Concerts I've Attended (2015)

April: Nightwish
Support: Sabaton, Delain
Endless Forms Most Beautiful Tour

One does not simply miss a chance to see Nightwish after seeing the Showtime, Storytime DVD. Floor Jansen's voice is a force beyond human comprehension.

I had a lovely view of this show from start to finish, as I was at the very front of the little venue's second tier. Delain opened first, and I only knew two of their songs at the time, but I really enjoyed songs on their set like "Army of Dolls" and "Electricity" so I looked them up afterward, bought their album The Human Contradiction, and loved it. Sabaton performed next, and while I'm not exactly a fan of their music, they are fantastic performers. The energy level was borderline ridiculous, and they all seemed so nice! The Cleveland crowd certainly humbled them... It was the most energetic crowd I've been in so far. A couple of children were in the crowd and the Sabaton guys invited them on stage - it was really cute. The singer was so happy to see such a wide age range at the show: "Metal is for everyone!"

Then, the lovely headliner Nightwish took the stage. I was treated to a glorious setlist which consisted of many brand new tracks from their album Endless Forms Most Beautiful but also included a couple of their best pieces from Oceanborn, their 1998 sophomore album. Some of the highlights were expected, but even though it became one of my favorites from Endless Forms Most Beautiful quite quickly, I never anticipated "Weak Fantasy" to be as epic as it was in a live setting - what a rush! Between its general live sound and crazy lighting I was dizzy and happy. The crowd knew every word to "The Islander" and we seemed to truly impress Floor with how well we knew the words to their newer single "Élan." I was dancing along to the pipe-led folky tunes but by the time we made it to "Stargazers" I stood in awe - I feel so lucky to have seen that classic live.

The last song before the encore was "The Greatest Show on Earth" (parts two and three, "Life" and "The Toolmaker"), which became my favorite Nightwish song on the first listen... I may have gone a smidge crazy. Right as "The Toolmaker" begins when animal noises dominate the tracks I came to a startling realization: Most of the growling I was hearing (both at my show and performances I saw on YouTube just before my show) wasn't playback... It was Floor. I actually confused her for a lion - A LION, I TELL YOU. If that doesn't prove her power, nothing will. After the encore (consisting of the masterpiece "Ghost Love Score" and the perfect closer "Last Ride of the Day") the final instrumental sections of "The Greatest Show on Earth" played while the band took their bows. Nightwish's creator Tuomas Holopainen took the final bow before the rest of the group as "The Understanding" came to its final gorgeous chords. He looked so tired but passionate and proud of the band's performance, and I unabashedly screamed I loved him like a crazed fangirl.

Other associated memories: The person standing next to me was holding his signed VIP poster and tour book, so like an awe-struck fangirl I started asking him about how the meet and greet was and how Floor and the guys were. Well, he must have felt bad for me for not being able to get a VIP ticket because DUDE GAVE ME HIS SIGNED STUFF. His explanation: "I'm old. What am I going to do with this stuff?" But he wasn't even old. I was so gracious! 

May: Lana Del Rey
Support: Grimes
The Endless Summer Tour

As per usual when I go to non-rock/metal concerts, I saw Lana Del Rey with Nick at Aural Fixation Reviews. I was so excited to see her at the beginning of summer during her Endless Summer Tour since that's the season I have always associated her with, but she really could have changed it to the Endless Winter Tour for my show because it was forty eight degrees (Fahrenheit). I was freezing and couldn't feel my feet afterward, but it was worth it. Lana's live performances have improved significantly since her start in 2012, and honestly, she did a perfect job. I absolutely lost my shit during "Born to Die" and I love how she changed the chorus a bit. "Video Games" was the first song I discovered by her so of course hearing that beautiful track live was pretty wonderful too, and she played the lovely unreleased "Serial Killer." Being the hipster that I am, I was kind of expecting a lot of the people attending to be people who have only ever heard the "Summertime Sadness" remix on the radio, but all the fans at this show were diehards: This crowd collectively knew EVERY WORD of every song! Her live band was really energetic too and gave me a whole new appreciation for "Off to the Races," the last song of her set, and honestly the backdrops and props were some of the beautiful I've seen in a live artist's performance. We may have been freezing our asses off, but when I think of that show visions of summer still manage to fill my head. 

Still, a large part of the reason this concert will always be so damn special to me is that it led me to the spunky electronic artist Grimes, which is ironic considering I was initially annoyed that I wouldn't be able to see Courtney Love (she opened for the first half of the Endless Summer Tour). As I always say, I often end up liking supporting acts I didn't initially care for after seeing them live, but... Grimes is my spirit animal. I was intrigued after the very first song, "Circumambient," and then she grabbed my attention again with "Nightmusic" and "Go." My best friend Nick showed me some of her more 'normal' songs before the concert like "REALiTi" and "Oblivion," and even though I love those songs now, they just weren't the right entry point in her discography for me to take. I needed to hear the darker sounds first. Unfortunately, she didn't have a very energetic crowd (some girls in front of me were standing up so I couldn't see her and taking selfies... brats) but she was so incredibly nice and appreciative anyway.

I will most definitely see her again and I will unabashedly dance around no matter how dead the crowd is. And I will probably cry. (Sorry, Nick. Prepared to be even more embarrassed than you were when we saw the final Harry Potter movie.)

Other associated memories: Trying to find our ride home. Why is that always so hard for us? Also, me laughing at absolutely nothing on the way home because I was too tired to function like a sane human being.

Click here to see what shows I attended from 2012 to 2014.

The Human Contradiction | Delain

In the symphonic metal realm of the Internet, Delain has been gaining recognition, especially with the release of their latest album, The Human Contradiction. It was a bit easier for Delain to make their name known in the world of symphonic metal as it was started by Martijn Westerholt, brother of Robert of Westerholt and initial keyboardist of Within Temptation, but they've only been growing in popularity as they've been releasing albums. Lead vocalist Charlotte Wessels has a unique voice since she's had both classical and jazz training, and while it took her style a while to grow on me, the fact of the matter is that Delain is making music that's catchy enough and heavy enough to demand attention almost instantly nonetheless. The Human Contradiction is a lovely symphonic metal album because of these elements.

 

"Here Come the Vultures" kicks the album off with a horror feel reminiscent of songs like "The Howling" by Within Temptation and "Cloud Nine" by Evanescence. It begins softly with chimes and piano as Wessels sings along to a creepy melody, but then heavy and infectious guitar riffs come in at the end of her powerful opening verse: "I just want to see you stare / As I lay my soul bare for you / To crush upon with heavy feet / I'm in it for the beat." This is the longest song on the album, clocking in at about six minutes, and even though the overall structure is a bit repetitive, more elements are added to make the song more interesting. The choir and strings become more and more prominent as the track continues, and there are moments where I definitely see the resemblance between this band and Within Temptation. The final section of the bridge is a thrashing jam session that is a perfect blend of guitars and strings, and I don't think I could be happier with this opener.

 

"Army of Dolls" also stands out as one of my favorites. I fell in love with it right away when I heard it during Delain's setlist as they opened for Nightwish last month, and it's actually what motivated me to look up more of Delain's music. It's an epic track about body image and the struggle to accept oneself amid society's impossible standards... It actually surprises me that there aren't more songs about this; I'm very happy Wessels decided to tackle the subject. The chorus is a fantastic blend of guitars and keyboards and it's easy to get it caught in your head as Wessels repeats "Do you want me...?" The middle eight seems to slow things down before all hell breaks loose (sort of like in "Here Come the Vultures," yet still distinctive). I love this song.

 

The first single, "Stardust," primarily stands out because of its catchy chorus and pretty lyrics: "Bring me to life / Bring me to starlight / Bring me the sun and moon / Release the stars tonight." However, the second verse helps the song chug along since guitars are added and it doesn't rely quite so heavily on vocals alone. The piano part of the pre-chorus almost seems to imitate a heartbeat and continues as one of the chorus' layers, another of the song's great elements. Even though it's one of the poppier songs from the album the middle eight certainly still rocks and adds a soothing choral layer. I wasn't initially crazy about "Stardust," but it definitely grew on me once I was able to truly appreciate the standout chorus.

 

"Lullaby" is also a pretty solid track with a mystifying use of keyboards. It's one of the more repetitive songs, but it's quite fun and energized. The way Wessels vocalizes in the middle eight reminds me a bit of Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation, and I also hear this resemblance in the beautiful chorus of "The Tragedy of the Commons." Death metal vocalist Alissa White-Gluz of The Agonist and Arch Enemy is featured in the bridge, a dark and interesting contrast to Wessel's lighter voice. "The Tragedy of the Commons" has a perfect combination of heaviness and lightness, thus making it one of my favorites and a relatively memorable album-closer.

This album features a couple of other high-profile guest vocalists. Marco Hietala of Nightwish sings on "Your Body is a Battleground" and "Sing to Me." "Your Body is a Battleground" is definitely the heaviest of the two with its intense, war-like feel, and "Sing to Me" is more melodic. Neither are favorites of mine but I prefer "Sing to Me" as it's more relatable and the string line during the middle eight is quite pretty.

I was more excited for "Tell Me, Mechanist," as it features the ex-Orphanage vocalist George Oosthoek... We all know how much I love George. And while he sounds great on this track, it's a really good song nonetheless. It begins with just Wessels and the piano: "Tell me, Mechanist, is it true? / Does none of it bother you?" But heavy riffs reminiscent of Amaranthe's music comes in and it sounds fantastic. It's definitely a highlight.

In short, I was pleased with The Human Contradiction. I actually enjoyed it more than I anticipated. Even though there are a couple of mediocre tracks and I just couldn't get into "My Masquerade," I really like what Delain is doing here. Plus, on the two-disc edition we get the piano ballad "Scarlet," which is undoubtedly one of their best pieces - it's so subtle but so epic! Their blend of strings and guitars is really well-balanced and they display some wonderful moments in terms of songwriting. While I can't quite rank Delain among symphonic metal legends Within Temptation, Nightwish, and Epica, I must say that they are leagues ahead of quite a few of the bands within this subgenre. I'm impressed.