Surprisingly Talented
Sitting in the car park, located next to the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, I am seriously considering how tonight will be. As I sit in the car I am slightly worried at the appearance and age of those that are walking past. Before I enter the venue I have the conception in my head that everybody will be aged 12-15 and rebelling against their parents. Thankfully I am wrong.
In the venue I am even more amazed by the fact that a large proportion of the crowd would seem more fitting to a 1980s Monsters of Rock festival. Around me I see people supporting Tool, System of a Down and Metallica. What were we to expect from Evanescence was certainly no in doubt compared to my preconceptions, the heavy support acts proving this.
Normally within the first thirty seconds of a gig, it is possible to tell what the rest of the set will be like. I am, to say the least, pleasantly surprised. One of the defining points of Evanescence's first major label release are the vocals of lead singer, Amy Lee. There are parts of album where you realise that if these vocals can be reproduced in a live environment then the band would honestly have significant ability.
At the very begining I am somewhat sceptical, wondering how much of the singing is sampled - but finally decide that it is live, and I'm happy with that. Everything seems to be going quite well until the third song when a piano starts playing and you wonder where it is. There have been many parallels drawn between these nu-gothers and nu-metal superstars Linkin Park - in most cases incorrectly - but where it comes to sampling there is no doubt that there is just cause for comparisons. This is further proved, that despite only one guitarist being on stage there are times when a chord progression underlays the solo that is being played. Overall, this manages to work whilst the band prove they have a live ability.
Half way through their set Evanescence play a series of songs where Amy plays keyboard, as well as a song where an acoustic guitar is used. There is no doubt that this band have musical ability, and stage presence. There is no doubt that Amy is as strong of a front man as any of her male counterparts in this industry.
The fans love every minute of the set and their attention is fixed far behind the two released singles. The crowd sing through every high and low, as if the words were their own.
Three hours before, I was wondering why I had chosen to review this band. Now, I'm certainly happy that I did.