Nightwish @ Lahti
July 21, 2018, Mukkula, Lahti, Finland
Once again a show that we attended as private persons (hence only a few snapshots from the audience) but it was so exciting that we simply have to write a few words about it… We simply have to point out that one of the best bands of Finland – perhaps not just of Finland – proved again their worth and why they are in such high demand to perform live, on home ground and on international scale. When after a lenghty search for parking (could have been better description, road map & signs to find to the area …) and quite a long walk along the beach and through the vast park area we finally arrived, the view of this massive crowd in front of the stage was simply stunning. And still more people dropped by, who had also only heard but not seen Beast in Black while on the journey to the area.
The smooth show of Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus – I think the set list was very similar to their Tuska gig – was our soundtrack to snatching some nutricious boost for the upcoming hours: A nice welcome drink out of Nightwish cups, and then there was a Nightwish cake that had people lining up non-stop for hours – must have been delicious (I heard it was). What a rare sight, the queue to the dessert table dwarfing the queues at the bar…
Then finally – Nightwish, and they started with a bang (literally). I would not call myself a die-hard-fan of this band yet I have enjoyed following their career throughout the years and I do own some of their releases…
Floor Jansen seems to be the lottery win for this band, the perfect front woman to cover all the range of their music. It’s not just the fact that her voice is amazing and she masters every style, delivering a flawless performance of the more opera-tending songs as well as the rough head-banger hymns. Moreover, she is incredibly likeable, impresses with a relaxed presence and dominance. Still it’s nothing like “I wanna outshine everybody else” – she simply draws all eyes on her when on stage. And this without fancy outfits or make-up, or being half-naked… On the contrary, at first sight the simple dress seems to be quite plain and conservative – until you notice the clever details, especially on those huge LED screens at the stage wings.
As mentioned, the colleagues nevertheless have to upstage their show a bit to keep up with her charisma. Marco uses his incredible voice and his incredible funny announcements, Emppu charms the crowd with his smile while Tuomas, Kai and Troy rather use their incredible virtuosity to win over the people’s hearts. Well, actually, they had all the people’s hearts already right from the start – yet it was amazing how the band kept giving and giving, delivering highlight after highlight and it seemed so effortless…
Surprise guests (well, at least for me) added to the firework of music, Papa Wilska and Netta Skog. The latter spiced up Wishmaster with some accordion …
And then a real firework show was unleashed, and that still wasn’t the cherry on top – there was even more of incredible show effects… a lot of goose flesh moments for me! Yes, this band knows indeed how to make their fans happy! The setlist hardly left anything to wish for (well, this band has so many awesome songs that surely you find some “they should have played too”… mine is btw this “Kiss while your lips are still red”). I can only recommend not to miss them when they are passing through your town on their Decades World Tour!
photos: K. Weber
You must be logged in to post a comment.