hands with us and hugged us =) Now the whole band seems much more close.
And it was a HUGE honour, that we could be there when the gold records were given. So a BIG thank you to the management! They could have done that on the stage, but they decided to do it on the terrace.
And then the bribing really started =)I had participated with the card and the presents as well, but I wanted to give something more personal too, so I had made a card with morphos and a few poetic lines.
The call to Donna was something so sweet,and as Tiia said,something not so many "rock stars" would do for a fan. And we got to hear Mark's Gorgeous Irish Accent (tm) once again. At some point I actually started thinking, what would it be like if he talked that way in finnish too..But nah, it wouldn't work :P
A lot of smiles, laughs, hugs and warm thoughs and words and then it was over, right when it had just started. I wished that we had had more time,but I was grateful nonetheless. And I had a huge grin on my face that hasn't wear off even now.
sunnuntai 29. toukokuuta 2005
Be Here, Now
The date: 28.5.2005
The place: Kouvola, Rytmikatti
The album: Signs of Life
The night started with promising signs.Me, LDG and Anya heard pieces of the soundcheck and it sounded amazing! We actually heard Don't mess with me three times during the evening, twice during the soundcheck and once in the actual gig. During the soundcheck we danced,laughed and enthused like a bunch of teenagers, behind the bars that blocked the way to the downstairs. But it was all because of the music! (or the hormones *grin*) When Mark sang a piece of a song that sounded irish, I can honestly say that it knocked my socks off. It would be so fine if Poets would play some irish songs sometimes, like during the St. Patrics day next year ;) And it was really nice that Mark and Ollie waved at us and talked to us a little too.
When the iron bars were finally opened, it was almost a two hours wait for our fave band, and there weren't even a supporting act to keep us warm. But luckily there were an exellent dj who played Manboy, Live, Velcra and other great bands. So those hours went by pretty quicly, thanks to also LDG and Anya!
When the gig started we were in the front as usual. Mark climbed up to the railing more than once, shook hands, made the audience sang along and jumped all around the stage. But it was a strange gig for me.
I was in the moment, but I wasn't in the feeling at all times. There were moments when I felt disconnected somehow. I don't know, was it the heat (sweat was running on the stage and off the stage ), the audience pulling and pushing, the railing (my arms are still sore for the hanging) or the camera (when Im shooting, I don't have time to concentrate on everything that goes on). Perhaps all of those.
But those moments passed and I was in the feeling again. This time around I focused on Ollies solos and watched closely the way his fingers danced on the guitar. He has beautiful hands. Mark also was giving a lot of attention to Olli; he rubbed his back, held hand on his shoulder while singing someone special,
mimicing his solos etc. It was sweet *smiles* And they played Sleep.Huh, it was the first time that I heard that song live and it sent shivers up to my spine, gave me goosebumbs and made me somehow sad.
When the gig was nearing it's end, Mark came in to the stage (from backstage) a bowl of
chips in his hands. I gestured a little and he did offered those to me. Good chips they were, thank you very much =) After it was all over, they all hugged people, gave autographs, shook hands and allowed photos to be taken. I got my t-shirt Morpho signed by Mark and a hug too.
On the way home I finally figured out, why PotF is so addictive to me. Usually I live in the past, in the future or in my dreams.I rarely even want to think about the present (because I sometimes feel I don't belong here, in this time or in this planet for that matter). But when I am in their gig, I don't think about work, school, the past or the future. There's just the band, me, the audience, camera and the music. I'm in that moment.
The place: Kouvola, Rytmikatti
The album: Signs of Life
The night started with promising signs.Me, LDG and Anya heard pieces of the soundcheck and it sounded amazing! We actually heard Don't mess with me three times during the evening, twice during the soundcheck and once in the actual gig. During the soundcheck we danced,laughed and enthused like a bunch of teenagers, behind the bars that blocked the way to the downstairs. But it was all because of the music! (or the hormones *grin*) When Mark sang a piece of a song that sounded irish, I can honestly say that it knocked my socks off. It would be so fine if Poets would play some irish songs sometimes, like during the St. Patrics day next year ;) And it was really nice that Mark and Ollie waved at us and talked to us a little too.
When the iron bars were finally opened, it was almost a two hours wait for our fave band, and there weren't even a supporting act to keep us warm. But luckily there were an exellent dj who played Manboy, Live, Velcra and other great bands. So those hours went by pretty quicly, thanks to also LDG and Anya!
When the gig started we were in the front as usual. Mark climbed up to the railing more than once, shook hands, made the audience sang along and jumped all around the stage. But it was a strange gig for me.
I was in the moment, but I wasn't in the feeling at all times. There were moments when I felt disconnected somehow. I don't know, was it the heat (sweat was running on the stage and off the stage ), the audience pulling and pushing, the railing (my arms are still sore for the hanging) or the camera (when Im shooting, I don't have time to concentrate on everything that goes on). Perhaps all of those.
But those moments passed and I was in the feeling again. This time around I focused on Ollies solos and watched closely the way his fingers danced on the guitar. He has beautiful hands. Mark also was giving a lot of attention to Olli; he rubbed his back, held hand on his shoulder while singing someone special,
mimicing his solos etc. It was sweet *smiles* And they played Sleep.Huh, it was the first time that I heard that song live and it sent shivers up to my spine, gave me goosebumbs and made me somehow sad.
When the gig was nearing it's end, Mark came in to the stage (from backstage) a bowl of
chips in his hands. I gestured a little and he did offered those to me. Good chips they were, thank you very much =) After it was all over, they all hugged people, gave autographs, shook hands and allowed photos to be taken. I got my t-shirt Morpho signed by Mark and a hug too.
On the way home I finally figured out, why PotF is so addictive to me. Usually I live in the past, in the future or in my dreams.I rarely even want to think about the present (because I sometimes feel I don't belong here, in this time or in this planet for that matter). But when I am in their gig, I don't think about work, school, the past or the future. There's just the band, me, the audience, camera and the music. I'm in that moment.
perjantai 6. toukokuuta 2005
In the vocals Mark and why wouldn't he be
The date: 5.5.2005
The place: Seinäjoki, Palaveri (acoustic set)
The album: Signs of Life
Palaveri was a cozy little place in the downtown of Seinäjoki. The gig was said to start at 10.00 pm but the venue warned that anyone wanting to get in should be there well before it, since it was such a small place. So I went there 8.30 pm and the place was already packed, there wasn't any tables left. Luckily I was
able to get in and after a while found Carpe Diem and her friends. So I sat with them and got to know them a little bit. I was very grateful for that, it would have been so boring to be there by myself because I didn't knew anyone else there.
I have never seen the boys in such a good mood. Ollie was this time a little more in the sidelines, but Marko and Jake... They were hilarious, giddy as schoolboys even. And we loved it of course! The mood was relaxed and warm, just like a bunch of friends had just got together to spend some time. We heard some silly bits of songs, including that Smurf-version of Late Goodbye. It went something like this:" Smurffilaaksoon ajellaan, siel' on Pappasmurffi ja Smurffiina..."
Mark had some funny speeches and also said something (I don't remember what anymore) with that gorgeous Irish accent of his. He also sang some doobydoos here and there and got exited when audience snap their fingers with some of the songs. Then he asked the audience to snap their fingers again and started to sang something in a low voice for a while. Jake told jokes and his motto for the evening was: Laulussa Marko ja miksei olisi? (translated: In the vocals Mark and why wouldn't he be?).
Sometimes before they started some song, they wondered if they could play it and Mark (or was it Jake) said that if we ever wondered how was it like when they rehearsed, this was like it.
But don't get me wrong, when they really sang and played the songs from the album they sounded as good as ever, maybe even better. Mark had a bit of a cold, but he said that his mother had gave him something along the lines of Echinaforce and it had made his voice all the better. (yay, Im all for natural medicine). Also Jake's voice matched really nice with Mark's and Ollies fingers conjured up such beautiful sounds from the guitar.
Mark made the audience sang along with him in some of the songs, but few of us sang along almost the whole gig. Because of the stage was so small, they couldn't act wild like they normally do in gigs, but that didn't stop Mark from trying. He got up and stood on his chair, but he came down pretty fast,
because the chandelier was about to fall on them (Ollie had done the same thing a little bit earlier, causing the chandelier to swung that is, not standing). Dangerous those lamps =)
But at least I didn't miss the jumping around, it was more intresting to see how Mark made the songs alive with his expressions and hands.
After the gig was over, the audience didn't settle for that, we demanded more. So they played Maybe tomorrow is a better day, which was a very nice surprise. After that the boys didn't disappear, but stayed for a while. They talked with the fans, gave autographs, allowed pictures taken with them, shook hands and hugged people. That is one of the reasons I love them, they connect with people and really seem to enjoy it. You don't have to go to them, they come to you. That is very rare these days and I hope they don't get tired of it anytime soon.
For me this was the best gig that I have been so far. And that was because they weren't just a megapopular Poets of the Fall, they were also just a bunch of guys having fun, playing with lyrics and playing really good music to the audience. I really really hope, that they keep doing these acoustic gigs every now and then. In electric gigs you can see an awesome show, but in acoustic gigs you can really listen to the music and lyrics and see the boys for who they are.
The place: Seinäjoki, Palaveri (acoustic set)
The album: Signs of Life
Palaveri was a cozy little place in the downtown of Seinäjoki. The gig was said to start at 10.00 pm but the venue warned that anyone wanting to get in should be there well before it, since it was such a small place. So I went there 8.30 pm and the place was already packed, there wasn't any tables left. Luckily I was
able to get in and after a while found Carpe Diem and her friends. So I sat with them and got to know them a little bit. I was very grateful for that, it would have been so boring to be there by myself because I didn't knew anyone else there.
I have never seen the boys in such a good mood. Ollie was this time a little more in the sidelines, but Marko and Jake... They were hilarious, giddy as schoolboys even. And we loved it of course! The mood was relaxed and warm, just like a bunch of friends had just got together to spend some time. We heard some silly bits of songs, including that Smurf-version of Late Goodbye. It went something like this:" Smurffilaaksoon ajellaan, siel' on Pappasmurffi ja Smurffiina..."
Mark had some funny speeches and also said something (I don't remember what anymore) with that gorgeous Irish accent of his. He also sang some doobydoos here and there and got exited when audience snap their fingers with some of the songs. Then he asked the audience to snap their fingers again and started to sang something in a low voice for a while. Jake told jokes and his motto for the evening was: Laulussa Marko ja miksei olisi? (translated: In the vocals Mark and why wouldn't he be?).
Sometimes before they started some song, they wondered if they could play it and Mark (or was it Jake) said that if we ever wondered how was it like when they rehearsed, this was like it.
But don't get me wrong, when they really sang and played the songs from the album they sounded as good as ever, maybe even better. Mark had a bit of a cold, but he said that his mother had gave him something along the lines of Echinaforce and it had made his voice all the better. (yay, Im all for natural medicine). Also Jake's voice matched really nice with Mark's and Ollies fingers conjured up such beautiful sounds from the guitar.
Mark made the audience sang along with him in some of the songs, but few of us sang along almost the whole gig. Because of the stage was so small, they couldn't act wild like they normally do in gigs, but that didn't stop Mark from trying. He got up and stood on his chair, but he came down pretty fast,
because the chandelier was about to fall on them (Ollie had done the same thing a little bit earlier, causing the chandelier to swung that is, not standing). Dangerous those lamps =)
But at least I didn't miss the jumping around, it was more intresting to see how Mark made the songs alive with his expressions and hands.
After the gig was over, the audience didn't settle for that, we demanded more. So they played Maybe tomorrow is a better day, which was a very nice surprise. After that the boys didn't disappear, but stayed for a while. They talked with the fans, gave autographs, allowed pictures taken with them, shook hands and hugged people. That is one of the reasons I love them, they connect with people and really seem to enjoy it. You don't have to go to them, they come to you. That is very rare these days and I hope they don't get tired of it anytime soon.
For me this was the best gig that I have been so far. And that was because they weren't just a megapopular Poets of the Fall, they were also just a bunch of guys having fun, playing with lyrics and playing really good music to the audience. I really really hope, that they keep doing these acoustic gigs every now and then. In electric gigs you can see an awesome show, but in acoustic gigs you can really listen to the music and lyrics and see the boys for who they are.
sunnuntai 1. toukokuuta 2005
I Raise My Glass and Say "Here's To You."
The date: 30.4.2005
The place: Tampere, Klubi
The album: Signs of Life
The gig was more aggressive than the last gig at Klubi, in regards of sounds and also movement. Mark was very energetic, jumped around the stage and one time off it, to a kind of pole that was near the stage. When last time his movements were dramatic poses, this time they were kind of adaptation of bouncemetal, at my opinion at least *laughs*
He shook hands, stole someones hat for a moment, waved Klaara (the pink hippo that LivingDeathGirl and Anya gave him) and generally had a blast. Ollie was phenomenal with his solos (as usual) and Captain was great as well. Also the other guys seemed to have fun in the stage.
The audience was great, they really did sang along and not just during Lift and Late goodbye but also during 3 a.m and Someone special among others. But that jerk who threw the pint up to the stage, should be strangled, very slowly. But quite frankly, I was surprised that there weren't more trouble, because it was the first of May. And the first of May is here in Finland national drink-like-hell-and-act-like-an-ass-day.
I was again at the first row, enjoying the Show. Because it really was a show, with a capital S.
But in the front row the sounds could have been better, the bass was sometimes overwhelming and Mark's voice accasionally was drownded in it. But that didn't matter too much, only a minor setback in otherwise splendid show.
At the end of the show Mark really went wild, taking his shirt off and sprinkling water and shampagne all over the audience.The boys don't usually drink on the stage (besides water) but this time they all drank a glass of
shampagne, it was vappu afterall.
Another great gig gone by.
The place: Tampere, Klubi
The album: Signs of Life
The gig was more aggressive than the last gig at Klubi, in regards of sounds and also movement. Mark was very energetic, jumped around the stage and one time off it, to a kind of pole that was near the stage. When last time his movements were dramatic poses, this time they were kind of adaptation of bouncemetal, at my opinion at least *laughs*
He shook hands, stole someones hat for a moment, waved Klaara (the pink hippo that LivingDeathGirl and Anya gave him) and generally had a blast. Ollie was phenomenal with his solos (as usual) and Captain was great as well. Also the other guys seemed to have fun in the stage.
The audience was great, they really did sang along and not just during Lift and Late goodbye but also during 3 a.m and Someone special among others. But that jerk who threw the pint up to the stage, should be strangled, very slowly. But quite frankly, I was surprised that there weren't more trouble, because it was the first of May. And the first of May is here in Finland national drink-like-hell-and-act-like-an-ass-day.
I was again at the first row, enjoying the Show. Because it really was a show, with a capital S.
But in the front row the sounds could have been better, the bass was sometimes overwhelming and Mark's voice accasionally was drownded in it. But that didn't matter too much, only a minor setback in otherwise splendid show.
At the end of the show Mark really went wild, taking his shirt off and sprinkling water and shampagne all over the audience.The boys don't usually drink on the stage (besides water) but this time they all drank a glass of
shampagne, it was vappu afterall.
Another great gig gone by.
perjantai 4. helmikuuta 2005
Giants in the playground
The date: 3.2.2005
The place: Tampere, Klubi
The album: Signs of Life
The atmosphere before the main act was somewhat drowsy. Bleak was able to enthuse some people to even jump around with their energetic ‘boy-metal’ but it was obvious, who the audience had come to see. When the clock approached midnight, the house was full and expectations high. When the curtain opened, Poets of the Fall started with Don’t mess with me and the audience went crazy. From that moment on Poets had the audience mesmerized.
I was surprised that Late goodbye and Lift were played quite early, it is usual that those kinds of hits are stored for the end of the gig. It was so great to hear audience sing along with those songs, but I also remembered lyrics from other songs too, and I managed to get some approving smiles from Ollie, when he noticed that.
On the stage there were two Personas, with initials. Mark’s poses were dramatic and seductive and his gestures sometimes almost feminine. And Ollie’s solos were awesome, that guy sure knows how to use his hands. The other guys (including the Captain) were there just to play good music, but those two were there to perform.
The stage in Klubi is perfect for those who are at the front row, because there isn’t any apparent space or borders between the band and the listeners. You can get so close, that you could just reach out and touch the band. But the band could also touch you, and that Mark did. He shook hands with almost the entire front row. But one blond haired woman had special treatment, up to the point where Mark pulled her up to the stage, hold her close and sang to her. We all of course cheered, but I bet every girl wanted to be in her place. Throughout the whole gig the band showed great attention and respect for the audience and we worshipped them like gods for that. We have seen too many bands treat fans like garbage, it was nice to see some appreciation for change. Mark actually said that we blew his mind.
In the middle of the gig someone shouted ‘take your shirt off’ and ‘take your pants off’ and after a while, Mark pleased us by taking his sweater off, but he still had a tanktop under it, damn!
After the gig was over, the dramadance remix played, so I did get my chance to dance :)
All in all, it was a spectacular startup for the tour and left both the audience and the band satisfied and craving for more.
The place: Tampere, Klubi
The album: Signs of Life
The atmosphere before the main act was somewhat drowsy. Bleak was able to enthuse some people to even jump around with their energetic ‘boy-metal’ but it was obvious, who the audience had come to see. When the clock approached midnight, the house was full and expectations high. When the curtain opened, Poets of the Fall started with Don’t mess with me and the audience went crazy. From that moment on Poets had the audience mesmerized.
I was surprised that Late goodbye and Lift were played quite early, it is usual that those kinds of hits are stored for the end of the gig. It was so great to hear audience sing along with those songs, but I also remembered lyrics from other songs too, and I managed to get some approving smiles from Ollie, when he noticed that.
On the stage there were two Personas, with initials. Mark’s poses were dramatic and seductive and his gestures sometimes almost feminine. And Ollie’s solos were awesome, that guy sure knows how to use his hands. The other guys (including the Captain) were there just to play good music, but those two were there to perform.
The stage in Klubi is perfect for those who are at the front row, because there isn’t any apparent space or borders between the band and the listeners. You can get so close, that you could just reach out and touch the band. But the band could also touch you, and that Mark did. He shook hands with almost the entire front row. But one blond haired woman had special treatment, up to the point where Mark pulled her up to the stage, hold her close and sang to her. We all of course cheered, but I bet every girl wanted to be in her place. Throughout the whole gig the band showed great attention and respect for the audience and we worshipped them like gods for that. We have seen too many bands treat fans like garbage, it was nice to see some appreciation for change. Mark actually said that we blew his mind.
In the middle of the gig someone shouted ‘take your shirt off’ and ‘take your pants off’ and after a while, Mark pleased us by taking his sweater off, but he still had a tanktop under it, damn!
After the gig was over, the dramadance remix played, so I did get my chance to dance :)
All in all, it was a spectacular startup for the tour and left both the audience and the band satisfied and craving for more.
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