Poets of the Fall – Le Trabendo, Paris

Before we start… this post will be updated with more pictures during the week, so make sure you come back to check them out  😆 and now, without further ado, Jari… drum-roll if you please!

This is the second time this year that Poets of the Fall is visiting Paris to give my native country a show to be remembered. I might be slightly partial to the Finnish poets, but hey, that is what I am known for – partly 😛 . Jokes aside, I am starting this post as I travel towards Swedish airport, Arlanda. Today, is long grey day, but it is a good day. I’ve always wanted to write while travelling… Since I won’t be posting this before the show tomorrow, I can bring up some spoilers, it won’t matter.

Great expectations

I’ve had troubles to explain to my friends and family why I could not get bored at a Poets of the Fall concert even though they are playing the same set list over and over. Same songs, different attitude, different crowd (in part, there still the crazy same ladies on the front, me included when I can be there… one guy too, sorry Kay ;))… but this time, I have greater expectations since the band released Partir avec Moi, I do expect them to play it; and then Olli expressed his wish to play In A Perfect World in a recent interview. I know now that my expectations will be met. I could ask for more, but I will take what I can get without any fuss or complaint. Oh alright, I would love to hear Take Control live… that song is really something else, wouldn’t you agree?

Friendships

Apart from the music, one of the best thing about the trips to see Poets of the Fall is that I get to meet my friends whom I don’t see on any other occasion. Yes, I know, I am rambling. But you see, Poets are so much more than music to me. They spread love through their music, true, but also indirectly as they bring people together from every corner of the world, friendships are born that cannot be undone (at least, as far as I am concerned). Poets of the Fall inspire me to be better, and to continue caring and loving… and even at my darkest hours, they shine a light that I can follow and get back on my feet. I mean, it is an incredible power that they have… So, thank you Poets of the Fall for enriching my life that way as well.

I will continue the friendship note before heading to the concert… Something strange happened in Paris, good strange though. Two of the early birds “queuers” from Germany were there, as always first in line, and we hugged one another like we’d done that always. A while later, the two missing from their team arrived, and again such happiness to see each other, like we had always greeted with more than a hello before. So, there we were, standing/seating from where we guessed to be the entrance. Germany, Portugal, Russia, Germany/South-America, France/Sweden and even Ukraine/Great-Britain… in a warm and sunshiny Parc de La Villette…  😎

The eluding entrance

Le Trabendo is a great venue, really warm though, but it is true that it is not very clear where to go and stand in line and wait for a show. As Oksana and I were looking around to make sense of it all, we met Jaska to whom we asked about the eluding entrance. He was not as enlightened as we had hoped and guessed like we did: “I don’t know either that way or that way around the corner”. When, a little later, I asked the lady who seemed to be a manager of the place, she told me: “no we don’t need a sign, people manage to find the entrance in the end…” Sorry, but this is a typical French answer.

VIP… It’s the little things!

VIP songs:

Stay
Children of the Sun

Standing by the round tables

We got to meet the guys, yes again… and I was excited. I prepared everything I’d say to each and everyone of them in my head, which goes down the drain as soon as I see Marko. It’s not like I had not just seen him and the others on stage, I mean. But sweet as usual, sign the DVD jacket I came with and told him just banalities as usual; I wanted to thank him personally for the interview he granted Misfit at Heart a few months back, but it just vanished from my mind as soon as I saw him… I managed to ask Jaska if he had a nice walk in the park, which he did… he even saw a submarine in the canal… at least I think it is what he said. I thanked Captain and he thanked me, that was awesome because he did not know… “Oh that was you!?”, hehehehe… fun. Got to say to Jari I was jealous of his regular 12 hours sleep, which made him laugh… Then more twaddles with Olli and Jani… when Jani saw me he was genuinely happy, like he recognised me, “Oh hellO!” he exclaimed when he saw me. Of course, then I should have asked him if he had had the time to check the park and the Philharmonic building, darn! So, it is all Marko‘s fault. He has the power to render one completely idiotic with his aura… don’t laugh, it is true. Plus I guess the fact that we all have to hurry along the table does not help 😉

A treat for you guys, from Patricia Zenteno at Poets of the Fall Nation: Stay by Poets of the Fall, October 26th 2019, VIP Session… enjoy!

… and some VIP photos by yours truly  😀

For the little anecdote, because I always love talking about the magician behind the mixing table: Glen Loit. Not only is he very skilled and well-versed in the art of tuning all possible instruments, he is also very very sweet. When the first act was done and all things had to be plugged in again for Poets, Glen did it like he did it a million times before… a walk in park. Even more so, he did it blind-folded chatting with us at the front… he is so cool that he posed for my pictures, not once but twice (or more) because the first one got blurry… when I exclaimed that my camera had little battery left, he asked me if I needed to charge it… to which I answer no thanks, I got a power-bank. His reaction: “smart woman”  😛 … Anyway, that part, when we get to speak with Glen that way, is also part of the show to me. My cherry (read raspberry) on the cake if you will… 

Whatever you do…  😆

As the crowd was let in, my friend Ana arrived and she stood behind a tall guy. I waved at her, and then something incredible happened. The guy (sorry I don’t know his name) let her pass in front of him. So, in the end she was almost front row. Now and then I stood sideways so she could get closer … whoever you are gent, you really made this show even better by letting my friend share this 1,5 hour gig with me. Thank you!

When the music started playing and the words “Whatever you do…!” on repeat echoed in the venue, Ana and I  mimicked  the words as a countdown, we waited for the “Don’t scream!“, we counted to 3 and screamed from the top of our lungs. Almost like a ritual… great fun! Gosh I am going to miss that…

Since I last saw the band this spring, the set-list has slightly changed. No more “Dancing on broken glass”, actually my memory is a bit of a sieve these days, so I don’t really remember what else disappeared from the list… but I can tell you that the great expectations were met indeed: Partir avec Moi and In A Perfect World.

Do you know how fuel works in a car or a machine? Yeah… me either. All I know is that without it my car would go nowhere… The French audience was phenomenal. They… we were the band’s fuel for that show. Incredible energy and just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.

Late Goodbye illustrates really well what I am talking about, as Marko made us sing at the end of the song. There is no video out there which could render the ambience and the joy of singing for the band, but the smiles on their faces as we sang that song, I will never forget…

The beginning of the gig, with Dreaming Wide Awake, Locking up the Sun and My Dark Disquiet… a blur. I remember how it felt like to be there and singing along, and be in the moment taking it all in. I just remember they all swooped me of my feet and I landed again when the stage was empty. 

If I had to highlights some moments during the show, it would be with Rogue, Daze and Choice Millionaire… Rogue is one of these tracks that just hypnotises me and I am unable to see what is happening around me. When Jaska and Olli face one another from both ends of the stage, there is nothing cooler to watch. The energy with Daze and Choice Millionaire, well I guess you’d have to be there to understand. My friend Ana who stood behind me used me as a steady support while she jumped… that was really fun. Lift had the same kind of bounce  😀 When the first notes started playing I felt pure joy go through my entire body.

The show came to an end though… as I said, I blinked and it was over. However, I managed to capture Carnival of Rust ritual between Olli and Glen… finally! If it was your first time at a Poets of the Fall show, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did (although this was my 9th show in 1,5 year). I am not ashamed to say that I am an addict, but trust me I am not the worst case  😆 What about you?

Set-list:

Dreaming Wide Awake
Locking Up the Sun
False Kings
Temple of Thought
Rogue
Partir avec moi
My Dark Disquiet
In a Perfect World
War
Daze
Choice Millionaire
Late Goodbye

Encore:
Diamonds for Tears
Lift
Carnival of Rust