Poets Of The Fall, Hard Rock Café Pune, August 25th, 2012

For a band that fills up stadiums and concert arenas, an indoor gig equals performance grief. The six-member Finnish rock band, Poets of the Fall (POTF), compromised on both space and sound when they performed at Hard Rock Café, Pune on August 25th. Not only did frontman Marko Saaresto and guitarist Olli Tukiainen not get a chance to indulge in their lively, stage histrionics ”“ sliding, jumping and on occasion, stage diving ”“ the band worked with a bare minimum sound set-up, using three monitors instead of nine.

POTF’s gig in Pune was also delayed by a good two hours, [the gig that was initially slated to begin at 9 pm, started at 11 pm]. The band opened their hour-long set with “Cradled In Love,” a single from their new album Temple of Thought. Saaresto, dressed in a black vest and leather pants, struggled to conquer the venue’s below average sound system [his voice cracked on more than three occasions].

The crowd, mostly packed with college-goers, was won over about thirty minutes into the set. Saaresto reclaimed the show with a sudden vigor as the band rushed through their setlist of popular tracks like “Roses,” “Diamonds for Tears,” “Locking Up The Sun,” “Late Goodbye” and the encore commanding “Carnival Of Rust.” But Rs 2,000 per ticket for too steep a price to pay for half an hour of brilliance.

For a band that has been to India three times and played to packed crowds, we expected a rerun of that magic on stage. Maybe their last gig on the India tour in Kolkata, on August 28th will live up to their previous shows.

 Key Tracks: “Late Goodbye,” “Carnival Of Rust”