English Translation: Poets of the Fall 2014

Without Silence there can be no Music!

Translated by Hanna Häßlein

On 22.10.2014 the touring schedule of Poets of the Fall led me to Hamburg in the course of their Jealous-Gods-Tour. I was not only accredited for the concert itself but also conducted an interview with Mark Saaresto, the singer of the band, in advance. (The interview is at the bottom)

In the morning, when I was still sitting in the university and headed to my car in the midst of rain and storm and drove through the same for two hours to Hamburg, I already started to hate fall – not a good sign, one could think.

Just when I had made it in front of the Hamburg Knust (my car was basically parked directly behind the tour bus in a non-parking zone), I received a text message which ordered me to the band’s hotel. Aside from the panic which took me due to my bad condition and my even worse orientation skills, it was still an interesting experience as I had my first interview in a hotel lobby that day. I met Marko Saaresto, with whom I talked about a variety of things including the meaning of the band name and of “Cinematic Rock”, who is writing music and lyrics, the new album “Jealous Gods”, Marko’s way to deal with head and chest voice, the connection of silence and music, tours in Germany, Samu Harber (:D) and a funeral service held in the tour bus. Despite that fact that he, due to the previous concert nights, seemed a bit tired, he was a very nice interlocutor who already won at first sight as he was wearing the opening band’s shirt. Luckily for me, this first impression lasted to the very end. 

 

On the same night, the final show of the band took place in the Hamburg Knust. The doors were supposed to open at 8:00 pm, the start of the concert at 9:00 pm. However, the opening band “The Weyers”, already started to play during this spare hour. This was slightly annoying since I had planned on capturing the opening act on camera, despite my new challenge “Only-photograph-three-songs”, and now this was only possible out of the crowd. As this was not the first time it had happened (Tellus Requiem at Kamelot would be an example) one might want to think about a more distinct announcement, especially as there are people who only come to see the opening act. This was the only aspect this night to critique worth mentioning.

I did not know The Weyers beforehand but I was positively taken by them quickly. The duo already stood out from what one usually sees on stage at first sight. This was also true for the ears, as Adi Weyermann (Guitar, vocals) and Luke Weyermann (Drums, vocals) had their very own Sound. Add a good amount of entertainment talent and the night was opened in the best way possible. This thought came at a continuous loop of “Hallo Hamburg!” and the corresponding beat at the latest. Simple but effective. One or the other effect also played a role later on. For instance, when Adi disappeared in concentrated fog and appeared again with his guitar. If I get the chance I would like to take a closer look at the Weyermann Brothers aka The Weyers and thus could recommend this to everyone. This is for example possible in the course of their Germany tour with Staubkind.

Eventually, it was time for the meeting with the photographers where actually only one was present besides me – from Metal.de. Together we crested the Knust’s loge where everyone had to feather their own nest. After the first three songs, which did not end up as short has I had previously imagined, we had to turn in our cameras before we were allowed into the concert hall – how wonderful that I did not carry anything but my camera bag and hence had to put my notepad into my boot. But this did not stop me from entering the fray…which I could only cross up to the bar, as there was simply no getting through at this late hour, but oh well.

It was now time to listen and I had already done some thinking about Poets of the fall in advance. Was “Cinematic Rock” the appropriate music for a live show? Especially since I usually am a guest at tougher concerts, I had some doubts.
Yet, these doubts were completely removed in the course of the concert. It already started with the appealing choice of songs which, next to a number of new songs, also had some of the earlier albums’ best songs, including “Illusion & Dream” or “Carnival of Rust” and the fact that a lot of them were a bit tougher and easier to jam to than on the albums.
Additionally, the band, consisting of Marko Saaresto (Vocals), Olli Tukianinen (Guitar), Markus “Captain” Kaarlonen (Keyboard), Jaska “Jake” Mäkinen (Guitar), Jani Snellman (Bass) and Jari Salminen (Drums) seemed to harmonize very well on stage.

Musically, it was enjoyment, instrumentally as well as vocally. Though Marko did not hit every note, his voice was live not as flattened as it is on studio recordings and just those small variations and the slight roughness are the things that individuate a live show. More importance was put on expression and emotion. Partially refracted but emotional and definitely intense. In fact, it was almost unbelievable that the singer from the afternoon, only kept alive by coffee, changed into an agile grenade with dark eye make-up and war paint in just a few hours. Aside from the musical accomplishments, a lot of entertainment was provided as well. Jokes were told and single German words pronounced, “Scheiße” included. A father-son-play, mutual whispering and laughing as well as the band clinking with water bottles to the line “raise my glass” are only three examples of many more. Furthermore, the audience was constantly motivated to join in, sometimes even to sing along, which worked out extremely well and partly reminded of fan chanting in a football stadium.
Olli and Jaska, who switched between acoustic and electric guitars, Jani without a shirt but with scarf; there are still many things to say about the poets of the fall who definitely deserve a moment of silence and listening.
What I found to be especially impressive was the last “official” song “Nothing Stays the Same” which began acoustically only to increase and to infuse the audience with a full load of bass and to blind them with intense flashlight. After that, the band left the stage for the moment and exhausted the calls for encore to the limit before they returned to the spotlight for six encores. The perfect long runner for the final ending was chosen with “Carnival of Rust”, the dynamic was awesome!

After the show my eyes, by chance, fell on The Weyers again. After two attempts to take a picture by an attending lady, failing due to the releaser, a technically adept gentleman managed to take the following picture. Thank you for it!

Conclusion: Looking back, the trip was definitely worth it and fall won back a whole lot of sympathy. 

Link to the german article, concert photos and the video-interview with Marko Saaresto:

http://www.realisart.com/2014/10/video-interview-artikel-fotos-poets-of.html