Teen Art Out – Blog

Nightwish have done what they know best: reinvent themselves!

The evening started with Mister Misery, this weird horror metal band from Sweden. I had seen them before some years ago opening for Beyond the Black in a small-ish club in Germany, so this was definitely a step up. They were announced a week before the show and I think the crowd was very skeptical, but won over eventually. They were interesting to watch for sure.

This was my 5th Nightwish show and right from the beginning it didn’t look like any other. They came with way more lights, videos, and pyros. And when I say pyros… they went all out! The stage was on fire! To be honest, in the beginning the stage looked like Nightwish Eurovision version (and I don’t mean about that time 20 years ago when they did go Eurovision). I did appreciate that the sound was clear enough without being cranked to the maximum – things old people say, you know?. But all throughout we had a lot of fun! You just gotta give them that they are one of the great ones.

They started with some projections of the signs from their latest album and obviously a single from that one, Noise. Then came Planet Hell, funnily enough with a projection of the Romanian Parliament behind them. Because hell.. get it? :)) I don’t understand why they chose such an iconic Marko song as a single after he left, when they had just so much to choose from their back catalogue and bring something new for Floor to wow us on. She is great, truly. And Troy can also sing. But if your point two songs in is to show us that you’re still here without Marko, you are indeed showing us that you’re still here … without Marko.

Nightwish are able to create a setlist with essential songs. It might not be your favourite or the best of, but they always bring enough diversity so that they keep things interesting. Nothing wow this time around. We had some more songs from their latest album: Tribal, How’s The Heart, Shoemaker. I need to make a special point of saying how glad I am they are playing Shoemaker live after initially saying they would never do it since it’s too complicated. And I mean wow!! Floor is just in a league of her own. Throughout the concert we were amazed by her, but that was a big one. I am not even a Floor fangirl but this whole show seemed like “Floor Jansen and band” . Mostly because she was the one that shined the most and also the only one that really moved around the stage. Even Emppu who used to be a a human spring running around the stage has been rather reservered. We’re all getting old it seems. As for the rest, not much movement/crowd interraction. And that’s a big part of why we miss Marko, the wittiness, the friendliness. Troy tried to adress the public in a rather cringe-ish way “you are probably the best audience in the world” … okay Calsberg.

I think that was what I missed the most in the show… the connection. It’s true, I stayed in the “poor people” area all the way in the back, but it felt like something was lost. Nightwish are my favourite band so I am biased but somehow not right now. I feel like the production overtook the stage and the wow value of the pyros was more than the wow value of the stage presence. Like they were telling us they are a great band, not showing it. But they are still a great band and this was a killer show. It wasn’t the best Nightwish show that I have seen, but it was still Nightwish and that is enough on any day to have a great time.

Tuomas has mentioned many times that Nightwish is a well-oiled machinery that must keep going and I guess I felt a bit of that. Where you know they are big and have been doing this for some time, so they can create some magic big impact low effort (obviously not Floor. she was very high effort).

I think the show really picked up some speed when they pushed the pedal to the metal … pun intended with 7 Days to the Wolves, Dark Chest of Wonders, I Want My Tears Back. Now we’re having a party. And time for two absolute classics with Nemo and Sleeping Sun. God, Sleeping Sun is such a beautiful song and it made us all a bit weak in the knees to hear it.
Nothing wow in terms of setlist, especially considering how we last saw them with Decades. Or before that they played While Your Lips Are Still Red (and also Sleeping Sun).

Overall good show, impressive pyro, out of this world vocals from Floor. I don’t know how she does it. Or how she can headbang for that long. Ending the show with Last Ride of the Day, Ghost Love Score, and The Greatest Show on Earth like we’ve been accustomed to. It felt strange not to fangirl as I once used to and just enjoy the concert like a normal event. There was so much nostalgia in it. Nightwish are still great and they can deliver for sure. Once all the “50 year anniversary” bands do retire, Nightwish are really set to be among the biggest names you could get, so let’s hope they don’t retire soon.

Tu ce te vezi facand la 70 de ani? Probabil nu vei fi la fel ca cei de la Kiss, intr-un show de exceptie dintr-un turneu mondial. S-a cantat, s-a dansat, s-au dat cu pirotehnice, baloane, platforme, tiroliana. Ce poti sa mai ceri? Si pentru cineva ca mine care nu asculta Kiss in mod normal, a fost un show care nu trebuia ratat.

Dar hai sa o luam de la inceput. Rock the City presents Kiss and Whitesnake and Powerwolf… dar fara Whitesnake, care din pacate au anulat turneul European din cauza unor probleme de sanatate. Desigur, asta nu este vina organizatorilor si pot intelege ca dupa niste ani de pandemie si amanat concerte, nu ai oricum cum sa faci refund ca totusi era show Kiss si pentru ei venea lumea majoritar. Totusi, asta nu scuza lipsa de comunicare. A fost din scurt anularea (as far as we know), dar parca ar fi mers sa primim ceva in plus. Si daca nu e o formatie mare, o chestiuta mica sa simti ca ai plecat cu ceva. Pana la urma au fost niste preturi piperate. Sau macar sa vedem un comunicat mai cinstit care sa zica uite am incercat x, y, z, nu se poate, aia e.

Ziua a inceput cu o ploaie torentiala, care i-a prins pe cei mai punctuali dintre noi. Dar a fost de scurta durata si dupa iar a dat soarele toropitor. Cu o mica intarziere din cauza vremii, au intrat pe scena Saints N’ Sinners. Am fost surprinsa pozitiv de ei, au facut show, au cantat bine. De obicei prima formatie (si intre noi fie vorba, una buy-in cel mai probabil) e mai putin interesanta. Turcii abordeaza un still de heavy metal care chiar s-a potrivit in line-up.

Dupa ei a urcat pe scena Deep Waters, care “nu inlocuieste Whitesnake”, dar a fost anuntata dupa ce acestia s-au retras. A fost prima data cand am auzit de grupul format în anul 2019 de catre chitaristul de 21 de ani, Andrei Stratulat. Stegulete si patriotism ca uite domne doi romani pe scena, ceilalti 3 membri fiind straini. Nu au fost rai, dar nici nu m-au impresionat in vreun fel.

Ceva mai spre seara dar inca pe un soare toropitor intra pe scena Powerwolf si ne pregatim pentru The Heavy Metal Mass. De cand nu ati mai fost la biserica? Stiam cateva melodii din setlist si chiar pot sa zic ca imi plac asa ca ma asteptam sa imi placa si show-ul live, dar mi-au intrecut asteptarile. Powerwolf au fost definitia “live life like you’re the main character” si au prestat. Nu i-am mai vazut inainte deci nu as stii sa zic daca a fost un extra push, dar impresia mea a fost ca s-au chinuit sa faca un show ireprosabil pentru un public care poate inca era suparat din cauza anularii Whitesnake. Ne-au cantat melodii mai cunoscute precum “Army of the Night”, “Armata Strigoi”, “Sanctified With Dynamite”, sau un mare final pe “We Drink Your Blood”. Am avut melodii pentru “girls”, si melodii pentru “men” :)) respectiv “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend” si “Resurrection by Erection”.

Ce mi-a placut in schimb a fost cata interactiune cu publicul a fost si cat au muncit sa antreneze publicul. Cu pauze inainte de melodii in care sa cante cu publicul cate un aaaaAAAA sau aaaEEEE, sunt niste gimmicks care merg intotdeauna si ne fac mai implicati in show. M-as fi asteptat poate si la 3 cuvinte in Romana, mai ales ca solistul a studiat la Timisoara. Vorbind de studiat, chiar vreau sa zic ca am ramas impresionata de abilitatile lui vocale de bariton adevarat. Poate nu observasem asta pe materialele de studio, dar live s-a vazut clar ce forta are in voce si ca ar putea oricand sa cante pe scena unei opere, ceea ce nu pot zice despre multi solisti din genul lor muzical. All in all, 10.5/10

Iar acum, este timpul pentru Rock and Roll!! Doamnelor si domnilor, the hottest band in the world, Kiss. Desi a auzit toata lumea de ei, trebuie sa mai mentionez o data cat de legendara este aceasta formatie si ce impact a avut asupra nu doar muzicii, dar a business-ului, al showului. Ei ai fost pioneri in tot ce inseamna productii scenice, pirotehnice, scuipat foc, costume. Iar acest show nu a fost exceptie. O productie minutioasa si impecabila, care stie fix cat sa aduca pentru a pune in valoare tot. Showul incepe cu ei coborand din “tavan” pe niste platforme specifice, care apoi ajung sa fie ecrane.

Lumini, sunet, tot, impecabil. Sigur ca se simte varsta lor, trecuti de 70 de ani. Dar cred ca fiecare om de la concert stie ca a vazut ceva maret, ceva ce va tine mine. Si poate nu pentru muzica, pe care multi o desconsidera. Desi cine nu se bucura sa auda “Shout It Out Loud”, “Heaven’s on Fire”, “Say Yeah”, “Lick it Up”, sau the one and only “I Was Made for Lovin’ You”. Un show cu 23 de melodii sau cum au zis chiar ei “we have old stuff, older stuff and the oldest stuff”.

Kiss au definit un stil si inca il fac la fel de bine, dupa atatia ani. Iar daca vorbim de interactiune cu publicul, nu o face nimeni la fel ca Paul “The Starchild” Stanley, care a narat tot concertul si a vorbit constant cu noi. Cata energie au putut sa transmita, de neegalat.

At the end of the day, you had to be there! Intre atatea showuri mari anul asta, Kiss sigur vor fi unul memorabil si ma bucur ca am reusit sa ii vedem in Romania, chiar daca abia in turneul de retragere.

Galerie foto

I spent some time gathering my thoughts about the Evanescence concert. It was the 4th time I was seeing the band. I had mixed feelings about going to the concert, because while I do still live those 5 songs I used to listen to back in my gothic teenage years, is that enough for a good concert? We’ll see.

Opening for Evanescence was British band Yonaka. A friend described them as “they didn’t seem to figure out what genre they wanna play”. It’s obviously rock, but they have some more rap-y angsty parts in there as well. I gotta say they won me over until the end.

Interesting combo. I must definitely say that they won the public over, as well, to a degree I did not expect. When you come see a well established band, usually people gather late and don’t really care for new opening acts, but they sure got the public fired up.

But now it’s time for Evanescence. This was a concert soon after they let Jen Majura go, being the second show with with Tim McCord on guitar and Emma Anzai on bass. The band was still promoting their latest album (2019), The Bitter Truth. I cannot say I enjoy the album that much, and I do understand they gotta play stuff from there if they don’t want to get stuck with the greatest hits from 15 years ago… however, the setlist felt a bit eh. Remember how I said those 5 songs from teenage years? I knew exactly 5 songs from the setlist :)) Okay, I had heard some of them probably but really know, it was 5 indeed: Going Under, Lithium, Call Me When You’re Sober, Bring Me To Life, and My Immortal.

I mean sure, everyone was here to listen to Bring Me To Life, so that was definitely the highlight of the show and the only moment the public really got fired up. It was the last song before the encore, so that ended the show on a high note. Strange to have My Immortal for encore. You’d expect something with a bit more of a kick.

I knew from the previous 4 shows that there isn’t much public interaction when it comes to an Evanescence show. Amy has her very unique style of moving and dancing, you just know it’s her. But there’s not much in terms of hyping the public and I kind of want more gimmicks if they play new songs. Get the public to jump and scream and move and have fun. Talk to them. Get the other band members to say a few words. It became clear now that it’s really a show to sit down and enjoy and wait for the nostalgia to hit you, but that’s about it.

I do gotta give credit that the production was much better than it used to be. They had some stairs now, giving a different flow to the stage, very good lights, and generally felt like an improvement. They brought a big screen behind the stage where they were legit projecting something that looked like Windows Music Player animations. If we’re talking 2000s nostalgia here, I guess that works… It’s such a shame because they could have done so much more with it. At least show bits from the music videos if you have them. I would say get someone to film and show live footage of the members of the band or the public, but that takes money. But they could have done way more with it. At this point it was a distraction more than anything.

I also need to praise Amy because vocally she was 100/100. Didn’t miss a note there. Or she hid it well. Absolutely beyond reproach.

All in all, Nostalgia is the key word for an Evanescence show. They don’t give you a show to remember on the new songs and don’t embrace their cult status fully to really pull all the stops on the classics.