Poets of the Fall, Temple of Thought Tour, 31.03.2012 Tavastia, Helsinki.
It's the little things that make you the heart of my temple of thought.It might be long (and sound crazy or fangirl-y or… ah, you know I'm obsessed
) Dunno if it can count for a real gig report, it's rather a collection of impression. Read at own risk
It was April 25th when I heard a nice song in "Bones" fanvid on youtube. I thought, ok, not bad, nice guitar, pleasant voice, it's good... I also realized I had heard and liked other song from this band so I thought it might be nice to check them out, maybe they have something else worth listening. In my wildest imaginations I couldn't think that after 2 weeks I'd be deeply in love, after 2 months that baritone would be so familiar and dear and that I'd start saving money to ship their albums from abroad. That after 3 months I'd be spending ridiculous amount of time listening, digging the net and organizing my archive, that I'd write way over 100-pages long essay covering facts and commentaries on the band (yep, it's quite a novel, it's actually longer than my master's degree thesis was
) That I'd be walking the streets with headphones smiling like a loony to myself and mouthing songs' lyrics and do an awful lot of other silly things. Lastly, if somebody would tell me then that in less than a year I'd travel 1200 km in straight line to foreign country on my own just to spend over an hour listening to the band live (when frankly, I should be saving money for a dozen of more reasonable things) I'd dub that person insane. But I did all of the above. The song was Carnival of Rust and I've just returned from Finland.
Never thought a music band would let me discover such a passion in me. Guys, you have to force of gravity of a real star (I know you don’t claim yourselves "stars" and it's wonderful of you, but you are the stars on my personal sky).
My trip to Finland could be easily counted as one of the most exciting, happy but also nervous days in my life. Well, I was terribly nervous till the last minutes before leaving home, as it was my first trip abroad alone and my first flights ever. I'm that kind of person with sick imagination which can give me the best of dreams but also the worst case scenarios. But everything went so smoothly. I arrived to beautiful Helsinki one day before the gig so I had some time to wander around the city, see some places and just enjoy being there. The whole time I was scribbling my thoughts in a notebook to keep as many memories as vivid as I can.
Next day arrived quickly and I just couldn't stand waiting in my hotel room. I was so happy to have my first gig in famous Tavastia (but the first day in Helsinki I just walked past the club without even noticing it). A couple of hours before the gig I went to a meeting with fellow fans. And here I'd like to thank again to all of you: it was wonderful to be a part of the group and share that day with you. And soon after that we saw first members of the band arriving at Tavastia. Then there was waiting, waiting and some more waiting, but it seems a fan always waits for something so I'm getting used to it. All waiting has an end anyway.
The gig soon started... and it might have been one of the greatest five minutes of my life. Seriously, I could swear it lasted like five minutes, I have no idea where I lost other 85 minutes of it. But it was simply rocking awesome. Both we in the audience and the guys on stage seemed to have the best of fun.
I couldn't have more perfect place in a first row (I owe you!) to admire the guys on stage. Ok, I admit, I was a bit hard to take my eyes off Marko sometimes, but I managed. Jari is the one a bit difficult to observe behind all the drums, but it was so clear he plays with huge passion. Captain is like the epitome of cool. Jaska – this awesome tattooed rockman, it was so great to see how much he enjoys playing for the crowds. Jani – his smile is the sweetest thing I've seen in Helsinki, period. I loved it when he came to play at my side of the stage a couple of times. Olli – he's so cute, but he's also a genius, so focused on playing. It was wonderful to see amazing dexterity of his fingers from such a close range. Whenever he played something acoustic I shifted my focus from Marko to him. I think I even managed to catch Olli’s gaze once and he returned my smile
And Marko... hey, what can I say. He's Marko. One hell of a performer. Stage antics had to be restrained a little cause the stage was pretty small, but still: crazy eyes and devilish smile (that parts of his stage persona that still scare me a bit) were there, splashing water – check, hugging band members – check, hanging around Olli during his most impressive solos – check, being just a tiny bit dirty – yep, check that too (and that has to be the reason why Poets gigs are K-18, not some club alcohol issues, I'm telling ya
) And however weird is that remark, I noticed he has such a fluid movements... it was evident already in CiL video, but seeing it live makes even greater impression. Marko seemed to have a ton of fun during the gig, and it just makes me happy to see him smiling. The funniest moment of the gig had to be Marko laughing on the floor when Olli and Jaska messed up with the order in which they should come back to the stage for acoustic set. During the breaks between the songs Marko was talking, but of course in Finnish so I didn't get a thing but I hope he said that line about "taking care" as he promised in an interview.
And we all know Marko CAN sing. But what he showed during that gig... I was stunned, especially by Someone Special, it has to be the best version of the song, and the shout during LG duel with Olli – wow, exactly how long can he hold one note? Did he get that another set of lungs he mentioned in one interview? Well, of course, it might be just cause it's the first time I've heard him singing live, so I'm in no position to judge, but it was utterly awesome.
The setlist was the same as in Russia/Ukraine. No wonder, the guys clearly didn't have time to rehearse. When I saw what they played in Russia I was a bit disappointed for a sec that there were only 4 songs from ToT. I kinda anticipated to hear new songs + immortal LG, IaD, CoR and Lift. But then it turned out I'll hear some older songs which I frankly said goodbye to after Alchemy Tour ended. So I was really delighted to hear songs like my beloved Stay. And Roses. And Someone Special was really something special.
The gig was everything I could hoped for, I mean, I got a first row place, I got to touch Marko’s hand, I waved, I sang LG chorus, dishonesty (but stupid me, I forgot to have something to raise my glass) and shouted at the end of Lift. I also got a setlist (thank you!) and had the guys sign it. And something I really hoped for – I got to give Marko little gifts I made for the whole band. Funny thing, he was so into giving autographs then that he started to sign the gift bag too till I repeated it's a present. Then he tucked it away into his vest. I hope you liked it, guys.
As I said the gig was over way too fast for me, but it wasn't the end for my amazement. I know how all of you have been saying how open and nice for fans the guys are and how simple is that, but still I was bewildered – I mean, come on, I've been watching them on youtube for a year now and here I had one of them in a restaurant I'm just sitting in, and then after the gig I had Jaska hanging out with fans even after giving the autographs just like that.
The best came next day after the gig – with the ability to relieve the moments. During the gig I was too… overwhelmed and dumbfounded to even feel happy. It was kinda meditative state. And right after the gig… It's probably unusual to feel that way, but I was actually rather sad when I came back to the hotel that night. Like, ok, that's it, I waited for it for so long, I've dreamt of it and now lived through it and now it's end of the story? But the next morning, while I was saying my goodbyes to Helsinki, I played a playlist I made earlier, with the gig songs at order and memories were replaying in my head, I recalled standing there and shouting my lungs out and probably smiled like a loony. And then I came back home and at 4 am in the morning I googled first youtube videos of the Tavastia gig and it was all pure happiness. It's not the end of the story, it's just a great beginning. So even though I might be developing laryngitis right now (chill and singing at the gig wasn't good for my cold, I've lost my voice completely) and I think I've hurt my back by long hours spent uncomfortably in the buses (seriously, I can't move, but now I admire the guys even more for touring across the whole Finland in their bus) it was so worth it, I want a repeat already! (@
redbossfan, I think I had the withdrawal the minute the guys left the stage after giving autographs). I am so coming back, I'll be there next time freezing my butt off for even longer if I have to. And I'll try to catch 2 or 3 gigs in a row so it'll be at least 10 minutes long
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