Pure Joy and Love

The Date: 14.7.2006
The Place: Tampere, Tammerfest
The Album: Carnival of Rust

When MelesMeles and me got to the area where tickets were bought and checked, I got slightly irritated. First the gatekeepers wanted to take my water bottle and empty it on the ground. Great, I was already thirsty but I had no money to buy their expensive drinks. And second of all they wanted to see my id. I just turned 25 and they still want to see my id. But luckily my mood got better when The Crash started to play. It is one of those bands that I don't own any records of, but have always liked.
Their cheery brit-pop kind of music made me to jam and sing and smile widely. It was awesome to see how the audience warmed up to them during the gig and started to rock with the band.

When the Crash had finished, I surged to the front row and was able to get me a very good place. Right next to me were couple of girls who had self-made Poets County Jail-shirts on and I started to talk to them. At that time they didn't have forum-names and I completely forgot to introduce myself. But that didn't stop us having a nice chat and Mirha and me even did an improvised sing-dance show while Seal's Kiss from a rose was played through the loudspeakers. Slowly the other forum-peeps arrived, Jack-of all-trades, Hexalius and the cheerleaders.

The guys started to set up their gear up on the stage and they had also a short sound check. Jani said hi to me (it is always so nice that he notices me) from the stage and Jari had a huge grin in his face while he was testing the drums. I also noticed that he and The Crash's Teemu Brunila do look a bit similar.

Then the gig started with Locking up the sun but something was definitely wrong with Ollie's guitar. He and Einari were trying to fix it, but eventually they had to go work on it outside of the stage. The other guys just kept playing, but it was so strange not seeing Ollie up there. Mark promised that in the meantime they would provide us some music and other entertainment and so they did. At one point Mark asked us if he should go to interview Ollie and we shouted of course. He asked the legendary question: how do you feel now? Ollie answered: Pretty funny.

Mark, Jaska and Jari also had a bit of fun:first they played a bit of a Gipsy Gings' Bamboleo and then they started some country-styled song that ended with Marko singing 'I haven't sung this song before'. Jaska had the chance to bit show off his guitar abilities and he also tried to throw his towel to the stage. Unluckily the towel fell at the space between the stage and the audience. I so love it that this year the other guys are also participating the show, not just Mark, Ollie and Captain.

Ollie had his guitar working in the middle of the Carnival of Rust. He had tried to come earlier and got thunderous applauses, but then he had to go back again because the guitar still didn't work. But after CoR he was back in the game. Earlier he had come to play some acoustic guitar a while and Mark called him ' a soldier of unfortune'.

There was a fridge at the stage too, full with cans of Red Bulls. At one point Mark opened a can, took a sip of it and then asked if the audience would like one too. Practically the whole front row raised their hands. First Mark was clearly thinking about getting off the stage, but then called a security guy and said to him:' give this to that young lady' pointing vaguely at someone in the first row. The security man gave it to one girl, who was near him. Then I’m not sure why, but the girl asked me if I wanted it. I was baffled and said that I don’t know, go ahead..I don’t know if she didn’t want it or did she thought it was meant for me. But after that song was finished, I was thirsty so I asked it for her. Then I passed it on and I think it went trough the whole first row.

The place was packed and the audience was really good. The atmosphere was relaxed, good humoured and giddy. Mark was amazed how loud we sang Late Goodbye’s chorus and he also noticed the crowd outside the gig-area, on the balconies and then he pointed at them and yelled: ‘naked people’ and everyone turned to see and he just laughed.

After Lift the band disappeared but I knew the gig was far from over. Then Mark appeared on to the stage all by himself and the first chord’s of don’t mess with me were in the air. Slowly the others appeared as well and it was rocking time. When Illusions and dreams were played as the last song, I borrowed MelesMeles’ water bottle. It is my tradition that when the lines ‘I raise my glass and say here’s to you’ are sung, I’ll raise my water bottle to them. And this time Mark sang: I raise my water bottle and say here’s to you!

After the gig I talked to my forum-friends and I got some CoR stickers and postcards from the cheerleaders and a thought came to my mind. Mark and Ollie were giving signatures to people. My beloved SLS couldn’t be at this gig. So I went to Mark and asked if he could write a few lines to my boyfriend. And so he did. Then Ollie came at the scene and said ‘hey, I can see familiar faces here’, a line that I have frequently used! So I asked him to do the same as Mark and he did. Every time I watch that card, I immediately start to grin.

The energy surge that I received from the gig was something awesome. I just laughed and grinned the hour and 20 minutes that the gig lasted and I continued that (with giggling) about 3 hours. I just felt so incredibly happy, joyous, light, positive and at balance, that I haven’t been in a long time.
All I can say: thank you for the bottom of my heart.