Bucharest was definitely Brought to Life! Once again Evanescence graced us with their music and presence and we were there for it.
The night was opened by Chaos Magic, who were bringing a nice rendition of symphonic metal. The crowd was gathering surprisingly early and they did play to a lot of people. The lead singer, Caterina Nix, can really show off powerful vocals. It was a nice way to start the evening.
Next up were Veridia, who I can only describe as “Ariana Grande with guitars”, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think they sounded very good and were a good choice opening up for Evanescence. But the singer had her ponytail and moved and sang like Ariana Grande :)) They were fun and I will probably listen to their material some other time. Yes, many people were upset because “it’s not truuu metal”, but I am petty like that so I want to like the band even more.
There aren’t a lot of bands that make me as nostalgic as Evanescence does. The main difference is that they still got it. The could be touring with the same setlist for the next few decades and it will not be enough. There’s nothing quite like hearing “Bring Me To Life” sang live. Yes, it was missing the male vocals. But knowing that they were only included in the song by sheer force of the label, who though Amy Lee could not anchor a song on her, I am more than happy to hear the crowd fill in and try to sing both parts at once.
The setlist moved graciously through energetic songs and heart-wrenching ballads. The audience was not all that energetic, but on softer songs like “My Immortal”, “Call Me When You’re Sober” or “Lithium”, they joined in for a very emotional rendition of the songs. As for the more energetic “Going Under”, “What You Want”, or “All That I Am Living for”, I screamed my lungs out. I cannot pretend to be the biggest Evanescence fan. I am more of a “I used to listen to it in 7th grade and I hope I still remember the lyrics” fan, but I still enjoyed the show.
An extra special moment was the last song, or rather last songs. The show ended with a medley of Haunted / My Last Breath / Cloud Nine / Everybody’s Fool / Weight of the World / Snow White Queen, a new addition for this tour.
Amy Lee did not sit still for one moment. Running from one end of the stage to the other, she lived each song and interpreted it in a way only she can. Whether she was singing and jumping around, running to the keyboard and back, she was truly mercurial. The more I see her do it, the more impressed I am with her.
She interacted with the public much more than in previous concerts and seemed genuinely happy to perform and thankful to be here. Genuine is a word that would describe her whole presence, where it is clear she is performing, but you can feel it’s really her living the show and giving her very best on each song.
She reminded us that the video for Bring Me To Life was filmed in Bucharest all those years ago. More than that, it was the first time she got a passport and traveled abroad, so Bucharest has a very special place in her heart. She later posted about it on Instagram as well.
While I went on and on about Amy, I do have to mention the rest of the band played their very best. Musically they lived to every standard. My impression however, was that they were there just as a support for Amy. Whether they were singing on stage or somewhere off stage would not have made that big of a difference. I didn’t really get that “band” feeling. In their defense, it’s hard to catch up with Amy on stage.
The reason Evanescence is still so important all these years later is hands down because of Amy Lee’s impressive creativity. I have talked at length about her great voice and incomparable stage presence, but the real reason is just how good a songwriter she is. Her songs meant so much to us and they still do, so we’ll come back again and again to hear her sing them.
