Friday the 13th, what a lucky day for a Nightwish fan! I've seen Nightwish in numerous halls and arenas, but Metro Arena in Espoo was a new venue for me. It was surprisingly small, but holy crap it was by far the coldest ice hall I've ever been in! I was longing for the oh so traditional pyro to warm me up after five minutes of standing and shivering there. Nightwish often tend to have numerous (= too fucking many) support acts, but thankfully there was only one this time around. Beast in Black opened the night. I don't have much to say about them because their music really isn't my cup of tea and I would never ever listen to them, but I guess they are pretty good in their own genre and the crowd seemed to enjoy the show.
Finally it was time for Nightwish to enter the stage. The curtain fell down and Shudder Before the Beautiful started with a bang! Absolutely brilliant, so no objections there. The last time I saw Nightwish was back in July in Tampere when the gig was filmed. That show was grand, but I was majorly distracted and annoyed by all the cameras and film crew running around, so seeing them again in a more normal setting was pure bliss. I could fully concentrate on all the amazing visual effects and of course the music itself without being interrupted by someone shoving a camera into my face.
I really liked the way the stage was set and that Tuomas and Troy were playing on podiums so you could see them well enough even from afar. They also had the giant screens we already saw this summer and they were smartly utilized. The screens are an effective way to boost a live show, but you don't want the audience to get too caught up in them either. In this case the spectacular images and graphics were used in a right place and in a right time to create the much desired wow-effect. Speaking of special effects, I absolutely loved it when they sprinkled some water over the first few rows of people. It was surprising and fucking hilarious! I think this happened during The Greatest Show On Earth, but please do correct me if I'm wrong! Sometimes my brain gets mushy from all the awesomeness and I mess up the correct timings.
Pyro effects have been a part of Nightwish shows for years now and it feels like they are gaining more ground all the time. I don't mind, pyro keeps you warm on a chilly festival night and all that jazz, but I must say that I'm not a big fan of the very loud bang bang bangs they have started to use on this tour. Of course they are dramatic and eveything, but holy fuck my heart skips a beat every time and not in a good way.
The set list was quite similar to what it was in the summer. It was a bit strange (and a great shame!) that they didn't play the tittle track of the new album. I'm a bit sad about that, because it's one of my favorite Nightwish songs ever. Fortunately Alpenglow, The Greatest Show On Earth and especially The Poet and the Pendulum made up for it. TPATP gives me goose bumps every time, it's one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. Amaranth had finally been removed from the set and that's a really good decision, because that song was getting so old. I haven't been feeling very passionate about Nemo in years either to be honest, but I guess it's the one and only hit song they always have to play even if they're sick of it. My only real complaint considers Sleeping Sun, which is such a snoozefest of a song, seriously. This band has a bunch of touching ballads to choose from, so I really can't comprehend why Sleeping Sun makes the cut and the others don't.
7 Days to the Wolves was also a pleasant surprise and I'm always impressed by Floor's interpretation of Ghost Love Score. She takes that song to a completely new level, it's so great to see how much she loves the song and wants to honor it every time. She forgot some lyrics a few times during the show, but it didn't bother me at all. It seemed like she was more embarrassed than was really necessary, because forgetting a few lines does not spoil anything when everything else is running so damn smoothly. Floor is unbelievably versatile, she rocks both the old and the new songs without any difficulties and is first and foremost an interpreter, not just a singer.
I must also give a serious thumbs up for Emppu, because he is always just so cute with fans. Out of all the band members he is definitely the one who follows the reactions of the audience and interacts with the fans the most. He doesn't make a fuss about himself at all and I feel like he often goes a little unnoticed and should be given more credit.
When it comes to interaction and chemistry between band members, I feel like this band is finally having fun for real. You'd have to be blind not to see it in their faces and body language. I'm not saying that they haven't had good times in the past, but all in all their group seems well balanced at the moment and I hope things stay that way. Of course it would be lovely to see Jukka take on the drums again, but only time will tell.
Some people might argue that the so called "golden age" of Nightwish is already a thing of the past, but I think they are having the best of times right now.
- juoksepoistytto
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