Nightwish Edmonton Show Review

Wow this took awhile to get around to doing. This past weekend I had the chance to check off the third of my five favourite european metal bands off my “I must see these bands” list. I was truly surprised to find out that Nightwish was coming to Edmonton to play a sold out show at the Starlite room. I was surprised that they were coming, and I was also surprised that they sold out faster than the other two bands I saw: Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius. Maybe it’s the female singer that makes them more attractive to more people. Not sure.

Anyways, Diane and I arrived a bit late to the Starlite room, and already an impressive looking line had formed all the way down the block. So there was nothing for us to do except go to the back of the line and wait for about 35-40 minutes to get in. Such is the state of going to the Starlite, since that has been the way of things in the past. On the plus side, the weather was beautiful so waiting in line wasn’t a big deal.

While in line the opening band started up. It didn’t really look like we were missing anything, and I didn’t even bother to find out who was playing. Then again, it’s really hard to tell since the volume was turned up so loud. *sigh*. The problem with live concerts.

So Diane and I found our spot on the right side of the venue on the stairs descending to the floor. It was packed in there though, so it took awhile to squirm into a good spot. It took a long time, as usual, for the main band to have all their gear setup and sound tested, but after the long wait Nightwish finally came on stage.

Nightwish has undergone a bit of turmoil in the recent months. They fired their distinctive lead singer after the band decided that they were not on the same page concerning the direction of the band (or something, I’m not really familiar with the situation). This made for some troubling times as the band tried to find someone to replace her. I’m not sure they ever would’ve found someone with quite as deep and powerful a voice as Tarja, but they did find someone who does a pretty darn good job. The new vocalist didn’t sing too many classic Nightwish songs, but the ones that she did do she did pretty well I’d have to say.

Here’s the setlist for the night:

1. Intro + Bye Bye Beautiful
2. Dark Chest of Wonders
3. Who ever brings the night
4. The Siren
5. Amaranth
6. Islander
7. The Poet and the Pendulum
8. Come Cover Me
9. While Your Lips are Still Red
10. Sahara
11. Nemo
12. 7 days
13. Dead to the World
14. Wish I had an Angel

All in all the show was amazing. The various members of the band are quite good at their respective intruments. The keyboardist isn’t as flashy as the one in Stratovarius or Sonata Arctica, but that’s okay. One of the guitarist’s sported a rather epic beard/hair combination.

It’s been a few days since the event, so I don’t remember too many details. Also I wanted to get this post up before I forgot about it entirely. I took some video that I’d like to share, but I need to post process it so I can upload it somewhere useful (I was thinking flickr). That might take a little while.

Anyways, it was a pretty good show, and I was quite happy that I got the chance to go!

Heraldk